Oldsmobile Intrigue

white6

also works in conjuction with the traction control to modulate engine torque supplied to the drive wheels.
The flickering light syndrome has NOTHING to do with the headlights. It is the voltage regulator in the alternator being temporarily overloaded. Headlights draw ALOT of current so about the only time the voltage regulator will be overloaded is when the headlights are on. The "new" alternator supposedly has a redesigned voltage regulator that will handle the current required. But, like any solid state device, if it has to operate at near design-limit levels constantly, it will fail quicker.
cabowabodude: your car may be experiencing the dreaded "crank sensor" malady. Cadillacs also suffer this disease with alarming frequency. It will get worse before it gets better... eventually the car will not start at all. Take it in to the dealer to see if a code has been set.

ian18

I would like to report that after 58,000 miles my intermediate shaft problem on my '98 Intrigue seems have gotten much better ( the shaft was replaced once at about 12,000 miles). I am not sure why it is better lately, perhaps the colder weather. In any case, for now I will not worry about getting it "lubed". Other than this, absolutely no other issues with the car. In fact it has gotten better with age.

vinny2 - Any idea how long it took the dealer to do the lube job?

b4z

We haven't heard from you in like a year. How is the intrigue holding up?

jjpowell2

What I'm trying to find out is when the newly designed alternator/voltage regulator became available. We are one of those that has had 3 alternators installed. 1st March 2001 just a replacement of the original.. 2nd March 2001 Supposedly the current redesigned model(later found out it wasn't)... 3rd in April 2001 which was the latest available redesigned alternator. Our lights dim with no other draw to the system. Can someone post the new part # or the TSB # if it was after April 2001....Thanks.

one2one

My 98 Intrigue had 80,000 miles when it got totalled. I swear that the tranny and the engine got smoother as the mileage increased. Your comment that it got better with age prompts me to ask if your experience is the same as mine was?

oldsman01

Well, last night the headlamps did not flicker once. This is really weird as the night before, they were extemely bad. Also weird is that last night it was about 15 degrees colder than the night before and I had the seat heater on and the heater fan was on at a pretty high speed so there was a much larger load on the electrical system than the night before. I'll see how it does tonight when I have both seat heaters on(lady friend will be with me). I might even switch the rear defogger on to put it at maximum load.

oldsman01

Those 3800 V6 engines will run forever. I'm hoping the 3.5 is equally as durable(it should be) but obviously hasn't been around long enough to stand the test of time like the 3.8 has. My 89 Touring Sedan had the 3800 and when I sold the car, the engine ran like it was new. It didn't leak or use a drop of oil between changes and never failed to start or left me stranded(except when the battery died once).

vinney2

Dealer said he needed a day.
Dropped off day before
If I can find ticket I'll see how many hours they billed.

wbhall

I think that quite a few of us would like the bulletin number if you could share it with us. My Olds dealer wrote right on the work receipt that they checked the bulletins. LOL

You know, you would have thought by the 2002 model year like mine that they would have corrected the problem instead of denying the problem. My car doesn't have the added power draw of heated seats either. I have noticed when my lights dim like that, sometimes I have had only the radio playing only.

Everyone is right about the ride and performance of the Intrigue though. Great gas mileage too!

ian18

I don't think it has been a year since my last post but I concede that I do not make too many. I am watching (and learning) however.

I am glad to report that my '98 Intrigue is doing great. Absolutely no problems with over 58,000 miles, other than the warping problem with disc brake and intermediate steering shaft. All four disc brakes were replaced at around 42,000 miles and I have not a problem since. I have also recently said the steering problem is also much better to the point where I now longer think about it. Also important to realize that the only service this car has had is oil changes and I am not planning on anything until it hits 100,000 miles, as per the owner's manual.

Without a doubt the Intrigue is a very good car. I know that the engine does not have the same high speed feel as the 3.5 but it is good around town and together with the GM transmission it is awesome how smooth and reliable it is. I was going to post my strong disagreement with the notion that the '98s should be avoided as a used car buy, I could have argued that the tried and tested 3.8 engine/tranny combination, together with an interior that seems to be a little better than later model years should be sought out and not avoided.

