Weird problems.. dead battery, gauge cluster on/off, car running funny.

[DriftX]

I was leaving work and went to crank the car up, but the battery was dead dead...

I didn't leave any lights on or any accessories, i checked like 204379 times. Jumped it off and drove away when I noticed my HUD wasn't working, none of the lights were on..

I get about half way home, the car starts running weird and bogging, then all the sudden my HUD comes to full life and near blinds me and the car runs much much better.

I let it sit over night, and now the battery is dead again.

Now -

Battery is fairly newdidn't leave my lights on or anything

Any ideas?

I was thinking a bad ignition switch.. similar things with the cluster acting up and it not starting happened to my girlfriends accord.

Also.. the tumbler is very annoying and I have to play with my key to get it to roll.

[xX RB Xx]

ive had 3 89-90's and all the tumblers have had problems.

[ANVIL]

get the alternator checked. one easy way if you have a voltemeter is check the voltage of the battery while the car is running. should be about 13.9v+ if its charging properly.

if its bad you can see the voltage drop and will probablly be 11v or less.

[BMsNU]

Mine acted like that for about a day before the alternator went, it was an easy trouble shoot for me the battery was less then two weeks old, so i figured prob not that. My lights would dim and the engine seemed to miss-fire. The reason why your battery is not staying charged is everything is trying to run off of it. It is poss that both your batt and alt are going. Pull your batt run it over to the nearest autozone, pepboys, batteries plus or whatever and have it load tested... then look into the alternator. Even improper belt tension can cause the alt to not function properly.

[BMsNU]

Check your batt connectors, mine are old and stretched out and occasionally come lose, sometimes just rotating a bit they lose good contact. Once the weather warms up here I plan on replacing them before they cause a bigger problem. A off key draw could also cause a power drain on the battery but that is a more in depth testing process. If you want to know how to that testing let me know I'll dig my tech manuals out of storage.

[amolao]

get the alternator checked. one easy way if you have a voltemeter is check the voltage of the battery while the car is running. should be about 13.9v+ if its charging properly.

if its bad you can see the voltage drop and will probablly be 11v or less.

X2

[S13Joe]

i had the same problem. check the 75A fuse, its a big one. When that blows the battery wont hold a charge, mine bogged and everything and when i would come to a dead stop it would die. riiiiiight here:



If i remember right. If that fuse is bad then your best bet is to get another one from a nissan dealership because for me it was nearly impossible to find this. cost $25. good luck.

[DriftX]

well i ordered a new ignition switch since it was cheap and could use replacing.

If that doesn't fix it, ill have the alternator tested.

The car was running and driving fine the other day, should be a simple fix.

Alternator not charging (diode bridge gone)Voltage regulator not workingbattery has bad cell (doubt it)Ignition switch is inconsistent - poor voltage to circuits

Might throw the battery from my truck in there and try to drive it for a day and see whats up.

[carkook]

i had the same problem. check the 75A fuse, its a big one. When that blows the battery wont hold a charge, mine bogged and everything and when i would come to a dead stop it would die. riiiiiight here:



If i remember right. If that fuse is bad then your best bet is to get another one from a nissan dealership because for me it was nearly impossible to find this. cost $25. good luck.

x2

if you have checked your fuses yet then slap yourself

[ca18detgabby]

the alternator should be what was keeping the car running all the way home. if it didnt turn the lights on when you got into the car then you had a battery with REAL low voltage.......

jumping it and surviving the drive home on just a jump seems unlikely to me.

I would be checking my grounds(real cheap and easy. )

I would have my battery checked and the alternator anyway..... you know the battery is going to need to be charged ANYWAY now.....

gl

[DriftX]

to follow up..

Yes i did check my fuses first and fore most..checked all connections..Did a battery load test on 170 amp startup draw, battery is finewhile car is running under full load lights, defrost, radio ect on, it charges 13.3vput the new switch in last night, battery is at a solid 12.5 resting voltage and cranked right up.

99.999% sure it is now fixed.. thanks for your help!