charlestek

I just replaced my alternator a week ago when the battery and brake light
came on simultaneously (103k mileage). Things were fine for the past few days, until this morning I started the car and the lights came on again.
I tried to pull the 120 amp battery fuse in the block near the battery, but it
won't come out, as I think I saw another post where this could cause problems. I then banged a connector connected to the positive battery lead
and the two wire connector to the alternator winding, now the lights went off. How do you pull the 120 amp fuse? It doesn't have a press clip, and I pulled with pliers and it wouldn't pull up. Maybe the connections are corroded? Can anyone offer other suggestions on what can cause the battery and brake lights to come on in the alternator circuit, other than a bad alternator???

Thanks

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

Where did you get your replacement alternator from?

Go to autozone and have them check your charging system (free).

My guess is you got a faulty alternator.

charlestek

It's not the testing I'm worried about. It took gd((*&*&&*()(am
contorsions of my body and days to to get the large bolt next to the ypipe out, not to mention moving the a/c compressor to get the %R$^%&^&*&*&*(&*( thing out and back in.If this is bad, I'm going to pitch the alternator through autozone's plate glass window!!!!!!BTW,
Do you get any sleep monitoring these posts? I truly appreciate your help.
You must be independently wealthy to do all this work!!

makavelli

you may have already checked this, but just in case, make sure that the battery fuse is not screwed down.

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

at your reaction...

Thats the problem with the autozone/etc. alternators. It's really hit or miss (IMHO). Thats why I would recommend an OEM reman for an alty - its just too much work to keep messing around.

And I do get some sleep - I was following a live sport online last night - which is why I was up - much later than I should have been.. only to be awoken bright and early by my little toddler at home

If I was independently wealthy, I wouldn't be driving a 1996 Nissan Maxima with 125k on the clock!

charlestek

Mak,
What do you mean by fuse screwed down?
It appears the fuse has two female spade lug posts internally that mate with
male spade lug posts fixed in the black plastic fuse box housing. There is no release clip on that fuse, so my guess is that the lugs may be corroded or just forcefit stuck together. I fear that if I pry too hard, I'm going to break the fuse or the housing block beneath.

Vlasic

iTrader: (13)

DO NOT TRY TO PULL OUT THE BATTERY FUSE LINK!!!!

In order to remove that link the fuse box needs to be removed. Once its out, you open up the bottom of the box and you will see a screw that holds down that fuse link. That fuse is the reason you are having problems. When an alternator goes out that fuse blows and if you do not replace it, your new alternator wont charge your battery.

charlestek

So nice of Nissan not to put a sticker on the box telling you that
you have to unbolt the fuses.
I have to figure out how to unscrew the box from the fender.

Anyway, the fuse is NOT visibly blown. The battery light went back off,
and all is normal, for now, until the Gremlins that haunt me decide to hit
again.

charlestek

I went to Autozone today, and asked them to wheel their tester out to the car and test the rebuilt alternator I bought from them. It failed. It showed that it was putting out 60 amps instead of its rated 125 and the voltage was low, though the diodes passed.

The employee and I went back in the store, and they said they would give me another rebuild. I told them to test it in the tester they have in the store. They took the off the shelf alternator, put it in a SPC tester which feeds the field windings and attaches a belt to drive the alternator, as well as having leads for the hot output and ground. They ran the test, and the alternator failed on all three tests, diodes, voltage, and current. Dead as a doornail.

Having now established my great confidence in this automotive parts chain, I talked to the manager who decided he could order me a brand new non-rebuilt alternator and suck up the difference in price for my trouble.
It is supposed to be delivered to the store Monday.


The moral of the story is when you buy a rebuilt alternator, HAVE THE STORE TEST IT IN FRONT OF YOU BEFORE YOU BUY IT AND INSTALL IT IN YOUR CAR!!!

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

I'm not laughing at you, but more with you (not that I think you're laughing about this)... but it's funny to me... OEM reman is the way to go buddy... but great idea on having the reman unit tested before you leave the store. That's actually an EXCELLENT idea and should be used for both starters and alternators.

