Major issues with a 92 MTX

[Anonymous]

I'm having serious issues with this car I just put a new alternator and battery and the car still sends off flickering "BATTERY' light along with a steady oil light when coming to a stop and stalls out and won't start back up right away but when driving the oil light goes away and the BATTERY light as well I never had this problem before and It's not looking good after letting it sit for a few min It started back up ...now after sitting for a 1/2 hr to 45 mins at idle white smoke comes out the tailpipes ...can anyone give me an idea of what's going on ?

 

[SHOdded]

Does the white smoke go away after a short while or does it continue on? Check the coolant & engine oil to make sure they are not contaminated. Hopefully it's not a head gasket issue.

 

[Anonymous]

Does the white smoke go away after a short while or does it continue on? Check the coolant & engine oil to make sure they are not contaminated. Hopefully it's not a head gasket issue.

yeah when sitting at idle you'll see it for a short period of time and then it goes away for a short period of time and comes back ..now while that's going on I'm getting the flickering Battery light and a steady red oil light all at the same time

 

[sperold]

Check the alternator output, it should be around 14 volts, and do a load test on your battery too.
The oil light could be the oil pressure sender at the back of the engine (or the wire to it), but it could also be low oil pressure which is a rod bearing symptom.
I would change the oil to a higher viscosity and see if the light stays out (if you are using 5W, change to 10W, generally go up a number or two)
White smoke is usually coolant being burned, but it is also usually continuous, so that is only a guess.

 

[rubydist]

changing from 5W to 10W won't do anything useful for your issue, but changing from 5W30 to 10W40 might, if it is the rod bearings being worn that is causing the flickering oil light. If you have loose rod bearings, it will clatter pretty bad at startup until the oil pressure builds up. If that is going on, you really need to stop driving it and change the rod bearings before you spin one, as these engines are prone to spin rod bearings and then you have a whole rebuild to do.

 

[Anonymous]

changing from 5W to 10W won't do anything useful for your issue, but changing from 5W30 to 10W40 might, if it is the rod bearings being worn that is causing the flickering oil light. If you have loose rod bearings, it will clatter pretty bad at startup until the oil pressure builds up. If that is going on, you really need to stop driving it and change the rod bearings before you spin one, as these engines are prone to spin rod bearings and then you have a whole rebuild to do.

when driving there's no oil light until coming to stops but the battery light still fickers a lil bit

 

[sperold]

If you have clamp - on battery terminals, take them apart and clean them well.
While you are stalling, does you climate display flicker? Could be, your car doesn't have enough juice to keep things running when you drop to an idle.

Alternators are a big issue, even when they are new/rebuilt, so do the test. There is advice on where to buy your unit (I think it is someones lifetime unit, and a lot of people have found success with having their original unit rebuilt).
When you have all your accessories on, your fan on hight, and your lighting too, is alt light brighter when you are at an idle?

My 90, which has the tiny 90 amp alternator, will have a faint alt light when all the accessories are on and the lights are on, and you are at an idle. It has been that way for years. But yours has a 120 or 130 amp alt, so it is not exactly the same.

 

[luigisho]

Aftermarket alts are prone to early failure and not operating as advertised out of the box. You have to check both the battery and the alt output.

The oil pump is mechanical so it is driven by engine rotation. If engine rpms drop below a certain level, the oil light will come on due to low pressure. This is very common at idle with a weak electrical system so you need to verify that the electrical current is strong at the battery, alt, and starter and the wiring path so enough juice gets to the rest of the cars electrical system. If there is a short somewhere or a weak component the car will run funny. Also I would look at ignition and make sure you are getting good ignition at the cylinders. If the fuel misses igniting intermittently then the exhaust gasses will reflect that.

 

[Anonymous]

Aftermarket alts are prone to early failure and not operating as advertised out of the box. You have to check both the battery and the alt output.

