glkiller2

it was formerly schucks, I bought the one that lasted two years from them, lifetime warranty. the new one was warrantied by oreilly since they took over the store. seriously it lasted about 60 miles. I'm going to tell them what happened, and see if they want to improve the situation (crappy parts rebuilt in mexico and they must be proud of that they put their very own sticker sayin so on it:) ) or whatever. But that yellow wire is fed from the ignition fuse 16 along with the fuel pump, I would think it would need to be grounded with a simulated load (resistor). But that may take away the alt problem detection circuit I would think. I dunno.

BTW it just occurred to me that my 300,00 mile engine still sounds smoother than my 98 ej25 with a supposed fresh rebuild 20K. (EJ22 has recently had the HLA tick, fixed now) that engine sounded great for sittin for months waitin for me to unplu my new alt:) Thanks again everyone, keep rockin the forum!

Goes to show put it on the sticky if not use it for a title: Bought a new alternator? Don't trust it for a second. Want to check it? Unplug it. I thought since it was new it wasn't the problem, WISH I had known how easy that is to check. Now I gotta put the car back together... AND resist the urge to throw that couple days of use alternator through the window of the parts store:) Thinking I will do the alternator mod suggested by GD and others, stick a '97 alt in there and redo the wiring to the square plug. I looked at a parts site suggested here and the new alt for the 90-94 is still $300 I likie $75 and a little splicing mucho bettero.

IT"S ALIVE!!!! when I tried to start with alt unplugged, I had forgotten to plug in the coil after testing. (derr) plugged in coil, and cranked for awhile, it stumbled to a rough start (still flooded) then smoothed out, started belching smoke (prob fuel in exhaust) revved up, sounds responsive to throttle, smooth as a 300,000 mile engine can:) I'm gonna get me a REAL alternator, change my oil (prob fuel in it too), and drive it like I stole it! woooohoooo! ty all so much gloyale thanks for chiming in with the unplug it suggestion! owe ya a growler (beer)

Yes! Progress! Several times This did steady the CEL and fuel pump it no longer flashes and cycles, but also the car would not start, would crank, and I could smell fuel, but sounded like no spark. It did't try to catch at all. So does this circuit supply power to the coil while key is in start position? but the computer takes over when in on position, (the purpose of the diode). If so, could I wire power into that connector to the yellow wire and get it to start. Or could that be dangerous, and I should just get a good alternator for it and cross my fingers, (again) Also I'd like to suggest a sticky: After all the research I've done, seeing the suggestions to unplug stuff and see what changes I think there should be a procedure suggested that is easy to find: Check fuses unplug coolant sensor unplug alt unplug MAF etc. I had no idea before I started this that unplugging these things could lead me to an answer, thought it would just create another problem. (possibly dangerous) Thank you all very much for your time and input:) We're getting closer I think.

can anyone else confirm the existence of wire connectors taped up in the wire harness where it goes from under hood fuse box into fender, (who's bright idea was that anyway) put the wires in the fender sheesh)

I don't have any starter fluid, I was told never to use it by many people I respect the opinions of:)

I tested the coil it's ok. it did rumble to a start when I unplugged the coolant sensor awhile back but died quickly. I got it to do about the same kinda start once by flooring the gas. It sputters like it wants to catch, but the CEL and fuel pump are goin off erratically, like ecu loses power intermittently.

I tested the fuses with key on 15 amp to ignition and 10 amp to egi all normal voltages. meter too.

no, engine wont start.

how do I find the numbers for the fuses, BTW thanks a bunch for the reply:)

I tried to pull codes by connecting the black read connectors. I could not spot a pattern at all, I could hear the relay and fuel pump cycling over and over and it (CEL) would flash dimm then bright getting the tach bump every few relay hits. BTW I'm sure it's the fuel pump relay only that's ticking.I held both while it was goin on and the ignition relay is not cycling. With the connectors together the CEL comes on right away regardless of the fuel pump but seems to lose power intermittently. Remember I tested power from ignition relay while key was on and it had steady output. CEL would shut off randomly, come back on, flash once, shut off, stay on, very erratic all while fuel pump and relay are clicking away. The battery is studly, last charged in November, still cranking the engine. Will have to charge it soon though. Hey I read the cooling fans are supposed to come on when that connector is together, but mine didn't. If that helps. Again I did the black connectors, checked wire colors to book and it matched blk/red and red/blk. I have left the battery disconnected when I'm not working on it it may have lost historic codes by now. Very concerned about what Ivans Imports said about connections wrapped inside the wire harness where it goes through the fender do I have to rip that whole mess open? again I went up to the multi directional glob:) not into it.

opened the harness up TO where it splits in a few directions and found no connectors, should I go further? yes I can't tighten this anymore without breaking it I think. I'ts the stud for the ALT output power, I'm tight on the bolt but the bolt wiggles a little. Think I traded one bad alternator for another? would it cause these symptoms or just not charge?

so i grudgingly worked on it some more. fun fun I thought what the heck let's try the coolant sensor, unplugged it and it started, ran like crap for about 10 seconds and died (stumbled badly, gave it gas it revved a little then died). I noticed that before that test the CEL wasn't flashing erratically as much as previously tested, but after that test it does it again. I tested for power at the orangeish connector (check connector?) yellow/red wire while cranking and had power steady all through starting test. I may have mispoke on the CEL fuel pump deal earlier, when key turned to on, you can hear the fuel pump run for a sec and the CEL only comes on after the pump turns off, usually when it is flashing erratically the fuel pump is cycling on and off quickly. NOW this may be a game changer: I was looking around for fuse 14 inside the car and testing again to see if I made any mistakes. What I found was that the fuse for the EGI slot is good for one. BUT when the key is turned on, with no fuse in place, I get power to BOTH sides of where the fuse would be in the block. Furthermore when I touch the bottom contact with my tester, I can hear the fuel pump cycle. Could this mean I have a bad diode? I assume it's that little black thing sticking out of the harness near the ECU and fuse block. Looks kinda like a blade fuse mount with a black fuse in it, but I doubt it's actually a fuse. I don't know how to test the diode. or even remove it. bizaro stuff Also: Checked power from ignition relay while cranking, it was fine. moved ground spot on engine, same results. with connectors connected checked for grounds at ECU, they were fine.

F It I give up. $200 to the guy who comes to Lapine and fixes it.