Hope you get your car back on the road soon!

THT

iTrader: (8)

Not necessarily. I had an OEM reman and killed it in six months. Nissan would not honor the one year warranty since I installed it and the service manager was awfully rude to boot (which is why this is my last Nissan). My Autozone reman is holding up great but it's only been three months. At least with this one I know if it dies, I will get a free one from Autozone even though I installed it.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

bro u dont need to take out the ac compressor or move it or anything. just calm down. i changed my alternator 10 times in this car due to crappy alternators from can-am motors. i fit a 215 amp alternator which is slightly bigger than the stock one. i can change it in about 15 minutes. which is pretty sad. that bottom bolt is easy to get through just be patient and it take a little bit of jiggling. u dont need to contort your arm at all to get the ratchet on that bolt. take ur 14mm socket and a 12 inch extension and put it on the bolt and turn it with ur hand till it gets tight. then take the ratchet and put it on that and tighten it the rest of the way...DONE. now to take it out i took out my lower rad hose just loosen the 10mm bolt and pull the sucker off, let it drain push the rad up after u take off the 2 10mm rad brackets on the top. push it up and pull out the alt...done

charlestek

Creative,
Last time I did take the hoses off the radiator and even tried to move the
radiator and pull the alternator out the top, but it woudn't go that way.
It wouldn't drop out the bottom either.
You must not have A/C! I had to put the A/C compressor on the top of a floor jack
and lower the floor jack and thus lower the compressor so far downward until the compressor was pulling on the metal/rubber hoses that feed it. Only then could I drop the alternator out the bottom.

I'm not using a lift, and as far as the 14mm bolt, I'm 6'4" tall and have extra large hands and extra long arms which are an extra pain in the *ss for maneuvering in
tight spaces. The other problem is that you have to have someone hold the
captive threaded bracket on the other end of the alternator bolt near the belt tensioner idler wheel to get it threaded before you can tighten it.

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

THT - I know you had a bad experience with the Nissan reman, but that's one case out of how many? The instances of generic reman alternators, starters, axles (for example) failing prematurely are a dime-a-dozen around here.

However - if I had been through what you went through, I'd have gone to the local autozone and picked up one from there too

venommaxr33

i just finished changing mine as well about an hour ago. i had to take out the fans and drop the A/C compressor to get the altenator out and in. THANK GOD my friend was helping me, the extra set of hands came in handy.

Where is the fuse located that I need to replace so the altenator will start charging the battery again. I'm running an Optima Red Top and their not cheap so if i don't have to get a new battery than I would rather not.

charlestek

Venom,

The fuse will not be blown UNLESS the alternator SHORTED OUT when it went. If the alternator just opened a winding or connection, the fuse will not be damaged. The fuse is in the rectangular black box (Long side pointing toward the toward the firewall and radiator), right next to the battery.
Just lift the cover off and you will see a WHITE FUSE in the middle marked "150". If you can see molten metal splattered inside it then you know it was blown...., otherwise if it looks continuous and you see no evidence of heat or burning in there, it probably is fine.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

i do have a/c, lol i guess on my I30 the line that goes into the compressor isnt in the way. i take the lower rad house off and the 2 top rad brackets push the rad up, and pull the alt down.

venommaxr33

charlestek,
thanks for the heads up, i guess i just have to break down and pick up a new battery.

FYI..Optima Batteries are the Best thing to happen to cars since rubber tires

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

+1 to that my optima lasted about an hour and 15 minutes before going completely dead. i will never put another battery in my car!

charlestek

The Costco Warehouse stores carry the same line as Sears Die Hard (Also Autozone Duralast)
and Optima as their own brand and they are reasonably priced...

venommaxr33

HELP.....BIG PROBLEM, so i replaced the altenator and the battery. i took the car out for the first time last night and it was doing fine then all of a sudden my stereo went out then the lights went dem and it was all down hill from there. what happened? is it possible i got a faulty altenator or i dont know. it just seems like the battery is not being recharged. i don't want to take it to a shop to get it looked at but if i have no other choice than i will i need my car working but right now that's not the case.

