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running into a few electrical gremlins, wierd ones

3K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Generation VII 
#1 ·
well since we got nice weather last week i decided to take my car out of storage and out on the town. only problem i had was a dead battery. after charging up the battery, it started up fine.

i drove it for like 2 days without turning on the radio. i didnt really want to turn it on because i put a big system in the car and i didnt want any loss of voltage. before my car would run with a 13.5 - 14 volts, from the voltmeter. i put the stereo on, volume up, and noticed my volts dropping down in the mid 11s. so i lowered it. i also noticed my radio turning on and off every minute or so and the lights would flicker every time i push the brakes or turn the signals on. this never happened before. also my volts would end up going back up little by little after driving the car for a while and after i shut the car on and off. today the volts are still the same.

Next problem, just about everything electrical went out on me. dash lights, wipers, parking lights, dash, turn signals, fan, clock (just light comes on where the clock it, no numbers). only thing that works are my headlights, multichecker and aftermarket guages, but the lights dont work behind them. all this happened on friday, but everthing came back a little later. after returning to my car nothing worked again the whole way to work. but leaving work they came on but went out again when i stalled. i took the car out today to see if i can figure out when this point of on/off happens. i noticed that when i kind if jerked the car when shifting, everyting came on. so i went home and turned the car off and immediately turned it on. nothing worked again.

i am thinking the alternator might be going for the first problem. i just dont understand why my volts do not go down even more if the alternator isnt working right. wouldnt the car jsut drain the battery.

i am completely dumbfounded as to the second problem. at first i thought is was a fuse, but then things wouldnt come back on. im thinking there has to be a loose connection somewhere. any ideas? has this ever happened to anyone? thanks


joshua
 
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#2 ·
well the alternator is bad. found that out today. i am still wondering why my stuff doesnt turn on though. i took it for a drive today and my electircal stuff did not turn on until i gave the car a good jerk as i shifted from 1st to 2nd. anybody?

joshua
 
#3 ·
i changed my alternator over the weekend and still its not charging the battery. i should have got my old one checked before i bought a new one. maybe i got a bad new alternator of maybe something else is the problem. anyone have any ideas???

joshua
 
#4 ·
Same thing happened last year when I fired up my 92. The stock battery had enough. I replaced it.

The year before that, the ground wire on the alternator took a crap (from turbo heat) and needed to be cleaned and replaced.

Check the connections on the alternator first, then try a diff battery.
 
#6 ·
thanks guys, i figure when day when the weather gets a little warmer ill get down and check the ground on the alternator. maybe the turbo heat might be the problem as well. will a haynes manual be good enough to check electrical diagrams. im not sure i fi should shell out the extra money and get a FSM from Nissan. thanks again.

joshua
 
#7 · (Edited)
well my car is doin kinda the same thing... my alt went bad i replaced it and everything was cool for a few weeks. it started with my radio just dying on me a few times then the whole car, lights in the dash didn't really dim or anything else act up but none of my idiot lights came on which i thought was weird since the battery was dead. how everyonce and awhile when i go to start the car it'll click then start or is just dead.
to fix in a hurry i just play with the battery terminals and it will "turn on" again. tonight it also seemed like i got shocked by my key while it was in the iginition but it may have just been from me gettin in and out to mess with the battery. i'm goin to check all my ground i'm thinkin one of the wires may be rotted under the casing. other then that i duno what else it could be any other insight would be appericated.

.................
the snap on tool said that the alt was good but wasnt making the charge to the battery, turns out the wire clamps that connect to the battery needed to be replaced... its still acting up once in a while... tomorrow were installing an optima redtop battery and a grounding kit.
 
