My alarm on my 93 maxima gxe keeps on going off randomly for no reason. It would go off maybe once a day, or 3 times in one hour. Then finally today i had to jumpstart the car cause it wouldn't start..
Could it be the alternator? cause i started the car and disconnected the battery and the car turned off.
btw i don't think this matters at all but the random alarm started after i put in a k&n drop in filter.


-Thanks in advance

 

If your battery is dead - alarm would keep going on and off.
So ... have your battery checked and replaced

 

Replace / check the alternator (Yup I sell those)
As you correctly checked if you pull the batt cable and the car dies you've got a really bad alternator. But your dash light should have come on.
Every time your batt runs out of juice the alarm thinks someon has cut the power and responds as if it was being tampered with.
Does that all make sense?

 

reminds me of my old black maxima... sometimes I couldnt even get into it.... not that that was a bad thing

 

I can just PICTURE you trying to get into your Max, Shawn --->

 

---> runs to the passanger door to unlock so the alarm shuts off.... sometimes it really didnt look good, maybe it was just me though. heheheh

 

If you check your alternator and still have the problem, I would just remove your alarm. Mine use to go off randomly about once a day -- sometimes when I open the trunk and sometimes for no reason at all at 2:00 am etc. If you want to do this, it's easy, just take off the lower dash under the steering wheel (about 11 screws) and pull out the box marked Anti Theft.

 

Do you have a FSTB? Sometimes the bar will push your hood up enough to cause the alarm to go off.

 

I don't think that alternator is bad. Mostly likely the battery wouldn't take charge or bad voltage/battery charge regulator (I'm not sure which one maxima has). But I would check the battery first.

 

Most of the time the alarm starts going off after working on the car is because the hood sensor is either damaged, or the hood itself is held up somehow.. when the wind blows, the hood moves a bit and the hood sensor triggers the alarm.

I had this problem shortly after installing my FSTB. the way I got around it was by pulling the hood sensor off and re-drilling the holes so I mounted the sensor about 1/4" farther up on the fender wall. completely solves the problems.

I would check to make sure you didn't have anything stuck in the hood anywhere either- like leave a screwdriver on top of the engine when you shut the hood.. it can cause the hood to deform just enough so it's pushed up and sets off the alarm like I described above.

 

I checked under the hood, but didn't notice anything unusual. How does the sensor look like?
Also wouldn't the car dieing after disconnecting the battery be a sure sign the alternators bad? I dropped by a mechanic, and he said if it was the alternator all the lights on the dashboard would come on (said to come back tomarrow to check it out).
I think the best thing to try right would be to disconnect the alarm. btw the alarm that is going off is the alarm that came with the car (anti-theft), not aftermarket. After removing the lower dash is the alarm easily seen?

 

Very easily.
Right under the column says antitheft

 

Can't tell you a THING about your alarm (I HATE those sthings!), but I can tell you your charging system is not working. I haven't looked at the manual, but I would assume that these things have a one peice regulator/alternator so that would be it. Unless your belt is extremely loose or missing!

 

NOT! He removed the battery from the circuit. The alternator SHOULD have kept it running, good battery, bad battery or NO battery.

 

may be you are right
but as I mentioned before if battery is "short" (doesn't take charge) it would effect the whole electric system including voltage/battery charge regulator (or whatever it is).
what I said - don't blame alternator right away ...

so check the battery --> ... check the regulator --> ... check the alternator and belt (???)

 

regulator = built into altenator last time I checked.

 

I will have to disconnect my alarm I am tired of unlocking my doors from the passanger side every time so that the alarm won't go off. The factory alarm is bad news.

 

wtf.....
I pulled out the fuse for the Anti-theft, and drove it for around 1 hour. I parked it and drove it out again, and while im driving the alarm starts going off.. soo i took out the relay switch for the anti-theft. Drove the car again 5 hours later, and the damn alarm went off while driving! ;/ Im guessing the alarm is going off because i took out the fuse, and thinks im stealing the car??? Is there a core part of it where i could remove it??? I guess alternator or battery is not the problem?

 

UNPLUG THE BOX UNDER the STEERING COLUMN!