oops...i broke it...again

[DubbaDooz]

hi again guys. I've got a problem here that has me stumped, maybe your collective genious can help me out. A few weeks ago now, i took my car on a trip from columbus to cleveland and my car performed flawlessly. However, on the return trip, i was not so lucky. Before i headed back to columbus, i had to go pick up a friend, i get there with no problem and shut off the car. When i go to start it back up, the engine doesn't even turn over...as if I had left the lights on all night. Luckiy, after taking a quick look under the hood, i decide the battery terminals needed cleaning, which (temporarily) solved the problem. Now, however, whenever i hit the gas more than a little bit, the car would start to buck violently and momentarily, all of my electrics shut off completely. Even worse, the car could not hold an idle. I had to push in the clutch and give it gas to keep it from stalling out. The car now sits in cleveland unable to start. My dad pulled the battery (which was very low) and had it charged. That didn't solve the problem. He says that even with the newly charged battery, even the idiot lights only come on now and then. Also, the battery, starter, ignition switch, and alternator are all under 6 months old. Oddly enough my car would NOT start one other time about 2 months ago. Thinking it was the starter, i had it replaced, only to find out that was not the issue at all. It took a mechanic over a week to find that it was a single wire between the key and the starter that had been 95% severed and was causing the problem. Sorry about how disjointed this post is...but it's just that confusing . Any suggestions?

Whoops, almost forgot to add: it's a 94 mtx

<small>[ March 02, 2003, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: DubbaDooz ]</small>

 

[Ishodu]

Check the wires down at the starter. Sounds like one of those could be loose or in bad condition. Make sure to check the ground down there why you are at it.

 

[DubbaDooz]

thanks. anyone else? I'm thinking it could be bad battery cables, would that be a possibility?

 

[heath94]

Cables could be your culprit. I had similar problems with my 76 ford truck. I kept trying to clean them then one hot summer day the old cable caused a spark and ignited the battery fumes (booom!) oh_my A cheap place to start.

 

[DubbaDooz]

hah, certainly is better than my car exploding! eek! Does anyone have a pointers on replacing these?

<small>[ March 04, 2003, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: DubbaDooz ]</small>

 

[BlackOnBlackATX]

my cables magically stranded me with no warning about a month ago now, and it even caused the car to overheat when it *was* running. i recommend you pick up a chiltons and see how to replace em, or merely trace them back before removal, maybe sketch some diagrams for yourself. good luck.

<small>[ March 04, 2003, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: BlackOnBlackATX ]</small>

 

[Ishodu]

The cables are not easy to get in or out. I would recomend getting some welding cable and all the ends you would need. It will be more flexable and handle more current.

 

[DubbaDooz]

Thanks for the replies. BlackonBlack, could you tell me a little more about any kind of symptoms you had before your cables failed you? Hah, and ishodu, i don't think i'm quite handy enough to use anything but oem parts to do any repair work...unless you wanna come help a brother out wink . Picking up a chiltons would be a good idea, regardless. Oh, another question, are the battery cables/wiring the same on an SLO as they are on the SHO? (if so, the university library might have the manual burried deep within its bowels). Thanks again for the speedy replies thumbs_u

 

[DJ SHO]

Check your grounds too. Could be bad connection to the motor or something. Might be causing the DIS module to not be getting a good ground. shrug

 

[DubbaDooz]

would anyone be able to describe where the various grounds are?

 

[Detenator]

This is probably not the cause but, try to check the tension of the alternator belt. What can happen sometimes, is that belt slips, however, the alt spins fast enough not to signal a warning light, but slow enough not to charge properly. Happened to me one time.

