i looked up a few posts about alternators. i might get mine replaced under the recall. but here are the symptoms: 1. when cold starting the engine barely stays alive revving at about 400rpm and occasionally stalling out unless i blip the throttle a few times. 2. the headslights go slightly dim when i'm at idle or neutral and i'm holding the car with the brake. 3. faint whining sound coming from the engine bay when the car is idling. what do you guys think? it seems like the symptoms sound similar to other people's experiences with alternators...

 

I would look into why your car is idling at 400 rpm first. When were things like the fuel filter changed, sparkplugs done, throttle body and IACV cleaned? All those can affect your idle. If your engine is only turning 400 rpm, the alternator will be barely be able to provide any juice to run the electrical system.

 

hmm...good point.

 

A full tune-up needs to be done.
Easy way to see if your altenator is bad would be disconecting the battery while the engine is running.
You'll know if your altenatoris generating electricity.
Auto Zone can do free check also.

 

If you CAN get it changed because of the recall, just do it!
It's a FREE new alternator!!

I WISH I could get a new one in the recall, but my Max was
made in January 1997, a month before the alternators' were affected.

personally, I think I need a new one...

cheers!
FLO_BOY

 

I went 180,000 miles on my stock alternator before it died, and my headlights dim slightly (not significantly) when i am at idle speed anyways.

 

Faint whining sound? Sort of like a quiet supercharger??

Definitely the ALT.

Mine did that, too. Whined for like 6 months b/c I wasn't sure if it was the ALT of the water pump. I replaced the pump and the whine was still there

DW

 

Yikes!! Are you sure about that? I thought that was a good way to ruin your ECU!

 

come to think about it. i was experimenting with octane boost when my idle dropped to 400rpm and i had the stalling problems. i hope i didn't reaggrivate a fuel pump problem i had a couple years ago. what i will do is reset my ECU and check my battery. i've since filled up with regular gasoline and it still idles low. that is also when i started noticing more and more that my lights dim. and my idle rises slightly (to 600rpm) when i turn the heater fan on. if i remember correctly, this didn't used to happen except for the AC compressor. and more and more i notice the faint whining sound coming from the engine on a clear silent night. i figure it stalls in the morning when i first crank it because there's not enough juice to keep it firing. anyone have any ideas? i'm going to make an appointment to nissan right now. watch them flame my mods when i roll in.

 

come to think about it. i was experimenting with octane boost when my idle dropped to 400rpm and i had the stalling problems. i hope i didn't reaggrivate a fuel pump problem i had a couple years ago. what i will do is reset my ECU and check my battery. i've since filled up with regular gasoline and it still idles low. that is also when i started noticing more and more that my lights dim. and my idle rises slightly (to 600rpm) when i turn the heater fan on. if i remember correctly, this didn't used to happen except for the AC compressor. and more and more i notice the faint whining sound coming from the engine on a clear silent night. i figure it stalls in the morning when i first crank it because there's not enough juice to keep it firing. anyone have any ideas? i'm going to make an appointment to nissan right now. watch them flame my mods when i roll in.

 

What they said, go to Autozone, they can do a free check on your battery and alternator. Goodl luck with it.



- ßaller

 

Are you SURE you weren't experimenting w/ octane booster or something?

 

Wirring or whining sounds can come from dying power steering pumps too.

 

I have this problem...it'll only get worse...please let me know what
Nissan says -- also, I think that my problem is bad coil packs.

good luck!
FLO_BOY

 

 

yup a whole bottle of super 108 in 12gals of 93 (for my max of course). the concentration is a little strong! anyway, i looked under the hood while the engine was at idle. the alternator not only whines, but there's some squeaking and other noise coming from it as well with the hood open. none of it coming from the belts. the lights dim when i'm at idle. when i blip the gas, they brighten up slightly. i still don't understand this low idle. the octane booster has long been gone. it's not like i'm experiencing a loss of power or anything, just the stalling at cold startup and the alternator symptoms. does the alternator have anything to do with idle?

 

Since our cars are so electronic nowadays, a voltage drop from the ALT will hurt everything. the ECU will read the O2s slightly off kilter, the MAF may be a bit off in it's air reading etc. Also, your battery is probably slowly dying b/c the ALT can't get a high enough voltage to charge it anymore.

DW