Q: Do dimming headlights be caused by a corroded terminal?

asked by on July 10, 2017

I was driving home at night and my radio suddenly shut off then shortly after, my headlights dim and shut off and come back on, I do know I have a corroded positive terminal could that be the cause? Or could it be a bad alternator? Or a bad grounding I try turning the car on but hear it crank but won’t turn over and then hear a weird whinding noise in the end.

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Hi There, Any of the possibilities you describe may cause these types of symptoms, however the whining sound is more specifically an indication typically of a failing alternator as a result of the bearings inside the alternator beginning to fail. When the alternator is not working properly, this may result in the battery quickly losing charge and the car losing all power. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your charging system.

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