Happy holidays everyone!

dindak

I think a 98 is ok if you know the steering shaft and brakes are ok, but someone should not buy one with out having it checked as a 98 would not be under warranty any more. You are right, the 3800 will last forever.

oldsman01

Well, both friday night and last night I had no flicker whatsover and both nights the electrical system was under full load with seat heaters, headlamps, foglamps, and heater fan on. Had the cd player cranked up too. Can't figure this one out, hopefully the dealer will. If I'm not back on here before Tuesday, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

jg28

01-06-03-001 FEB 01 Headlamps/Interior Lights - Dim Intermittently in Cold

I wish I had access to the full bulletin but the site is down right now. Then I could give you the correct part number that it's supposed to be replaced with. I can't believe those of you that have had the supposed "redesigned" one installed are having problems since I haven't had a bit of trouble since the redesigned one was put in my car (yes I've had it swapped out twice, once with the old one and once with the redesigned one). We need to check the part numbers again to make sure they're putting in the new one and not just a replacement. I'll see what I can do about finding the part number. Anyone who's been here knows I'm picky and I'd DEFINITELY notice if my headlamps were flickering again. I hope all of you who had supposedly had redesigned ones put in that your dealers made mistakes and put the wrong part in. I know my dealer had to check about the part number when they put the redesigned one in. I did note that the TSB is not posted to either the 2001 or 2002 Intrigues, so that would make me worry. Maybe, truly, I got a fluke alternator that actually works.

jjpowell2

Pulled out my paperwork and found that it was post #1611 that lists the part # for the latest remake of the alternator and may be linked to the TSB you listed. Our original and first replacement alternator part # was 10464395. We've had two of the remanufactured #10464469 installed with no improvement. Maybe you did get a lucky unit?? Could you confirm on your work order the part number that was installed and if any other work was done that may have helped to correct this problem? Thanks!

oscarz2

I have a 99 w/18K on it. Last march, I started having the dimming problem on occasion and they replaced the alternator. Paperwork said, " internal damage found in alternator, replaced with #10464395 GENER REM 2.275.

This didn't correct the problem, so they ordered me another and I had to wait a couple of months because it was supposed to be a re-designed one. It finally came and they replaced it but on the paperwork, the part # was the same 10464395 GENER REM 2.275. When I noted the part number, I called the parts dept and asked about the difference between the #10464395 and #10464469 (apparently the updated one according to this board). upon checking, he said it looks like it has to do with the year of the vehicle. He didn't really know about updates or re-designs.

At any rate, I haven't had the flicker/dimming problem since and according to paperwork, I have the 10464395. This is not to say I won't, just that I haven't noticed it yet and it's been about 6 months. Is it possible that part number change is not synonomous with re-design?

cabowabodude

Hello room, Just thought you might want to know about how a 99 Intrigue holds up to a rear end accident. 3 cars involved, I was in a left hand lane, a geo storm was behind me, when a Dodge smacks into the storm, which in turns smacks the heck out of me. The impact sent me into the middle of the intersection. Dodge- undrivable, Storm- bumper gone (both front and rear) undrivable. 99 olds paint marks on the rear bumper, you would not be able to tell I was hit, if it was not for the small paint marks. For those of you who say, maybe I did not get hit that hard... well items in the back seat flew into the front seat. There happened to be a VW dealer right across the street. The Salesmen and Mechanics could not understand HOW LITTLE OF DAMAGE I had, and they managed to see the entire thing.

Just thought you might want to hear from an Accident Victum.

Also my headlights are starting to go NUTS, I don't have heated seats, I run
1)radar detector
2)Cell phone
3)heater (never more then 2nd setting)
4)lights (not even half way on the brightness dial)

This is what I run, and my headlights are driving me NUTS!!!! I am over my miles, and all this started to get VERY bad at 43K. So my answer to people that have it happen, Get it taken care of before it gets worse! I drive 200 miles (round trip to work) it seems like the longer the drive the worse the flickering gets!

rcahoon

Seems to be the hot topic. I have the problem and the dealer said that they could not reproduce the problem. I need the TSB for this problem It isn't just the lights but the dash lights dim also.

From time to time I have to crank my engine more than once to get it to start. Anyone else experiance this?

Your help is greatly appreciated!!

