I just bought the car from a friend. He's had the car since 91 and he hasn't done anything to it beyond regular maintenance and repairs. As a 16 year old car it does have some quirks (like the front left turn signal needs to be wiggled into a "sweet spot" to work), but overall it's in pretty good shape.
The other morning it was a little cooler and while idling it suddenly died. I should note that the front left headlight was out right before it died and it previously had been working fine. Turning the key produced nothing, not even a click. The dash lights did come on (oil and seatbelt light specifically), but it wouldn't turn over. I know the battery was good because it was replaced about three weeks ago.
Hooked a set of jumper cables up and then even the dash lights wouldn't come on. Removed the jumper cables and checked the cables at the battery posts. I noticed that the little cluster of stuff right behind the positive battery terminal seemed loose. Gave it a squeeze and the black plastic part moved! I pushed the two pieces together as tight as I could and tried it again. This time the car started and the front left headlight was back.
Something didn't seem quite right there, but it worked an so who was I to question it, right?
Well, yesterday while driving, and on an overpass, it cut out and died on me. I pulled it over to the side of the road, popped the hood and started jiggling wires and checked that black plastic piece behind the positive battery terminal again. Everything seemed to be in place, but the positive battery cable did seem a little loose. Got a set of pliers and tightened it down as best as possible, but noticed it could still move around on the post a little. It restarted and I got to work and then home again last night without any further problems.
This morning I went out and using a ratchet managed to tighten the clamp down on the battery post so it wouldn't move at all. Then I started up the car to make sure everything still worked. It started fine, but when I put the meter on it it showed only 12.0 volts while running (before I tightened down the clamp it was showing 12.5 volts). I turned it off and it still showed 12.0 volts. I let it sit a few minutes and checked again and it was back to 12.5 volts.
So.... this morning I dropped it off at the mechanic to have them check the alternator and hopefully the cables from the battery to the alternator....
After all of that, here are my questions:
1) Do you think the alternator is the likely culprit here?2) What the heck is that little black box/plastic piece behind the positive battery terminal?3) How difficult is it to replace the alternator myself? My last two cars were a 95 Dodge Avenger and a 73 VW Bug. I did some successful work on both of those myself. The 240SX engine compartment looks much more cramped than either of those though.
Thanx!!
Modified by froggy at 11:13 AM 1/31/2007
90 240SX (Unmodified) - Changing out alternator
Re: 90 240SX (Unmodified) - alternator fine
Uhm... ok.... forget question #3.
The mechanic just called and said the alternator checked out fine. They said that as soon as they revved the engine the charging voltage bumped up to normal and held there just fine.
The battery bulb (looks more like an LED to me) on my dash is burned out and there's something about the resistance on it that's causing my charging issue.
They wanted $180 to change out the bulb and re-test. I told her thanks, but no thanks.
So, questions #1 & 2 from above are the same, but here's a new one:
What other sort of weird electrical quirks are common to the 240SX that I should prepare myself for?
Modified by froggy at 11:19 AM 1/31/2007
The mechanic just called and said the alternator checked out fine. They said that as soon as they revved the engine the charging voltage bumped up to normal and held there just fine.
The battery bulb (looks more like an LED to me) on my dash is burned out and there's something about the resistance on it that's causing my charging issue.
They wanted $180 to change out the bulb and re-test. I told her thanks, but no thanks.
So, questions #1 & 2 from above are the same, but here's a new one:
What other sort of weird electrical quirks are common to the 240SX that I should prepare myself for?
Modified by froggy at 11:19 AM 1/31/2007
Re: (180fan)
hey whats up i know this doesn have to do with electrical issues but really you have to help me out, i recently got an 89 hatch with an sr20det in it, i had problems with the idle, do you know how or where can i find the specifications for the fuel pressure? thanks
Re: (180fan)
Fair enough, 180fan. Like I said, my last car was a 73 VW bug.... that puppy had a list of quirks as long as your arm. The good news, however, was that the engine bay was open and easy to work in.
Any idea where I might track down a wiring diagram that'd help me go through the system and try to work out all of the kinks?
