92 Q45 went nuts !

[Groundhog]

Hi Guys,Today my Q45 went nuts and I don’t know why.It started normally; I began to drive and then this:The ABS light turned on, The HICAS lights turned on, my headlights went a little dim and my power steering became stiff. All at once!

It’s a 92 Q45...about 123000 miles on her. The alternator and belts were replaced in the last year. If someone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,Groundhog

[Q451990]

Welcome to NICO! It definately sounds like a low voltage issue. Those lights coming on is typical of an alternator failure or bad battery. I would check the battery and then alternator... also you said the alternator was replaced last year. What kind of part was it (OEM, Aftermarket, used, etc) ?

Heath

[Groundhog]

Thanks Heath,I don’t know if the alternator is OEM or not…it was new though. I’ll go get a new battery and see what happens. This battery died on me about a month ago when the passenger door was left ajar over a weekend. After getting it jump started it was fine. But maybe it’s gone bad. Thanks for the heads-up. Ill let you know what happens.

Thanks Again,Groundhog

[Jesda]

Battery, alternator, MAF... all of those would make it lurch and act like it was stalling, or make it stall entirely. At the moment, I think its the battery or alternator.

[Q451990]

Groundhog,

Good plan on the battery. Automotive batteries are good at being discharged a little, and then topped off... not so good at deep cycling - that's why they make different batteries for trolling motors, etc. Hopefully a new one will cure your problems.

Heath

[Groundhog]

Installed a new battery and took a test drive. Everything is back to normal!! It appears. Wow, I was worried it might be something real bad.

Luckily the Q never stalled on me and I was able to drive back home when this happened. It was a little stiff on the handling but it got me back safely. Now with the new battery it’s back to silky smooth!

Thanks a lot Heath for steering me in the right direction....you really made my day a lot easier! Groundhog

[DrewQ45]

Not being negative, but if's the alternator, you're going to end up back in the same boat once the new battery runs down. Whoever you brought the battery from should be able to test the alternator. That alternator is a tough job....reason why I installed only OEM when I replaced mine.

Ghetto way of testing the alternator is to pull neg battery cable off while car is running...if the car shuts down immediately, it's the alternator.... do it quickly so it doesn't put too much strain on anything. That's a last ditch option.

Drew

[1990Q45'r]

Don't pull off the negative battery cable with the car running , you will fry the diodes in the alternator! Use a meter and check the voltage of the battery with the lights on and car running. It should be above 13v if charging properly.

[Q451990]

I check mine by putting a volt meter on the battery terminals before start-up... then start the car and see if the voltage goes up. It typically jumps a couple of volts. Maybe 13-14V.

Heath

[Groundhog]

That is next on my list. I really dont want this to happen again.