Electrical Problems?

[1viadrft]

Well... I have had my Z for a whole month and finally something went wrong! I was driving down the road and I noticed when I came to a stop sign (at idle) that my car started dying on me... my RPM was bouncing up and down below idle and my lights and heater flickered on and off... but when I passed the stop sign and was driving at 4000rpm I was fine... as soon as I got to the next stop sign it happend again. Pulling onto the main street I hit a redlight and my car just completely died!!! I had help pushing the car off the road and I pulled the battery out to test it at the local AUTOZONE... the jackass there said it was too low in power to know if it was completely dead (wtf?)!!

So, I had my fiancee pick me up and she called AAA to come out and give me a jump. I figured maybe the battery was just bad and a jump would do the trick... well, the AAA guy gave me a jump and the car started right-up. As soon as he pulled his cables off my car started with the same crap again! Only this time my ABS light was on and my RPM was bouncing up to 2000 and 0 rpm all crazy like! Then it died. The AAA guy mentioned that since it raining like cats and dogs out here maybe my fan belt got wet (my fan-belt is kinda loose and squeals somtimes... I've been meaning to replace it) and since my belt is loose the ALTERNATOR may not be getting the POWER it needs to keep the car running. Does this sound right?My headlights turn on now but they are dim... same for the interior lights. Engine will not turn-over!


Anyone have any ideas? Will I have to replace my ALTERNATOR? Definately the belt.... right? Battery? Urgh... I NEED YOUR HELP! I won't have a car to get to D1GP this Saturday!!!!! Thanks in advance!

[1viadrft]

urgh... anyone?

[Zoso]

Hmmm... Altenator isnt an easy job man. Radiator out, shroud out, fan off, then try and figure out how to get it off. Im not looking forwar to doing it. But then again, anything on that car seems easy after breaking it down to bear block! Belts arent that bad. What I would do is this. Make sure your WIRING HARNESS is in good condition. Mine did this due to a bad harness. Its getting replaced this weekend when I yank the engine, its the only way to access through the firewall. $300 for harness. Altenator is going to run about $180. And that belt may run you a fine $15-20 bucks. Hit www.Courtesyparts.com to find out. Easy site to get around. Personally I think it may be the harness... If its a 90, it may be. Good luck if it is. Its a BITCH! Peace foo's

[1viadrft]

Shit.... I just got it running the other-day and it was fine after a 4hr. charge! I unplugged the positive cable from the battery and it stayed running... not the ALTERNATOR, right? Then
last-morning I turn her on and all my damn warning lights are on again! I didn't chance driving it to work! When I got home I drove the car around the block and it just completly died on me after 5min. Could it be the battery? Why would my WARNING LIGHTS BE on i.e. BRAKE, BATTERY, ABS, LIGHTS. I'm so FRUSTRATED!!!!!!

[rizzspeed]

It's the Alternator.
Actually, it's a bit easier to swap out than what Zoso stated. You can access it from underneath.
The symptoms tell you it's the alternator because of the fact that the battery will take a charge and the car is draining it. If the car doesn't run normally at low rpm, it means that the alternator isn't generating power properly.
To start, don't forget to disconnect the negative of the Battery and remove the plastic rear engine tray.
To replace the alternator, first loosen the adjustment bolt so that you can get the belt loose. Then disconnect the power output from the alternator. It will be covered by a rubber protective cover. Then remove the bolt that holds the alternator in place. You might have to remove/disassemble the sway bar to get the alternator in/out. Be careful of the A/C lines and the lower radiator hose. You wouldn't want to puncture either of those.

http://www.300zx.co.uk/cgi-bin/manua...ault&total=133

[Zoso]

Yea im a jackass... Haha. Forgot to think about getting UNDER the car. I guess im in the ABOVE state of mind right now, my engine is stripped down to hardly anything... Damn heads. Haha. Peace foo's

[solidtimh]

its probably the alternator. its actually a pretty simple procedure to replace. in fact, you can even upgrade to a maxima alternator, and go from 70 amps to 90 amps. on the other hand, make sure that there is nothing connected to any bare wires. thats what happened to me. and if its an old battery, i would suggest getting a new one (just for security). check all your belts, and tighten or even replace if necessary. and also check the fuel filter (had similar problems just yesterday, and that fixed it). when you buy a car, you should always go the full 9 yards to make sure your in the clear.