Weird happenings

[greggie195]

I have an 09 SL HB for 2.5 weeks now with 1400 miles and have noticed something weird and wanted to see if anyone else noticed this. Car is running and is warm. I am stopped and either turn the steering wheel all the way or push up on the window control when the window is already raised and I noticed the RPMs go all over the place, sometimes dipping below 500 and then bouncing up to 1200. Car drives great and I dont think its a problem. I am assuming it is just pulling too much power and the car compensates (or over compensates) for the draw. I had this with my 92 Maxima and with my 86 200sx but was not expecting it with a brand new car.

[Shad0wXCalibur]

I don't believe my Versa does that but it could be putting enough load on the alternator/battery to mess with the idle a little bit. The steering is electrical also. I don't know if all that is normal or not, however.

[rwanttaja]

I have noticed transients in the idle speed when turning on stuff like the rear-window defogger. The engine lugs down for a short time, then corrects back to normal.

I don't think it's an overload, just that it takes a moment for the computer to compensate for the new load and then correct for any overshoot. When turning the wheel, the engine probably has a larger current spike when the system overcomes the initial friction, then a lower power draw to keep things moving. So the engine lugs down when you start turning the wheel, and the computer then corrects for the initial draw...by which time, the steering system is drawing LESS, hence the idle speed shoots above the regular level before it comes down to normal.

Ron Wanttaja

[blacksmaru]

could be the cooling fan coming on? or maybe the ac compressor bumping up the rpms a bit... i noticed when i roll up my front windows the whole car vibrates when the windows get all the way up...

[BBISHOPPCM]

Your car sounds relatively normal - Your Maxima may have not done this, but you need to realize that a V6 engine is not as quickly affected by alternator draw as an engine half the size. If it is dropping below 500 RPM, however, that may mean your base idle should be checked and adjusted if necessary. A slight dip in engine speed is expected when large amounts of poiwer are drawn from the altenrator.

[greggie195]

Thanks for the replys everyone, I figured it was normal, just figured Id check and see if it was happening to anyone else.