Hey everyone,
I've got An enigma

I have a 2001 LX 1.7 with 310,000 on the odometer no known history but sure seems like this car kept a few autozones in business before i got ahold of it. Yesterday, i replaced valve cover gasket, spark plug seals and new nkg irridum plugs after I discovered the spark plug seals leaking

first time I've ever done any of that and this site was a big help
**((now, car runs fine (might be burning more gas than I used to) and NO CEL but the headlights and all interior lights flash quickly, rythmically with eachother sometimes to very, extremely bright.

battery has 13.7v car off ~14.3 running, with and without some loads

made sure every connection I could was tight, got the grounds on the tranny and engine a fuzz tighter and visually inspected both fuse boxes for obviously blown fuses(Will check later with meter and all the wiring harnesses had no obvious shorts anywhere

I've heard a certain high pitched, almost tinnitus like ringing sometimes from the engine bay and I've stuck some pieces of threaded rod I had down in there to try and listen and isolate the noise; the alternator could have sounded healthier but it wasn't the ring I was searching for, I have still been unable to pin point it (maybe timing tensioner pulley bearing?) I was trying to get a peak behind the upper tb cover when i noticed the plug seals were shot and the tips of the coil packs were in almost an inch of oil, so I bought all the gaskets and 4 new plugs,

and now I'm a rolling strobemobile with my headlights or dome lights. What's up with that

And would I be a horrible person for taking a ~ 300 mile road trip later today?

You need to measure how high the voltage goes with the pulsing lights, but it might be too quick for your meter to register.

Unplug the alternator 4 wire plug and see if the ring/howl noise stops.

Probably needs an alternator.
Bad regulator (inside alternator) makes the voltage pulsate rapidly. If voltage goes over about 16v the SRS warning light will turn on but there will be no codes from it.
Much above that and the battery can boil (rotten egg fumes) and light bulbs blow out.



Fix this first.
Top up the radiator.
Fill the oil and take an extra quart or two in the trunk.