dextterity

Hey guys, been years since I've had to ask a question on here. Hope someone can help as my mechanic doesn't have a clue...

2000 Nissan Maxima. When I accelerate or even rev the engine while in park. My headlights will turn off and all my dash lights will turn on. My check engine light is the only light that consistently stays on and the only codes that are coming up are related to o2 sensors which is another situation as I can't pass emissions right now either. But there is some electrical issue going on that's really screwing with me. I can't drive at night without the worry of my lights randomly shutting off during acceleration. Sometimes it'll happen easily with not much acceleration. Other times I need to accelerate aggressively. As soon as I let off the gas or put the car in neutral. Everything is fine.

Any other details I can give you guys let me know. I tried searching to see if anyone has had a similar situation but no luck.

Thanks

TallTom

wow, that is a first I have heard of such a thing. I'm no expert, but I would look at the alternator.

clintb3astwood

iTrader: (10)

Wow, sell it.

fat_kid

iTrader: (13)

Try this...




but subscribed to see what the fix is...

00Lightsout

did you recently do anything to the bulbs, relays or fuses???

00Lightsout

did you recently do anything to the bulbs, relays or fuses???

what wattage of bulbs? maybe too hot?

fat_kid

iTrader: (13)

does the problem only occur when using/revving the engine?

have you tried bouncing the car in place to replicate the problem or by making abrupt stops?

SSJRICH

Well if the car is running properly besides this problem, I would say you have a wiring issue. probably a harness has been cut or has a short in it. I see it all the time when mice or rats get into engine bays and start chewing wires and it cause these types of problems.


What you need is a lot of time or pay somebody a lot of money to start tracing wires. I would probably look to see if some dumb *** has installed an after market alarm at some point and used the stupid splicers they give you to tap the wires, or removed an alarm and didn't repair the wires... I would look for the obvious non factory wires and maybe get lucky... If its not a wire, start checking the fuse panels for shorts or water intrusion. It doesn't say where you live, but if you are in Canada, it might be your DTRL module. They are common for failure.


G/L

Claybob86

iTrader: (3)

Perhaps you're traveling faster than the speed of light and they merely APPEAR to not be on.

SSJRICH

^^ or that

The_Fixer

iTrader: (1)

Have you checked the relay for the headlights? And check if the grounds for the harness are loose.

nismopc

iTrader: (3)

Could be alternator possibly going bad and draining power from battery ??

dextterity

Thx everyone for chiming in to brainstorm. Anything to do with aftermarket wiring would be that I have an auto starter installed as well as hid's. And the passenger one just happens to be flickering every now and then.

This issue ONLY happens when I accelerate aggressively and when I rev the engine aggressively while in park. But when I'm driving. And I have to accel fast. And all my dash lights come on. Sometimes it seems to be sensitive after that and I have to be extra light on the gas. And there are times where say I'm on the highway at highway speeds of course...and the lights don't turn off after ok done accelerating. But if I put it into neutral. They go away.

My mechanic spoke of investigating the grounds but I haven't brought it in yet for that. It's tough to bring it in knowing I'll be paying for his time when I can get it back with the same problem if he can't figure it out. And I'm not mechanically inclined enough to spend the time trying to figure it out.

But I'm gonna talk to a friend about investigating the headlights before going after the grounds.

And also my alternator is fairly new so it's unlikely that.

Thanks guys

00Lightsout

did it start happening after the auto start install?... after the alarm install?... after the HID install?

Do u leave your headlights in AUTO mode or do you have them all ON?

it seems to be connected to the TPS(throttle position sensor) & is causing such a draw past an unknown % of the throttle being open... however...

Usually auto start systems have to connect to the shift location sensor to be sure the car is in park or neutral when it attempts to start... that's where I'd have your friend start looking.

dextterity

Did not start after the hids or auto start was installed. They've been installed for quite some time. And I don't have an aftermarket alarm system.

