I have an '89 240sx SE with a KA24DE swap. I recently ran into an issue where as I was driving home, my shifter stated to move a bit. At a light, it shook a little more like a bad motor mount (I'm sure these are bad too) but as I took off from the traffic light, my radio cut out. It completely died, shut off. After that, my lights all began to dim and when it got to where my interior lights nearly shut off, I would give it gas and it would cut out, like it was in safe mode with no MAF sensor. It didn't die, it just bogged down, then it magically sprung to life and I drove it home.

After that, it would not start again. It acted like a dead battery, it needed to be jumped. I jumped it, it ran while the other car was attached and the motor shook like crazy, it would idle really low. After I detached the jumper cables, within a minute the car was dead. Same symptoms after I took off the cables, radio cut out, lights dim, gassed it and it cut out, then it would die.

I changed the alternator, the post on the alternator that holds the battery cable on rotted off so it wasn't really attached. I swapped in a new alternator and in the process the engine ground cable fell off. So I regrounded the engine to the frame. In the process I also replaced the battery.The other issue I found since I bought the car was the MAF plug is loose. It's a skinny plug, four wholes wth three wires. The plug is a little loose, it has been tapped on , but I started and held it on, same issue. I got it running and disconnected the MAF sensor, it seemed to actually lessen the shaking just noticeably but it was still bad. Still, the car died.

No idea what's going on. Any ideas?

 

Sounds like an electrical problem, but I honestly have no clue. Go through your wiring harness and make sure everything is good.

 

you should check for trouble codes before you go replacing parts. there are several possibilities but based on what you've said i suggest you check all the grounds and make sure they are secure and free of corrosion. it's also a good idea to applied some dielectric grease to all the plugs you inspect. after you've done that, if the problem persists, have the alternator and battery tested.

 

Odd thing, I never noticed a check engine light on this car... Hmm... A guy at Advanced Auto said check the EGR, I laughed and left. Someone else said a ba O2 sensor could be messing with it.

It doesn't seem to idle high enough, therefore doesn't run long enough to ever charge the battery. If I rev it, it doesn't seem to matter. Seems mostly electrical, guess I need to rip through the wiring harness and see what's what. If the MAF is making that big of a difference when I disconnect it, it should be working and therefore not an issue correct?

 

You make sure that the tension on your belt to the alternator is good? Also check ground to the body and make sure its good. Check power cable going to the starter to make sure its corrosion free. It sounds like a bad ground otherwise you would be popping fuses like crazy.

 

Tension on the belts is fine. I need to check for corrosion.

I didn't just start replacing parts on a whim, the battery was out of a Miata and that's no good. The alternator post that held the battery cable on literally rotted off. Those seemed like a priority to replace.

Question. Can the IACV be screwing up my idle and not allowing the alternator to charge my battery? I've noticed this seems to be a popular issue with these Nissan motors as they get quite gummed up.

 

the iacv, or specifically the aac solenoid could be dead. if so it would cause a low idle around 400-500 rpms or so. it's not the only thing that would cause this though that's why i suggested checking for trouble codes, also not all codes will set off the cel.

 

well if the car doesn't idle at all, nothing will go as planned.

check your codes on your ecu

 

Car doesn't move, anyway I can get trouble codes to pop up? I don't even know where the check engine light is... But any sensor would pull up a code and I could go from that. Just need a way to pull them up.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

https://www.s-chassis.com/forums/sho...ighlight=codes

 

what year de was swapped in?

 

A 94 DE was swapped in I believe. Was told about 84k when the car was 129k

 

ok so it's still obdI so all you need is current and access to the ecu. i highly recommend you dl a fsm. it will give you all the necessary steps to retrieve codes.

 

retrieving codes is hella easy, you just need a 10mm socket and ratchet or a phatty phillips head to unmount your ecu and a flat tip to change the modes.

 

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