Car Gurus: help me diagnose my Altima

[Fausto]

Strange problem: sometimes when I start the car, the CD player, wipers, and side view mirror adjuster "joystick" don't work. Next time I fire the car up, all these things work fine. Everything else seems to be just fine. I'm stumped.....any ideas?

Car is a 1994 Nissan Altima GXE, by the way.

Thanks in advance,
Fausto

 

[Zenmervolt]

Having dealt with electrical problems before, all I can say is good luck. Chances are that you'll spend five or six hours chasing down the cause which can either be a $0.05 part or a $900.00 part. Check that all your connections and grounds are good. Don't forget that most cars have more than one fuse box too, one under the hood and one somewhere in the interior.

ZV

 

[Bluefront]

Sounds like a relay problem...."ignition relay", or something of that sort. Find where the various relays are located....some are under the hood under little black plastic covers, some are right above the fuse panel inside the car. When these electrical items are not working, lightly tap each relay...see if they start working. Bingo...

 

[Ornery]

I bet it's a relay. How many relays are there to troubleshoot? There is probably a bank of them near the fuse box. You may even be able to swap one for another to see if the problem goes away for those accessories, but plagues another set. I doubt the relay would even cost more than $15.00.

 

[Ornery]

Oops, do I hear an echo... LOL

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Gonna need a new flux capacitor, and the Mr. Fusion may need tweaking as well.

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: Ornery
I bet it's a relay. How many relays are there to troubleshoot? There is probably a bank of them near the fuse box. You may even be able to swap one for another to see if the problem goes away for those accessories, but plagues another set. I doubt the relay would even cost more than $15.00.

What kind of relays do 'newer' cars use?
The only one I remember on my older shitboxes was the horn relay.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Bluefront and Ornery (as usual) are likely right. Still electrical problems are a royal pain, they have a habit of disguising themselves. Had a problem with my 914 that had every possible symptom of being the contact breaker points for the FI but turned out to be a bad FI computer.

ZV

 

[Ornery]

"What kind of relays do 'newer' cars use?"

<Shrug> Beats me, but I've seen some pretty fancy fuse containers, which include circuit breakers as well as simple fuses. It wouldn't be much extra effort to have an array of relays near there too. Our 1988 E-150 van has a few relays under the hood and they're not very well protected from the weather and corrosion. I imagine newer cars use even more relays to avoid using heavy gage wire from one end of the vehicle to the other. One more way to save a few ounces for gas mileage. I bet this bank of relays would include easily swapable, plug ins too. Just a hunch... </Shrug>

 

[Pepsi90919]

IT'S BROKE TAKE IT TO A MECHANIC KTHX

 

[Fausto]

Thanks for all the info guys (except for you Pepsi.....you need to lay off the crack ). I'll bust out the Haynes manual this week and see if I can figure out what the deal is. I always like to give it a shot myself before I turn a mechanic loose on things.

Thanks again,
Fausto

 

[Bluefront]

Fausto1.....I thought about this little problem for a while and I have a second opinion. I think you may have a bad ignition switch. Not the key part, but rather the electrical part of the switch...you can buy this separately. It is screwed onto the back side of the ignition switch.

When you start the car, then let the key return to the ignition position, some of the contacts are not being connected properly. Try this....turn the ignition on (you don't have to start the car), then turn the wipers on, then jiggle the key back and forth to see if the wipers stop. They should not stop. If they stop, you have a bad switch....normally costing about $35 or so and fairly easy to install. You only need a small screwdriver.

I'm not sure what the Nissan name for this part is, but it's about the size of a half-dollar, with about 6 wires going into a plug....

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Bluefront
Fausto1.....I thought about this little problem for a while and I have a second opinion. I think you may have a bad ignition switch. Not the key part, but rather the electrical part of the switch...you can buy this separately. It is screwed onto the back side of the ignition switch.

When you start the car, then let the key return to the ignition position, some of the contacts are not being connected properly. Try this....turn the ignition on (you don't have to start the car), then turn the wipers on, then jiggle the key back and forth to see if the wipers stop. They should not stop. If they stop, you have a bad switch....normally costing about $35 or so and fairly easy to install. You only need a small screwdriver.

I'm not sure what the Nissan name for this part is, but it's about the size of a half-dollar, with about 6 wires going into a plug....

I'll try that. Thanks again for all the advice.....I owe ya a beer if/when you ever come through Atlanta.

 

Fausto;
I will bet my A.S.E. papers that it is the ignition switch.