New GSX and lots of problems.

[AK Maniak]

I purchased a 97 GSX two days ago in Long beach california. When i test drove the car everything worked fine
During the test drive I mainly drove it on the freeway and I didn't do any WOT pulls or anything like that( probably should have) Anyways, I ended up buying the car and started driving it back to flagstaff AZ where I go to school. About 4 hours into the drive the car would sputter or hesitate when in boost. I figured it could be anything like spark plugs or a boost leak so i just figured it would need a little maintenance to solve the problem. The next thing I noticed was that when I was pulling into a gas station I was having trouble making a sharp turn, felt like I was applying the brakes while trying to turn.
Anyways, I make it home and park the car and the next day the hesitation during boost was significantly increased.
Later that day while on my way home a flash came from down by my feet and then my window would not roll up, or my sunroof, or any other accessories. Hoping it was nothing more than a blown fuse I parked the car and turned it off but the headlights would not turn off. So i started the car back up while parked and it ran horribly. It idle was bouncing back and forth from 1200rpms to 1500rpms.
So now my car is sitting in a parking lot with one window all the way down
I know its my fault for not being more thorough before buying the car but its too late for that so please don't give me shit for it.

Cliff Notes for the lazy people:
1) Car hesitates when under boost
2)Can't make sharp turns(welded diff?)
3) Idles like shit
4) Lights won't turn off unless i disconnect the battery
5) No accessories work

I'm pretty pissed as the seller seemed very honest but either way i got my first true DSM and its already broken
gotta love DSM's

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Sounds like your battery is dieing and you need an alternator. You can get that checked at an autozone or other parts store. I would remove the battery first and bring it in to get checked or jump start the car. Also, pop open the kick panel and see if any of the wire going to the ECU or underneath the steering column has been altered.

In regards to the turning, you could have a welded center differential. If you do, then thats normal.


Check the main fuse too, but once you get the alternator sorted out, most of the things will sort itself out.

 

[gsxgate24]

Yeah I had that same problem before I thought it was something like my fuel pump was going out, but it was just a dead battery and a bad alternator. It wasn't sending enough juice to the pump allowing it to go.

 

[Migsubishi]

What about the bright flash he saw by his feet? I also say pull the fuse box out from under the dash and inspect it thoroughly.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

I would check all of the wiring under the dash. I bet sone dipshit has made "adjustments" to the wiring. My car was a mess when I first got it. I ended up changing the engine harness completely and had to fix a bunch of cut wires, loose wires, and wires spliced together. It sounds like something shorted to ground when you saw the flash. I bet by this you would find a majority of your issues.

 

[AK Maniak]

I'm not sure of the date as I dont have the paper next to me but I know the previous owner had the alternator replaced.
The wiring job is horrific, the stereo is the only thing that works right now, and for some reason I can power the deck by simply turning on my lights and when ever i turn the car off i lose all my saved radio stations or any settings that have been altered.
What i'm really confused about is why the car is idling so bad now, what could mess with that?

I also forgot to mention that I am getting horribly gas mileage, I had the cruise control set at 80mph the whole way and I ended up getting 240 miles

 

[Misterbeechy]

first things first bro... Congrats on ## DSM..

second.. i know having too many problems at the same time gets to you..
i have blown shocks, broken door handle, sqeaky brake, dented fender, oil leak... all that jus gets to me ### $$$$ is an issue right now..

what you would need to do is sort issues out in priority..

first do the small stuff.. the windows sound like a fuse issue.. again check all fuses see if they have the correct fuse in them.. check for "ghetto" work from previous owner.. (its def somthing electical)

hesitation: check for loose couplers if any hard piping, boost leaks, bov leak (nothing that thorough maintenance cant fix)

high rpms: looks like a dieing alternator or a dead one already..

also if it throws any CELs check them up...

im sure you have a beast ready to wake up
it takes time, patience and DSMTUNERS!!! update with fixes, resolution so that it can help someone in the future..

GOOD LUCK!

 

[AK Maniak]

first things first bro... Congrats on ## DSM..

second.. i know having too many problems at the same time gets to you..
i have blown shocks, broken door handle, sqeaky brake, dented fender, oil leak... all that jus gets to me ### $$$$ is an issue right now..

what you would need to do is sort issues out in priority..

first do the small stuff.. the windows sound like a fuse issue.. again check all fuses see if they have the correct fuse in them.. check for "ghetto" work from previous owner.. (its def somthing electical)

hesitation: check for loose couplers if any hard piping, boost leaks, bov leak (nothing that thorough maintenance cant fix)

high rpms: looks like a dieing alternator or a dead one already..

also if it throws any CELs check them up...

im sure you have a beast ready to wake up
it takes time, patience and DSMTUNERS!!! update with fixes, resolution so that it can help someone in the future..

GOOD LUCK!

I knew that it was rare to find a GSX in good working order which was why I was so excited to find this one. Hell I drove 10 hours to get there once I saw the ad, no change of clothes, no cell phone charger(Cell was dead), and not even a tooth brush .
My biggest problem now is that I spent nearly all my money buying the car, I had some put aside for general maintenance but I have a feeling that this might be a bit more than what I can afford.

 

[Misterbeechy]

yea it is rare but like i said relax and fix what u can.. find out also if there any DSMers on this site around ## area.. where they could be a meet to work on the cars for a bit im pretty sure someone could help you out..

sure as hell if i did i would.. (trust me ive gotten played buying my first DSM and somtimes i felt... damn i have this piece of metal i cant do anything with.. i mean it ended up dieing ### of my fustration.. blew the turbo twice becuz i had a small oil leak and i put that thick lucas stuff and glogged my oil lines haha ..

good luck man.. feel free to ask questions

 

[tazndrew04]

i would say also take the ecu out and check the resistors,everything may not be working because of a fried ecu,as with the flash that could of been a ground touching another ground and just did a spark that looked like a flash not to mention the horrific wiring u have

 

[Boomdeeze]

I was having similar problems on my trip back from the DSM/EVO Shootout this year. I replaced the battery and alternator, and it fixed all the problems I was having.

