need some help (rotor cap or alternator?)

filcchar · Feb 28th, 2008, 06:31 PM

Cheers

Well, I´m confused, I have a brand new battery (2 week's) but suddenly, tonight I had to wait some time in the car... after some minutes the fans started their work but the car lights (dashboard, headlights cabin light) go crazy ... "like on and off type" and dimming... at the same time I got some erratic idle... so I decided to mess with the distributor (advance timing) and tested the car at idle rpm for 20 minutes .... but I didn´t saw any crazy lights.... should I replace the rotor or something.

ps. sorry for the grammar but its the best I can do

BeyondBiscuits2 · Feb 28th, 2008, 07:23 PM

Your distributor should not have anything to do with your headlights or interior lights; they are all powered by your alternator. It is most likely your alternator is on it's way out. It is most likely you need a new alternator, or you need to check your fuse panel.

slo94b13 · Feb 28th, 2008, 10:02 PM

my car aslo did the same thing it was the altanator ..... while i would drive my lights and everything would dim really bad and car would sputter when i would accelerate..... easy way to tell while ur car is running take the positive connecter off your battery while car is running and see if the car dies out in about 5 mins or less ? or go get it tested .....

filcchar · Feb 29th, 2008, 09:18 AM

Thanks I´ll try that 5 minutes thing without positive connector guess if the alternator runs ok it should not kill the engine....

i r teh noobz · Feb 29th, 2008, 10:54 AM

I've been told that unhooking the battery while the car is running is not very good for the car's electronics. If you want to test the alternator by unhooking it, there should be a fuse for the alternator somewhere under the hood. You could also just unhook the wires going to the alternator to kill any loads that might be causing your engine to sputter.

bugmenot · Feb 29th, 2008, 11:24 AM

With your car running, measure the voltage from the positive battery terminal to the negative battery terminal. It should be about 14.1 volts to 14.7 volts. If it is not it is probably the alternator failing or a wiring problem such as a corroded battery terminal wire. If you do get 14.1 to 14.7 volts then turn off your car and measure the voltage again. It should be about 12 volts. If it is less than 12 volts you may have a malfunctioning battery.

filcchar · Mar 1st, 2008, 09:12 PM

well guess I´ll try the safe way... today I did not unhook the positive terminal because I the same "car mess electronics idea" but tomorrow or Monday I´ll go to some car shop in order to measure the voltage (makes sense the corroded battery terminal wire does n´t look so good)

Shehzada · Mar 10th, 2008, 06:22 PM

You're not the only one with the problem. I'm also getting dim lights while driving at night.

How hard is it to replace the ALT?

IanH · Mar 10th, 2008, 11:56 PM

its a squeeze to get it out, but you can do it from above. remove the coolant bottle and disconnect and remove mounting bolts. I loosened the fan assembly and moved sideways if I remember correctly, its been a few years.

Shehzada · Mar 11th, 2008, 07:41 PM

Thanks Ian. For the GA16DE engine (my 1993), does it matter if I get the Hitachi or the Mitsu replacement alternator? And what model years are compatible? I hear its only 1989-1994.

IanH · Mar 11th, 2008, 08:46 PM

I don't know the model year/interchangeability.
You can look this up at rockauto.com or car-part.com
If you put in your car and year in car-part.com it will only show you years/vehicles that will fit.
I just got one from Autozone for daughters 1997 200SX SER and put it in, no problems since.
dont forget you can download the Nissan FSM for free at Phatg20.net

Shehzada · Mar 11th, 2008, 10:52 PM

Thanks again.