# 92 sentra electrical problem?



## endlessrayne (Aug 14, 2007)

first off 

1992 nissan sentra 4dr automatic 130k miles 

first i will start by saying my car died a few months back, it sputtered and came to a complete stop. 
We figured out, or thought that it was the fuel filter, fixed that, car ran fine for a while. 

last week, however, my car died, radio turns off, battery light, and ebrake light pop on. throw a jump on it, take it to autozone, replace the battery. runs for a few days, dies again. alternator tests bad. ok replace it with a rebuilt one. 

not 2 days later, it dies again same thing, radio turns itself off, dash lights pop on, headlights turn off. jump it take it to autozone, low and behold the alternator tests bad again. fine. get another one put it. 

had to tune up the car anyway so here is what was changed/fixed: 

spark plugs 
dist cap 
rotor 
battery 
alternator 
fuel filter 
oil 
oil gasket top and bottom (was leaking) 
leaking gas line 
cleaned ignition switch 

everything runs fine, or so i think until i drove today, but today, radio turns off, the battery light and ebrake flash periodically, what did we miss? 


brother in law checked all the voltages on the battery, between that, the alternator, ignition etc, and based on my repair manaul, says they all checked out fine. so what did we miss?

im afraid its going to die again and want to know if anyone has any suggestions? 

thanks 

josh.


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## matthew dale (Aug 4, 2007)

dude, stop throwin parts at the car and have it diagnosed. you could have a multi problems,start with the battery cables.... make sure goood clean and tight. brake light could be other issue(low brake master fluidfor example.... put volt meter on battery, when issue occurs, it should be around 13.7 to 14.1 volts depending on load.....(ac radio....fan..etc aftermarket altenators often dont match factory specs and will nturn lights on and stuff tooo......... but ithink your chokin on somethin basic


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## qldit (Mar 26, 2007)

endlessrayne said:


> first off
> 
> 1992 nissan sentra 4dr automatic 130k miles
> 
> ...


Good Afternoon Josh, you certainly are having some fun there, I am assuming that the vehicle subsequently starts after the current failure occurs.

So your description of the alternator light coming on suggests you are losing ignition power, however when you mention the radio loses power also that suggests loss of accessory power as well.
But then you mention you are losing your headlights also, if this is still a current condition it places a fault further upstream towards the battery, otherwise it may well be the ignition switch or connectors.

This kind of problem is also symptomatic of a power supply problem to the under-dash fuse panel, possibly a "cooked" connector.
You could try disconnecting power at the battery and dropping that fuse panel and carefully examining the back of it for overheating or loose connectors and maybe also replace the IGN fuse.

If you have a manual for that vehicle it should show an electrical schematic of the actual circuit.
You will likely find that main power for the underdash panel is sourced either from a much heavier fuse panel in the engine compartment and fuses there or from a fusible link which would normally be attached to the positive battery terminal. It is not uncommon for these links to develop corroded connections and do this kind of thing or the heavier fuses in that area to develop corrosion and become intermittent in their connections. 

I suspect your alternator is probably OK, it is just not getting any initial power.

Others will have different ideas.

Cheers, qldit.


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## matthew dale (Aug 4, 2007)

josh,if your still strugglin, theres a connector near the altenator witha large white wire in it..... check the pin in that connector,look for signs of arcing and etc. matthew dale dennis dillon nissan.


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## BRN10 (Aug 16, 2009)

So I have a similar problem to Josh's situation. I was driving the other day and the battery light and ebrake light flickers on and off at random times. Got to to where I needed to go. went to start my car up and the battery was dead. I got a jump and now it runs fine but the battery and ebrake lights still flicker on and off. I'm not losing any accessory power my headlights and everything else works just fine. Can anyone help plese??? By the way its a 92 nissan sentra 2 dr 1.6 litre :4-dontkno


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## sjchipa (Feb 1, 2010)

I have a 92 Sentra, 1.6... same problem as josh, but the difference is that the car turns on, but as soon as I disconnect the battery terminals the car dies. The headlights work, but the break lights don't work. THe panel lights don't turn on either. I changed the alternator and found that I"m not getting any electricla use from the battery to the alternator. Any help would be appreciated.


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## beamme (Jun 5, 2010)

Ugh... Yes, I am having similar problems with my 94 sentra. Car dies while driving. I have replaced the battery, the alternator, the battery leads, and had the connection at the alternator replaced. Has died many times but no one can solve it. Last time I had just recharged the battery earlier in the night (usually it will go a few weeks between episodes), took it out on the freeway, came home and noticed that the dash lights were dimming, so after parking, I tried to start it again. Wouldn't start. The next morning I go out and it starts right up! Then I drive to work and on the way it dies. 

Where did the new charge to start it come from? If it's a faulty starter, why is the battery low?

I too had a radio that would cut out , this was happening long before the battery issues began, but continued. After each problem, I would decide "Oh, it must be the radio" and remove the fuse, or "it must be the AC", and remove that fuse. 

For a time I was hearing a crackiling sound from the fuses under the dash, along with a flickering engine light. 

Really frustrating!


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