johnjohnalmand

i've noticed since i had my alternator replaced along with the belt that i have lost a considerable amount of power, i went and had them tension it twice (this is before i knew the only person that should touch my car is me or a trusted mechanic/friend) it has a good amount of pep if you catch it in the right gear at the right time (automatic) but as you continue to lay the pedal down it keeps revving but the car doesnt respond the way it should according to the rpms. you can almost feel it catching or pulsing power like it wants to go but something is giving. now let me know where i sound dumb, most the labor ive done my self has been body and suspension so im still learning i appreciate any help.

especially if you floor it, revs really high and accelerates at a moderate speed. (obviously not all 250hp)

Quickywd01

iTrader: (16)

Sounds like slippage. Torque converter?

ac max 92

iTrader: (13)

Does sound like a transmission issue. Probably just coincidental it's happening the same time your altenator was replaced. Im sure if the altenator was no good it would stop maintaining the battery causing you to have to boost it but not sure it would cause your power loss on acceleration.

johnjohnalmand

well f'in s... i hope y'all are wrong! guess i'll have somebody look at it.

ac max 92

iTrader: (13)

Im sure tranny would be worst case senario but hopefully it's something else not so hard on the wallet. Kind of hard to say. Let us know what the diagnosis is after you get it looked at.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

scan for codes? check tranny fluid? lines leaking?? there's visual things that you can do b4 taking it in. make sure fluid is full and not burnt.

maxinout93

Check to see if you have transmission codes, tps, ect, knock sensor, my max didn't accelerate like it was sopposed to, I replaced the whole throttle body, checkd for a transmission code and had a bad revolution sensor, replaced it, and she drives like there is 190 hp now lol

johnjohnalmand

alright just by driving i can tell its not the tranny it has to be something they messed up doing the alternator. it doesnt do it consistently and when it does it tends to have an electronic sounding whistle that im guessing is coming from my speakers and when all thats happening if i turn on my headlights at high rpm my car cuts power and almost resets it seems like, the over drive off light flashes and it goes to neutral for a split second and then gets power again. it did that today and got better later after i let it sit but the lights were still flickering. and the power steering recently started leaking but other than that and oil im good on fluid. i could use a radiator flush though my bushings or grommits are bad and its spewing.... other than all that i know sensors need cleaning, so didnt really mean to go THAT into detail but now yall know what i do. thanks for the quick responses greatly appreciated

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

i can't imagine what you do, sounds like you got a whole list of things to go over to me. i still say your trans might be having an issue, scan your max.

clive

First thing to do is very simple and I do not understand why you haven't done it yet. Check the voltage at the battery! You should see 12V with the car off, and 13.8V give or take, when charging. Rev the car and the voltage must not exceed 14.2V
IF the voltage goes higher than 15V the ECU will cut power so as to avoid damage to the computer.

Herald

Excellent information. I'm saving this thread for future reference...

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

TPS issue measure it ......

98maxaholic

maybe whoever did the alt. didnt diconnect the battery when installing it and fried something when hooking the new alt up?...maybe they made some sparks before they remembered to diconnect the bat. somehow

johnjohnalmand

haha i would have if i had known! but that sounds like it could definitely be the issue, and what happens if the volts get higher than 15 and this is my problem? im assuming it would have to do with the alternator just giving the battery too much juice?

clive

If the on-charge volts rise to 15V then the alternator regulator is not doing its job and the alternator needs to be replaced. (It may be possible to repair the module in the alternator, I haven't tried that with this particular model)
Since the last thing that was done before your problem occurred was replacing the alternator, that's the first place to look for the cause.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

So what's the verdict? Excessive voltage output or what?

johnjohnalmand

i will know tomorrow, i couldnt find my volt meter so i have to go into town and get a new one. and if its this damn alternator somebody is gettin an EAR FULL tomorrow. paid over $500 when i had the work done and when the belt was squealing i took it back twice and asked about a loss of power and they chalked it up to the belt being loose....

johnjohnalmand

i will know tomorrow, i couldnt find my volt meter so i have to go into town and get a new one. and if its this damn alternator somebody is gettin an EAR FULL tomorrow. paid over $500 when i had the work done and when the belt was squealing i took it back twice and asked about a loss of power and they chalked it up to the belt being loose....

clive

Peter Cooper

oh yea

johnjohnalmand

well i just checked and its around 12.90+ off, 13.90+ running, and revving is 14.2 give or take a few. now im pretty sure i got some good readings even though i had to hold the hood with my head, rev the engine with one hand, hold the things on the batt with the other and keep my eye on the meter haha. anywhere else i should check while im at it?

johnjohnalmand

also it does this in drive not neutral. i dont know if i should have mentioned that earlier. and on super cold mornings it has to warm up or just instantly stalls the second its in drive. (although thats not a main concern it never gets that cold where i live)

clive

Cleaned the auto idle valve recently?

TravisCadello

Time for a new Tranny.... them A/T are trash.

