# 98' Sentra GXE Weirdness



## Guest (May 8, 2003)

I need some help with some weird problems and if anyone can help I would be grateful. My problems with a recently purchased, used sentra are these:

Why does my air conditioning stop cooling when i stop at a street light or park, but works well when i accelerate on the road or freeway?

Why does my car seem to shift speeds irratically when i begin to accelerate on the freeway ( slow speedup even though i have 4 cylinders)?

I've installed wipersprayer leds and it comes with black and red wiring. Red goes to the negative battery terminal but the instructions say to connect black to a 12volt power source. What is a 12volt power source and where is it and how do i attach it?

Just a newbie trying to learn how this car stuff works. 

Thanks to anyone who can help.


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## JustMe (Jan 24, 2003)

> Why does my air conditioning stop cooling when i stop at a street light or park, but works well when i accelerate on the road or freeway?


The AC compressor is driven off a belt, perhaps your vechicle idle is set to low to generate cold air out of the compressor at idle.



> Why does my car seem to shift speeds irratically when i begin to accelerate on the freeway ( slow speedup even though i have 4 cylinders)?


Is your car a 5 speed or an automatic? The ga16de is a fairly hearty motor, but it does not produce break neck acceleration (especially with the AC on). If it's a 5 speed you could have a slipping clutch. Auto, may be time for a fluid flush. Tho this problem is hard to diagnose from the info you gave, it couldbe fuel system, MAF or any number of other things.



> I've installed wipersprayer leds and it comes with black and red wiring. Red goes to the negative battery terminal but the instructions say to connect black to a 12volt power source. What is a 12volt power source and where is it and how do i attach it?


First, tho it does not really matter. Traditionally RED = posative and BLACK = negative. But, you should try and tap into power that will give you what you want. For example

If you want the nozzle lights on with your parking lights then connect them to one of your corners. 
If you want them to blink connect them to the blinker wire in your corners.
If you want control over them, then you can also wire a switch into them and control them that way.


Welcome to the board, I hope some of this is helpful, for a really good source on your car for not a ton of money, try to find a haynes or chiltons service manual.


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## Guest (May 8, 2003)

I have an automatic and i also have the haynes manual but it's still not detailed enough.
I guess i'll take my car to gat the ac checked on.

You are correct about my ac cutting power to my acceleration, is there any way through regular or mods to fix this?

About the nozzle lights, I understand to where they can be connected, but how do i connect them? Do it need to remove my fixtures and rewire my connector into that, or is there a simpler way?


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## G_Funk013 (Jul 9, 2002)

*Washer Lights*

As for connecting the washer lights. You can just splice off the surrounding to expose the wire and wrap the washer light wire to which ever wire your connecting it to. Then just wrap some electrical tape around it. And you should be good to go.


P.S. Welcome :cheers:


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## whiteb14 (Jul 7, 2002)

i have the same problem with the a/c... it wont cool great until i accelerate... but it doesnt bother me too much.


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## Nostrodomas (Jun 15, 2002)

You can purchase a larger amp alternator, for example one out of a chey truck. Then have a custom bracket fabed up. This will help with the problem but will not cure it. Plus if you intend on getting a high output stereo system in the future, you will need to do this anyway.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

higher output alternator could help a little, but I don't see too much help unless you have a 500+Watt System giving you a hard time. There is a performance product called an underdrive pulley. The pulley is what transfers power from the crank to the alternator, compressor, watter pump and all the other belt driven accessories. 

This does help your acceleration when you are using your AC b/c of the lower mass and the slightly smaller size, however b/c of your current problem with the AC not being cool at idle, the pulley could make this worse. Try increasing the idle speed a bit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As for the washer nozzle lights, I could be a jerk and say toss those ricy f*kers in the garbage and save up for something that will actually make you go fast ....But I'll be nice and tell you, the washer lights are LEDs, LEDs can only flow current in one direction. The black wire is negative and goes either to the negative terminal of the battery or the nearest grouning point. for the red wire, you have a few options:

if you want the lights to go on when you flick a switch (inside the cabin), you will need to run a wire from the positive battery terminal through the firewall into the cabin connect that to a switch and mount the switch in a good location. then run another wire from the switch, back out to the engine bay and to the red wire on the lights. 
***Pro=lets you control when the lights go on and off with the switch, Con=if you leave the switch on, you could leave it on all night and drain the battery (of course LEDs draw very little power), also somewhat messy when it comes to wiring***

