Weird Electrical/Idling Issues

[silentcovenant]

Hey Guys,

I've been having electrical and maybe more issues with my 240( 91' S13 ): car idles strange once in a while and just tonight the lights were flickering weird, never did that before. I just recently did a tune up, replaced plugs, rotor and cap, and oil change. After that, still had the same issues so I added more grounding wire into the engine bay and still no change in performance.

I have an aftermarket amp and cap, as well as HIDs. Seems like whenever I use my power windows, once the window hits the max open/close position the engine idle drops a lot to the point of dimming head lights.

The diming lights thing isn't worrying me as much as the strange idling issue. I had to replace my alternator twice, the first time since I got it and the second time shortly thereafter, I think due to a faulty alternator. The current one I have, has been running good for over a year now.

I dunno what to do guys, how do I check for what's causing this strange idling issue as well ass the power issue. This occurs when the car is idle usually. Please help! For a lil more information on the issue, here's another thread that I started but didn't seem to get much help from them: New Exhaust brings Electrical Problems? - ForumsHawaii (http://forumshawaii.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=506831)

Oh, just as a note, the car doesn't feel like it's putting out as much oomph as is did when I first got it... :( Doesn't pull as strong anymore. Please help! :)

Thanks,
--Marc

[ericb382]

Check your grounds. Make sure your alt is putting out at least 13v while it's idleing. Load test your battery. Most likely a bad ground though... Clean any corrosion off the battery terminals.

[silentcovenant]

Check your grounds. Make sure your alt is putting out at least 13v while it's idleing. Load test your battery. Most likely a bad ground though... Clean any corrosion off the battery terminals.

Yup, alternator pushes battery to 13.8v when running. I added more grounding cables in the engine bay already. One thing I did notice since the tune up and grounding cables is better fuel mileage, I think.

[silentcovenant]

So I checked some of my vacuum hoses and changed the one going from the intake pipe to the top of the engine cover since it had a slight crack in it. Changed it but it didn't do anything.. :( Rawr! Could it possibly be my maf? When I tap on it or wiggle it, nothing happens as far as idling issues so I'm not sure. What're my other alternatives

[nissanfreak317]

Be sure to check your main battery ground from the battery to the chassis. unless the ground wires you added go straight from your motor to your battery. I had issues with my main battery cable connections getting a bit rusty down where they connect to the chassis and it caused some headaches.