Lost power!!

[artman540]

I drove home from work yesterday and my car ran fine. I went in my house for literally 2 minutes and came out tried to start my car, there was some weird pop sound under the dash and the car wouldn't start. All the sudden it was like my battery had 2 amps. Searched for blown fuses to contribute to the popping I heard, nothing. Thought maybe my battery is just a piece of crap so I went to jump start It. Before I could jump it, the power came back and I was able to use all my powered options but not start it. So I hooked the cars together and it started right up, BUT, now I have a CEL. I took the car to Autozone to read the codes. They tell me both my knock and cam sensors are bad. From what I've been reading, 240's don't have cam sensors only crank sensors and it won't start without a working one. Could It be that the loss of power could have caused the codes and more importantly, what could have caused the loss of power. It 100% did not seem like a dead battery, also when I had the ignition to the "ON" position, there was a ticking under the dash that started slow and sped up until it was a constant noise.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I really need some insight and I don't have the time to formulate proper paragraphs.

[kouki munster]

Look into any wiring that your car did not have when it left the factory.(radio, power to an amp, alarm, ect......) Most likely something grounded out(power shorted directly to ground) and when it did it arced (the pop you heard). When you got power back whatever wires that were touching that caused it to ground out lost contact, and the load was taken off the battery allowing it to supply voltage to everything else again. Also, a dead short across the battery (basically what happened to you) can drain a battery in a hurry and/or cause something to catch on fire, so I would figure out what it is fast so you don't risk your car burning.(also disconnect the battery when you are not using the car until you figure out what is causing the issue.)

The cel was probably caused by the "power loss" as you describe it, the only way to know is to clear the codes and see if they show up again, also the cam angle sensor is in the distributor.

[artman540]

I cleared the codes and as soon as I did, the "power loss" happened again and the codes came right back! I'm convinced now that it's the distributer. Anyone know where I can get one that doesn't involve giving a dealer $550? Also there's a knock sensor on FrSport for $99 and the description says OEM think it's the real deal? The dealer and almost everyone else wants $220 for one.

[kouki munster]

Search nico for the 97-98 fsm and use it to go through the diagnostic procedures for the cas and knock sensor. Don't just throw parts at it and hope that solves the problem most of the time when people do that they end up spending a good chunk of monies, get frustrated that they can't fix it, and then give up and take it somewhere that will charge them another good chunk of monies to fix it.

I think that I have a s14 ka dizzy, so if you confirm that yours is indeed bad let me know, and if frsport's website says its a oem part then it is going to be a oem part that you get.(I've ordered from frsport several times and they are awesome)

P.S. I would also still look into any wiring that you or one of the previous owners added, because I don't see a bad cas causing a loud pop under the dash.

[gigabit240]

Something tells me you have a bad battery connection. If theres alot of grime on the terminals take a wire brush to it and clean it of. Just clean every part of the wire connecting to the terminals and the terminal itself and you should be good to go. When you try to start a 240 with a bad connection the car auto shuts off to prevent any damage. When you wait for a bit or reset the car ( by removing the battery and then putting it back in ) the car will turn back on but still won't start. Cleaning the terminals usually fixes this. Go try it.. If that doesn't work then you need to start looking into your sensors, but i highly doubt it has anything to do with that because if it did the car wouldn't have made it to your home in the first place.

[gigabit240]

I cleared the codes and as soon as I did, the "power loss" happened again and the codes came right back! I'm convinced now that it's the distributer. Anyone know where I can get one that doesn't involve giving a dealer $550? Also there's a knock sensor on FrSport for $99 and the description says OEM think it's the real deal? The dealer and almost everyone else wants $220 for one.

Just go to a junk yard. Any distributer will work for any car as long as its wired correctly. If you need a distributor i suggest you go to your local junkyard and try to find a 90's altima because they use the ka as well and they're more common.

[kouki munster]

Just go to a junk yard. Any distributer will work for any car as long as its wired correctly. If you need a distributor i suggest you go to your local junkyard and try to find a 90's altima because they use the ka as well and they're more common.

Not exactly, fwd dizzys engage the exhaust gear differently than the rwd counter parts, and s14 dizzys have the coil built in, while the s13 uses a external coil.

[gigabit240]

Just go to a junk yard. Any distributer will work for any car as long as its wired correctly. If you need a distributor i suggest you go to your local junkyard and try to find a 90's altima because they use the ka as well and they're more common.

Not exactly, fwd dizzys engage the exhaust gear differently than the rwd counter parts, and s14 dizzys have the coil built in, while the s13 uses a external coil.

lol im a dumb a**.. for some reason i was thinking alternator and was talking about distributors . My bad! ignore that second part.

But as far as finding a distributer for you car your best bet is napa or autozone if you want a new one. If you don't care where you get it as long as it works then check the part outs in the classifieds. I'm sure you could find someone parting out one of there cars who would be more then willing to sell one to you.

[artman540]

Okay so I rethought my course of action and traced all wires both factory and aftermarket. The only thing I could find is a little corrosion on the battery terminal. There is now a new symptom as well, when I try to shift out of park, (automatic) it wont shift and I have to turn the car off and on and reapply the brake.

[gigabit240]

Okay so I rethought my course of action and traced all wires both factory and aftermarket. The only thing I could find is a little corrosion on the battery terminal. There is now a new symptom as well, when I try to shift out of park, (automatic) it wont shift and I have to turn the car off and on and reapply the brake.

well now your car starts.. your welcome.

I don't know wut your new problem is though. Auto 240's are gay.. do a 5 speed swap or get an sr

[artman540]

I'm saving for a 2JZ. SR20s are gay I'd rather turbo my KA.