CreativeDesignz

iTrader: (3)

at this point in time bring it to a professional. it seems like ur spending more down time with the car than u are driving it. your radio should not just stop working when ur alt goes bad. my radio still worked in my car for that whole 1 hour i drove on my optima. and its not stock bose ill tell ya that. i wasnt bumpin it but i still had it on.

charlestek

VenomMax,
Where did you get the alternator?
Assuming you tensioned the belt properly (about 4mm play between the main pulley and the A/C compressor),
you could go to an Autozone or the like and if they have a tester they can wheel out to the car, have them test it for free.

If the alternator is bad, make sure when you get another that they test it in-store before you take it.

There is not much in the alternator circuit. I assume you plugged the 2 wire connector for the field winding into the alternator.

IN THE ALTERNATOR CIRCUIT THERE IS ALSO A 7.5 AMP FUSE. IT IS A BROWN FUSE IN THE BLACK BOX WHERE THE 150 AMP main fuse is. ON THE BLACK BOX THERE IS A LABEL FOR IT, I THINK IT SAYS ALTERNATOR OR SOMETHING, IT IS IN THE UPPER RIGHT SECTION OF THE BOX. YOU SHOULD CHECK THIS TOO.

venommaxr33

Thanks, I'll take a look at the fuse first and then go from there. I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

Lyndon5

There are at least two shops in my local area that will rebuild your oem alternator or starter. I have used one of these shops for years without problem, rather than going to the parts store. I have also found them to be price competitive, sometimes even more reasonable. On one occasion I had them pull the alternator off my daughters old Prelude (not an easy pull) and rebuild it, and the total cost was not much more than the parts store wanted for just the part. Maybe there are not rebuild shops in your area, but I think it would be a good idea to check.

Mrbizness1

Last month I went through 2 Pep Boys rebuilt alts. They replaced one a year ago then the alt and brakelight went on a few months laterr but it still kept the battery charged. The ones they replaced last month would charge at 14.5 volts sometimes then drop to 11 volts. Then they thought the plug was bad, but changing it did nothing.
They used Nissan Bosch alts.
After the 2nd I gave up and took the car to a Nissan dealer, they used a Nissan reman. alt with a 1 year warranty, problem solved.
I think the Pep Boys rebuilts had problems with the regulators.

Tyrexx

iTrader: (23)

My first nissan rebuilt alternator (from bumper to bumper) went after about 2 weeks. I just went back and got another one, it's been working since.

charlestek

Early today picked up the alternator from autozone that the manager ordered to replace the duralast one he gave me that had low output.

He wasn't entirely truthful, he ordered me a Beck-Arnley that was priced at $289, but comes in a box saying it is a rebuild. The quality appeared to be much better than the duralast.

However, around 4, I started putting the alternator back in.
Around six, I was fiddling trying to push the two flanges in the alternator which hold the long large 14mm bolt into the engine block. Wouldn't go.
I fiddled for two hours, because I couldn't see well in there, figuring I just had the wrong angle. Finally out of desperation I removed the bolts from the A/C compressor, and lowered it slightly on my floor jack.

NOW I COULD CLEARLY SEE that the inside width between the alternator flanges was at least 1-2mm too narrow to fit into the boss in the block.
This means the yo-yo's who put the alternator back together must have trimmed something internally so that the two halfs of the shell fit together much closer than they should. At first I though perhaps the four 8mm bolts that hold the two halfs were cranked down way too hard, but even loosening them 1/4 turn does not help.

I AM SO MAD I COULD ^^&**^$%%(*_)_)(^$

The weather tomorrow is going to be bad, and now I have to go back to autozone and have them order me another one which takes 1-2 days.
I've been without a dependable car for 2 weeks.

