94 st problems, help please! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

recemgsol · 11-15-2008, 05:46 PM

ok guys i dont know very much about automobiles so bare with me threw this...

i got the car about 2 months ago, i had a new radiator put in and everything has been running fine until yesterday..

so backtracking about 3 weeks when i got my oil changed, they said my battery was really low and i needed a new one.. i didnt have the cash at the time, they told me if i came back with a new battery they would put it in for free...

so me being a newb was like "oh sure free battery change i dont know wtf i am doing so ill bring one back when i have the chash.."

ok so yesterday i bring the battery and they tell me to pull up to an empty parking space...

the guy tells me to turn the car on so i he can switch the battery without disrupting the alarm...

yes i know... BAD IDEA!!

anyways... so the PROBLEM is now i can barely get the car to start... when it does if i give it gas it stalls.....

i tested the battery with a machine and it said "DIODE ERROR"

a certified technition told me that has to do with the alternator..

but my friends dad said that its most likely the fuel pump...

anyone have any experience with this??

any advice at all would be greatly appreciated guys..

***new echo owner*** · 11-15-2008, 08:28 PM

Can you elaborate further on what you meant by 'can barely get the car to start'?

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-16-2008, 02:49 AM

my bad i should have been more specific..

the car is a 94 st 1.8lt 5 speed manual

the battery currently inside the car is 100% fully charged..

so heres what happens

i put the key in the ignition and start the car... if it actually starts... if the car sits for a while i can usually get it to start.

when the car starts i put it into 1st and give it gas..

after about 2 seconds of gas.. it revs up to about 500 rpm's then the car idles then dies...

but....

when i have someone pushing the car giving it momentum.. if i give the car gas it goes until i have to stop.. then when i put it into gear again it idles then dies..

does the alternator control the power distributed to the rest of the vehicle? including the fuel pump?

***new echo owner*** · 11-16-2008, 11:29 AM

The purpose of the alternator is to recharge the battery and supply the needed power to power up the electrical circuits when the engine is running. In some instances, the battery will supplement the alternator to provide power under high load situations. The battery can actually run the vehicle for a short time if the alternator is not functioning.

I would suggest you start by check the connections to your battery, make sure your battery terminals and cables are clean and tight. Then go from there and see what happens, since that is where your problem seem to have started.

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-17-2008, 02:16 PM

i have been checking out the battery with a couple and we all agreed that everything looks pretty good..

any idea whats going on?

***new echo owner*** · 11-17-2008, 04:41 PM

Can you post a picture so we can see how it looks?

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-17-2008, 05:17 PM

***new echo owner*** · 11-17-2008, 09:02 PM

I hate to say it but those terminals don't look good, you have a little bit of work ahead for yourself. Do a search on this site, there should be some threads talking about cleaning battery terminals and cables, and replaced the positive terminal.

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-17-2008, 11:35 PM

ok well, i have done some research...

basically get a wire brush and clean everything..

tap the cable shielding to see if corrosion comes out...

but everything in my car works... radio, air, alarm, clock...

this makes me think that its not the alternator...

its only when i give the car after its turned on that it stalls..

so im thinking it may possibly be the fuel filter.. or pump..

because when it sits over night it might be building up pressure..

but when i use the gas for a little while.. it looses pressure it cant regain pressure fast enough for me to continue.. so the engine stops turning.. and the car dies..

anyways thats just me trying to make a logical diagnosis of the problem.. like i said i dont have any experience with automobiles..

hopefully i can get it towed from my house to my mechanic tomorrow...

this way i dont have to worry about it..

any thoughts though.?

***new echo owner*** · 11-18-2008, 12:26 AM

It is good that you try to figure out what is going on; however, that isn't exactly how the fuel pump works. You have to either crank the engine over or the engine has to be running for the fuel pump to power and stay running. When the fuel pump is running that when you will get fuel pressure to feed the engine.

Your problem had started when the battery was replaced, that was why you had to start from that area first. When the engine is not running that means the alternator wouldn't be recharging the battery, all that power that is require to start the engine, run the fuel pump and other electrical circuit has to come from the battery. In order for the battery to power all those circuit, its need good clean connections. And as I had indicated, you battery connections and cables don't look very good. This is at the very least how a battery terminal should look: http://www.petrospecsinc.com/images/...inal-after.jpg. Anyway, if you are going to have a mechanic do the work for you , I would suggest have them start with clean those terminals and cables first; you will need a new Positive battery terminal, and possibly a Negative one too from the way it looks. After all that is done, then check the charging system.

Keep us posted.

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-18-2008, 05:34 PM

ok so just today, i have been cleaning the terminals.. i used a meter and it showed that when the car was running it was battery had about 13.8-14 going....

so i get in that car and give it some gas.. it revs the rpms as high as i want.

i let it settel down and when i try to rev again i can hear a putter from the tank that sounds kinda like a go cart...

at one point the car died and smoke came from the air filter!

but when testing the alternator it said Diode error. and people are telling me that means i need a new alternator..

but i still havent replaced the terminal on the battery..

so if the battery is giving the alternator enough voltage then its not powering the rest of the car properly correct?

anyways thats what has happened so far.

btw neo i appreciate all your effort to help me so far thanks!

***new echo owner*** · 11-18-2008, 09:20 PM

'Putter from the tank'? Can you elaborate on that? Do you mean noise from the fuel tank?

This 'diode error' message was it from the test you had done before you clean the terminals or after you had clean the terminals?

The battery doesn't really give power to the alternator, rather the alternator recharge the battery when the charge in the battery have drop from starting the engine, etc.

N.E.O.

recemgsol · 11-18-2008, 11:24 PM

yes there was a putter from the gas tank.

anyways...

i had the car towed to the mechanic today, he said he wouldnt charge me diagnostics

he says something is starving the engine...

so it may be the fuel distributor or hopefully its just a clogged filter...

anyways ill keep you guys posted.