FLO_BOY

hello all!

when I mean "stuck" i mean seizing...not spinning...getting stuck...alternator...cause the following conditions?

- poor acceleration --> RPMs dip, then surge upward...
- poor gas mileage
- shut the engine off because it simply won't turn?
- "ease up" as the car gets warmer (because the alt. wheel is warm and spinning?)


OK OK...maybe I'm spinning my wheels...but, I'm looking for some answers!

thanks all!
FLO_BOY

blizz20oma

iTrader: (1)

How long have these symptoms been lasting?

When I've seen alternators fail or read about other people's experiences on boards, the majority of them had a fairly short time between noticing symptoms and failure. When mine failed in an 85 accord, the time between any symptoms I could notice (battery light turning on, other accessories such as radio fading away and shutting off) and me being stuck on the road was about 30 minutes. That's a different car, and I've heard of longer durations before failure, but I remember you've been having trouble for a while now (don't know if it's all been the same prob tho).

If I'm not mistaken, accessories come almost last in the precedence as far as what gets power, so you could try playing some music & rolling up/down windows, turning on accessory lights, etc, when you think it might be failing. If lights are noticably dim/music sounds bad (esp if you have a system)/windows roll slowly, that could be a sign of the alt failing. Just some general suggestions though, feel free to correct me or add, etc.

shuefu

iTrader: (1)

They just had a alternator recall for the 98 SE. You might want to call Nissan and check if the 97 has the same Alternator. Maybe get it replaced for free.

padam07

iTrader: (3)

My alternator froze on my 1993 Toyota MR2 last week and this is what it did. At first start up I noticed a little squeal but didn't pay any attention to it. I then noticed that I was smelling something burning and when I turned around there was a huge amount of black smoke pouring from the engine (rear engine). I shut the car off and then started up again and it was fine. The odd thing was that I was bringing it to my friend whoo is mechanic at a Toyota Dealership so he could check something else that was wrong. Well, when I got home I noticed that I burned the belt off because it was sitting in my front yard where it was parked. The alternator was toast and cost me $350 to fix.

JAIMECBR900

That is the correct. The worst that can happen if your alternator seized up (which BTW is very rare) is the belt would break. You would definetly hear and smell the belt burning before that happened. You are not looking in the right direction to diagnose your other problems, because an alternator doesn't cause your symptoms.

Have you tried pulling the codes off the ecu? Have you checked the spark plugs for signs of problems? Have you tried changing the fuel filter? There is a ton of things that could make your car run rough, but you have to better describe your symptoms, so we can help you diagnose the problem.

FLO_BOY

I have been diagnosing this problem FOR MONTHS NOW...and still no luck.

Here's a list of what I've checked/done:

1) replaced fuel filter
2) replaced air filter
3) replaced PCV
4) cleaned throttle body
5) sanded, and re-attached ground wires (multiple times)
6) re-spliced my MAFS (which was spliced BEFORE I bought the car).
7) replaced (with a scrapped one) my MAFS.
8) replaced my coolant temp sensor.
9) changed my knock sensor

I have received the following codes:

1) mostly MAFS codes (0102)
2) TPS code
3) Intake air temp sensor

which all have one wire in common, but I can't find anything wrong
with that wire when I examined the wiring loom...

some more thoughts:

1) my RPMs will sit around 900 in neutral/park, and will drop to about 600 RPMS when I engage in gear.
2) in reverse, my car generally doesn't run smoothly...bouncy RPMs.
3) when the car is warmer, it runs better...but, not 100%
4) the problem is generally sporadic.
5) my alternator could use a load test...sometimes I notice dimming lights when before I didn't...sticking alternator? who knows...


OK...so, that's about it...I had some reasonable success when I re-spliced my MAFS back a few months ago, but, I re-did the splice to ensure that it would hold (first time, I did a "quick and dirty" job), and the car hasn't returned to normal...Oh, and when it was normal, the car had to "re-learn" to drive well --> about 3 or 4 days.

THOUGHTS??? HELP!!!

FLO_BOY

Jamsan

iTrader: (2)

try changing your spark plugs...when changing them, check if all your coil packs are ok...check to see if there is any oil on them....my friend recently had a **** load of oil in one of his cylinders, he had a leaky gasket...was causing his car to run like you were describing....fixed the leak, and its now better....

