New member... Relay, Alternator problems with 200sx? Please help!
Hello all-
Me and my 200sx (base model, 1.6, manual trans, 102,500k) have been together about three years. This is the very first problem I've ever had... so I don't know what to think.
I was driving home from the grocery store, with my air conditioning on low. Out of the middle of nowhere, the a/c kicked on full blast, and the BRAKE and BATTERY lights on the dash lit up. None of the other lights, just those two. The radio didn't die, nor did the car run any different. I immediately turned off the a/c. Just as soon as the problem started, it stopped. I got into the parking lot of my apartment complex (about 1.5 mi) and the problem started again; vent kicking on full blast and the battery and brake lights. I sat and listened to it run, watched the temp. guage and watched the tachometer for a couple minutes, and everything seemed fine, except for those two lights and the vents on full blast. I shut off the car for about 5 minutes, and when I turned it on again the lights were off; vents were back on low. I didn't leave it on long enough to find out if the problem would kick up again.
I called my father (an ex-mechanic; now builds bridges for a living) and he said that it probably isn't the alternator, that it sounds like a relay problem. He also said that he doesn't know jack about cars newer than 1985, so I should ask around.
I have a half hour each way commute to work every day, and I'm assuming that I shouldn't drive it. Any help at all would be appreciated.
Usually that combination of warning lights is due to either a bad alternator or a bad battery. Take your car to an auto parts place like Auto Zone, and they will check the charging system for you for free.
yea, id have the charging system checked because those 2 lights often mean its the alternator. When u say the AC system goes full blast...do u mean u have it on setting 1 and it acts/feels as if it were on setting 4? also, do the lights only come on if the AC system is engaged?
yea, id have the charging system checked because those 2 lights often mean its the alternator. When u say the AC system goes full blast...do u mean u have it on setting 1 and it acts/feels as if it were on setting 4? also, do the lights only come on if the AC system is engaged?
Exactly. I'll have it on setting 1, and it acts/feels like it's on 4. When it's totally off; no a/c on off setting, it doesn't force any air out or anything though; it just remains off. My fiancee (an automotive major at the local community college) just got rid of his '97 200sx because he went through 4 alternators in a year; so he knows all about alternator failure. He's going to bring a test (I didn't even know something like that existed?) over tonight and test it to see if in fact it is the alternator.
*sigh*... Just had the brakes done last week... now this? Any ideas on how much this may cost?
Thank you all so much for all your help. It's making the stress easier to deal with. I've always said I'd rather marry a mechanic than an investment banker : )
umm, if he went through 4 alternators in a year, then chances are high the alternators were not the issue....something else was..or if anything, something was tweaking the electrical system bad enough to overwork the alternator because alternators dont just go out that short....sometimes the factory equipped alternator can outlast the car.
umm, if he went through 4 alternators in a year, then chances are high the alternators were not the issue....something else was..or if anything, something was tweaking the electrical system bad enough to overwork the alternator because alternators dont just go out that short....sometimes the factory equipped alternator can outlast the car.
Rebuilt alternators and starters don't seem to last in Nissans. You've got to bite the bullet and get factory original.
I'm sorry about my cross-posting earlier; I didn't realize it wasn't allowed. It'll never happen again, I swear! And had I been a good girl and read the rules in the beginning, I wouldn't have done it in the first place! Consider me Humbled
Thanks again for all the help. The fiancee would take it in for me tomorrow to have the electrical system checked (I work insane hours and can't do it myself), but he can't drive manual (dork!).
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