Have a cool yule

oldsman01

Glad you and your car are okay. I've always felt the Intrigue seems pretty solid and would hold up well in an accident. But my insurance premiums went up this period(6 months) and the bulk of it was for comprehensive and collision coverage which basically is related to the cost to repair the vehicle and I've had no tickets or accidents(unless someone from the insurance company has been reading my posts here about my 120mph excursions).

oldsman01

I still haven't had the flicker again since almost a week ago when it was very bad. And lately it's been very cold here and the past few nights the car has been at full load with the heater fan on high, both seat heaters on, rear defogger on, headlamps and foglamps aglow, and the Bose sound system kickin. So what gives? I bet when the weather gets mild and all the heaters aren't on, it will probably flicker again. Go figure.

dindak

cabowabodude : Glad you are ok. Know that kind of stuff can be scary!

RE: Flicker - Looks like I have the flicker with my car now. Since the weather has gotten colder. in the past week, I have noticed it big time. I will have the car looked at in the new year.

It's really great to have everyone here discussing these problems as if I didn't, I would think I was just imagining the flicker.

Otherwise.. all is well with my Intrigue. Just passed 40K and still loving the car!

jg28

It's a very distressing situation, experiencing this flicker crap. It'll do just that... flicker horribly and then be completely nonexistent. That's the whole problem with it.

I'm genuinely concerned that those that have had the redesigned alternator put in have this problem. Truly, I've been looking for this since you've all talked about it and can't find a trace. I'll consider myself very fortunate that my "redesigned" alternator seems to have fixed the problem entirely. It's a very bad safety issue and I think we should all escalate this somehow, whether to the government or Oldsmobile or GM or someone.

dindak

My flicker is not as bad as yours. It's almost more of an occational dimming of the lights.

ketch

great, now I was driving my 2000 GL from a triple F (last two are Family Function, fill in the first one yourself), and lo and behold, I could swear I saw the headlites dim, alot for a couple of seconds. It seemed to occur again minutes later, both times I was accellerating. So it could be the car's nose dipped up then down, but cannot be sure. Nothing since, but I am watching it.
Hopes its not contagious!

oscarz2

I suggest everyone report this at the following link and mention that the current TSB hasn't rectified the problem:

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/ivoq/default.htm

dindak

I'm wondering if I should bother going in yet. Sounds like the re-design isn't working either. It's amazing.. worked fine till the weather got a bit colder this past week. Didn't notice it last night, but 2 nights ago on the highway it was flickering / dimming every couple of minutes. Didn't really have the problem last year either.

Service bulliten is #010603001 if anyone is interested.

vcjumper

I must be really out of it or just really lucky with the headlights as my 99 with 90K Km's hasn't exhibited this yet (and that is with the extra power draw of my aftermarket stereo stuff). Hope a good/permanent fix for it shows up soon.

oscarz2

Got the next-level strut tower brace yesterday from grandprixstore.com (still waiting on the rear from slponline.com. What year is your car and did you get the "next-level brace" (front, with bracket that goes all the way around the tower)?

My plastic coolant tank mounts to the passenger side tower (frame) so I'm going to have to cut some of the plastic off of the forward part to allow clearance for the bracket. Won't be a problem but I was wondering if you ran into this or if you got a different brace. It may or may not touch the power steering line. Too close to call until I can get the brackets on the towers.

vcjumper

Didn't get the front bar yet (I'm weary of having to pay $50 in custom brokerage fees as they ship UPS) but I have read about GP-owners of certain model years having to do the same thing to their bottles. Have fun with it!

redline65

It seems like only the 2000+ models have the flickering/dimming problem. My '99 (built 5/99) hasn't exhibited any signs of this either. I guess we lucked out.

cabowabodude

Redline: My Intrigue is a 99 GX. It does flicker! It seems like the longer the drive, the more it flickers. I drive 1 hour and 40 minutes to work, (which sucks) towards the end of the drive, the car does get worse. KETCH: has a point, when I am at the end of my drive, and I accelerate hard, the darn lights go NUTS! Why doesn't OLDS have a recall on this?