 

[artsho]

I had 2 alternators go bad on me...One in my mtx and the other in my atx...both times it caused every electrical component to shut down...climate control...stereo...etc....the problem is they over charge....sending to much voltage to the systems...I'd check the alternator....GOOD LUCK... thumbs_u

 

[DubbaDooz]

Detenator:
This is probably not the cause but, try to check the tension of the alternator belt. What can happen sometimes, is that belt slips, however, the alt spins fast enough not to signal a warning light, but slow enough not to charge properly. Happened to me one time.

it's funny you should mention this, that was my first guess as to what happened. Sadly, my dad went and had the battery charged and it still didn't help at all. Also, is there any way to tell whether or not the alternator is bad without just replacing it and crossing your fingers (it's brand new, but i know how long these things last on our cars )? Would a completely shot alternator ever prohibit the car from starting? Because as it sits right now, no power is even getting to the starter. Hah, i wish the car wasn't 180 miles away so i could actually go and LOOK at it Thanks again for the suggestions...keep em coming! thumbs_u

lol, anyone interested in a slightly used 94, first $3k takes it beer

<small>[ March 05, 2003, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: DubbaDooz ]</small>

 

[jasonty]

Wow! Finally somebody duplicated the same problem my car had! But my car did the same thing intermittently. It would buck like a son of a... actually, it busted my motor mount from bucking so bad. Then I put the clutch in, and it had a REALLY lopey idle. You couldn't drive it. I turned it off, and after about a minute of cranking, it finally started back up and ran fine. I had to let a mechanic take it home (this was years ago, before I started messing with cars) and he replaced the "Cam synchronization sensor" I didn't know these cars had cam sync. sensors, so maybe he was talking about the cam position sensor. Anyways that did the trick. I thought it was the CPS, but it wasn't. So that's my .02 cents. GOOD LUCK BUD!!

 

[DubbaDooz]

well ****, i have a brand new cam sensor, never opened, stilling on my dresser...180 miles away (getting ready for 60k). Yet another thing to try. Thanks for the reply...sound right to anyone else?

 

[SHOZ123]

If you have a good alternator and the battery is not shorted, with all the electrical accessories on, the battery voltage should be +14V when above 1500 rpm.

 

[DubbaDooz]

SHOZ123:
If you have a good alternator and the battery is not shorted, with all the electrical accessories on, the battery voltage should be +14V when above 1500 rpm.

i don't know the exact voltage, but my dad was told that the battery was very low when he went to get it recharged. What could cause it to lose neary all of its voltage in a matter of minutes (from the time i got on to the freeway [when the car started bucking] to the time it stalled out just five minutes later, and it hasn't been able to start since)?

<small>[ March 06, 2003, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: DubbaDooz ]</small>

 

[noSHO]

Cars require a pretty large current draw, so even a small amount of time spent solely using the battery could be enough to discharge it.

The CID (cylinder identification sensor, aka the cam sensor) identifies which cylinder is supposed to be firing when IIRC, so that is probably the reason Jason's car, and maybe yours, was bucking so much. The CKP/CPS (crankshaft position sensor) senses the position of the crankshaft in order to determine firing pattern as well. The two can have similar symptoms, but it is much more likely for the crank sensor to fail due to its location beneath a possibly leaky water pump. The bucking you described to me, along with the weird light situation, sounds more like a crank sensor or electrical problem than a CID sensor. CID failure is usually more mild and only initially felt as a hesitation. Since you're due for a 60k anyway and those are two things to be replaced, your best bet is to just see if the problem goes away after we 60k it.


Dave and the flaming-brake 92

 

[betterman]

I had a similar problem with my car. But it turned out to be a bad connection from the cable to the part that slips over the battery terminal. The cable would get jiggled around and then i would lose battery power. It even happened sometimes when the car was just sitting and I would pop the hood jiggle the cable a bit and then it would start. The idiot lights would even come on when the cable was loose but it wouldn't draw enough power to turn the starter. Also you said something about a fluctuating idle, if the ecm loses battery power for an extended period of time you have to reset the idle.

 

[DubbaDooz]

I just read the article on battery cable connector failure on SHOtimes, and determined they would, in fact, be another factor to take a look at. Can anyone recommend a GOOD set of aftermarket cables (of just confirm that the oem cables are the best way to go)? If anyone is gracious enough to supply prices or where i could find them, i'll send the a cookie. thumbs_u