Something isn't right with my electrical

[nate95tsi]

Hello everyone,
I will pre-apoligize for a long paragraph haha. Anyway, I just replaced the alternator, starter, and battery. Now my car starts great. However at night when I put my directional on or apply the brakes I notice my dash dims a little. The dash has those white panels that you turn on at night. I also noticed that your can hear my fuel pump (wally) whine dims too with the directional. Something just doesn't seem right. Also when I was accelerating into boost my dash started dimming a little on and off. After accelerating and pushing in the clutch my rpms drop to about 400-500rpms. Almost to the point of cutting out but then it picks right back up to 800-900 at idle. All of this just seems really strange.
Help or input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lou98GSX]

make sure your alternator belt is tight . if its tight check your charging system output it should be 14.5 v. it will drop a little with lights on but when you rev the engine it should go back to 14.5

 

[weebz1]

check your grounds. i keep seeing a lot of people with electrical issues and many people suggest to do so.

 

[nate95tsi]

Okay thanks guys, the ground from my battery to firewall is frayed a bit, the rest seem fine. The alternator belt has about 1/4 play last I checked. I will check again. To check the charging system I should put my multi-meter on the battery terminals right? The battery is new, alternator, and starter is also new. So I hope its nothing.
I'm not sure if this would have anything to do with it, but when the car is cold, it makes a ticking type of noise and my oil pressure reads 75psi until warm. Then the pressure goes down to normal and the ticking type of noise goes away. I hope its nothing major.

 

[andrewshowers]

Here is a small check list. If you has access to a multimeter or voltmeter, check your operating voltage. It should be around 14 volts. Check it both at the battery and the positive terminal at the alternator. If you do not know how to do this its very easy and can be youtubed on how to use a multimeter. You could also measure the resistance from the alt to the battery. There could be corrosion in the line or a break somewhere causing you to have low voltage.

1st: Check connection on alternator. Make sure it is not corroded and not loose.
2nd: Check your battery terminals for corrosion, and they are not loose.
3rd: Check all grounds going to engine. Make sure they are not corroded or loose.
4th: Check belt condition.

If these are all good and you have low voltage take your alternator out and have it tested at a local parts store, most can do this.

Sorry for the long post but felt like I could help.

Do these tests and come back with results/pics.

Good Luck!

And valve ticking is normal at cold temps until warm.

 

[nate95tsi]

Here is a small check list. If you has access to a multimeter or voltmeter, check your operating voltage. It should be around 14 volts. Check it both at the battery and the positive terminal at the alternator. If you do not know how to do this its very easy and can be youtubed on how to use a multimeter. You could also measure the resistance from the alt to the battery. There could be corrosion in the line or a break somewhere causing you to have low voltage.

1st: Check connection on alternator. Make sure it is not corroded and not loose.
2nd: Check your battery terminals for corrosion, and they are not loose.
3rd: Check all grounds going to engine. Make sure they are not corroded or loose.
4th: Check belt condition.

If these are all good and you have low voltage take your alternator out and have it tested at a local parts store, most can do this.

Sorry for the long post but felt like I could help.

Do these tests and come back with results/pics.

Good Luck!

And valve ticking is normal at cold temps until warm.

Thanks for the great info. I will check them all and post up after.

 

[t25fury]

The advice on your flickering issue is good, i will emphasize double checking your grounding cables and contacts. The ticking you are getting is most likely your lifters,you can upgrade to the 3g lifters (third generation of revised lifters not from a 3g eclipse mind you).

 

[nate95tsi]

The advice on your flickering issue is good, i will emphasize double checking your grounding cables and contacts. The ticking you are getting is most likely your lifters,you can upgrade to the 3g lifters (third generation of revised lifters not from a 3g eclipse mind you).

Would the ticking effect oil pressure by any chance? Where could I pick up the lifters? The car was sitting in a garage for a while because the kid bought a newer car and a house and a kid... Had to give up his other love.

The advice on your flickering issue is good, i will emphasize double checking your grounding cables and contacts. The ticking you are getting is most likely your lifters,you can upgrade to the 3g lifters (third generation of revised lifters not from a 3g eclipse mind you).

Does anyone know where I could get a diagram for where all the grounds are? That would be awesome. I'm very new to DSM's so I am slowly learning

 

[t25fury]

No the ticking does not effect your oil pressure. You can buy some revised lifters from any of the vendors on this site,I like jnz tuning my self. Sorry i do not have a diagram of the grounding points, the main ones are from the alternator,the negative battery terminal and the negative battery terminal to the body.Be sure these are clean and not corroded.

 

[weebz1]

couldn't the ground for the tail lights cause a flickering too on account it's only when he applies the brakes? or am I thinking incorrectly?

 

[miguelmcv]

Here is the 2g Manual so you can download it.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/fre...stions/324090-download-2g-service-manual.html

couldn't the ground for the tail lights cause a flickering too on account it's only when he applies the brakes? or am I thinking incorrectly?

No, applying the brake is using more juice, if there is not enough juice to supply the brakes, then it will flick, it could be by positive or ground, but most of the case is a ground the cause.

 

[goldeninja20]

couldn't the ground for the tail lights cause a flickering too on account it's only when he applies the brakes? or am I thinking incorrectly?

I am actually having the EXACT same problem. I checked my alternator and it is putting out 14 volts at idle. I redid my grounds with 2 gauge wire. I am still having the flickering problem. Not sure why. I also have a thread going.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/445723-electrical-problem-lights-diming.html

 

[weebz1]

upon searching on this issue a little more..i found another thread. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/electrical-tech/388985-lights-dim-when-press-brake.html

its a few years old but has about the same info as this thread and the other thread posted above..

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/132771-headlights-dim-when-brakes-pushed.html

That's another thread about it..someone mentioned their positive terminal was arching to their hood? sounds intense. but read through both of those as to get a few more ideas.. i'll keep looking for more solutions and update if i find something

 

[weebz1]

any updates on the issue? curious as to if you figured out what the problem was.

 

[nate95tsi]

any updates on the issue? curious as to if you figured out what the problem was.

Not on my part. After driving the car from RI to Boston MA and back two days ago it drove fine. Then yesterday morning I started it and there was a loud knock coming from the engine even at idle. The idle was holding steady, oil pressure was good, no smoke. So I shut the car off for the day. Today I started it today and the knock was completely gone. Great idle, oil pressure, no smoke, still no leaks... It was the strangest thing. Then I drove it to my buddies shop and on the way there it seemed to run better than it ever has. It was making a weird noise when the car wasnt fully warmed up when the turbo would pull up to 10kg vacuum and up. On the way to the shop it didn't even do that. I am so lost I haven't had a chance to check. Thanks for wanting the update though!