sr20 240-s14 stalling only when lights are on? searched...

[BillyTheChamp]

my car seems only stall when my headlights are on.. would adding more grounds help my problem? thanks

Billy

[gumby74]

Do you perhaps have a volt meter?It may be the alternator checking out. And finally, if not already done get you the 3 main gauges. Water temp., oil pressure, and to a lesser degree, the volt meter.Each of these gauges has kept me from being stranded at least once, and prevented costly repair on more than one occasion.

[BillyTheChamp]

i dont have a volt meter.. only boost and oil pressure..

[gumby74]

Just a friendly suggestion.At any rate, you may want to pull into an auto parts store and have them hook up the current checker/meter thing. Cant think of a parts store that doesnt offer this service. Hopefully it will just be the battery or alternator and not something more expensive. Also, double check the terminals for corrosion and the straps for good contact.

[BillyTheChamp]

any other advice? the idle bogs up and down when afiter i relase the gas in the day time.. but with the lights on it stalls when the idle goes down.. help.. i hate having a unreliable car..

[adrianfromthecastle]

have you checked your alternator? is your car running rich/ lean as well?

[frankunc23]

I would agree with everyone else, sounds like a power issue. Check the alternator out and see if that is good. If it is ok, maybe you need a better battery. What kind of battery are you using right now? Also, check to see if you have a drain on the battery when the car is off. When I had gauges hooked up in my car, one of them or all of them (never did figure it out) was drawing power constantly even though I couldn't tell.

[BillyTheChamp]

hmm.. do i have to remove my alternator to have it checked? it seems that it was fine.. my battery did die previously (its a smaller miata battery).. but it was recharged.. and i can go for several days and the car still starts on the first try.. would it help if i got a bigger battery?.. it all started at first when i changed my fuel filter and punched it one night..

[180fan]

if it'll run for a couple days, for short runs, it's probably your alternator. A bigger battery would be able to run more devices, but not necessarily going to fix your situation. You're running a small battery for fmic piping huh.

yeah that's usually the way it works. At your own risk: you can also pull the - terminal on your battery to see if that kills the car. if yes, then your alternator is toast.

[vancouverbc]

are your headlights brighter with the engine on or off?

[adrianfromthecastle]

also check your ground...

[BillyTheChamp]

i'm going to have to check tommrow to see if it dies when i take the negative off, and if the lights are brighter if the car is on.. yes 180 fan im running a smaller battery for front mount intercooler piping..

Adrian_s13- i noticed that there are only 2 grounds in my engine bay.. from battery to intake manifold then the same intake manifold spot to the passenger fender.. could lack of grounds be my problem?...

is there a way to check of the alternator is going bad with the alternator still on the car? i know people say take it to auto zone, but im assuming it's when it's off the car..

If it is my alternator, i have no idea why the lights and accessories are still on when my car stalls.. possibly because of my battery? if my alternator is going bad shouldnt it drain my battery? my battery has been fine for over 3 weeks now with the same problem..when the car dies i can even restart it by, in gear letting go of the clutch method (pop starting?).. Im so confused and i dont know where to look..

every thread that talks about stalling on there mostly talks about vacuum/maf/iacv/bov recirc, but non of those should matter right if it only stalls when my lights are on..?

[180fan]

There are more grounds than just two. There's one at the firewall near the firewall to the head, the battery to the chassis, another one from the lower harness to the strut tower, another two on the engine harness to the intake manifold. Another one at the coil pack to the back of the head

shouldn't make a difference. if the headlights are on and it stalls, there's too much draw on your system and stuff's not geting enough juice to keep running.

[BillyTheChamp]

well there are just 2 grounds that i see.. all on the passengerside.. battery to the IM, then IM to the pass fender, then IM to the strut tower.. none on the driver side and none on the firewall to the head..

I'm just curious why it would start doing this since it ran semi-fine prior.. the idle was always weird but never dipped this bad..

Oh yeah.. when i first picked up this car.. i noticed that when i put on my high beams that my lowbeam for the pass side went out.. and when i checked the bulb the bulb had literally exploded.. but when i changed out the bulb i havnt had problems right after i changed out the bulb.. the problems started like i said previously.. when i changed the fuel filter and then punched it one night 3 weeks ago..

[BillyTheChamp]

update.. - tried the light test too see if it is dimmer before and after i start the car, and it with the same both with the car on and off.. the only time it dimmed was when i was cranking to turn the car on...

-pulled off the negative terminal off the battery and still ran completely the same..and left it off for about 3-5 min with the car on and lights and all accessories on..

so that means my alternator is still good right?

what can it be!! it's ticking me off..

[BillyTheChamp]

anybody?

[180fan]

take a voltmeter to the battery with your lights on.

[BillyTheChamp]

what should the volt meter read?

[vancouverbc]

Get a digital multimeter for 20 bucks. Dont mess with the cheap analog ones.Is it possible to disconnect the headlights? What happens with light switch on with no bulbs(load). If it still stalls, then i would suspect short.

what should the volt meter read?

Alternator test using volt meter:1.turn headlights on for 15-20 seconds to remove surface charge2.measure voltage across battery when engine off3.turn off all electrical loads ie wiper ,etc4.start engine and increase speed to 1500 rpm5.measure voltage across battery with engine steady at 1500 rpmthe voltage reading should be at least .5 volt higher with engine running. if voltage goes up more than 2.5 volts, alternator overcharging.You can also test with engine running with lights on at 2000 rpm. the voltage should increase at least .5 volts