guys...i think i am doomed to deal with problems...forever.

ok well here we go again.... icon_evil.gif
allrigthy well a while back I had this problem (like i always do) with the car not running right at night and sometimes day. When i drive the beast at night it runs fine at first then after a while of driving it i can notice the guages gettin a little dimmer so i shrug it off and maybe its just my old eyes... but then the headlights dim....then i get mad....then about a few minutes after the dimming headlights the car would start to shake real bad and acceleration is impossible...the farther i depress the gas pedel the more it seems like its bogging down and shaking. Its like my battery went completely empty!!! The only POSSIBLE WAY of gettting my car home is to turn off the lights and ride with out the heat, rear defogger, lights, stereo..basically anything taht takes from my battery OFF. then i can drive home...when i shut it off it doesnt start again unless i switch it with a full battery or jump start it and let it run for about 15 min, if it runs with everything off it will have enough juice to start back up but i cannot use lights stereo or anything like taht again....So basically im stuck using no lights at night time on these dark european roads....

In the day time i can start it up and everything but if i use my stereo for a while it will do the same...but the stereo shuts off before the car starts to jerk around and sh*t like that. SOOOOO im left wit a situation...i took it to a shop and he said there is noting wrong with it.. the reconnected the batter and made it tighter, then switched a belt..id say a good 70 dollars worth icon_evil.gif anywho i drove it around with everything on and it worked!!!!! icon_confused.gif WTF?? then later on it happend again... about a year or so ago i had posted this problem b4 but its back now...

these are the things i have tried...
switch belts=which always worked for about a month
rebuilt alternator=worked for about 4 months
new battery=worked for 2 hours

now one thing i know for sure is that whenever this stuff happens my belt is squeekin..i use about one belt every month or two..because after a while it always squeeks! even if the mechanics put it on! and once the belt starts to squeek its almost a guarentee that the problem will happen soon...i dont understand no one can figure it out...i thought maybe i have a short soemwhere with my lights and amp or sumfin but why would it works for months at a time, sometimes???
help!!!
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All gauges right!....except the fuel.
http://members.cardomain.com/phreek_nuts

oops forgot to add that its the alternator belt taht squeeks...
and what i was thinking is that the battery is soo weak that it may not be able to supply the fuel pump with enough juice to send me the needed fuel to run the car..if so wouldnt that mean im running EXTREMELY lean!?!?!?!?!?!?!
and if that is true...then it might explain why i have another problem with my car....
DAMN THE CAUSE AND EFFECT!
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All gauges right!....except the fuel.
http://members.cardomain.com/phreek_nuts

sounds like your alternator might be dying, mine does similar things except for the battery drain and lack of acceleration. oh and i think the battery is only used when the car is off or when you start it, then the alternator takes over.
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1988 S12 Turbo.
1986 Dodge Colt Turbo. (RIP) Hatch
1987 Dodge Colt Turbo. (RIP) 4 Door
Some people call me the colt killer icon_smile.gif

Phreek it sounds like you ahave a combo of problems.

One the alternator is bad.?
Two the battery is bad.?

Or, the fact that one is bad and killing the other.

That is probably what has happened.

a bad alternator will kill a good battery and a bad battery will kill a good alternator.

It sounds like your alternator is borderline. "It barely works, just enough to keep the car running."

You may want to look elsewhere at getting a rebuilt alt.

With bad voltage the ecu is going to act like it's on drugs. Who knows what it is going to do. Wow, that sounds like a woman icon_biggrin.gif
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87 V6

Jeff

I have the almost exact same problem.
It started at the same time as it got cold ouside.Starting the car went fine and I drove for for like 1-2 min and then it started shaking and it had no power. Then I realized that if I turn of my stereo and fan the car ran good.
This is how the problems started. After having this problem for a month or so the battery started dieing. I could jump start the car drive around and the battery died over night.
The battery is like 1 year old so it's relativly new.I have stoped driving with my S12 so I havn't really looked into the problem but my guess is a bad alternator.

