Hi I have been having problems with my battery being drained on my 240sx, I bought a new battery, changed the alternator, and every time I jump my car it takes like 15 minutes of charging to be able to get it to start. After it starts the engine runs ok, but once I turn it off all the juice is gone, at first I thought that the alternator just wasnt charging enough so I replaced it, then I realized that the problem was something else. This is when I noticed that when I turn the keys into the on position I hear a buzzing noise, but I cant really tell exactly where it is coming from any ideas? and if not how much will it cost to have a mechanic overlook my entire electrical setup, and how much would a fix cost?
thanks for any help I really appreciate it.
'89 240sx Electrical Problems
The buzzing noise is from the starter (solonoid), it does that when the battery is low on juice, so that is normal.
So you're saying that if you have the car jump started, it'll run, but as soon as you shut it off, the battery is dead? You can't start it immediately or does it take a while to drain the battery?
If the battery is dead immediately, then you should check the connections on the positive terminal of the battery. There's the main big power wire, and two smaller connections running off it. One is for the starter, and the other is for the alternator. The alternator wire is what charges the battery. I sounds as though this wire isn't connected properly or damaged somehow. Which is causing the battery not to get charged and the car is just running off the alternator. With the car running, you should measure the voltage at the battery terminal using a multimeter.
So you're saying that if you have the car jump started, it'll run, but as soon as you shut it off, the battery is dead? You can't start it immediately or does it take a while to drain the battery?
If the battery is dead immediately, then you should check the connections on the positive terminal of the battery. There's the main big power wire, and two smaller connections running off it. One is for the starter, and the other is for the alternator. The alternator wire is what charges the battery. I sounds as though this wire isn't connected properly or damaged somehow. Which is causing the battery not to get charged and the car is just running off the alternator. With the car running, you should measure the voltage at the battery terminal using a multimeter.
your help is greatly appreicated! To answer some of your questions, Yes when the car is jumped it takes like 20 or more minutes to even get enough power to be able to start the car, then when it starts it seems to run fine, and even sometimes if I run it for a while I guess it charges the battery a little and it will start a second time, but this is rare, after this it will not start again until I jump it. About the connection on the positive and the 2 smaller wires, the positive connection is a little loose, and does not fit snuggly around the positive connection; interms of the wires, one of them is red and goes back to the firewall and then over to where the steering column is and disapears into a circular thing (?) this wire is cut off of the battery because there seems to have almost been an electrical fire before I bought the car as the wire is bubbly and melted. the other wire Im not sure about and Ill check the connections I made to the alternator since I replaced it.
Oh, I just took a look at my car, and the wire that was bubbly and melted looks to be an add on of some sort because it seems to be spliced in. I took a pair of vicegrips and put them as tight as I could and squeezed the positive ring around the positive terminal. Now that it is snug I will have somone jump it for me when I can and see if that does the trick, but I doubt it, we'll see.
P.S. I decided to check the fuse box just for the hell of it and I found that one of the 5 big things is missing, I dont know what this thing is and on the cover to my fuse box is warn down and I cant really tel lwhat it says I think it has something to do with ignition because I see ign-- and then its cut off. Im aslo missing one of the smaller ones. The big one is located at the top right of the box, and the smaller one at the bottom left(these positions are if you are infront of the car facing towards the windshield...)
P.S. I decided to check the fuse box just for the hell of it and I found that one of the 5 big things is missing, I dont know what this thing is and on the cover to my fuse box is warn down and I cant really tel lwhat it says I think it has something to do with ignition because I see ign-- and then its cut off. Im aslo missing one of the smaller ones. The big one is located at the top right of the box, and the smaller one at the bottom left(these positions are if you are infront of the car facing towards the windshield...)
the battery post repair did not fix it i assume. leave the add on wire off it could be a source of a draw. it sound to me like your battery is not taking a charge very well. 2 reasons for this would be 1 bad cell in battery which is new and shouldnt be the case. 2nd a bad connection in the charge system i.e. cables ,alt harness. is the connector to the alt FULLY pluged in? the items in the fuse block may be optional items not originally installed. the fuse blocks are universal for all 240s that year. have your new battery charged and checked.they do it for free at most part store chains. if you can,with a fully charged battery check for a draw with an ammeter. if there is more then a ½ of an amp draw you need to find the source of this draw. the test is done with everything off and the doors closed. most nissans dont have a hood light but if you happen to have one disconnect it during the test.
something is definately causing a draw off the battery, could be a bad relay stuck on, but im not too sure, you have to find what is drawing current with the car off. i havent had this problem, but maybe a good place to start is using an ameter or something else to test continuity, take out fuses and see which have current between the terminals when the car is off, one with current is where the problem lies.
thanks for the help so far, I have been working with honda tire changing manual (non hydraulic) jacks(left over from my brothers many hondas (eww) this whole time(proves that Im on a LOW LOW budget), Im about to borrow my freinds good jack, and recheck the alt connections and all. The problem is I just tried to jump it again today and it ran pretty nice but the instant I took off the positive feed to my battery (from the other car) it shut off. So this means the battery is getting no juice and my car was just running off the other car directly. Or it could mean that my battery was recieveing juice but the alt was not adding anything, therefore everythign the battery got the running car drained.
if you disconect the battery and the alternator doesn't keep the car running the it shows that you have a bad connection to the alternator or the alternator itself is bad. Take it off the car and have someone drive you to an auto zone, they'll test the alternator for free. If it's bad, simply exchange it for another one wherever you bought it.