Usually have my headlights set to on. And put ok auto during the day when I don't want them on. I'll put them in off position to test. But I don't believe it will make a difference. And I will mention to my friend about the shift location sensor. Tonight or tomorrow he's going to use a voltage meter to check things himself and see if that got past my mechanic. Rule the alternator and/or the battery out. And go from there.

00Lightsout

good plan!

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

You say it happens when you rev the engine in park as well as driving. Maybe you have a bad motor mount. The engine will "jump" under hard revving/acceleration and maybe a wire harness is getting pulled on.

dextterity

That's a posibility. Anything pretty much is. But I believe my mounts are alright. I've replaced one in the past and remember how it feels when one isn't doing it's job. But will keep that in the back of my head as this is a big mystery

Update: checked the battery with a voltage meter. While in park it's good at 14 volts. When I rev it up to the point where the headlights turn off and dash lights come on. Btw the lights inside the car get brighter as well. Forgot to note that before... It spikes to 19 volts.
I also got my friend to borrow his shops computer so we can watch the voltage as I drove and it spiked the same exact way.
Now if this really screams alternator, it's good and bad. One because it was replaced not long ago. Two because now I have to convince my mechanic that it might be bad and to hopefully get napa to replace it as that's his main supplier. And then hope that napa would do a labor claim as I shouldn't be paying for the labor to replace there bad part. That's if it's even the alternator...

omi239

Exact same thing happens to me,I have a brand new alternator from auto zone I put in early last year, one with higher output than oem. Guy at Advance auto told me to get a battery with a higher CCA because the alternator is putting out too much power and overloading the battery with no where to go. I'm guessing theoretically it's some type of fail safe that the car is going into. When he tested my battery it was around 900CCA (Diehard Gold rated at around 725 or so) And then another guy told me I got a defective alternator, which I don't think is that case. Subscribed to see your fix. I'm not doing anything about it anytime soon lol. I may see if a grounding kit may resolve the issue but other than that, it's only under hard acceleration or sitting and revving in the parking lot, either of which is avoidable and not a big deal to me...

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Alternator voltage spec is 14.1 to 14.7 - period, no asterisks, no nothing - 14.1 to 14.7. If you have an alternator that is producing 19 volts, you will be burning out the electrical components in the car, the radio, the ecu, the instrument cluster, the master power window switch. It will reduce the life of the light bulbs.

The guy at advance was hoping you were stupid enough to buy a battery.

4th gen maxi

iTrader: (1)

Put your regular bulbs back on.

This might happens/ happened to my altima when I got into a front end crash.
The connector at the bulb is not making full contact now so when you accelerate the backwards momentum makes it flicker and shut off at times

TallTom

If that battery is registering 19v, he has a bigger problem than just bulbs.

4th gen maxi

iTrader: (1)

I must of skipped that part.
yea that's something.
Could be as easy as an alternator regulator went out. But yes the current running through the electrical is already causing hell.

Youngjr_scotty

I know this thread is really old, but I'm having a similar problem.

When I accelerate or rev my engine, the passenger side fog light flickers and turns on but will turn off right when I release the pedal.

Just wanted to check if this problem was fixed and what the outcome was?

cdoublejj

check you grounds, clean them up while checking, sandpaper or what ever and ABSOLUTELY use dielectric grease, it will squish out when you tighten it. i cleaned my ground withOUT the grease and they were all rusted when i checked them again. i also added a ground strap where the 2 black grounds on the top from the of the passenger side engine are to one of the grounds behind the passenger side headlight. also you could have a broken or weak wire or even a chaffed wire in the loom. wiggle the loom with the car running and headlights on, see if it makes it flicker.

Doublearon

I got the same problem in my 2001 Acura CL type S haven't figured out what the problem is yet but it blows my high beams if I turn them on and they are halogen lights but it will not blow my low beams which are HID lights. It only does it when I rev the engine aggressively or when I'm trying to pass somebody. I was talking to a friend and he said that I need to check my alternator that my alternator is probably sending too much power to my electrical system and that's what's making all my lights come on my dash also. sure if this is going to help but I wanted to throw it out there that you're not the only one with the problem