Hello group, I need some help troubleshooting a problem with my Maxima.
Yesterday morning I went to start the car and the alternator and ebrake lights stayed on. After shutting off the engine a couple of times, they were still on, but later on when I went to start it, the lights went out. Today it was a different story. The same lights stayed on, plus the seat belt light. When I went to start it again, the engine would turn very slowly, so I stopped trying and I am charging the battery as we speak. This battery is two years old and of good quality. My guess is that it is the alternator, but I would like to hear your opinion. Is it possible to rebuild this alternator myself? In the past, all they needed were the brushes...a $4 dolar part. Napa Auto Parts sells one for $197 (same price as www.nissan-parts-dealer.com) but I am not sure if it's as good as the original. Their alternator tester is broken right now so I can't have them tell me for sure if that is the problem. Any hlep would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Nelson
'99 SE

 

That is the alt...mine broke last week. For some reason the brake and battery light on is a for sure sign that the alt is the problem. Thats what nissan said. There was a recall on 97-98s i think but i guess my 97 didn't apply the manufacturing date that was needed to be recalled. I had it tested at auto zone and they said the alt wasn't even putting out any charge. So it had to be the that or the regulator. If the brushes were bad there would be an out put from the alternator but a weak one. If you have a voltmeter you can test this. Put the voltmeter to the battery with car off record data. Then start car and measure battery again. The voltage should be significantly higher. If it is lower your alternator or regulator is the problem. I hope this helps. I was so mad cause the alternator is hard to replace on the 4th gens since it is uner the engine bay. I had nissan do it. They have a 12 month or 12k miles i think warrenty on it. They also said that my stereo could put alot of stress on it. I do have a large stereo but i am not worried about it. Aight good luck!

 

Great, thank you for your input. Now I feel better about just replacing it.
I'll do the test anyway like you suggested. Battery is still charging. How much did Nissan charge you for parts and labor? Thanks again!

 

450 total .... i know i know it is expensive

 

I vowed to never use another Nissan aka Lester/Hitachi Alternator ever again after burning through 2 in 2 years. I went with a high output alternator rated at 215 amps at 2500 rpms and it cost me $410. I found a shop in Tampa FL that specializes in aftermarket alternators for all cars.

I installed it myself. It's really not hard to do but you do have to move the AC compressor to get it off the car. Some people remove the fan assembly to get it out from the top but I take it out from under the car.

 

Wow, that's a lot! In my case, the alternator is easily accesible from the
top, so I am going to replace it myself. I just did the test and it drops below
the original voltage once I start the car, so it looks like it is bad. I'll try to open it first and see if I can replace the brushes first. I'll let you know what happens.
Thanks again!

Nelson

 

Well, I have the old one out, and a new one that I just got sitting in the garage. The only problem with the old one is one of the two brushes is worn out. Is it possible to get just the brush somewhere? Thanks again!

 

You can get them through the dealership.

 

Thank you Dizzo. I couldn't wait until Monday so I installed the new one. All good now. Lights all go out as soon as I start the car. It wasn't easy though. The book doesn't say to remove the radiator, but it makes it a lot easy because there isn't much space to remove the alternator. Thank you all for your help.

 

No problem but all you had to remove was the fan assembly. Did you really remove the whole radiator?

 

Yes, it made it a lot easier to remove it. It was just too tight. I suppose
I could've done it with the radiator in place, but after 20 minutes of trying to squeeze it out, I decided to remove it. Made a huge difference. Installing the new one took no time. Take care.