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Engine noise, no horn, now service engine light...

3K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  cwruck05 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I posted back in Aug. about my sisters 1.8 making a noise around the alternator or the pulleys, and I received no replies, so I'm posting again. This time her horn don't work either, and now there's a service engine light. I don't know much about nissans, but does anyone have any problems with the noise and the horn? I know the light can mean many things, so I'll wait and get a scanner first. And about the noise, I'm gonna record it later and post it on here for yall to hear. Hopefully yall can help. Thanks.
 
#3 · (Edited)
ok heres the link to the file...its not as bad as it sounds in the recording but it is bad. Just listen for the grinding noise. My iriver sucks at recording voice so thats the best it can do. noise

Yeah, she bought the car new in '00. But it has over 60,000 miles on it, because she couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to stay here in MN or go back down to Okla. She made that trip I don't know how many times. About the warranty, I don't know. I'll ask her when she gets home. So where is the fuse located for the horn? So would I just need to replace the pulley?
 
#4 ·
there's a fuse box to the left of the steering column and there are 2 different ones under the hood.

if it is the idler pulley, yeah all you'd have to do is replace it. it could be the bearings in the alternator going out though, I'm not sure. the CEL is probably showing lean in one of the banks, basically a bad O2 sensor...but I'm not sure.

her best bet is to take it to a shop or the dealer.
 
#5 ·
Ok, I checked all the fuses and they are ok. So it just might be a dead horn I guess? Under the hood there is only one fuse though. The horn2 doesn't have a fuse. As far as the idler pulley, how much would it cost for a new one? Also which OBD2 scanner would you guys recommend? Thanks.
 
#7 ·
I know its free, I was just wanting one for future use, in case something else should happen. Well, I finally got some time today, so I'm gonna work on figuring out why the horns not working. I did go out and check the relay, my sis was pushing on the horn and it doesn't make a clicking noise. Well, I assume the engine should be off right? cause I couldn't hear anything with the grinding noise when the engine is on. Ok, so I assume its the relay? Also should I be checking for something in the steering wheel? I just don't want to engage the airbag or something. Thanks.
 
#8 ·
A friend of mine has a 2000 GXE also, with a simliar noise, but not as metallicy - y sounding. Could it still be the idler pully?? What potential problems could this cause besides being noisy? Probably just have her take it to the dealer, but it will be good to know first.

Thanks!

triele said:
ok heres the link to the file...its not as bad as it sounds in the recording but it is bad. Just listen for the grinding noise. My iriver sucks at recording voice so thats the best it can do. noise

Yeah, she bought the car new in '00. But it has over 60,000 miles on it, because she couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to stay here in MN or go back down to Okla. She made that trip I don't know how many times. About the warranty, I don't know. I'll ask her when she gets home. So where is the fuse located for the horn? So would I just need to replace the pulley?
 
#9 ·
Pulley noise may be easier to fix than Horn...

triele said:
..noise around the alternator or the pulleys .. horn don't work either, and now there's a service engine light..
Like others have said, probably a bad pulley bearing. If the fan belts were slipping, the noise would be intermittent and disappear at certain rpms.

The horn problem might be harder to isolate... man I had a doosy once with a Pontiac horn...

If you have a multimeter, set it to measure voltage (set to 12V or higher) then go hunting for the culprit.
-Put it across your battery terminals first to check multimeter function.
-Then maybe try headlight terminals (on/off) to get a reading.
-Then start at the horn; have someone hit horn button on steering wheel. If multimeter shows juice then it's a bad horn.
-Otherwise start moving backwards from there... try horn relay. Some relays have 2, some have 3 terminals. Then you can use ohmmeter (resistance) to rule out bad wiring or short circuits.

I once had this Pontiac Sunbird from hell... kept blowing fuses about every other day. Problem occurred when I used the Cigarette Lighter! This caused the Horn Fuse to Blow!! (?) ..but my multimeter tests above showed everything was good with Cig Lighter & Horn all the way back to battery... except for one length of wire...
..I took apart a body panel and found that a sheetmetal screw had pierced a wire! (leading to cigarette lighter). It had been this way since car was NEW from Factory! Bastards!

Anyways... g'luck. *Finding* the problem is often half the battle...

-tony22r
 
#10 ·
Man I know what the problem is, I had a similar problem myself, I was driving at highway speeds, the radio cut out, I could hear a clicking in the fuse panel, and this was AFTER I heard a buzzing/metallic grinding sound like you are describing for a week, it was the alternator failing. When the output on the alternator was low it was giving me all kinds of weird crap, check engine light, brake light, you name it, I bet the horn was getting weak if it was working at all.

Get the charging system checked, or loosen the belt on the alt, spin the pulley, and listen for excess noise. hope this helps! :cheers:
 
#11 ·
look out

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triele said:
Hey guys, I posted back in Aug. about my sisters 1.8 making a noise around the alternator or the pulleys, and I received no replies, so I'm posting again. This time her horn don't work either, and now there's a service engine light. I don't know much about nissans, but does anyone have any problems with the noise and the horn? I know the light can mean many things, so I'll wait and get a scanner first. And about the noise, I'm gonna record it later and post it on here for yall to hear. Hopefully yall can help. Thanks.
well u might be screwed like me i had a 2000 sentra 70k well taken care of no fast stuff and pow mon morning god dang rod came out my oil pan same stuff u said service light no horn and noise i have a 4 yr old junk good luck :thumbdwn:
 
#13 ·
chimmike said:
usually rods don't drop for no reason..............especially after 70k.
Yeah, true that.

Except for maybe in really cold weather. I used to live in Alberta, Canada. I've seen dumbasses try to run 100% water (no coolant), then come winter their engines crack or if they're lucky their freeze plugs blow out.
I remember one newbie used to rev the heck out of his engine on cold winter mornings before going to school, high rpms for just a few seconds, and then take off in a hurry; never let it warm up.
Then one day... thump thump thump screeeeech... his engine spun a rod bearing.
Or people who dump Slick50 or some other "miracle oil" (i forget what the other stuff is called) into their engines and gum it all up.

madatnissan said:
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well u might be screwed like me i had a 2000 sentra 70k well taken care of no fast stuff and pow mon morning god dang rod came out my oil pan same stuff u said service light no horn and noise i have a 4 yr old junk good luck :thumbdwn:
Hey madatnissan, at least now you got an excuse to yank that engine out, bore it out, and mad hotrod the heck out if it!
I read about one owner who was actually "Thankful" for a deer incident... enabling him to justify a new carbon fiber hood!
So it ain't broke man, it just has more potential now. :cool:
 
#14 · (Edited)
triele said:
Hey guys, I posted back in Aug. about my sisters 1.8 making a noise around the alternator or the pulleys, and I received no replies, so I'm posting again. This time her horn don't work either, and now there's a service engine light. I don't know much about nissans, but does anyone have any problems with the noise and the horn? I know the light can mean many things, so I'll wait and get a scanner first. And about the noise, I'm gonna record it later and post it on here for yall to hear. Hopefully yall can help. Thanks.
I have the same problem now, and it is a bearing they say. Happened to be after I went to Wal-Mart for an oil change, maybe a coincidence, but it's kinda weird, never heard the sound before I went to Wal-Mart that day. Costing me $400 to get it replaced... Do you think Wal-Mart coulda messed it up somehow? :wtf:
 
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