Here is my question: If I am over my mileage, would olds cover this? It seems like a common problem or why would they have a TSB on this???

jjpowell2

Okay....I did my part and filled out the form at: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/ivoq/default.htm

Let's hope that all of us that are experiencing this defect will report it and we will get it fixed! It only takes a couple minutes but have your vehicle ID & dealer information handy.

oscarz2

Sorry, that was for jg28.

swagled

If we're militant enough, we could even keep some flyers in our cars to put under the wiper blade of any parked Intrigues we see, telling people to report headlight flicker to the NHTSA.

GM certainly has had plenty of time to fix this. We've been talking about it for over a year. Don't tell me they can't find a few Intrigues with this problem to inspect! GM just isn't taking the problem seriously.

buzzard4

I just had my '99 Intrigue (59K miles) in for new tires, and I was told the front left bearing is going bad. I realize that I should start expecting things to wear out at this mileage with an American car, but this seems a little early. Has anyone else experienced bearing problems.

dindak

I think I will wait it out and see if a better fix comes up. I have over a year left on the warranty so best not to get it fixed until the end. Then the replacement has another year on top of that.

Noticed the local dealer got a big shipment of Intrigues in this week. They have 8 in total now. I wonder if there is a "package promotion" coming in the new year?

coonhound

My wife's driver is a 2000 GX program vehicle. We had the intermediate shaft and the rack replaced due to popping noise. This was done under warranty at around 30,000 miles. The rotors have a slight warpage as there is a slight vibration during hard braking. The lights don't flicker and there is nothing but smooth power flow and a nice ride. The car had 27,000 when purchased in mid to late 2000. It had been in west Texas with a rental car company.

I have an opinion, everybody does, that the alternator problem is due to heat. The unit is rigidly mounted to the block for engine rigidity. The engine uses a 180 deg. thermostat vs 190 or 195 deg. thermostats for most cars today. The alternator could have been a consideration for the lower engine temperature.

Another opinion. Bob, being as smart as he is, probably will not drop the Oldsmobile label. There are a lot of Oldsmobile ads on TV, not Alero, Intrigue, and Bravada. Had this been done early on at introduction then dropping the name would never have been considered.

oldsman01

Got a flicker this evening, but just once and it was after a 5500 rpm jaunt on the freeway. As it has done before, several seconds after the engine speed was down(not immediately) the headlamps dimmed for a moment but did not do it again. I'm probably going to schedule a service visit sometime early in the new year and will have the alternator looked at. I'll keep everyone posted on what the dealer says and/or does. Whats so irritating is this is something so simple. It's not like it's a a major mechanical or engineering problem, just the stupid alternator. GM should start buying them from a different vendor.

wbhall

"Got a flicker this evening, but just once and it was after a 5500 rpm"

WOW.....5500 rpm's! How fast were you going? I cruise on the highway at a little over 2000 rpm's! LOL

focus

i was driving on the highway couple days ago and i heard these loud clunking noise without knowing what the problem was; when i stop i realized that the driver's side rear seat belt did not roll back in position and was stuck outside the door, the seat belt's knuckle was damaged and it made about 10+ chips on the rear wheel. I showed this to the service advisor this morning and he said they don't usually cover this problem and has to waited until monday for the service manager's opinion. Should the seat belt stuck out any longer, it might have caused serious damage and an accident as it get caught between the wheel's openings. While at the dealership, i had an oil change and that intermediate shaft lubrication; driving home now i hear little noise coming from the front console.

dindak

Much colder last night and I had no flickers. Go figure. Seems to be an intermitant problem at this point for me.

coonhound

Dindak, I done told you that it is probably a heat related problem because of the Alternator being rigidly mounted to the engine block. The exhaust manifold is shielded adjacent to the alternator, but the alternator is a heat sink for the engine block. Get a piece of duct hose and run it so as to get some ram cooling air onto the alternator, especially onto the diodes st the rear of the alternator. This is another GM experiment like the flexible drive shaft in the tempest, rear engine corvair, and the aluminum cylinders with no sleeves, I believe on the Corvair also. The converted 350 to Diesel. To name a few.

But this is progress. Where would we be if we didn't experiment and test different things!

