Hello! New user to the boards here, but I see there's lots of help available.

I have a 2000 Expedition that is having issues with the battery indicator on the display panel. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed the indicator light would turn on if I had to floor the car. A good example is passing...when you're going 60 and have to step on it to get around. Whenever it was floored, this light would come on and then go back down when I returned into 3rd gear.

I brought it in to the dealership on Saturday and had them do an electrical system check. They returned it to me...$80 later and said "Nope, nothing's wrong with your electrical system...everything checked out". And they said they couldn't recreate the problem with the indicator. They didn't try obviously so I'm perturbed about that. But the rest of the weekend the car behaved.

Then yesterday morning, the indicator light came when I was just coasting at 30mph. But instead of staying on, it just flickered...almost like a candle. It would not go away, but come on and off at random times. Then I turned my radio on just for the heck of it and noticed that the flicker was causing interference with my FM radio.

I'm guessing this is a short in the panel perhaps? Or is this something more serious? Regardless, what am I looking at here?

 

Your alternator is the culprit. Needs to be replaced due to worn brushes.