What are some signs of an alternator going bad?
in the past 2 weeks my alternator will make some weird high pitch noise. It almost sounds like a supercharger from a GTP car.
When I open the hood and get close to the alternator, I get a slight smell of something burning.
The thing is that it doesn't do it all the time, out of those last 2 weeks only had the noise 2 days and a week away from each time. It usually goes away after I drive the car for about 20 minutes.
If is not my alternator what else can it be?

Is the smell of burning rubber? it could be your accessory belt slipping... it is recommended that the accessory belt is changed at 60k... have you ever replaced yours?...

If an alternator is going bad, you will probably be losing power in your battery because the alternator is not charging it back up properly when the car is running.

Hey danny, I would suggest calling Nissan USA to see if you Maxima falls under the alt recall or call your local nissan dealer..

Sounds like either a belt or possibly water pump.

It's definitely the alternator going bad. The smell starts first then comes the noise. I've been through 3 of them. I finally went up to a custom build 200 amp alternator with a smaller pulley.

coo thx guys!
Well yeah it does smells like burning rubber. I took my car to the Nissan dealer about a year ago to check the recall, but they said that my car wasn't one of the ones with the problem.
Im gonna play dumb and take it to several places, maybe I can get it replaced for free.

i think only 98 years fell under the recall. but sounds like its definately your alternator going.

You can always hook up a volt meter & see what kind of current is being sent to your battery?

Man! Mine started the same thing yesterday! I thought it was either the belts or alt. I checked the voltage and its around 13.7. If it goes, then I'll upgrade to a 200 amp alt.

well the signs are in fact true. My alternator died today while I was on my way home from work.
I had my A/C and my stereo on then, the car felt like if it was about to turn off. and the clock was fading.
I turned my A/C and system off, and I made it home
So if you guys hear this noise, you know what it is now

it sux doesnt it? i had alternator whine since i had bought my car, but it went away after the alternator went and was replaced

My '98 was victim of the alternator recall and I had mine replaced .. strangely I didn't find anything wrong w/ it but I figured better safe than sorry

sagamax: '97 and '98 Maximas manufactured 2/97 thru 2/98 were affected by the alternator recall

mine was manufactured 1/98 so it was time for a new alternator

The dealer said my car was part of the recall too so they replaced it. Then like 2 months down the road, the lights on the dash and ac/bose display were faint. The clock was faded as well. It would happen for like a couple of mins and then all the lights would be fully lit. The car began cranking slowly too so I got the dealer to check it out. Said the alternator failed

Although, I had a bad habit of turning on the a/c to full heat, use the side mirror/rear window defroster, and having the headlights turned on immediately after starting the car which was sitting all morning. Our winters get cold and starting work at 5am didn't help either so I was doing this every morning.

However, this 3rd alternator seems ok, no issues so far!

Anyone ever had any problems with a 99 max alternator? Cuz i get the same problem, except i dont smell any burning. Its rather a high pitch sound coming from the engine bay, obviously the alternator.

I have HID's, and 200 leds, and got the system bumping, could my alternator be dieing? I do notice that when i turn on the lights, this is when the high pitched sound gets louder. Or...could it be the ballasts from my hids?

What do u guys think? Should i bring it down to nissan?

LEDs and HIDs draw less power than bulbs

I would have the whole system checked out at autozone for free. If you still have the warrenty, take to nissan.

How would autozone check it ?

voltmeter,
If you have one you can check it on your own

Guys, would it be possible for me to hear that whine, go have it checked out at Autozone and it check out fine, and it still be dying?
I heard that a couple of weeks ago. I first noticed it because my car took a couple of times to crank, and it usually doesn't do that. Anyway, I took it into Autozone to get them to check my battery, alternator, and codes. None of them showed being bad. There were no codes, and for that I am thankful. There was plenty of juice in my battery, and the alternator was supposedly putting out enough juice to all the accessories.
What do you think?
I don't hear that whine all the time, but I think I heard it some a little while back.

Autozone has the special unit that measures how many amps and volts the car puts out under a load.

I know, I used that to check it.
They came out and did all of that.
What do you think when they didn't find anything wrong?
I have not heard the whine again, but I have had a couple of times that it rolls over about twice before it cranks right up.
I don't know what is up with that.

Opps, sorry Bruce, I was talking to the other guy.

Unless the whine is constant I would not worry about it.

well Bruce my took about two weeks to die since I first herd that noise. It was giving all my accessories enough juice, but something was about to happen, and it did. I just got my alternator right now, and I'm going to go change it right now.
BRB..
AFK...

another way you can tell if your alternator is going bad is if both battery and brake lights are on

I have had the whine noise since i bought the car at 129000 miles. Now i am at 136000 whine is still there but everything works just fine. Car cranks at first try, volts are fine too.
Both belts are new, not tight just right.
I have even taken the car upto 108 MPH without overheating problems so i know the water pump is fine too.
I can't figure where the whine is coming from.

Damnit! How did I miss this thread? I had all these symptoms (including Brake and Battery lights on) but thought it was the pulley and belts making the noise. Nissan did too and replaced the idler pulley and belts and then told me "we heard this new noise afterwartd, sounds like your alternators going" which is bullsh!t becuase it's the exact same noise. They didn't fix anything and they're trying to charge me for the parts and labor, on top of the new alternator I have to buy. I'm not gonna let them get away with it!

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=3078942

I had a similar thing happen. Had rubber burning smell. Drove that day. The next turned on my car and same rubber smell. Turned on the lights and and everything else dimmed and my radio completely turned off. Barely made it home. After the car wouldnt start. Checked the voltage on the batter it was 11.6v. Any ideas

That's definitely your alternator. Were the battery and brake warning lights on the last time you drove it? Driving w/o the alternator charging drained your batter to the 11.6V that you are measuring now which is not enough to start your car, but is enough to keep it running (sort of) once started. Just put a new alt. in and youll be good.

Its definately the alternator then. I started the car and measured voltage at it was 11.6 the removed the ground on the battery and it turned off. Thank you. But neither of the lights were on.

Does Autozone sell dependable alternatators? If not any suggestions. Thanks

disconnect the battery as the car is running with the lights and heater or air running, if it dies, the alternator is bad, be careful NOT to touch the body with the positive cable

does autozone sell ANYTHING good??? lol get a lifetime warranty, then everything is great

yea what would we do without a lifetime warranty lol

My charge light came and then an hour later the engine died. The alternator went bad. Replaced it and works fine now.

Would ambient temp cause a alternator to not work properly? I drove 760 miles (NM-TX) in 103 degree weather within 2 days and my car is having starting issues. I know its' not the battery. Any ideas?