ranchan02

iTrader: (4)

Hi Everyone:

I did a search but to no avail. I had a starting issue earlier today of starting my car (not enough voltage to start the car because the car sat in the driveway for a week and its been like 20 degrees around here). Anyways to make a long story short, I had to jump my car. Once I got the car started and removed the negetive jumper cable from the ground location (engine hanger) from the FD, the car would die. I would have to try to jump the car again (3 times) to finally get the car to say on. What would cause that? The 2nd problem now is that the boost gauge (mechanical) is stuck over the max reading (over 2.0 kg/cm²). What can I do to fix that? And the last thing is while I tried revving the motor to see if I can blip the boost gauge to work, I noticed this weird water rushing sound when I hit the accelerator coming from the front middle of the dash. What could that be? Sorry for all the questions. Any suggestions on what to look for?

GUITARJUNKIE28

get a new boost gauge

the only water on the inside of the car is through the heater core

test your voltage while the car is running. you might have a bunk alternator, or your battery might be crappin' out and becoming a parasite.

ranchan02

iTrader: (4)

Hi Guitarjunkie28:

So there's no way to "reset" the boost gauge even though it's mechanical?

As for the voltage, According to the turbo timer, it was reading around 8-9v. The battery is new (only 8 months old) so I guess the alternator is what's problematic.

Any other things to look for?

GUITARJUNKIE28

disconnect your battery and fully charge it. let it sit overnight and test the voltage. you should hypathetically have 12.6 volts, but i'd say anything over 12.2 volts is ok since it's winter time. anything less than that, have it professionally tested. with the running voltage being that low, i'd say it's a bad alternator, but pop it out and take it to auto bone to make sure.

if you have a vacuum pump, try sucking a buttload of vacuum through the gauge and see if the needle frees up. or shapr bursts of compressed air at around 15-20 psi might jolt it loose. other than that, i'd say just grab a new one. i've never seen a mechanical gauge i trust anyway. they're more for checking consistancy-rather than the actual boost/vacuum levels. if you want to get accurate, you'd have to get calibrated equipment...very expensive and not very bling.

i'm about out of ideas besides that, but i hope that gives you something to go on at least.

DaveW

By your symptoms, I'd say the boost gauge internal mechanism has worn out from vibrating with each pulse of the intake tract pressure. Mechanical (pressure, vacuum, and even temperature) gauges (just in case you didn't know) have a curved pressure tube (called a Bourdon tube) that straightens with increasing pressure. This straightening moves a rack that engages with a very small pinion gear attached to the pointer. Because the gauge spends most of its life vibrating near the same reading, this rack & pinion wears out, and the gauge skips teeth. To avoid this, a restrictor can be placed in the pressure feed line to damp the vibration.

So, bottom line, you probably need a new gauge, since this one is probably worn out.