I Hate Cars!!!!!

[Jenni]

As some of you know, I have been having alternator problems on my husbands 1994 Nissan Altima. The original one went bad. We bought a used one from a junkyard, and it apparently started "overcharging". Symptoms included: extremely bright dash lights, bright headlights, strange pink horizontal lines through the LED dash clock, as well as the "battery" and "brake" idiot lights being on. We took it to a parts place and had it tested, they said "alternator is fine, but battery is bad" so we bought a new one. Within 3 weeks, battery was dead. It seems that the alternator had overheated the battery and boiled the acid out of it! SO, we bought a NEW alternator, and a new battery. Now it is doing the same thing!!! "Battery" and "brake" light either stay on, or blink off and on. They seem to come on under load, ie, when the AC kicks on, or when you are idling at a stop light. Lately though they have just been on all the time. The pink lines are back in the clock (they vary in intensoty, ie, the faster you go, the brighter they get...). Anyone have ANY suggestions? I REALLY can't afford a new wiring job, we could barely afford a $170 alternator! All wires connecting to the alternator/battery have been checked at both ends for corrosion/good connection. Someone said to take it back to the parts place and make them retest the battery and alternator on the car. Also, if it helps you to know this, the alternator is internally regulated, so no separate voltage regulator.

[lil Jimmie]

I would have the altenator rechecked sounds like the internal voltage regulator is faulty. Is this a new or rebuilt altenator? The reason I ask is because many rebuilers use cheap parts and sometime use old parts as well. If you have a voltage meter the voltage output on the altenator should be somewhere between 13.75v-14.25v with full load and voltage at the battery should be very close to the voltage output at the alternator.

[SARGE]

That's why I like old cars and trucks - regulators aren't built in to alternator, and can easily swap. Jenni, have it bench-tested (for free), or take it to good shop, who will do it for free. Only takes a minute. I once had a battery over-charging, and boy, did it bubble and smell like vinegar.

[glc]

This can be caused by a broken or corroded chassis ground. The engine must be properly grounded to the body of the car and usually there are several straps to do this.

[SARGE]

glc, good point. They are "usually" flat. Mine go from the block to firewall, but are easily seen. On newer cars (mine are early 70's), with all the junk, it/they may be hard to see.

[Jenni]

glc, I checked the one from the battery to the side of the car. I haven't noticed any others though, any ideas as to where to look for more of them?

[SARGE]

Jenni, red cable from battery goes to solenoid, and depending on auto, it's either mounted on starter or somewhere in compartment. Black (negative) connects to engine block (does on my oldies). I also have a flat cable going from block to firewall. Your mileage may vary. As you know, elec likes clean and tight connections. I had opposite problem from yours. Battery cable good at both ends but fouled in between. Several no-starts drove me crazy until found it.

[HAL9000]

I know how you feel Jenni. Although my beater wagon has been very good to me, it's the little things that tick me off. Replaced a battery and a week later bust a belt. Minor, yes, but if all goes well with the financing, I will be retiring it for a new car this week.

[Demosthenes]

One concern is the damage already done. Having a sine wave in the DC voltage will drive the solid state stuff nuts, like the clock, and the computer controls. So, even after changing the voltage regulator now- how much damage has been done to the rest of the solid state equipment by the overvoltage? Modern cars might take it better, who knows, but it is just something to think about, or worry about, depending upon your point of view.

Respectfully,

Demosthenes

[Jenni]

I also have a "beater wagon" ('87 Mercury Sable with 220,000 miles on it). Last week we put a new power steering hose on it. Then the water pump went out. But at least all is well (or as well as it can be anyway, lol) with it now.

BTW, I think the engineers that design these cars ought to be forced to spend 2 years repairing the car they designed before they are allowed to design another. Both of these cars, being FWD's, have the engine sideways, which puts all the belts, pulleys, and things like alternators and water pumps very close to the fender/wheel well. We had to take all kinds of stuff loose to get the water pump out of my car (the Sable Wagon). You had to put an extension on the socket wrench to get it on the bolts, but then the bolts were too long to come out with the extension on the wrench, we ended up playing the "loosen, no wait, tighten, ok now loosen" game. Then one of the bolts broke off. Luckily we got it out with Vice-Grips, there is no way we could have gotten a drill in there to use an Easy-Out on it. It took both of us pulling/prying to get the hose that runs from the water pump to the heater core loose, no room to get ahold of it really. Then once we got it loose, there was no way to get it out without loosening up the alternator and pivoting it out of the way. And, there is even LESS room under the hood of the Altima!!

[Demosthenes]

I am personally fond of the horizontal oil filters on Fords

Respectfully,

Demosthenes

[SARGE]

Just another reason why I have a '70 VW bug and '72 Cheyenne truck. Wifey trades for a new van every few years, 'cause I'm not as bendable as before in taking things off a sideways engine, much less the 3 spark plugs by the firewall.