If the alternator is dead then the car takes it courent from the battery.The battery is around 66Amp/h. This is enough to get the startmotor roling but I'm woundering if it's enough when the lights go on, the stereo and fan.
So I'm guessing that it's just not enough power in the battery to supply enough courent to the coils so that they can make a strong spark.
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S12 ca18et -88
280zx L28 -82 (owned for 3 years but never driven it)

Do our alternators have a built in voltage regulator?

hmm i dont know if they do or not..because i was looking to get my amps increased because i WAS going to put some more amplifiers in there with some new woofers. But they said it couldnt be done...

Well see the thing is that i have had the alternator rebuilt b4 and i put it back in..then the belt started squeeking and then i had that problem again...it seems like me and zman got the same thing going on here....
well the battery might be bad about now..but im going back to the shop and i wont take "there is no problem" for an answer icon_smile.gif
but other than that any suggestions?
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All gauges right!....except the fuel.
http://members.cardomain.com/phreek_nuts

check the amps on the battery if it is on the normal side then change the alternator or rebuild it. A battery would be the least of your worries but i think it's the alternator because the belt squicks and it's slipping so power cannot be generated.
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Well i got a '87 200sx (ca18et) totally stock now and looking to move up.
I am from originally from Albania(crazy mothers i know) but i wanna a '87 car to smoke some riced up new stuff, and the good of drifting

I have the same problem with my car. One thing that i have noticed is that my fuse block has basically disinigrated and i am thinking the wiring has done the same. i did read somewhere else that the alternators on these cars are known to go out i have had the same belt problem and the only thing that fixed it was cleaning off the pulleys and getting an oem nissan belt also check the resistance on your plug wires and your coils may be a bad dist cap/rotor causing the shaking i replaced mine and the shaking went away

The voltage regulator is inside the alternator, not available, nor serviceable.

Sounds to me like either what Bullseye said. You started with a bad battery, fried your alternator or voltage regulator.

Or your alternator belt is too tight/loose.
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1987 200sx CA18ETi
1972 Dodge Charger 413ci/6.6L
1968 Mercury Cougar 289ci/4.6L ForSale
Matt Lamperd
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/brutesquad/index.html

Get a voltmeter and put it across the battrey. With the engine off you should be getting 13 volts. If it's good then the battery is ok. Next check with your engine running and you should be getting around 14.5 volts. If this checks out then the alt. is ok. The final check is to have the car running and the head lights and rear defogger on. If the voltage is the same as with just the engine running then the regulator is good. I say you are running too many amps and you drive your car too short of a distance. This means you are using more juice then you can put back. Do the above check first then let me know the results.
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86 CA18ET....owner since 1990.
The name is Bossman, but you can call me Mr. Panda.

U have to have a good voltomiter I chect my baty today and i got 19 volt charging. Then i chceked at my friends car whose alternator was almost dead and it gave the same 19 volt charging.
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ChEsTeR icon_biggrin.gif
Silvia 88 CA18ETi Nissan
http://members.cardomain.com/chester_000

kool! i will be trying all of this,
but one thing i know for sure is that whenever the problem starts occuring when the belt starts to squeek. so it could be taht its not catching...but i also heard today that when you change belts regularly becaue of it slipping like that, it can fry the alt..is it true??
and im not jokin when saying that i change belts like every month or two..and thats when i put it on or a mechanic..so i know that im not putting it on too tight or too lose so its messes up...but anyways im tired as hell because im on the night shift i work till 4:30 am so im going to bed
but i have a problem with workin on my car beacuse it gets dark here at like 4:30 pm so it sucsk ass because i usually wake up at 5:30 pm or so when i work the nigt shift so i have no daylight!!!! DAMN YOU EUROPEAN SUN!!!
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All gauges right!....except the fuel.
http://members.cardomain.com/phreek_nuts