#8 ·
well just got my car up and running again last night. replaced my front main seal and put my 3rd alternator on. when i started it up everthing was runnig fine. good voltage, about 13.8. except i have a lose alternator belt. it must have stretched out because because i raised it up as high as it could go on the bracket and it still was lose.

i drove it to my soccer game and everything was cool. when leaving the game, i decided to put my stereo face on because the car was running ok. (i didnt put it on before because i figured my system would drain all my power.) as soon as i hit the power button my volts dropped down to like 11.8. i put the volume just to here the woofer but then removed the face because i didnt want to any problems. after this my alternator did not want to charge the battery anymore. i drove home and made with dim lights.

i will remove my woofer and precision power amp that powers it. the system is giving me too many problems.

the quesiton is, is my alternator trashed now? maybe some of you guys can help me out. does a big system cause damage to your battery or alternator? i just ordered a yellow top optima battery, it should be here tomorrow and in by wednesday. ill let you guys know if this has any better results. thanks
 
#9 ·
blackb13 said:
Same thing happened last year when I fired up my 92. The stock battery had enough. I replaced it.

The year before that, the ground wire on the alternator took a crap (from turbo heat) and needed to be cleaned and replaced.

Check the connections on the alternator first, then try a diff battery.
i tried a different alternaotor with the same result. the car is still running of of the battery only. i am really stumped here and could use some help. maybe i am just looking over something very small.

i checked the connections on the alternator and cleaned them. i put a new battery in there as well. still the same. i have a trunk relocation kit, and the battery is grounded to the body. obviously that is not hte problem since the car is running off of the battery. how would i check the ground wire on the alternator. do i check for continuity? i am pretty in the dark when it comes down to wiring and checking for currents. the wire looks ok, was your noticable? did it show signs of were? i appreciate the help. today i also ripped out the stereo and disconnected all the amps from the battery. i dont want put any more load on my alternator than it needs.

joshua
 
#10 ·
Laly said:
i tried a different alternaotor with the same result. the car is still running of of the battery only. i am really stumped here and could use some help. maybe i am just looking over something very small.

i checked the connections on the alternator and cleaned them. i put a new battery in there as well. still the same. i have a trunk relocation kit, and the battery is grounded to the body. obviously that is not hte problem since the car is running off of the battery. how would i check the ground wire on the alternator. do i check for continuity? i am pretty in the dark when it comes down to wiring and checking for currents. the wire looks ok, was your noticable? did it show signs of were? i appreciate the help. today i also ripped out the stereo and disconnected all the amps from the battery. i dont want put any more load on my alternator than it needs.

joshua
What guage cable did you run up front from the battery? Are you POSITIVE the ground is ok? It doesn't sound like anything serious, just something small that may have been overlooked somewhere..
 
#11 ·
JayDubs151 said:
What gauge cable did you run up front from the battery? Are you POSITIVE the ground is ok? It doesn't sound like anything serious, just something small that may have been overlooked somewhere..
when i bought the car the relocation kit was already installed. i drove it for a few months last year with no problems at all. i even installed the amps and still had no problems. i do not think the battery ground is the problem. the car would not even start if it were. i am thinking that i am having the same problem blackb13 had when his ground cable off his alternator went out from turbo heat. i checked the cable, pulled back the tape, it looks ok. it did not see any breaks in the wire. is there a way to check the wire with a voltmeter?

someone at a audio shop i go to told me something about the ingition. he said that maybe there was no signal to the alternator to make it start charging. he said maybe a relay went bad. i dont know too much about relays or the ignition wiring. what do you think about the ignition theory?
 
#12 ·
I am having a similar problem with my 96 200sx. I was driving to work last night while my stereo kept cutting off for a few seconds and then back on and off and so forth. The lights went dim but the car still ran OK. I got alarmed and pulled into a gas station to let it sit. Then it wouldn't crank, just click when i attempted to turn it over. Got it jumped and it started up no problem. Ran fine for a few minutes in idle then I went to drive home. This time it died almost completely on the interstate. I got off safely and the accelerator lost response and lurched while I coasted to a stop. It died completely and wouldn't power any lights or anything. I let it sit while waiting for a tow truck and it slowly regained power but not enough to turn the engine. The red battery terminal looks pretty corroded and i know its an old battery.

So what I'm looking at is first checking the alt fuse, then test the alternator, test the battery and look for any bad grounds.

Sound about right?
Thanks in advance
 
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