if you want the lights to go on with your headlights/parking lights, run the red wire from the lights to the red wire behind one of your corner/parking lamps.
***Pro=will not be left on given that you do not leave your headlights on all night, no wires going through the firewall, Con=you will not be able to control from inside your car (unless you turn off your headlights), if you have an illegal color, they cannot be turned off if you happen to see an officer nearby***

if you want to have both, run the positive lead that goes INTO dimmer switch (you want to tap the red wire with a green (or sometimes blue) stripe from behind the switch). Run this lead to an on/off switch mounted in a convenient location and rUn the wire coming from there to the red LED wire. 
***Pro=will not be left on given that you do not leave your headlights on all night, can use the switch to keep it off iat certain times, Con=none, unless you like keeping them on when the headlights are off***

it's not complicated at all, I just have nothing better to do at 1:30AM than write an essay on washer nozzle lights 

L8


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## Guest (May 10, 2003)

As excruciating as it was to write such an epic essay on such a cheesy item, I truly appreciate your intense and detailed instructions on these ten dollar items.
Truly, you masters of machinery are all knowing and wise.
And thank you as well for the AC idea but since I'm a new one to imports I'm gonna pass your info on to someone who can physically assist me.

As always, member of the forums amaze me.

Thanks!


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## Guest (May 10, 2003)

By the way I forgot to ask. Where are the grounding points in
a 98' Nissan Sentra anyway? 
Now you can see just how new I am to these cars.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

any part of the chassis. If you see a screw attached to the engine block or the walls of the engine bay, it's grounded. you may even sewe a few wires that are bolted to the engine block or body. Any of these points are good to hook up the negative wire.


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## Guest (May 11, 2003)

Since you truly are the Yoda of speed I have a few other questions if you don't mind me asking you.
What exactly is one of those cone type filters? Is it a good idea to install one to cool my engine. If I do should I mount it normally in place of my stock filter case or from what I've seen extend it to the bottom front of my bumper?
Is it legal?
In case your wondering why I don't know crap about imports is because due to shitty luck all my past cars have been serious dung so this is my chance to make a badass ride like you pros.

Dude I really appreciate your help with these questions.
I'll make it worth your while since I custom create car art and graphics.
Thanks!


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

Another thing to consider with the A/C is your location.You live in Texas and this will really tax an A/C system.And remember that the Evaporator core(in front of the radiator) must have air passing over it to have maximum effectiveness,as this is what transfers heat out of the A/C system. This could expalin some of your low speed problem.You could also have a bad cycling switch which is allowing the system to build excess pressure and thereby reducing the effectiveness of the system .If this is the case,it will only get worse as the excess pressure will eventually blow out the orifice tubes and then the system will not operate properly due to the lack of a pressure differential.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

alright, as you probably already know, I only like to give breif descriptions <----Sarcasm 

Um, aftrmarket intake filters are mostly summed into 2 groups. WAI (warm air intake) and CAI (cold air intake). A WAI is a cone that attaches to the intake piping and the cone sits in the engine bay. I have a Jim Wolf WAI on mine. It replaces the old airbox and attaches directly to the MAF. Bout $110 (for a good one) and about 5hp increase. A CAI is the same sort of thing but instead of the air being sucked in from within the engine bay, it includes a long tube that extends from the MAF, all the way down into the fender. The filter attaches to the end of the tube and sucks air in from within the fender. The cold air is denser than the hot air from inside the engine bay, so you will gain more power. Normally they go for about $200 and are about 9hp increase.

as for it being legal, not exactly. Most performance parts are not DOT and CARB tested because of the money and hassle it puts on the manufacturer. It doesn't mean that it pollutes or is dangerous, companies just find it easier to put a "FOR OFF ROAD USE" sticker on their prouduct. Most cops and emmissions places could care less as long as you pass the emmissions test, but if you're in a state that requires a strict visual inspection, it could be a bit harder to pass regulations.

I've never had a problem with my upgrades, so I'm not exactly not the one to ask about the legality other than what I've said. I haven't been hassled by the cops, I have no emmissions here in FL, so I really don't know if you might get a hard time in TX.


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## Guest (May 11, 2003)

Thanks again for such valuable info. 
I was wondering, How can I post pix of my ride with my messages?
I read the faq but it's not too much help.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

upload the pix to a website and on the boards, write this in the message:


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