Safin - somewhere around here is an FAQ that covers most of the individual specs for these cars. It was pretty detailed. That might have the information you're looking for.
Any idea where I might track down a wiring diagram that'd help me go through the system and try to work out all of the kinks?
Safin - somewhere around here is an FAQ that covers most of the individual specs for these cars. It was pretty detailed. That might have the information you're looking for.
Re: 90 240SX (Unmodified) - Odd Electrical Issues (froggy)
I'm kind of talking to myself here, but figured this info might be helpful to someone else down the road.
Yesterday I spent a few hours pulling out the instrument cluster so I could change the Charge Warning Light bulb. In the end, it wasn't near as difficult as I would have expected considering the shop wanted to charge me $180 to replace a $1.55 part (that's the cost of the bulb, the holder and tax).
I got it all buttoned back up again, put the key in the ignition and - lo and behold - the Charge Warning Light still didn't come on. I jump started it using my wife''s mini-van and it started right up (so I'm pretty sure my starter's just fine), but after sitting for a couple of minutes I went to take the jumper cables off and it died as soon as I disconnected the negative lead from my 240SX.
Talk about frustrating. Here I'd taken off from work, painstakingly removed the instrument cluster and replaced the bulb that was supposed to be the source of my troubles and the battery doesn't seem to be either A) getting a charge or B) holding one or C) both!!
It was time to start troubleshooting the problem myself from ground zero. So, I pulled the battery and took it down to AutoZone for a free rapid recharge (yeah FREE stuff!). Thirty minutes or so later I was back home putting the battery back in the car to try again. In the process of tightening the battery clamps back on the posts I twisted the bolt right off (don't know my own strength I guess). It happened because I was trying to get the clamp to hold tight on the post. Could this have been the problem all along? I just didn't have a good connection between battery cable and battery terminal? Back to the parts store I went, where I got a replacement bolt and shims for the posts (who woulda thunk they actually sold battery terminal shims!?!).
Got the battery put back in the car with the cables on the posts good and tight and fired up the car again. Put my little meter on it and - lo and behold - no apparent charge. I mean I've got the battery's 12v, but nothing appearing to come from the alternator and still no Charge Warning Light. Since I had a charged battery, I decided to take the car down to the parts store to have them do a FREE alternator check. Maybe they could help me pin it down to the alternator.
The handy dandy parts store guy hooked up their little machine to the car and I once again fired it up. It only took a couple of minutes before he announced I wasn't getting a charge from the alternator. Looking at his little machine's LCD screen confirmed it:
NO OUTPUT. CHECK ALTERNATOR WIRING <<CONT>>
Great! By now it's dark and I left my flashlight at home and he couldn't find one behind the counter. Frustrated, I took the car back home.
This morning I dropped it off with the shop that diagnosed it last time. I'd called them yesterday and told them that I'd changed the bulb and that it hadn't changed anything. In fact, now I'm not getting a charge even if I rev the engine. Well, the nice mechanic shop lady said if I brought it back to them, they'd re-diagnose it for FREE (woohoo! FREE).
After posting here, I'm now convinced I can probably change out the alternator myself, so I started checking online and pricing around. While checking prices at one site in the description for the alternator was this notice:
Quote »INSTALLATION ALERT! A blown fuse in the lamp circuit may cause a "no charge" condition. Verify that battery voltage is present at the "L" terminal of the alternator plug.[/quote]
Now I have two questions:
1) Why the hell didn't someone mention this before?!?! It would seem to me that something as stupid as FUSE could be the source of my troubles..... this would have been really handy information before I got into tearing the dash apart yesterday.
2) Could someone please point out to me where the "L" terminal of the alternator plug is? I want to A) call the mechanic looking at the car and make sure they check this and B) well... there is no B really.... if the mechanic can check it and that's it I'm good to roll......
More as I get it!!
Yesterday I spent a few hours pulling out the instrument cluster so I could change the Charge Warning Light bulb. In the end, it wasn't near as difficult as I would have expected considering the shop wanted to charge me $180 to replace a $1.55 part (that's the cost of the bulb, the holder and tax).