The oil pump is mechanical so it is driven by engine rotation. If engine rpms drop below a certain level, the oil light will come on due to low pressure. This is very common at idle with a weak electrical system so you need to verify that the electrical current is strong at the battery, alt, and starter and the wiring path so enough juice gets to the rest of the cars electrical system. If there is a short somewhere or a weak component the car will run funny. Also I would look at ignition and make sure you are getting good ignition at the cylinders. If the fuel misses igniting intermittently then the exhaust gasses will reflect that.

I had to leave the car in a nearby parking lot away from home so I'm going today to get it towed to the house and run a scanner on it

 

[Anonymous]

If you have clamp - on battery terminals, take them apart and clean them well.
While you are stalling, does you climate display flicker? Could be, your car doesn't have enough juice to keep things running when you drop to an idle.

Alternators are a big issue, even when they are new/rebuilt, so do the test. There is advice on where to buy your unit (I think it is someones lifetime unit, and a lot of people have found success with having their original unit rebuilt).
When you have all your accessories on, your fan on hight, and your lighting too, is alt light brighter when you are at an idle?

My 90, which has the tiny 90 amp alternator, will have a faint alt light when all the accessories are on and the lights are on, and you are at an idle. It has been that way for years. But yours has a 120 or 130 amp alt, so it is not exactly the same.

I haven't seen the climate display flicker just the battery light and oil light in the dash but more like the battery light flickering than anything ...the oil light comes in and out but stays on when at a stop and idle

 

[luigisho]

Bad electrical power also sets off all kinds of crazy dash lights and makes the car run weird. Been there done that. Hate tracking this stuff down.

 

[zoomlater]

I've had a brand new alternator go bad right after I started the car. I've had the best luck with Napa lifetime alternator, they last about 2 years and then you have to take them in for an exchange.

How long has the oil light been on? Did it just start after you replaced the alternator?

 

[Anonymous]

I've had a brand new alternator go bad right after I started the car. I've had the best luck with Napa lifetime alternator, they last about 2 years and then you have to take them in for an exchange.

How long has the oil light been on? Did it just start after you replaced the alternator?

actually I started seeing it after I changed the valve covers and taking it out for a test run that's when the battery light came into play

 

[Anonymous]

Bad electrical power also sets off all kinds of crazy dash lights and makes the car run weird. Been there done that. Hate tracking this stuff down.

what's a good scanner to use but not so expensive ?

 

[zoomlater]

actually I started seeing it after I changed the valve covers and taking it out for a test run that's when the battery light came into play

So you pulled the intake when you did the valve covers, I would think you have a bad ground or connection somewhere that is causing the battery light. If you are just looking for a voltage meter, Sears makes inexpensive ones. If you are asking about a code reader, you can read codes using a paperclip and counting the flashes on the dash.

Make sure all your connections are clean and tight. Then measure the voltage and let us know what its reading.

 

[luigisho]

If it was just the oil light I'd say rod bearings but the battery light makes me think electrical. As said above you can get a volt meter anywhere. There are probably you tube videos that can walk you through some probing above just reading the battery terminals before and after start to get battery voltage and voltage with alt running. If those are good then you have to look at corroded wiring -especially at the large battery connections and around the starter. Maybe a bad ground wire somewhere. Have to just start eliminating possibilities. If you're lucky it'll be battery, alt, terminals or something easier to spot.

 

[rubydist]

what's a good scanner to use but not so expensive ?

you don't need a scanner for this car - you just need a paperclip and to be able to count to ten.

 

[Anonymous]

you don't need a scanner for this car - you just need a paperclip and to be able to count to ten.

true but that's dinosaur to me I rather use a scanner and cut to the chase

 

[Anonymous]

So you pulled the intake when you did the valve covers, I would think you have a bad ground or connection somewhere that is causing the battery light. If you are just looking for a voltage meter, Sears makes inexpensive ones. If you are asking about a code reader, you can read codes using a paperclip and counting the flashes on the dash.

Make sure all your connections are clean and tight. Then measure the voltage and let us know what its reading.

Checked the voltage and all it was putting out was between high 11s and 12s

 

[luigisho]

Checked the voltage and all it was putting out was between high 11s and 12s

That was at rest or while running with alt charging? For resting battery that is sorta low, if reading is running with alt charging then you will have problems.