Mannysur

Hi guys ,a couple days ago my 93 maxima start to act up kind of weird.The best description that I can offer is as follows:As soon as I take the key on the off position all lights inside the car goes off,the clock resets and the radio also,the same happen with the seat belts (I have to try to start the car again for the seatbelts to work,note that the car starts with no problems),aside of the window on the passenger side going down when I reach about 3K on the tach and the lights on the dash (Brake) blink.Also I have noticed that the battery wouldn't charge more than 12.2 volts. Thought that the alternator was the problem since the battery its almost brand new (4 months old)but it pass the test as good one.Anybody with the same problem?Thanks for any kind of input since its really fustrating at this point.Thanks for your time to read and awaiting any kind of input.Thanks .Manny.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Sounds like you have some corrosion some where. That or something is grounding out. "Phantom Car!"

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

Sounds like you have a flood car on your hands. I don't care what Autozone says, dash lights coming on and the fact that it shows 12.2v at any time while running means it's bad. Replace it and go from there.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The clock losing time and the radio losing the station presets is an indication of 12 volts being removed from them, like disconnecting the battery. They are both on the same circuit (fuse) and are supposed to have power all the time, regardless of the car running or being parked.

There is a small wire plugged onto the alternator that supplies power to the windings in the alternator so that it will produce current. If this wire was loose in the connector or the voltage to that wire was missing or low, the alternator would not work. But if the alternator did not work, the battery would run down and eventually you couldn't start the car.

Do you have a problem with the battery not getting charged? When you measured the 12.2 volts, where was this measurement taken at, on the battery terminals? Was the engine running at that time?

These all sound like separate problems but they evidently are related in some way I don't know about. What you want to do is check the grounds from the battery. First, make sure that both battery cables are good. Corrosion where the thick wire goes into the battery connector can work its way inside of the connector and create a bad connection, intermittent at first but eventually it would become permanent. If you Wiggle the wire, you MIGHT see the lights flicker when the engine is not running.

Follow the ground battery cable from the battery to where it connects to the car body. This is chassis ground, an extremely important grounding point. Examine this very carefully. Disconnect and clean the parts that touch, even if you think it looks good. Examine all the other ground connections.

Other things to check would be what Nissan refers to as "joint connections". These are wher 2 wire harnesses connect to each other. If moisture got into these connectors and created corrosion, you will have all kinds of strange problems. See the FOLDOUT section of the FSM for the location of these connectors.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I never trust any electrical parts from AutoZone.

Mannysur

Guys,thanks so much for the input.It seems that this weekend its gonna be a long one ,trying to follow every ground connection on the car.Another thing that I forgot to mention is that, yes ,the voltage was measured to the terminals when the car was running,and when I applied gas, the voltage will decreased instead of going higher.It seems also that I will get an alternator somewhere else.Thanks once again for your help and I will be posting my results .Greatly appreciated.Best regards ,Manny.

Mannysur

Hi guys and girls!!!!!!! Just to let you know that after almost a month of search on the car (cleaning up every ground connection and making sure that everything its tide up).The problem was what they called a "FUSIBLE LINK",located on the positive side of the batterie.Its the connector with a blue wire that its supposed to protect the car in case that something its connected backwards,on that case the wire will melt and save your electrical on the car,well in this case the wire seems solid until I decided to unplug it and proceed to cleaned it.Once unpluged the wire practically started to fall apart.The only solution was to pray the connectors and weld a 10 gauge split wire to both ends.Once back everything worked fine.Guys thanks so much for the input and once again,thank you for taking the time to read the posts.This is what we called FAMILIA!!!!!!

Laevateinn

iTrader: (3)

Did you replace the fusible link? From what you said, it seems that you bypassed it.

Mannysur

I just had to be creative and went to the Store and bought a couple feet of 10 G wire(split) and pry the connectors on the link and solder the wire into them.After that put everything back in place with the insulaton and that was it.everything its working again!!!!!Thanks for your input guys!!!!!!!

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Yeah it sounds like instead of u bypassing it u just connected another wire to the ends. Pretty much taking the place of the rotten wire.

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

Replace the link if you haven't already. It does sound like you bypassed it. The whole point of fuses is to prevent fire, don't omit them just because it "works".

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Danger, Danger, Danger!!!!!

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Someones going to bbq their 3rd gen. Lol.

Mannysur

I think that someone miss understood my repair.I didn't bypass anything,just replace the broken wire on the fusible link,I know what will happen if i bypass a circuit..........,please.Any way,the wire was broken and I repaired the same way it used to be.Thanks any way for your time and yes I had a BBQ on my house last weekend to celebrate that the car its running back again.Best regards.Manny.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Hah! Lol. I figured you just made a bridge from one end to the other old end using the new wire in the old ones place.

turbolarry39

the first is believe it or not the starter itself. even though it turns over fine could drwl enough amperage to either cause the rear position ignition sensor located about 3 inches from the starter to send false pulses to the inition management modual and cause a intermitant no start. reason being the high currant drawl makes emi interferance on the sensor and false pulses. you also could have a corroded connector on the power wire to the ecm from the battery [ a known issue for older nissans] it can be repaired by replacing the harness about 300 bucks or you can replace the splice connector that corrodes and the battery cable end whie your at it. as they also fail and cause the same issue. if this is your issue you should lose your dome light and instriment panel lights when it occurs also.but still have power to other things. the third most likely problem would be a failing fuseable link that is corroded do to the wire or links protective coating being comprimised, and the connection coroding. again either pay for the harness or relace the link in question with a aftermarket one of the same size. hope this helps

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Wow this is old. I barely remember writing that.