[HAL9000]

Sometimes you just have to climb right on top of the motor and triple joint your arm, it's not that hard

[ylen13]

so i i'm not the only one that is having problem with my car just replaiced my alternator today but i pay only $75 for a new one.Don't know where u leave but $175 for a new alternator is a little to much.

[hackercarlos]

Jenni,

One day I was driving my 1990 VW Fox Sedan home and my timming belt tensioner broke (the whole thing ripped apart and the bearings came out) and it stated to cut into my lower timming belt cover. Lucky me I was about 1/4 mile away from home.

With the VW Fox it is front wheel drive and the engine is facing forwards (timming belt on the front). I had to remove the upper timming belt cove and I got the tensioner changed but the intermediate shaft moved because I let the belt get to slack . After that I had to remove A/C and V belts, and remove the lower timming belt cover. The space was so tight (about 1 inch from the front bumper) that I had to remove the front bumper to give me some extra space. Next I had to set the crank to TDC, the Cam to TDC mark remove the timming belt and line up the intermediate shaft with the crank shaft and reinstall the TB and re-time the ignition timming.

After all that work, everything went back on in reverse order. It was a great experience for me because I had never removed a timming belt before or timed an engine in my life. It was all done with the help from my VW Fox Service Manual from Bentley Publishers.

BTW. Took me from 2 P.M. in the day to 6 P.M.

[SARGE]

Used to have a '76 Pinto. First time timing belt broke I was on the highway. After hauling it home it took days to figure out why engine suddenly quit. Found out how lucky I was, as if it breaks at wrong revolution, ugly damage can happen to valves and pistons. Started changing the belt every 10k and never broke again. Got it down to a 1 hour job.

[hackercarlos]

Yeah SARGE, when the timming belt breaks on some cars going at highway speeds the valves get bent and the pistons get damaged because the pistons are still moving but that camshaft is not which means the valves will stay at their current possition at the time the belt breaks and they take a couple hits from the pistions. I like my Fox because it does not have an interference engine.

[Jenni]

Well, I know the Altima has a timing chain, not a belt, and we were told "don't worry about it, it ain't gonna break".

So far the Sable is running fine, with the exception of the belt fraying in one of the edges. Seems the water pump we put on it is just a hair further "out" than the original, and now the belt is frayed on the edge. Bought a new one just in case, but the old one seems to be holding...

The idiot lights are still on in the Altima. So far no other problems, just the lights on. I need to take it and make the parts place hook it up and test it, but hubby usually doesn't get home until after the place closes. I read somewhere online about a "reset" proceedure for the onboard computer, I wonder if that would help, ie, maybe the lights are "stuck" for some reason?

And glc, I found and cleaned every ground wire I saw, and the problem is still there. But, I could only find 2, the one from the battery (which also attaches to the engine itself, goes from battery to bolt into the sheet metal to a big bolt on the engine), and one from the alternator. If anyone knows if there are any more, and where, let me know and I'll check them too.

[glc]

I don't know about Nissans - but I do know that on my 87 Sable if you disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes it resets the *engine* computer. I am beginning to think that you need to cough up some $$$ and take the car to some place that has modern diagnostic equipment and have it checked out on their computer. It's gotten to that point these days - the days of "shade tree" mechanics and small independent shops are gone. A Nissan dealer or a good modern shop will relieve you of your hard-earned cash, but they WILL be able to find the problem. All they have to do is plug their $20,000 rig into the diagnostic connector on your car and get a printout and relieve you of your $75 or so.

[Jenni]

Well, if I could take it to Nissan, have them tell us what is wrong with it, and then take it somewhere else to have it fixed, that wouldn't be too bad I guess. But I hate even going to Nissan. They always tell you 15 other things are wrong with the car and badger you to let them fix it. We used to get our oil changed there. Every time they would tell us about something else that they found that was "critical that we get it fixed right away". We bought a new truck from them once, and right after we bought it, we took it to have the oil changed before we went on vacation. They told us that the truck was badly out of alignment, and that if we drove it the 1000 miles or so for our trip, we would have to buy new tires when we got back. Well, I KNOW what bad out of alignment looks and feels like, and this was total BS. We basically had to demand! that they not align the truck, and quit badgering us about it. 2 years later, when we traded the truck in (no room in it for a baby seat), we had never had it aligned, or bought tires for it.

[jotto84]

SARGE- i know someone with a cheyenne, and let me tell you... that's the best built truck i've ever seen, runs like a beast, has over 250,000 miles on it and the 4wd still works, ignore the dork in this picture, but behind him is the cheyenne truck i know, (i was doing a service project for school, and the guy we were helping has this truck)

http://www.quadville.com/merrill/merrill/dsc00343.jpg

[SARGE]

Yeah, they're a beast. Mine gags every time I pass a gas station I'll never have trouble selling it, as everywhere I go, someone wants to buy it. For $12k. they can have it.