there's some spooky stuff going on in my black car. certain dash indicator lights AND my headlights will either stay on, stay off, or flicker while the engine is running. besides the annoyance, i think it's also to blame for the lack of power that pops up sometimes. i can start it up after it's been sitting and it'll drive fine. but it seems whenever i jump on the freeway and wind it all the way up through 3rd or 4th, afterwards, it'll start to fall on its face, and the engine has shut off a couple times. it seems like it's caused by the electrical problems. it seems obvious that there's something wrong with the alternator or charging system, but the alternator is a fairly new reman and the car starts up, battery seems very healthy, all lights are bright, gauge lights are brighter than my other max, so the alternator seems to be working fine. if i unplug the harness (voltage regulator?) on the alt, the indicator lights stay off and the headlights will turn on. if it's plugged in, lights act up as i explained. anyway, i've wire brushed my grounds, battery terminals and posts, that harness fits snugly in the alternator.. i really haven't had the chance to test it more or try other fixes. seems like it should be loose wiring or maybe the drive belt?? i'd appriciate any other suggestions or input. what's confusing me the most is why the headlights go on and off.. also as the clip shows, when i turn the wheel the engine will surge a little. seems like a grounding problem...but cleaning them didn't help.. here's the video

http://media.putfile.com/hauntedmaxima

 

 

since its a Canadian Maxima it has daytime running lights which explains why they come one while the motor is running but its supposed to stay on. I know some have had problems with the module that runs them so maybe yours is messing up.


That wouldnt explain your engine problems though

 

lol nice video

when your turning the wheel its the power steering

take it to auto zone is what i would do... but your in canada idk if they have them or not (reason is fore FREE batt and alt tests)

 

I thought that a little bit of surge from the power steering would be normal my car surges but just slightly. Please tell me you have checked the power steering fluid. the pump is forcing the engine to work harder to turn the wheel

 

ahh, i didn't know about the daytime lights. am i correct about thinking the harness which plugs into the alternator is for the voltage regulator (fsm doesn't say)? if i disconnect that harness, there's no flickering or lighting up of any of the dash indicators or the headlights and all seems normal. i haven't gotten a chance to drive it around with it disconnected, but the loss of power and hesitation seemed to coincide with the flickering so i'm hoping it'll drive consistant with it unplugged. just in order to narrow my problems down to a source. if i drive with the VR disconnected, does anyone know if it'll be on a constant charge, or no charge at all? thanks for the responses, yeah i got carried away with the video production

 

Rick James' soul has taken control of your car!

 

You might also want to check where the large harness comes off the top of the rad, by the right headlamp cluster and turns down. It contains alot of wires in it, including the ones coming up from the alt, and also going to right headlight. I had a broken alt. wire where the harness bends down, that was causing all sorts of weird problems. Usually, intermittent electrical problems have to do with wiring.

 

A improperly installed or uninstalled car alarm will cause that to happen to the lights, know someone who had a old beater they literally ripped out the alarm out (was worth more than the car) and one day the horn honked couple times, car started jumped 5 feet forward stopped and caught on fire. I'd pop the lower dash off and check to see if there looks like there has been a alarm previously installed and see if they left the relays connected or if you have one check your connections and see if they haven't worked lose and are grounding or maybe your alarm module is F$%KED up. i can tell you from experience that at the harness at the steering column there is 2 wires you have to hook up so both light flash for your alarm or else you get just 1 light to flash. looks like it is your check engine and the brake light is on so that means your ALT is toast. even if it is pretty new REMAN doesn't mean that it can't go out. take it to any shop they can check it and many local AUTO parts stores can too.

the RPM dropping with the wheel isn't much of a problem i have never seen a car that it don't do it a little except for cars with no power steering. now if it causes it to die than I'd worry.

sound like either a dirty fuel filter or too much sediment in the gas tank with power being better after it has sat for a couple days or a bad relay to the fuel pump, too much or not enough resistance. but I'd still say it's probably the fuel filter or crap in the tank any local parts store can reccomend a good fuel additive. also it never hurts to run a tank of the good stuff once in a while

got to remember these are 20+ year old cars there is a ton of stuff on these cars that are from the factory and wear out at the weirdest times. so could be a burnt relay or wire

sound like you need a new ALT and/or ECU and or wiring harness but i really doubt it is all that wouldn't be surprised if it was from a old or current alarm