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

mines just fine and drives perfect, thanks

johnjohnalmand

yeah last time it got looked at was when the fluids got changed and they said my transmission fluid looked really good for the cars age, and that was a few months ago ( as if i really tust "express" lube haha ) but never the less it made me feel more comfortable. and before that work it pulled so damn strong. before i decided not to sell it that was my main selling point that it ran like a bat out of hell and your wife wont be mad at you because its just a sedan!

johnjohnalmand

nope, i am over due for a deep engine/sensor cleaning mainly because of money, i know that sound dumb but even all the cans of cleaner and stuff get up there and i havent been working on cars long enough to know any tricks or shortcuts other than tooth paste to restore headlights haha. but now that im no longer out of a job im trying to get everything fixed ASAP before i find a cool part for one of my other toys i have to have.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

Only when YOU, TravisCadello, do "donuts" and neutral drops.

johnjohnalmand

neutral dropped once..... never will i drop the neutral again.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

Well this tool traviscadello hasyou tube videos of himself doing setting the parking break and burning off the front tires while dragging the rear in a donut fashion. He also dies neutral drops and yhen convinces himself that its not his fault that he has killt two ATs. Jime has the fastest maxi on the org and it happens to be AT, go figure.

johnjohnalmand

damn, i've heard of that with lunch trays but never just draggin the rear wheels around. haha

clive

Anyway it is all very well discussing neutral drops but we haven't got to the bottom of johnjohn's problem, have we?
First, I'd do the regular stuff. It isn't difficult to clean up the auto idle valve yourself, and it is quite crucial in keeping the car going at traffic lights and so on. If it needs cleaning you're probably going to have trouble with the car motor going off when you brake.
Take a couple of spark plugs out of the front bank to check their condition, if they're clapped out then plan to replace all six with NGK platinums. Definitely check the air filter, when I bought my Gen IV the filter had never been changed, it literally fell apart in my hands. One never knows if one doesn't check. Oh and the knock sensor is really, really important - if it is bad, fuel consumption and performance are badly affected.

johnjohnalmand

haha thanks man, im planning on doing a bunch of cleaning under the hood this weekend including new pads, hps hawks or something i heard were the best. and i had my spark plugs changed last by a shop and i know they used bosch and i know i shouldnt have let that happen but i was lazy to be quite honest. and i have a K&N i actually just cleaned that about a month ago. but what you said about my car cutting off while braking is pretty accurate. i know it used to stall just turning on but that was fixed when i had my injectors serviced. but ever since the last time i ran out of gass my car has been running rougher, it idles good once its warm but if you put it in drive and let it coast it kinda pulses nothing bad just short little that go along with the exhaust note. i figured its the fuel pump i ran some system cleaner and that helped a little but now its started almost dying just when im braking but once i come to a stop or the gears switch down it stays alive. its only completely died doing that twice.

sorry if some of that sounds jumbled, just started class yesterday and chemistry is .... hard.

clive

Well actually I like chemistry, especially making bangs, but never mind.
If the AIC is clogged - carbon builds up inside - the little piston thingy can't move easily. Basically the valve opens a small air passage that allows air to bleed into the TB, and so of course the ECU supplies fuel to suit, and the motor keeps running even though the load - stuff like alternator, P/S, air con etc etc - changes. But when it gets stuck up with carbon deposits, as you brake, the piston sticks, and the ECU loses control of the tickover, and the car stalls out. It is a total PITA driving the car like that because you end up ruining the starter and pissing off other drivers. I clean the auto-idle valve about every 10,000 but the gas here is not that clean.

johnjohnalmand

wow so could this be the reason when i accelerate hard or at higher rpm's and speeds it looses power?

and when i say looses power it looses power to the wheels the motor doesnt make any sputtering noises maybe pulses rpm a little. and i was goofing around the other day and got it up to about 60 and punched it so i could see if i felt anything else or heard anything else and from about 70 or 75 and up the motor seems to rev normal and sound right but my mph barley crawls and thats a problem, the few times a year i drive on the interstate i rely on my car to have the umf to get around people. but if i ease it does pretty well ( but kinda hard to ease and get the kind of power you need to accelerate at such high speeds )

johnjohnalmand

okay i made a video of my mph and rpm gauge. i basically just filmed my ride to class, i probably sound like i dont know what im talking about and if i do its because i dont know what im talking about haha. but its 15 min and im going to upload it to youtube and put a link in here so if y'all want to take 15 min to watch me woof it around in my car on the way to class and try to better understand whats wrong with my car it would be greatly appericated haha. oh and if their are kids in the room kick them out, i dont talk like a sailor but i felt it was needed to warn you.

johnjohnalmand

[QUOTE=clive;8900966]Well actually I like chemistry, especially making bangs, but never mind.
If the AIC is clogged - carbon builds up inside - the little piston thingy can't move easily. Basically the valve opens a small air passage that allows air to bleed into the TB, and so of course the ECU supplies fuel to suit, and the motor keeps running even though the load - stuff like alternator, P/S, air con etc etc - changes. But when it gets stuck up with carbon deposits, as you brake, the piston sticks, and the ECU loses control of the tickover, and the car stalls out. It is a total PITA driving the car like that because you end up ruining the starter and pissing off other drivers. I clean the auto-idle valve about every 10,000 but the gas here is not that clean

alright well the video is uploading now, so if you click on the link within the next few min it will say its processing but it should be done soon. i shortened it to like 2 min or something, so y'all let me know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFhM...ature=youtu.be

johnjohnalmand

sorry screwed up quoting you in the earlier post

video is up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFhM...ature=youtu.be

PowerTotheMax

Sounds to me like your torque converter randomly unlocking

max ride 41

iTrader: (4)

that's it, beat the $hit out the trans so it goes alltogether. torque converter is on it's way out. i went thruogh the same thing 6 years ago when mine went. sounded pretty similar to yours.