SPONSORED LINKS

Engine Shaking

Tiny
AMASINGDOLPHIN16
  • MEMBER
  • NISSAN SENTRA
94 Nissan Sentra
110,000 miles

Okay, so recently my car has been giving me a lot of problems. The alternator went out, I had it replaced, and since then my battery and brake light flicker occasionally at me and also mess with my head lights or windshield wipers if they are on.I don't know what is wrong. Within the past week, my engine shakes when it shifts gears automatically. It first happened at the 40-50 mph area down shifting and then it happens all the time when down shifting or accelerating. The whole front half of the car shakes really badly. It is really slow on accelerating when the car is shaking. It happens for different lengths of time. It does not occur when my car is idling. I've used a fuel injector cleaner.. I had my plugs and wires replaced recently. What is wrong with my car? I really need help!
SPONSORED LINKS
Sunday, December 31st, 2006 AT 9:27 PM

8 Replies

Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Does this happen regardless of the engine being warm and driven awhile or will it also happen when cold?

Was the problem(s) present be other repairs where done or after repairs were done?

Why did you replace the wires and plugs? To try to fix a problem or as maintenance?

Regarding the first symptom you describe:
There are many rebuilt alternaters that are poorly rebuilt, the light flicker problem sounds like you MAY have a dud alternater.
SPONSORED LINKS
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, January 1st, 2007 AT 7:36 AM
Tiny
AMASINGDOLPHIN16
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
It happens regardless of whether the engine is cold or warm.I changed the plugs because I was told I needed to because one of my cylinders wasn't firing because of it. As it turned out that wasn't the problem. It ended up being my injector. I've had the alternator tested numerous times and they all come back with the correct Voltage. I'm thinking I have a connection that's bad or maybe a ground wire loose from other answers to questions I've seen.I'm really not sure what to do about this shaking. When accelerating from a dead stop it surges from the first gear to the second as well as from the second to the third. I'm a poor broke college student and I'd like to go in to a repair shop knowing how much I'm going to have to spend because none of my sensors that tell me something is wrong are on. I don't have a lot of money and my car eats most of it. This has only started happening 5 months after I had the repairs done on it previously.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, January 1st, 2007 AT 8:39 AM
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Car require a constant flow of money no doubt.

Was the alternater checked while the problem was present? This is critical as when an intermittant alternater problem is present, there will be times the alternater works and tests fine. At that moment. What brand alternater is it?

You can check some the ground situation. How is the battery cable connections. IF in doubt, remove the cables from the battery, wire brush them, re connect and tighten securely. Is there corrosion present on the cables or battery clamps at all? Is there any green present on the cables? How is the connect at the alternater or the grounding points from the negitive side of the battery?

IF you can safely reach the electrical connector at the alternater, wiggle it while someone inside the car watchs for the symptoms.

As far as the Shaking. Press in each ignition wire on both sides to see if one may be loose at all. IF not, one by one pull each one and check for anything other than a clean connection.
We'll go from there.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Monday, January 1st, 2007 AT 9:37 AM
Tiny
AMASINGDOLPHIN16
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
The alternator was checked when the problem was present. It is an ACdelco brand alternator. Also when I had the alternator replaced I had a cracked negative terminal on my battery and they replaced that as well. I have a little bit of build up that wasn't there before when I had the problem. It's not really green it's more of a yellowish rustic kind of color on the battery terminal. The electrical connector of the alternator is secure and no symptoms were present when I wiggled it. I have no clue how to find grounding wires so I am a little out of the loop on that. I should probably get some Coke to remove the battery buildup, but I doubt that is the problem.
As for the ignition wires, they are secure and I can't really tell if there is a "clean connection" I'm not all that good with cars.I just know what I've dealt with already.I was told that if it was my wires then my car would probably have already died on me when I was driving it. As a result I am scared to drive my car to work.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
-1
Monday, January 1st, 2007 AT 12:26 PM
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Bad ignition wires can cause a no start, a rough idle, a stalling condition.

You can try replacing them, moisture testing them or have a shop troubleshoot the situation.

Using a spray bottle while the car is running, mist the ignition wires from where they start at the plugs all the way to the other end of them.

Does the engine idle change?
SPONSORED LINKS
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
-1
Monday, January 1st, 2007 AT 1:43 PM
Tiny
AMASINGDOLPHIN16
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
So, I let my boyfriend drive my car to the mechanic down the street(my boyfriend is actually planning on going to college for auto tech) and he said it felt like an injector problem like I had before. And it turned out he was right. We popped an injector cleaner in (SEA FOAM) and by the time we took it to my regular mechanic it was working fine and he couldn'tfind anything wrong with it. So thanks for all your help. I appreciate it.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Saturday, January 6th, 2007 AT 7:38 AM
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Thanks for posting the fix! :D

Glad to hear all went well.

Tell the B/F to start getting his hands dirty and try to get into a shop part time while schooling. Hands on + schooling makes Jack a good tech :wink:
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, January 6th, 2007 AT 7:47 AM
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
[quote="amasingdolphin16"]It happens regardless of whether the engine is cold or warm.I changed the plugs because I was told I needed to because one of my cylinders wasn't firing because of it. As it turned out that wasn't the problem. It ended up being my injector. Quote]

Looks like it went full circle!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, January 6th, 2007 AT 7:48 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related Engine Shake Content

VIEW MORE

Sponsored links