wiper relay

Okay, so.. basically whenever the instrument light/parking lights or headlights are on, the car has a REALLY bad drain problem. instantly will drop from 12 volts to 10 or 8 volts,  it works some days without problems, other days it wont work at all, sometimes it will work for half a day and sometimes it wont, i dont even know where to begin... like  even when i tried to roll the window down (power) the voltage dropped down to 8 while the switch was active.   Brand new alternator, Brand new battery (literally, days old)

Help! Where should i start..

check yo grounds.

sam31183 on 07:34:40 AM / 08-Nov-10check yo grounds.

do you guys know specifically where the grounds are on the body, ill give the main grounds a check see in the engine bay for sure

pull em and wire brush them....anything you can find that mounts to the chassis really.

I did a cheap-0 ebay grounding kit and it fixed some odd electrical issues on my S12. Its common for all the grounds coming off the battery to be nasty. I remember the one under the battery was really bad.

Thanks for the advice, i didnt have time today, but tomorrow ill check it out forsure

i let you guys know that a 240sx internal parts work on a 200sx one    the only difference between both motor is the base and the red wire is a female pin on a 240sx just switch it to a male one

-rotor
-electronic card where the brush are
-cover  both cover fit the black one and the one with the connecter on it

i try to fix my motor because i was thinking it was the problem but that's the time control unit located in the right (passenger) kick panel

Well it raining. I need to plug in my relay but I can't find the plug.
I have the relay but where the f is this thing

your relay is unplugged?

is there one? The wiper amplifier is that grey box behind the driver side headlamp and the wiring diagram makes it seems like the relay, if there is one, is right in that area- ill update if i find anything else

Yeah its a grey box with 7 pins.

so i take it you got everything in order?

The wiring harness diagram calls it a relay but the electrical section calls it a wiper amplifier - i had my fender off so i just tucked it back in there to clean things up actually. relay vs. amplifier - this caused a good conversation at my house @ 2am Smiley

okay so i replaced the main grounds i could find (bat to frame and frame to int mani bracket) and still no hope,  i found out today even with the lights off while the engine is under load the battery drains  but when at idle it kinda sits okay.. ish with the occational bump (very slight bump) of the factory volt meter, could it possibly be the wire from alt to battery having a very shitty connection? or possibly a ruined over time fusible link? im so lost and irritated with this  it literally ran fine a month ago with no problems, then all of a sudden it just started happening, brand new battery, brand new alternator,  is there anywhere i should check with a volt meter to insure proper volt output? say... from the terminal on the alternator?

Roll over to one of your favorite parts stores and ask them to check your alt and battery. Your battery should be 12.6, and your alt should be giving about 15. I had one once that put out 16.9, but most are 15.

Where are you getting your volt reading from? Does it seem like somthings wrong, or the gauge just says so?

If that doesn't awnser anything, I'm guessing your going to have to get the FSM, a multi-meter, hopefully a buddy to help, and spend some time isolating the problem. Kinda sucks, I know. Mines terrible to.

I wish my car would make the sound the Millenium Falcon made, when Han would smack components to get them to work, when I pound on my digi-dash to get it to light up.

im getting my volt reading from the factory volt meter, it literally drops from 12 to 8 after a short time of driving and turning the lights on and stuff, its got to be a shitty connection from alt to battery or something im getting a multi meter tomorrow to check it out  and yes the car starts bucking and spitting when the voltage drops to 8

There isn't truly a way that the  system voltage can drop below the battery voltage without disconnecting it OR adding in a huge resistance, but the battery will still show it's voltage the same.

Check the voltage across batt terminals with car on/off.. should be 12.6 and 14.4 respectively.

Check the voltage at the alt relative to chassis ground, should be the SAME AS THE BATT.. If it is not and you've got say 14.4 at the alt when on, and <14.4 at the batt then this signals a resistance in the primary alternator cable (B+ terminal).

Since the lights "and stuff" are likely all on the accessories circuit I would check the corresponding fusible link, that means pulling each of the links and checking for continuity. The resistance of these links should be near zero, and if it is not then they have blown but are not visible to the naked eye.

-Dan

Thanks dan, where exactly are all the fusible links... im having a hell of a time finding the wiring diagram for the car.. i must be retarded  im sure this wouldnt be as big of an issue if i could find it

anyway, i check just now... on the positive terminal, there are 4 wires, the thick wire, the less thick white wire, and the 2 small wires.. when the 2 small wires touch batt voltage drops by 1 whole volt..

Those two small wires going into your alternator control the regulator, they run through the alternator light and need a resistance inline with them in order to function. Basically, by shorting them you are telling the regulator to stop charging since it sees full voltage all of a sudden (and zero resisitance).. Needless to say - they are likely not the issue.

The fusible links are located under a rectangular black plastic cap near the battery on the front passenger corner. The cap pops off and there are 4 looped wires, check for damage, and check for resistance.. They pop out with plastic connectors at their bases.

-Dan

One way that i look for drains is often quick and easy. turn off all accessories, lights and close the doors so that there should be no power usage in your car. Disconnect the ground wire from your battery, Take a digital multimeter and touch one lead to the battery ground and the other lead to the ground cable itself. if you have a drain happening it will show some amount of voltage. If you do have a drain get a friend to pull out the fuses one at a time till you find out what your problem is.

Hope this helps you out.

Prolowtone on 01:34:32 AM / 18-Nov-10One way that i look for drains is often quick and easy. turn off all accessories, lights and close the doors so that there should be no power usage in your car. Disconnect the ground wire from your battery, Take a digital multimeter and touch one lead to the battery ground and the other lead to the ground cable itself. if you have a drain happening it will show some amount of voltage. If you do have a drain get a friend to pull out the fuses one at a time till you find out what your problem is.

Hope this helps you out.

RB25sx - SLPR on 02:49:31 AM / 18-Nov-10I think by voltage you mean current, and doing this with any multimeter (if the drain is as bad as it appears to be) will likely blow the ~10Amp fuse for the ammeter.

Also, he didn't specify a parasitic loss when the car was off - this seems to be localized to the headlights/accessory circuit.

But you're right, pulling fuses until the problem circuit is found may help, however the fusible links are first in line off the battery and should be checked first.

-Dan

Yep, im in that situation, okay, so i checked the voltage coming from the alternator post that goes to the battery, it was only at give or take 12.5 V.... so... bad regulator?   I also checked both sides of each fusible link, they are good because the same voltage was shown on both sides of each of the 4,  Also those 2 green wires mentioned earlier, the ones that are on the positive battery terminal block, they are hooked up directly to the battery, we do not have the factory power block

you are only getting 12.5V directly off of the alternator while its running.... Then yes that is your problem. My friends supra celica was getting the same reading. After replacing it it charges at 14V and goes up to 15.6 at high rev

weird, it seems to be common for brand new alternators to not work...

I know... I popped apart that alternator to replace the regulator and pieces of it fell out.... stupid lordco.