As long as you have a roof over your head and it's not freeeeeezing then you are fine. Get some good work lamps if you need to work in the dark. When your belt squeeks it means the belt is loose and this may be due to a over worked alternator (too much drag) or the belt was loose in the first place. Since you said the belts were done right I say it's the alternator. Once you have some readings then we could narrow down your problem. You should get a reading with EVERYTHING on and see if you use more power then your alt. can handle. I know a guy who was in boom box big time and he said you'll need at least a 100 amp alternator and two batteries to go big time. It is also a good idea to sand off the glaze/built-up on the pulleys with some medium grade sandpaper (150 or 200 grit) so the belts can get a better grip. I use to get two years out of my replacement belts before I figured out that the cheap belts works best for my turbo. The ones I used to buy were made by Daytona; they don't break but they sure stretch.
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86 CA18ET....owner since 1990.
The name is Bossman, but you can call me Mr. Panda.

If you've upgraded your sound system significantly this can happen becuase you're overloading the electrial system. Think of a 600W amplifier you're proud of in the back now let's look at watt's law

Power=Voltage*amperage = P=E*I with the radio on

600=13.0*? we should all know how to solve the equation

600/13=46.15 Amps

now add in ancilaries

heater fan 10-15 amps
headlights 15-20 amps
defroster 15-25 amps
these are the big one's but there are more

this adds up to (using the low number for a lower estimate) 86 amps or slightly more than a standard 65 amp alternator (common to most cars except newer ones)

overloaded alternators fry
overloaded batteries die (deepcycling automotive batteries will kill them very quickly)
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1986 200SX turbo yeeha

A 600 Watt amplifier likely won't draw 600 watts rms - it will probably be a lot less.
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Black 85 CA18ETi

HI I had the same problem - when cruising at night for a while the car would start choking and backfiring and the lights would dim down and it would blow fuses - when i tryed to rev above about 2000 (the digital dash had died so im not sure) it would get worse and stall

I took it to my brother who is a auto electrician and he hooked it up to all his gear and 5 minutes later and a $10 belt ( the grooves on my alternator belt were worn and smoothed off and although it seemed tight it was slipping under medium load)

If you want to test this for yourself the method above is the best way - get a multimeter and set to the 20volt range and put it across the battery with the engine running, now turn the lights on high beam and get someone to rev it up and if the voltage goes down as you rev it up I think you have found your problem!

I have driven over 3000kms at night after replacing the belt and had no problems! my belt also squeaked intermittently - maybe you could try spin your alternator belt by hand to see if it is too lose / are you sure the belt and all the pulleys have no lubricants accidently spilt or leaked on them? you could take the belt off and clean all the pulleys with a rag and see if it helps.

Interesting... It sounds like the rebuilt alternator was no good since it only lasted 4 months. If I'm wrong, then you may have a short circuit or intermittent short circuit somewhere which is causing your alternator to work extra hard and that's why you fried another one. Also, some mechanic may have installed shims or washers on your alternator bolts and it's causing the belt to be aligned incorrectly. If the belt is not aligned properly then it will alternate between slipping and binding. This would also cause your alternator to go crazy since the regulator would report "not enough voltage" and crank up the alternator load accordingly until it fries.

You should also check primary wiring (all the thick wires) for good connections and your ground straps for signs of looseness or corrosion. Just one weak electrical component could cause high resistance which leads to high alternator load and.... you guessed it. Fried alternator.

Just some thoughts. Good luck, and keep us posted.
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Riyan

1993 Dodge Stealth Twin Turbo AWD >400hp weekend car
1985 200SX w/CA20E & I.R.S. >Daily Driver/Autocrosser =)

NORCAL DRIFT EVENT!
http://www.club-s12.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=56314

also make sure to check the fuse block all of the connectors on mine were disinigrating. had to rewire the entire block