dimming lights when MAX A/C cycles
 

Hi again everyone. I just got my 2007 Outlander back from the dealership to fix an annoying problem while driving recently. The vehicle has 5483 miles on the clock and when we are on the highway at night with the A/C set to MAX cooling the cycling of the compressor appears to becausing the lights to dim momentarily.
I've been to the dealership twice already and hadone of the cooling fan motors replaced asand then the compressor/clutch assembly. Still the problem exists and I'm not sure what the heck is going on.A mechanic friend of mine seems to suspect a diode within the alternator butI just don't have a clue. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

RE: dimming lights when MAX A/C cycles
 

It could be a cooling fan drawing too many amps, theA/C compressor drawing too many amps,a low output (malfunctioning) alternator, or simply a loose or bad ground wire. When the engine is at idle (approx 750 rpm) or anywhere less than approx 1000rpm, the alternator output is minimal.While traveling on the highway (approx 1500 rpm or more) the alternator should be producingmore than enough amps to power thestereo, headlamps, windshiled wipers, interiorlamps, dvd player, turn signals, brake lamps, and the Air conditioning compressor simultaneously.

RE: dimming lights when MAX A/C cycles
 

All the Outlander have the same problem.

I dont know exactly how the system works , but something is strange.

My does exactly the same as far as I read almost in all forums this is normal for the Outlander.

Strange that a car 2007 behaves like a car of the 80s.

RE: dimming lights when MAX A/C cycles
 

Is it happening when mobile on the highway??? I've seen it do it when stopped at lights or in traffic - as most other cars do. But I have not noticed it when moving and the engine is above idle.

Then again, I have not put my AC on Max, I just have it set on auto with the climate control.

RE: dimming lights when MAX A/C cycles
 

in my 06 i dont have the dimming problem, but it is pretty loud when the ac is on

Outlander dimming lights
 

I have an 07 LS that does the same thing. Right now the car has about 31 000 miles on it and it has been dimmng it's lights like tha sinc the day I got it. One difference though, is the fact that the fan does not need to be at max nor does the A/C need to be on.
Driving down the highway, cruise control set, headlights on dim (with or without the fog lights on), radio on, fan any setting, the lights will dim appreciably at irregular intervals.
I took it to Quality Mitsu in Denver and they said his is normal? And that hey couldn't find any problem? I wrote a pretty scathing letter to the manager about this and another issue where thy damaged my one tire, but never received any reply.
Mitsubishi USA has been pretty pathtic dealing with this issue too.

Does anybody have a fix for this light issue?

its totally normal.

a heavy amperage load at idle will cause this on any car.

Manybrews, you apparently did not read the above posts carefully. If it was happening at idle only, then I wouldn't be upset about it. It is NOT happening at idle only. It's happening at driving speed with the engine rpm 2000 and above, with NO EXCESSIVE LOAD ON THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM!

taowiji, is this something that is repeatable? I wonder if you can have a passenger use a camcorder to record what happens, then take it to a dealership to show them.

while I like the outlander, you can definitely notice that some pieces of the vehicle were neglected in quality control.

ccernst, I guess that would be an option, but I am going to take it to the new dealership I have it serviced at first to see if they can do something to it.