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Trust My Mechanic

Your Free Car Repair Advice and Auto Repair Help

No Power Since Engine Steam Cleaning

Austin Davis, August 4, 2008September 30, 2014

The reason that I am writing is b/c I have recently replaced the alternator myself and everything seems very sluggish. My windshield wipers move very slow even on the highest setting, the acceleration almost feels like it’s missing (is there timing that needs to be set on a alternator?) I think I had the belt too tight the first time b/c it was showing the battery light on the dash and then after loosening the tension it went away.

The car is just over all bogged down. If this helps I recently cleaned the engine bay with simple green and sprayed it down with water, but this was before I put the new part in. I covered the alternator, rotor and air filter with plastic bags first though. Would you have any idea? The part is stamped with the “nissan” logo but it is referbished.

thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

Hi there,

I sure wish you did not wash the engine down with water…..it almost ALWAYS causes problems when people do that. if the wipers are moving slow…I would suspect there is not enough battery power…are you triple sure your battery is ok?

I would install a new battery just to make sure the battery is not the issue. The alt belt being too tight will not cause the battery light to come on, so I am hoping this is something as simple as a bad battery…or there is something wrong with your new alternator.

for the boggy running problem I would remove the distributor cap and make sure there is no moisture inside the distributor cap or on the ignition rotor. If you can, get some compressed air and blow all electrical connectors you can see.

There could be damage to one of the many sensors under the hood…water and electricity dont mix, so there is a good chance something got wet and is damaged or if you are lucky just needs to dry out.

Battery first, check all battery connnections etc. etc. then dry out your distributor…if you still have issues, you might need to see a mechanic for them to run some tests and see what is happening. OK?

Blessings,

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