Ignition problems...I think!?

[WolfbaneDrifter]

Ok, I did a quick search but didn't see anything exactly relevant. So I'm going to ask you. My car has been sitting for a while so I was out driving around. I go to make a U-turn and the car just dies. I had the wheel locked all the way to the left. Then the car died. I tried restarting it and it tried then it quit. After I got the car stopped I tried starting it again, none of the instrument panel lights would come on and the headlights were out (high and low). The ceiling light/tail lights/corner lights/blinkers worked fine. I pushed the car into a parking lot and as I was turning the wheel to the right, the instrument panel lights flicked on, so I jumped in and tried starting the car. It came on for about 2 seconds then died again...then it was same as before, no gauge lights came on. So I have a friend bring me a voltmeter so I can check the battery, it was fine (12.47 'ish I think). I disconnected the battery cables for a few minutes then reconnected them and the car started for about 2 seconds again. So I decide to leave the cables off for a while. I waited for an hour and then did it again. This time nothing happened, until I turned the lights on. I turned the key and the lights at the same time and the car started for about 4 seconds (long enough to get the windows up), then died again. I did that 2 more times before the gauge lights quit coming on.
I'm completely lost as to what is going on. I checked all the fuses and as many wires as I could quickly get to. The car is a 95 240SX stock ka24de with a recent auto to 5-speed swap, recent as in the clutch hasn't even been broke in yet. I was as detailed as possible, I hope it helps.

 

[240SicknessX]

I recently had a little issue with getting one of my engines running. It would start for a second, then shut off before it even gets to idle speed. The problem was, that the fuel pump was only priming the rail when I cycled the key but it would not keep running continuous after the car started. Be sure your distributor and the connector are in good condition, no corrosion or cracked plugs. Do you see the rpm gauge move when the engine tries to start for a second? If it kicks over like its going to start you should see it jump up to at least 500 rpm. The thing about your headlights sounds like you have an intermittent short. is the car slammed? is the tire rubbing on the harness that goes to the front of the car on the drivers side wheel well? Check all fuses, under the hood and drivers side kick panel. See if you find one that constantly is blowing. What did you do with all that automatic transmission harness shit down stairs? if you just cut the wires and not undo the connectors or disconnect the harness completely then theres a possibility that the wires could be touching down there. Ive found exposed wires in the engine bay before that kept on blowing the ignition\metering circuit.

 

[WolfbaneDrifter]

unfortunately, my tach has never worked. The car isn't slammed, but I'll check that anyway. And I didn't actually do the swap, I had a shop do it (they really messed it up bad, I actually just picked it up from another shop that fixed some of their mistakes...) So that harness part is most likely the problem then I guess.

Thanks, any other suggestions are welcome.

 

[JTNismo]

I had issues similar to what 240 Sickness describes. I am going with possible short as well. I second that you should make sure again that fuses are OK. Once I had an issue with my first Zenki in which wiring came in contact with the engine top cover and the engine melted all the way into the bare wires. That kept a fuse blowing every other day. (I don't remember which but it was one inside the car not under the hood). Although, if I am not mistaken when a fuse goes, whatever is acting up just won't work and you are describing something that comes and goes. Well, you never know! I would check for lose wiring somewhere again also since all this started happening as you made a U-turn (an abrupt movement). Sudden abrupt moves may have your possible lose wires continuing and discontinuing proper contact. Good luck! BTW don't just check battery wires. Check for voltage of other wires.

 

[WolfbaneDrifter]

Ok, it started!! I rechecked all the fuses and they were fine,but it wouldn't start, so out of frustration I really really tightened the battery cables down, voila, started right up (kinda, more on that later). So, I guess one of the cables was just loose enough to not be getting enough contact to start the car, except randomly.

Now a new problem...lol...always another. When the car starts, I have to immediately rev the motor in order for it not to die. It will start up, then kind of die down and get real quiet. Sometimes it will start back up, others it just dies. Is this because it hasn't been driven in so long, or is there an issue with a sensor?

thanks