Alright, less than a year before I bought my car it had the alternator replaced. I'm not sure if it was under the recall or not, anyways it went bad again, about 3 weeks ago. There were no dash lights or huge warnings,(what I thought was my belt making was actually my alternator) The car just died on the road and wouldn't start. After pushing the car to a parking lot I walked to my aunts house and got a ride home. Later that day I put in a different battery and the car started fine, so it had to be the alternator. Then, later that night a friend (VQuick) followed me across town to my house and we made it. (Thanks again!)

Following motorvate instructions I took out my alternator and swapped it with a new one
(Under Warranty)


NEW Alt.


Tonight I was driving and my Battery and Brake lights come on.... GREAT!

WTF!!!!

I'm getting followed to sears tomorrow to see what's up.
BTW I have a pretty new optima.

Although changing the alternator was a good experience I don't really want to do it again.

Any advice / Similar Experiences?

 

You should have gone and checked if it did indeed fall under the recall. My alt died also and replaced it out of my own pocket then found out 2 weeks later that I was in the recall, Nissan told me that I am entitled to a new alt and labor so I told them I had it changed and if I can just get a refund for what I paid but they said that it has to be their alternator and installed by them so They swapped out my "new" alternator with theirs and I got my money back too. That means if something else goes wrong with it, it will be out of their own expense and time to fix it.

 

That SUCKS, Tyler...are you sure you installed it correctly? You should definitely have an auto shop test the amperage (?) of the alternator to see if it's failing.

 

I get what you're saying, that's a sweet deal. I never looked to see if it was covered by the recall or not (because it was new) how would I find out?

 

I'm pretty sure It was installed correctly because it has been working fine, IDK if the belt is a tad too tight or loose, or if that matters. I followed the instructions Exactly, everything plugged back in. I have a warranty on my alternator and Optima so everything should work out without costing me anything but time.

 

I feel my 99's alternator might be out soon, how do I go about getting it checked for recalls? Would Nissan work on it if the car is modified? I heard the car needs to be completely stock to be worked on by Nissan Pros, any idea?

 

Recalls were only for some 97s and 98s. Alternators go bad pretty often. I had my alternator go a few months ago and I have a few bolt-on mods. No problem for Nissan, although they did misdiagnose the problem at first.

 

you can go to the dealer and they get your VIN # and see if it is covered in the recall.

 

Why is the alternator pink....

 

Screw that. Why is his 4 way lug wrench pink?

 

I guess I can see some pink...

My camera does magnify any rust color.

 

Well, I got my car tested and it's definatly the alternator... I guess I got a dud or somthing, the car has been driven for only about 50 miles on the now broken alternator.


YAY!

 

My battery light and brake light came on last night just before my 97 SE died on me. I got the alt. tested at Autozone and they said I needed a new one. Besides calling the dealership, is there a way to find out over the internet if mine falls under the recall? Thanks

 

quickie, go to nissanusa.com.. there is a link regarding recalls which u will see... They have the vins there..