 

[AK Maniak]

I know absolutely nothing about electrical work, is there a place I could take it to to have them kinda do a quick inspection so as to get me started in the right direction.

 

[Boomdeeze]

I know absolutely nothing about electrical work, is there a place I could take it to to have them kinda do a quick inspection so as to get me started in the right direction.

Ya a mechanic but it could get pricey.

 

[AK Maniak]

Ha ya i figured I would go broke at some point for getting a DSM while not having a job. I just didn't think it would happen in 24 hours of buying the car

 

[Boomdeeze]

Get the battery and alternator tested and if those are good, start looking at the wiring under the dash. Just look for cut wires or random stripped wires.

 

[AK Maniak]

Ya I met a guy at autozone yesterday and he is coming by to test everything so if the battery and alternator are okay then I"m just gonna rip the deck out and start following every wire because its a shitty deck anyways

 

[Dsm4lyfe12]

I had this problem, drove my car left it for 30 minutes came back and BAM it wasnt starting. My sidemarkers wouldnt turn off and i couldnt start me car.My car would run when i jumped it for 30 minutes then it would run for like 5 minutes really really bad it would blow smoke and bog out really bad. Well, whats the problem here i said, "Alternators bad ^%$#!!!". I started simple. Pricey fixers are BAD. So, i went to autozone battery in hand. (took 30 minutes to charge) bought a bosman charge light. Started checking fuses... nothings wrong. Before pulling my alternator i picked my battery up and put it in and boom. Car started right up and ran like a charm. Gsx's are great cars and dont be worried about whats wrong, keep your head up youve got a dsm on your hands.

Go to vfaq.com.
Either buy a boost leak tester, or make your own.(for your boost leak problem)
Check your knock sensor.
Do the basics, plugs, wires.
Alt, battery.
And my mauto is if you cant fix it call somebody who can
dont be scared to play with things under that dash and keep your head up. Keep my updated.

-DJ Rice

 

[rock1t]

i would say also take the ecu out and check the resistors,everything may not be working because of a fried ecu,as with the flash that could of been a ground touching another ground and just did a spark that looked like a flash not to mention the horrific wiring u have

do you know what you are talking about? or you just spewing garbage?


lights and stereo malfunctions have nothing to do with the ECU. Also, as he has described it sounds like a charging system malfunction, because when your alternator is dying or dead, your car will do crazy things.

The transmission is probably shot, since we have weak a*s transmissions, and he can't shift gears normally.

I had a center diff blow on me, and I really swore up and down it was the clutch, so I ordered a spec stage 3+, pulled the tranny when the clutch arrived, to find out that the act 2900 was in perfect shape. Installed new clutch, still had same problem. So I picked me up a shep stage 3 tranny and never had another issue with it.

If you want to figure out if your center diff is welded, go into a parking lot and do a really tight turn, and you will feel your tires pop and jump and turn over (just like a 4x4 truck with a locking diff).

Also all factory wiring will be in wire loom, up till the pigtail, wrapped very tightly in electrical tape. There should be no loose wires laying around.

And your CD player is just hooked up wrong, if it keeps resetting itself everytime the power goes off. A cd deck needs a wire dedicated to the battery and one to the key switch (this is what makes it turn off and on with your car).

Also welcome to the world of DSM's. It's going to be a fun ride, and you will waste a lot of money, that you won't have.

 

[AlteredCustoms]

Sounds like when I first bought my gst headache... i replaced almost everything in the engine including the turbo and I was still having boosting problems the last thing i changed was a brand new wiring harness from mitsubishi and fixed everything... Then blew my headgasket a week later and too this day the car wont start...

 

[AK Maniak]

A guy who works at autozone who is very familiar with DSM's has been helping me a bit so far. One of the fuses blew(forget which one but it was a 100amp) Anyways after replacing that fuse everything worked and the idle returned to normal. Well I was driving back and my battery light flickered and came on then my brake light came on as well. I pulled over to see what was wrong and when I came to a stop the car was idling at 1500rpms. Then the car died and would not start. The fuse popped again so I waited for about 10 min and the car barely started.
On my way home is when shit got crazy. I made the mistake of turning on my A/C and as a result my radio turned off and the rpm needle started bouncing like crazy. When idling the rpms would jump as soon as i turned on the A/C. Then a minute later all the accessories went out except the A/C and then the SRS light came on.
Please some one help me out. I'm so lost and overwhelmed as i don't even know where to start. The whole electric system is so messed up

Oh and now my speedometer doesn't work and the RPM's are stuck at 1000 unless i turn the AC on

 

[spower]

Welcome to the world of daily driver dsm here's a good tip, get some good walking shoes and a friend with a stock civic

 

[rock1t]

your speedometer is driven by a cable which goes from the transmission to the back of the guage cluster.

replace your alternator dude. and be done with it. also sounds like you need to read, read, read about electrical and how to chase wires, like grounds.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

Post a couple pics of under your dash. I'm guessing there is a hell of a hack job under there. I should be able to help you out. Did the auto parts guy test your battery and alternator? How did they test?

 

[bOOst JuNKy]

How much you pay and what was the milage?? Im gonna have to go and agree with spower about the good pair of walking shoes and a friend with a stock civic,

 

[AK Maniak]

Ya the guy tested my battery and alternator and they passed. In the morning I'll go and look at which fuse we replaced, but it blew again so i'm guessing there is a short somewhere. And yes the wiring is a hack job. I'll take a bunch of pictures after class tomorrow.