I got it all buttoned back up again, put the key in the ignition and - lo and behold - the Charge Warning Light still didn't come on. I jump started it using my wife''s mini-van and it started right up (so I'm pretty sure my starter's just fine), but after sitting for a couple of minutes I went to take the jumper cables off and it died as soon as I disconnected the negative lead from my 240SX.
Talk about frustrating. Here I'd taken off from work, painstakingly removed the instrument cluster and replaced the bulb that was supposed to be the source of my troubles and the battery doesn't seem to be either A) getting a charge or B) holding one or C) both!!
It was time to start troubleshooting the problem myself from ground zero. So, I pulled the battery and took it down to AutoZone for a free rapid recharge (yeah FREE stuff!). Thirty minutes or so later I was back home putting the battery back in the car to try again. In the process of tightening the battery clamps back on the posts I twisted the bolt right off (don't know my own strength I guess). It happened because I was trying to get the clamp to hold tight on the post. Could this have been the problem all along? I just didn't have a good connection between battery cable and battery terminal? Back to the parts store I went, where I got a replacement bolt and shims for the posts (who woulda thunk they actually sold battery terminal shims!?!).
Got the battery put back in the car with the cables on the posts good and tight and fired up the car again. Put my little meter on it and - lo and behold - no apparent charge. I mean I've got the battery's 12v, but nothing appearing to come from the alternator and still no Charge Warning Light. Since I had a charged battery, I decided to take the car down to the parts store to have them do a FREE alternator check. Maybe they could help me pin it down to the alternator.
The handy dandy parts store guy hooked up their little machine to the car and I once again fired it up. It only took a couple of minutes before he announced I wasn't getting a charge from the alternator. Looking at his little machine's LCD screen confirmed it:
NO OUTPUT. CHECK ALTERNATOR WIRING <<CONT>>
Great! By now it's dark and I left my flashlight at home and he couldn't find one behind the counter. Frustrated, I took the car back home.
This morning I dropped it off with the shop that diagnosed it last time. I'd called them yesterday and told them that I'd changed the bulb and that it hadn't changed anything. In fact, now I'm not getting a charge even if I rev the engine. Well, the nice mechanic shop lady said if I brought it back to them, they'd re-diagnose it for FREE (woohoo! FREE).
After posting here, I'm now convinced I can probably change out the alternator myself, so I started checking online and pricing around. While checking prices at one site in the description for the alternator was this notice:
Quote »INSTALLATION ALERT! A blown fuse in the lamp circuit may cause a "no charge" condition. Verify that battery voltage is present at the "L" terminal of the alternator plug.[/quote]
Now I have two questions:
1) Why the hell didn't someone mention this before?!?! It would seem to me that something as stupid as FUSE could be the source of my troubles..... this would have been really handy information before I got into tearing the dash apart yesterday.
2) Could someone please point out to me where the "L" terminal of the alternator plug is? I want to A) call the mechanic looking at the car and make sure they check this and B) well... there is no B really.... if the mechanic can check it and that's it I'm good to roll......
More as I get it!!
Re: 90 240SX (froggy)
Why is it I don't entirely trust these guys are totally competent?
I just got a call from the shop and they're pretty insistent it's the alternator, but they can't explain why the Charge Warning Light isn't coming on. I told them what I'd found as far as the lamp circuit fuse potentially causing the problem and they tell me that the alternator is receiving voltage, it's just not putting any out.
I'm just this side of exasperated. They're working up a price to replace the alternator for me. I just don't know if I should let them do it...... I guess we'll have to see what they come back with on the price.
What do you guys think? Does it sound like replacing/rebuilding the alternator will do the trick?
I just got a call from the shop and they're pretty insistent it's the alternator, but they can't explain why the Charge Warning Light isn't coming on. I told them what I'd found as far as the lamp circuit fuse potentially causing the problem and they tell me that the alternator is receiving voltage, it's just not putting any out.
I'm just this side of exasperated. They're working up a price to replace the alternator for me. I just don't know if I should let them do it...... I guess we'll have to see what they come back with on the price.
What do you guys think? Does it sound like replacing/rebuilding the alternator will do the trick?