When I started my car today after school, I noticed that it was kind of shaking a bit. We have the problem that a lot of others seem to have, that being the crazy idling when it starts where the RPM gauge fluctuates from 500 rpm's to like, 4000 rpm's. I just figured that this was the problem and it would go away like it usually does after you start driving. However, it did not. In addition to the shaking, the dash lights were also fading in and out, and the radio was turning off and on. I then noticed that my e-brake light and ABS lights were on. At one point while I was driving, I also noticed that my RPM gauge was going crazy, meaning it was just flying all over up to 6000 RPM'S. This didn't affect my driving though. I made it through the 20 minutes drive home, where I opened the hood and checked to see if everything seemed normal. Aside from an odd smell, everything looked OK, aside from my shaking engine. When I revved the engine, the exhaust did have a weird sound. I turned the engine off and restarted it, which it did without a problem. The next time I did that, the car had no power, the engine wouldn't even turn over. I left the car for a couple hours and tried to start it again. It started, but then died right away. My brother-in-law came to take a look at the car, and he tried to give it a boost, but it wouldn't take the charge. Am I right in thinking that my alternater is gone? And if so, I've noticed others on this forum saying that you have to remove the passenger tire to change it. Is this true? PLEASE HELP!

Sounds like maybe the alternator took a crap but it seems weird about the shaking. Are you losing any fluids or anything? Keep us posted

the lights and gauge problem is either the alternater or the comp. considering the start up and charge problem i would say alternater. the shaking engine could be a sprak plug or plug wire. I would have someone or a shop hook a scanner up to it and that should tell u. some shops will scan it for free. hope it works out for u man.

i had the alternator do the same thing on my car but without the shaking and i made it almost 15 miles but it died in the middle of now where and i was going to do the fix by my self looked up the directions to change the alternator and it involved all kinds of stuff that i didn't have the tools for so i took it to the dealer saved me all kinds of problems and headaches (execpt the bill) it took them like 6 hours to replace it.

if it wouldnt take a charge it may be something as simple as the battery has gone bad. I had the same problem guage lights flickering, engine not running right, and when i turned on the headlights the engine died. Turns out it was just the battery, but if it is the alt. thats going to be a blast b/c its a bi**h to get to. Keep us posted on whats up with it. later.

When I started my car today after school, I noticed that it was kind of shaking a bit. We have the problem that a lot of others seem to have, that being the crazy idling when it starts where the RPM gauge fluctuates from 500 rpm's to like, 4000 rpm's. I just figured that this was the problem and it would go away like it usually does after you start driving. However, it did not. In addition to the shaking, the dash lights were also fading in and out, and the radio was turning off and on. I then noticed that my e-brake light and ABS lights were on. At one point while I was driving, I also noticed that my RPM gauge was going crazy, meaning it was just flying all over up to 6000 RPM'S. This didn't affect my driving though. I made it through the 20 minutes drive home, where I opened the hood and checked to see if everything seemed normal. Aside from an odd smell, everything looked OK, aside from my shaking engine. When I revved the engine, the exhaust did have a weird sound. I turned the engine off and restarted it, which it did without a problem. The next time I did that, the car had no power, the engine wouldn't even turn over. I left the car for a couple hours and tried to start it again. It started, but then died right away. My brother-in-law came to take a look at the car, and he tried to give it a boost, but it wouldn't take the charge. Am I right in thinking that my alternater is gone? And if so, I've noticed others on this forum saying that you have to remove the passenger tire to change it. Is this true? PLEASE HELP!

it is definitely the alternator. on your particular situation the vehicle requires 13.5 volts to run everything properly(fuel injection,radio etc)... when the alternator starts to go it will not put out that 13.5 volts and gow down to maybe eleven volts. the extra 2.5 volts needed comes out of the battery and since the alternator can't heep the full charge in the battery the battery ends up dying because the electrical system is eating up all the power in the battery. when you car started to stumble and skip it is because the complete electrical system did not have enough power to run everthing like it should so only certain components were functioning propery(the fuel injection system needs a ton of power to run properly). just put in a new alternator and recharge the battery and you will be ok.... by the way i also have a 95 Z34 and i also love it(i just installed the factory steering wheel controls in it)

just checking my info. the fuel injectors run on 6 volts supplied by the ECM. The computer requires 9 volts to start and 8 volts min. to operate, and the fuel pump can pump operate normally with enough fuel pressure until it falls below 8 volts, the ignition system will start breaking down at under 10v but only at higher rpm's, and in some cases the alternator may not even excite until the engine reaches 1000-1500 rpm (sometimes) so the engine does not need 13.5 volts at all times, and will run on battery voltage until it just dies out. all the alternator does is charge the battery. all the accys run from the battery, and the volt guage on the dash reads battery voltage not alternator voltage. so if the alternator is out the battery cant magically pull voltage out of the air. the battery completes a circuit and the car will not run without the battery. you saying that the car could not be jumped off leads me to think that it could just be a battery, but without looking at it myself i cant be sure. im not saying that its not the alt., it very well could be but before i spent the money to change the alternator i would definatly look at the cheaper option first. take it up to autozone if you can get it there and have them put it on their charging system tester for free. keep us updated on whats going on maybe with a little more info we could narrow the problem down further

I had the exact same thing happen to me. and the battery with about 80k on the motor is still going strong. the alternator gave up the ghost and i had to take it to the dealer to get it replaced. This motor is bad about the alternator. First it is on the bottom side of the motor by the fire wall and it doesn't get much for cooling so it burns up pretty easy. Look back ing the archives for the same problem it plagues these cars.

my monte did the exact same thing yours is doing and it was just the alternater and a shortied out positive battery wire. after i replaced them it was fine and ran strong until i ripped the tranny out

definitely sounds like the alternator, but just to cover your butt check your battery connections. actually take them off the battery, and make sure they're clean, and that the battery isn't leaking acid. you could give the cables a tug while the battery is still hooked up. sometimes the battery leaks at the terminal and is just barely connected. if you tug on it and the cable is rotted it will tear right out of the battery.