Mrbizness1

[QUOTE The weather tomorrow is going to be bad, and now I have to go back to autozone and have them order me another one which takes 1-2 days.
I've been without a dependable car for 2 weeks.[/QUOTE]

I was without a dependable car for almost a month, that's when I gave up and went to the dealer. It cost me more money but much less aggravation.
I've had the car back for 3 weeks with no problems.
Mine is a 96 maxima and there are 3 different types for that model year depending on the mfg. date.

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

Are you sure it's worth saving the 100 bucks for this sort of aggravation? Just go get your money back, and buy yourself a Nissan reman.

The amount of time you've wasted on this (not counting the intangible exasperation), is surely not worth it... heck you could have flipped burgers part time and covered the difference (for an OEM part) during the hours you've spent on this.

charlestek

I just found that on one flange ear there is a press fit sleeve that reduces the diameter. I just took a vice grips and squeezed the sleeve against the frame of the ear, and it pushed in a least a millimeter. That was it. Now I can bolt it in the car.

I finally got the alternator in only to find out that the female field winding clip was broken inside the alternator. There is nothing to secure the male connector from popping out. There is no way to fasten a tie wrap anywhere. Now I have to unbolt the whole mess to take it out and return it.

druwmax

i have a question, my instrument cluster does not work, it stopped working ever since I replaced my driver side axle, im must have done something, but since then my car has also been just running off battery juice, with the car running im only getting like 12.2 volts which drops to like 11.9 when the cooling fans turn on, so i went and bought a new alternator, and the same thing. I took out the new alternator figuring they gave me a bad one(hearing all these autozone alternator stories), i took it back to get it tested and they said it was fine. SO my question is, if my cluster is out, then does the odometer meter for the charging system not work and causes an open circut?

druwmax

by odometer meter i mean the battery light, because nothing works in my cluster, no lights even flash up when turning the key in to the on position

charlestek

If you have the same voltage, either the alternator is bad, and autozone lied to you (likely) or your belt is not tensioned properly. A charging voltage should be around 13-14 volts. As far as the whole instrument cluster, it must be fused or something.

druwmax

well when i went to autozone(well actually its Murray's), they tested the alternator in front of me and the computer did say it passed, as for the belt im pretty sure it is tensioned correctly. ive checked the 7.5A Fuse and the 140A fuse and they both check out. The reason why I asked about the cluster is I dont know what the combination meter in the wiring diagram is and i figured it could be the battery light in the cluster acting as some sort of a meter that triggers the light when below like 13.5 V. This problem did start at the same time the cluster went out.

Mrbizness1

If anyone is interested I paid $343.28 for a Nissan Remanufactered alt. plus $247.00 labor. Note: the labor charge includes an extra 1 hour labor charge at $90.00 I agreed to pay to have the complete car checked for electrical problems before they installed the alt. After what I went through for a month I wanted to be sure it was 1 trip to the dealer.
They wouldn't take the Pep Boys rebuilt Bosch alt so I didn't get a core credit.
The part # is 231 OM OL7O6R

charlestek

I called the nissan dealership today and they said a rebuilt alternator was around $260 with a Nissan core.

Mrbizness1

It might be high, but your price is $83.00 less with a core. I had no core.
I hope you get the best price, but a phone quote of "around" $260. can be quite different than the final price.
Good Luck

Mrbizness1

http://replacement.autopartswarehous...ue&showdc=true

As you can see by the link, there are several different alts. at different prices for the 96 model year.

druwmax

I finally figured out my problem, it was the 10A fuse labeled "METER" in the interior fuses, i guess this is whats in the alternator wiring diagram as combination meter. My old alternator was most likely good so I guess I dished out $170 for something I could have fixed for about 25 cents. So when you are not getting a good voltage across the batt.(13.5-15), first check the 7.5 A and 140A fuses in the fuse box in the engine compartment. If you happen to have a instrument cluster problem as well(like I did) then check the 10A fuse labeled "METER" under the dash. Dont be stupid like me and automatically assume its the alternator and go get a new one without even testing the old one. -Andy