Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum - View Single Post - Drain? Short? Bad alternator?

ep3scott · 12-28-2014, 09:41 PM

Hey folks,

I'm a long time lurker around these parts and I figured you guys would be the best people to help me fix my newly acquired s14. It's running an s14 SR20 that was fitted by the previous owner. It runs like a champ and boosts great, but since I have had it it's been having a couple of electrical issues that I'm struggling to diagnose. Bare in mind the battery is relocated to the trunk.

Firstly I noticed that when I turn the key in the ignition 2 notches the brake and battery lights come on. They turn off when the car fires up.

A few days later I noticed that the car would struggle to fire up, it would as soon as I gave it a squirt of gas but still not on a dime like before.

I took the car to autozone and they checked the battery which they determined to be bad, which I replaced with a new battery.

3 days later I jump in the car and nothing..no power at all. So I call out AAA to give me a jump and the car starts fine. I get home and it dies again when I try and start it. Luckily I've got a trickle charger to charge it up.

Weirder still I charge the battery and it shows 100%?!

I take the car to autozone again and they test the alternator and battery which both seem to be in working order with the battery 100% charged.

Since then the car has been fine, wierdly. It seems to start up fine every time as when I first got it.

Tonight I checked the battery (whilst the car is off) which is holding 12.8 volts across the terminals and 12.8 across the disconnected negative terminal and the negative cable which if I'm right is indicating that the car is drawing power even when the car is off. I checked the ohms between the negative terminal and the chassis which is reading spikes of upto 30ohms whilst the stable consistent reading is around 1.1ohm.

Basically my question here is..wtf is going on? Does this sound like a bad ground? A draw? A faulty component?

Any help would be great dudes! I need to fix this before I can start pushing for 300hp!

Some photos of the old girl:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830037.765844.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830077.564936.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830104.193606.jpg

12-28-2014, 09:41 PM	#1
ep3scott Leaky Injector Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: North Carolina Age: 34 Posts: 106 Trader Rating: (2)	Drain? Short? Bad alternator? - SR20 powered s14 Hey folks, I'm a long time lurker around these parts and I figured you guys would be the best people to help me fix my newly acquired s14. It's running an s14 SR20 that was fitted by the previous owner. It runs like a champ and boosts great, but since I have had it it's been having a couple of electrical issues that I'm struggling to diagnose. Bare in mind the battery is relocated to the trunk. Firstly I noticed that when I turn the key in the ignition 2 notches the brake and battery lights come on. They turn off when the car fires up. A few days later I noticed that the car would struggle to fire up, it would as soon as I gave it a squirt of gas but still not on a dime like before. I took the car to autozone and they checked the battery which they determined to be bad, which I replaced with a new battery. 3 days later I jump in the car and nothing..no power at all. So I call out AAA to give me a jump and the car starts fine. I get home and it dies again when I try and start it. Luckily I've got a trickle charger to charge it up. Weirder still I charge the battery and it shows 100%?! I take the car to autozone again and they test the alternator and battery which both seem to be in working order with the battery 100% charged. Since then the car has been fine, wierdly. It seems to start up fine every time as when I first got it. Tonight I checked the battery (whilst the car is off) which is holding 12.8 volts across the terminals and 12.8 across the disconnected negative terminal and the negative cable which if I'm right is indicating that the car is drawing power even when the car is off. I checked the ohms between the negative terminal and the chassis which is reading spikes of upto 30ohms whilst the stable consistent reading is around 1.1ohm. Basically my question here is..wtf is going on? Does this sound like a bad ground? A draw? A faulty component? Any help would be great dudes! I need to fix this before I can start pushing for 300hp! Some photos of the old girl: ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830037.765844.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830077.564936.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1419830104.193606.jpg Last edited by ep3scott; 12-28-2014 at 10:18 PM..