 

it's 2012 already? thanks for the reply, but the no, the check engine light is not on, it's getting plenty of fuel, the alt. seems to be maintaining a charge. as i said, the engine problems co-incide with the flashing of the lights. from what i was told by the previous owner, the problem persisted with a few different alternators.

i actually unplugged, replugged and wiggled each of those harness' the other day and it didn't seem to make any difference. it really does seem to be wiring or corroded terminals somewhere. i'm just going to go off of the voltage regulator harness since it seems that is the source. maybe the wires are shorting out. unfortunately i can't drive it atm until i swich insurance policies, but hopefully it'll drive great with it disconnected so i can be sure that it's causing the problems.

 

nice vid your car needs gas for one thing

 

Sucks dude. I know when I find that electrical gnome in my 92 im going to find him and give a...

 

i've had a chance to drive this sucker more. it's unpredictable. after a cold start it pulls nice and seems to drive normally, accelerate smoothly and quicker than the vg, but then just goes to ****, starts hesitating,is unresponsive, and sometimes will all the sudden kick in and go. i drove it around with the voltage regulator unplugged and eventually my battery was almost completely drained. during this time, there was constant hesitation which felt very similar, although much worse. another thing the car will do (rarely) on acceleration is cut out real quick and then jolt, which feels like a hard downshift. i've considered it could be an electrical problem, intake leak, clogged exhaust, knock sensor, ect.. man..these VEs, i dunno..

 

your driving problems (stalling, bucking, hesitation) sound to me like coil packs. That's a fairly common problem. Also, it looks like your idle surges some. That could be a cracked coil pack or a dirty IACV or dirty TB.

I think your lights might be unrelated and likely something to do with daytime running lights, but I have no idea. Seems kinda creepy.

You should check it for codes and see if anything else comes up. My car acted posessed when it had a combination of bad temp sensor ($20) and a nasty clogged up IACV.

excellent production work on the video, too. I need to learn how to do that.

 

oh, check on the pdx craigslist. there is a guy in Vancouver parting a 94 SE. Get some coil packs.

 

thanks chris, i actually grabbed all 6 coil packs when i went to part that pearl beater in tacoma. after i got the black car home, i pulled them all to check the compression and spark and I did notice a crack in at least one of the coils. i was planning on swapping the cracked one or all of them but kind of put it on the backburner and dismissed it as the source of the problem since it's not a constistant stumble and only 1 was cracked. however it does resemble the symptoms i had in my old escort when the wire boot was shorting out against the head. i'll got swap em out.

is that the blue 94? i emailed the guy asking if it was and se or a gxe. i guess i might be taking a trip up there for the alternator..

thanks again

 

i'll tell you what, i feel pretty dumb right now. you were right, all 3 front (lh) packs were cracked. i don't know how i only caught one of the cracked ones before. i replaced them with the ones i took off the tacoma car and it drove great

 

so the 3 coil packs solved the mystery?

how are the other 3 coil packs doing?

 

well they solved the mystery of why the car was running like crap. alternator/indicator light problem still exists though. all 3 right side packs were fine so i left them.

 

i think you're right, when the dash lights go on and off there's a sound like a clicking relay coming from the dash area. looking at the diagram in the fsm, the control unit is right next to those three relays parallel to the fuse box which would explain the audible clicking. too bad i don't have a spare part or the ability to find one at a junkyard to test. maybe i'll just get at it and see if i can take it apart to resolder bad joints.

 

Nice vid.. This wouldn't happen to be the black one that decided to go for a stroll out the driveway while your were grabbin a bite, would it? Definatly need a bible, not an FSM on this one

 

thanks, yeah same car. the maxima gods were looking down so the fsm is my bible

 

Sounds more like a scooby doo mistery solved problem

 

i never knew they had VE's in canada. not to sound stupid. just though it was only aviable in USA.