My Car Is Being A Royal Pain In The Ass

[bryzenga]

Alright, so my 95 S14 has been giving me nothing but trouble and it is giving me two major issues (insert breakdown here :rawk: ).

Issue #1 - It just doesn't want to put the power down. I step on it and it doesn't give me really any throttle response past 2000ish RPM (that's in 1st. Every other gear is just noise, pretty much. Sounds like it should be accelerating rapidly but isn't.)

So I swapped in a different KA from a 93 S13 since the motor my car came with had a serious rod knock. The new one had 130k miles on it and ran well when the guy pulled it from his car (showed me a video of it). I did everything I needed to do to swap a S13 KA into a S14, gave it a new valve cover gasket and oil change and dropped it in. It sounded like it had a misfire so I gave it new NGK plugs and wires and that seemed to take care of that. The PO said he used to drift the car (on an open diff:bash: ) so I swapped that out for a welded and that didn't do much. I changed all the trans/diff fluids. I'm stumped on what to do next.

-I deleted the EGR, I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it?
-I also blew (and keep blowing) the 75A alternator fuse. I've checked and re-checked to see if everything is grounded but can't find the issue. Does this have anything to do with it?
-Could I possibly need a new head gasket? Throttle Position Sensor? Throttle body? Is something not sealing right?
-Maybe driveshaft for some reason? Axles?
-Could it just be bad gas? Fuel filter? Injectors maybe? I put a gallon or two of premium in it back in late January just so it could be started/run every couple of days while I'm away at school.
I have no idea.

Issue #2 is the 75A fuse. Pretty much the only electronics that work on the car are the headlights, and this is the only fuse I found blown. No tail lights, turn signals, brake lights, power windows, power mirrors, tach, rev counter, temperature gauge, radio, nothing. I disconnect the battery, put a new fuse in, and as soon as i reconnect the battery it blows again.

-Could this affect the previous issue as well?
-It's obviously the alternator fuse, but what's most likely to cause it to blow? Not grounded right? Bad alternator? What?

I've done all the obvious stuff I can think of but after 3-4 weekends of this, this is really starting to piss me off. I'd like to know the most obvious next steps in order but any help/insight is appreciated.

[Rayne]

First off, when you deleted the EGR valve, did you find a set of instructions on-line and follow them? If yes, which set of instructions? The EGR valve recirculates exhaust gases into the intake to make overall emissions cleaner. Has the O2 sensor been replaced? Going off of what you say is happening it seems like the Throttle position sensor may need to be replaced. Download a copy of the Factory Service Manual to find out how to check the throttle position sensor with a voltmeter.

Second: A bad ground connection can cause the 75a fuse to blow and or a bad alternator all together. A blown alternator fuse won't cause the engine to run poorly. it will however keep the alternator from recharging the battery and a great deal of electronics from working.

[bryzenga]

First off, when you deleted the EGR valve, did you find a set of instructions on-line and follow them? If yes, which set of instructions? The EGR valve recirculates exhaust gases into the intake to make overall emissions cleaner. Has the O2 sensor been replaced? Going off of what you say is happening it seems like the Throttle position sensor may need to be replaced. Download a copy of the Factory Service Manual to find out how to check the throttle position sensor with a voltmeter.

Second: A bad ground connection can cause the 75a fuse to blow and or a bad alternator all together. A blown alternator fuse won't cause the engine to run poorly. it will however keep the alternator from recharging the battery and a great deal of electronics from working.


I did look online for instructions on how to delete the EGR but I can't remember which ones I tried to follow exactly. I figured out which components had to deal with the EGR and then removed them, capping off visible vacuum lines. When I tried removing the EGR tube from the exhaust manifold, it was so rusted and tight on there that the tube broke off, so part of it is still in there causing an exhaust leak. I ordered a new set of headers to remedy this. The O2 sensor also has not been changed yet.

If it turns out to be the TPS, should I just get a whole new throttle body all together?

Like I said about the alternator fuse, I've checked and re-checked to make sure every wire is grounded and everything is hooked up properly. Did S13's and S14's come with different alternators? A quick google search comes up with ones that are 90-110A. Is the stock alternator 75A meaning that the fuse would be 75A? I'm not the worlds best electrician. I just used the one already connected to my S13 block, could I possibly need a bigger fuse?


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[Rusker]

Going off of what you say is happening it seems like the Throttle position sensor may need to be replaced.

A good guide on how to test the TPS:

http://forums.nicoclub.com/ka24de-checking-tps-and-adjusting-idle-t161700.html

[Rayne]

If the throttle position sensor is bad, replace the sensor.

The KA24DE is the same engine regardless of which 240sx it is in. Despite that fact the alternator in the S13 might be different than an alternator in an S14 SE.

The only reason you would need a higher rated fuse in your S14 is if it is an SE model. Throwing in a higher rated fuse doesn't do anything to fix the problem if your alternator is bad.

[bryzenga]

Yeah my S14 isn't an SE so that wouldn't be the problem. Alright, I'll invest in a multimeter when I'm back home this weekend, then and test those out. If my TPS and alternator do turn out to be bad, where do you guys recommend I get new ones from? And what's a good price to pay?


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[Rayne]

Do your own research for that information.

[bryzenga]

Do your own research for that information.


Fair enough. I had done some searching about where to get both parts, I just wasn't sure if there was some place I should avoid or some place you guys know of where I won't get ripped off with a non-quality part. I've been messing with this and dumping money into it for weeks now, the last thing I want to do is waste my money on some sh!t part and have to buy another one all over again.


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[Rayne]

I have bought decent OEM quality parts from the auto parts stores. OEM parts at the dealership will be the most expensive.

[jorge1190]

The 75A fuse i usually a simple fix. Check the main power cable going to the alternator, there should be a plastic spacer between cable and the alternator housing. If it is missing it will make it ground out and blow the fuse. All 240sx models have a 75A fuse so don't worry about SE vs. Non SE.

If that is not the case then have it tested.

[bryzenga]

The 75A fuse i usually a simple fix. Check the main power cable going to the alternator, there should be a plastic spacer between cable and the alternator housing. If it is missing it will make it ground out and blow the fuse. All 240sx models have a 75A fuse so don't worry about SE vs. Non SE.

If that is not the case then have it tested.


Thanks, Jorge1190. I'll be sure to check that out first before I go buy a new alternator if that's the case. Didn't even think of that.



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[bryzenga]

Check the main power cable going to the alternator, there should be a plastic spacer between cable and the alternator housing. If it is missing it will make it ground out and blow the fuse.


I was missing the little plastic spacer between the two and that did the trick! Jorge you're a genius! Thanks for that tip!

The ohms reading I'm getting for my TPS is around 1 and 9 when it should be 2 and 10 according to that guide. It has power (5v) coming from the harness like it should but I wasn't able to check continuity because my multimeter doesn't have that? Is this enough for me to just say fuck it and buy a new TPS?


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