It's just unfortunate that the poor consumer has to pay a little extra if it doesn't work out as planed. But he gets the benefit if the experimental model is a success.

jjpowell2

I can't believe it's heat related in our case. The outside temp is in mid 50's and we just drove home, a distance of 2 miles at 35 mph tops. Our headlights and dashboard lights dimmed 3 times in that short span. We can't go fast enough to bring in outside air for cooling! Good idea though...any more?

I also noticed that there are posts at BAT Auto regarding the same problem.

ketch

Well, after another drive last nite, I did in fact see the headlights flicker, alot. So did my wife, who is "less sensitive to car issues".

So it seems my car has recently caught this ailment (at just under 20k miles, 2+ years old, a dec.99 built 2000 GL).

So I experimented, and found:
[1] SO FAR, occurs here (Chicago area) when temps are below 20. Esp. bad last nite (10 degress)
[2] Only occurs miliseconds after application of the gas pedal, in drive, any spped, and not always(?)
[3] DOES NOT occur in garage/sitting, in drive (or nuetral) when trying to re-vreate by applying the gas/revs.
[4] Did see interior lites simulataneously dim, no surprise of course.

....So after lots of reading here, what I am to take away is that the TSB (new alt.) does not fix it?
Of course my dealer would say they cannot reproduce (and in fact I cannot every time as above). I assume since the voltage regulator is now in the alternators these days, that its not
working correctly to maintain constant voltage.

To me its no big deal, but do want it corrected eventually. 1 year to go on the warrantee at this point. I will add my input to the NHTSA site, and print out the tsb. For now, the car is "my friend flicka".

ketch

In my last post, I mean't that the lites flicker problem is unreproducable when sitting in PARK, and revving it.

Some here think its a heat sink effect of the alt. from the block, but then why didn't it occur in the extreme heat this past summer? Then again, if this is the cause, It possible the said heat could have damaged the alt. over time, and thus why I see the problem now. Going on a drive up to Wisconsin this coming next weekend, and may contact the dealer after I get back. Once again thanks to all here for the great input.

Anyone know the url to the tsb?

coonhound

Ketch is that an intended pun, mine did catch it?
Seriously, is the voltage regulator mounted in the alternator? I have an old 87 Chrysler Le Baron that I play with and the alternator field is controlled by the ECM and a external power module. When the ECM (computer) goes out the alternator looses the field. Needless to say I was working on the alternator when the problem was the ECM.

If the field regulator is in the alternator then the temperature could be an even bigger factor.

No one has identified the problem of potentially:
Shorted field poles?
Shorted rectifier diodes?
Sticking field brushes?
Failed voltage regulator?
Some other loose field connections?
Field windings having broken solder joints or crimp connection?

dindak

Well another night and again, no flicker. Seems to happen in the cold but tonight was the coldest night of the year (I think) and it's fine. Never saw the problem all summer/fall either. I will continue to monitor the problem, but like Ketch, I have over a year left in warranty so I'm not real concerned at this point. I don't think I will do anything myself coonhound. I'll let the mechanics at the dealership take car of it.

oldsman01

I don't think the mounting point for the alternator is the problem. Cadillac's Northstar(the 3.5's big daddy) have had their alternator and A/C compressor mounted to the block since their inception and I have not heard of any problems with their alternators causing lights to flicker. Also, many other manufacturers are mounting accessories directly to the engine block in an attempt to reduce vibration. Me thinks that the flaw lies within the alternator itself.

wbhall, probably was doing about 70 mph at that point. Mine will cruise 60 MPH just a bit over 2000 RPM, but when I'm merging into traffic and I've got the pedal nearly to the full, she really revs and this is what I was doing.

coonhound

As I said, it's just an opinion as to the cause. And it is strange that no identification of the problem has been found, and or released by GM.

My 2000 intrigue has not had this problem.

The recent post about the intermediate shaft fix, has however, required a long time to resolve. Provided it is resolved by the lubrication.

swagled

I'm skeptical about this. It sounds like a "make the problem go away until the cars are out of warranty" solution.

ketch

Wonder since the Intrigue comes out of Fairfax KS, same factory as the GP, if that car is affected by the ailment. Plan to go to the GP board and ask, but it also begs the question why other W-boies don't have this problem. Unlike some other problems, this one seems to be a common used part/number ( I assume).

Happy New Year all!