FocusCanada Forums

Full Version: Question/help
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Pages: 1 2
so a couple days ago i replaced my battery terminal connectors , drove the car for a couple of days everything was fine. Today i drove to school , from burlington to brantford .... everything was fine up until i got off the highway . I turned off the highway then the car started to sputter , then i looked at my gas gauge and i realised that its on the line, so i figured ill get gas after my first class... on the way the car started sputtering like crazy...etc.etc.
So i parked the car and after class i went to go start it and nothing... wont even turn over..... my question is am i out of gas or is the battery dead...... contemplating whether or not i should walk to the nearest gas station. funny thing is the gas light usually goes on before hand , there was no light on this time. any ideas. i would of stopped for gas but brantford doesnt have many gas stations close by on this paticular exit. ive never ran out of gas before so im not sure.
Could be gas. Light could possibly be burnt out?
That thought went through my head also, but i do remember it working. one thing i didnt mention is the Air bag light came on last night. dont think that has anything to do with it.
Maybe one if the terminals is loose? That's wierd I know I been driving my car and the car just totally die and light up like a Christmas tree. But I just turn it off and start it agian while moving and it's good to go. Could be a faulty ground
yea i looked at the terminals also and there solid , cant move them at all. Looks like im gonna head over to the gas station lol , if not ill have to phone up CAA for a boost. thanks for the input. appreciate it.
(01-22-2013, 01:51 AM)2000zx3sct Wrote: [ -> ]yea i looked at the terminals also and there solid , cant move them at all. Looks like im gonna head over to the gas station lol , if not ill have to phone up CAA for a boost. thanks for the input. appreciate it.

Electrical problems will cause the sputtering you mentioned - low voltage to ignition - as well as gauges to not work and warning lights to come on.

If it wasn't for the fact the car wouldn't turn over, I would suggest you check your fuel filter and/or fuel pump - even contaminated gas.
Hmm I went and got gas lol but that didn't help. I'm getting a boost from CAA so hopefully that will be what's wrong. I think when I get home I'm gonna replace the fuel filter because I have one in the garage just never put it in yet. Hopefully it's nothing major lol.

It's funny because the radio and gauges turn on but the headlights don't
Well at least you got music while you wait for caa lol
So here's what happened , CAA guy came and boosted the car . He was reading a 12.3 on the battery . Drove it home tested it in the driveway , starting on and off seemed fine ... Went to fill up gas started ok , back home tested it again on and off and every time I started it the start was worse and worse every time and eventually wouldn't start . So right now I have the battery on a charge... But I'm still kind of puzzled... Battery reading was low.

My dad says that he put a brand new started in 2 years ago.

(01-22-2013, 06:23 AM)2000zx3sct Wrote: [ -> ]So here's what happened , CAA guy came and boosted the car . He was reading a 12.3 on the battery . Drove it home tested it in the driveway , starting on and off seemed fine ... Went to fill up gas started ok , back home tested it again on and off and every time I started it the start was worse and worse every time and eventually wouldn't start . So right now I have the battery on a charge... But I'm still kind of puzzled... Battery reading was low.

My dad says that he put a brand new starter in 2 years ago.
Alti isn't charging properly?
start the car, remove negative terminal and then see if the car dies. If it does it is a sure sign alt is done.

Also check those wires on the alternator, the 3 wires that plug in they can cause some funky stuff to happen too when their broke.
3 wires are good , I got my alt in the summer from the wreckers and apparently it was re-built. I haven't had a chance to test it yet though. But I gave the battery a charge overnight , and the same thing happened today . I left for work and got stuck in traffic for 10 minutes then everything started to turn off slowly ... Radio then lights and it still managed to last until I got to work . The lights were out when I parked it , when I came back to the car 4 hours later and turned the key the lights worked but wouldn't start.also tried starting it and for a split second it made the starting noise ... Then started with the clicking right after ,my dad says "it's those damn under drive pulleys " but I'm having a hard time believing him because they have been on the car since a little after the dyno day with no issues. haven't had a chance to replace the fuel
Filter yet but I'm having trouble figuring out how that could even be the problem ?

had to get a boost again and the battery was at 12.5 which is fine ...

Also forgot to mention the sputtering ..... almost as if it was gasping for air and also airbag light is still on.
measure the batt with load on it...just because a battery puts out 12v doesn't mean it has the amps.
mine was kind of doing the same thing yours was i would be driving and the car would lose power and sputter and everything and just die. turns out themain power wire on my alti was loose and caused arcking and melted the wire to the terminal on the alti. in turn it caused a fire under the hood (very scary). i had a volt gauge in the cabin when all this was happening and my volts would go from 12,8,9,10,12 it was just all over the place.
Ok so I decided to scan the car for codes and po460 came up . Just looking into that right now
fuel level sensor

The DTC code would point to fuel level sensor wiring problems. Under the rear passenger seat, check the connections and wiring for loose or chafed wires or corrosion. If no problems are immediately apparent, the problem may be in the pump unit itself. The fuel level sender is integrated into the pump unit. The tank needs to come out for pump replacement.
Which gauge(s) wasn't (weren't) working? If the problem is more than just the fuel gauge, it may be something different.

P0460 - Fuel Level Sensor Circuit Malfunction
The PCM monitors the fuel level input (FLI) circuit for electrical failure. The test fails when the signal moves outside the minimum or maximum allowable calibrated parameters for a specified fuel fill percentage in the fuel tank.
Causes:
Empty fuel tank
Fuel pump (FP) module stuck open
Incorrectly installed fuel gauge
Damaged instrument cluster
CASE GND circuit open
FLI shorted to VPWR
Damaged PCM
Overfilled fuel tank
Fuel pump (FP) module stuck closed
Damaged fuel gauge
FLI circuit open
FLI circuit shorted to CASE GND or PWR GND
CSE GND shorted to VPWR
Monitor FLI PID and FLI V PID in key ON engine RUNNING. FLI PID at 25% fill (with non matching fuel gauge) and FLI V PID less than 0.90 volts [for FLI PID at 75% fill (with non matching fuel gauge) and FLI V PID greater than 2.45 volts] indicates a hard fault.

check the fuse under your dash #50 should be a 7.5amp fuse something to do with the fuse and gauges up front throws a code and causes these problems from what im reading
Hmmm all gauges were working if I remember correctly , I'll go check those connections right now. hopefully it's not the fuel pump cause its gonna be a pain to fix in this weather lol
Ok so I just put the new fuel filter in , started it up and the air bag light came on for a split second then went away ..... I'm crossing my fingers

ok so went around the block couple times came back home then put it on the charger and it says Low . Thinking it might be the battery , although it is brand new.
(01-24-2013, 05:43 AM)2000zx3sct Wrote: [ -> ]Ok so I just put the new fuel filter in , started it up and the air bag light came on for a split second then went away ..... I'm crossing my fingers

ok so went around the block couple times came back home then put it on the charger and it says Low . Thinking it might be the battery , although it is brand new.

check the atli!!!!
That's gonna be my next move . I'm pretty sure it's fried so gonna take it out and have it tested , and get a new one.
Pages: 1 2