FLO_BOY

hi.

thanks for the note.
questions:

1) Coil Packs sit ON TOP of the cylinders...did the coil packs have oil on them?

2) leaky gasket? oil in the cylinders? ouch...that one hurts!

thanks,
FLO_BOY

JAIMECBR900

I would start at the spark plugs and then move to possibly emmision type problem. For example, if the spark plugs and coil packs look fine, I would check to see if my cat was clogged, if you have an intake leak, or loose/broken vaccum hoses. You would not believe how bad our cars run with a loose/broken vaccum hose somewhere. It may be as simple as that. I would check around the intake, EVAP canister, TB, etc...first since there are lots of vaccum hoses there. I would also reset the computer (you may have already done this)and see what codes (new/old) come up.

If you keep getting MAF codes and you have checked everything else, I would say that you may have break down and get a harness straight from Nissan or let them diagnose and fix the problem at the dealer.

JAIMECBR900

I would start at the spark plugs and then move to possibly emmision type problem. For example, if the spark plugs and coil packs look fine, I would check to see if my cat was clogged, if you have an intake leak, or loose/broken vaccum hoses. You would not believe how bad our cars run with a loose/broken vaccum hose somewhere. It may be as simple as that. I would check around the intake, EVAP canister, TB, etc...first since there are lots of vaccum hoses there. I would also reset the computer (you may have already done this)and see what codes (new/old) come up.

If you keep getting MAF codes and you have checked everything else, I would say that you may have break down and get a harness straight from Nissan or let them diagnose and fix the problem at the dealer.

FLO_BOY

the dealer said --
100% it's your torque convertor...and it'll cost you about $2000.
But, this is the problem, without a doubt, 100%

to which I said --
don't touch my f'ing car...I'll be by to pick it up

to which, the tranny shop I took my car to said --
I don't want to replace your torque convertor because I don't
think that it'll solve your problem, and I don't want to deal
with you saying I didn't do a good job. Take it back to the
dealer and see what they said.

...so, I don't trust dealers.
...I think I'm gonna check my plugs and coil packs.
...also, I've checked my hoses, and the seemed fine.

thanks!
FLO_BOY

shuefu

iTrader: (1)

Ok, this is what you can also do...

Nissan is offering free "Car Care Clinic" this month. They will fully inspect your car (I mean everything) for free. Since you already tried one dealer, why not try another dealer, tell them you want to get the free car clinic and see what they say. If they say the same thing, then at least you know it's not bull****.

FLO_BOY

Great idea! ...but, not in Canada
atleast, I can't find any info on it...

FLO_BOY

97MaximaSE

that was me....my valve cover gasket was leaking cause the spark plug seal fell into the engine...lots of bucking and hesitation. now i get a bucking but the rpm's dont drop and i know my pcv valve is clogged(i clean and its fine for a few days and then its back to normal again) now im just waiting for the damn nissan place to get one in for me. i had an advanced auto parts one in there and it was causing a vacuum leak which was fun

p.s. i also replaced all of my coil packs

Sprint

iTrader: (10)

how do you know you had a vacuum leak? i got mine from Autozone..

97MaximaSE

the loud whistling sound(almost like a fuel pump sound) coming from the pcv valve and when you can feel the air coming out of it...plus if oyu put your hand near it you could feel air coming out....i put old pcv valve back in and car run perfect but you can hear that the valve is stuck and has trouble opening.....county line keeps bull****ting me and its been over a week now and it hasnt come in yet

FLO_BOY

So, are you saying that a bad PCV caused a vaccuum leak?
Maybe I should replace my wal-mart brand PCV with a factory one?

thoughts on that?

Thanks!
FLO_BOY

97MaximaSE

honestly i have the same problems you were having...it was driving me nuts. I replaced everything known to man and nothing worked. One day i was coming home from school, popped my hood and heard a leak around the pcv valve and put my old clogged one back in after cleaning it. Car stalled with old one but once it started it ran smooth....never bucked and now its clogged again and nissan keeps screwing me over for a 5 dollar valve. ALso when when gasket was leaking the rpms would go down a little and come back up but when im pcv valve was being a biotch the car would just buck but the rpms would stay the same