okay so I get back from riding in my friends new S14 that he bought and I go to start the max and the thing is whining like crazy, exactly like a supercharger and I'm def. not F/I, anyways so I know its not power steering but it has to be something else.

It is a '98 though, do you think its that faulty alternator?..

Keep in mind the whine gets louder as you step on the gas to a certain extent then the engine gets louder than the whine so it seems to disappear. Also I drove around and shut off the car and restarted to try to see if it was just something weird out of the blue for no reason, but it's not. Still there..

please advice..

Had the same problem, ended up being the altenator! So, get yours checked out.

thank F*%^$%& god! I wanted it to be that, I'm like it's that damn faulty '98 alternator going at around 100,000.

Mine was making that whining sound for a while, then went away. Over the weekend with it being so hot & the a/c on it decided to go south! I replaced it with a Bosch alt., & all works good!
109,000

you know Nissan would've replaced that for free on your '98.. It's an officially recalled item.

I checked with Nissan, ran the vin. #, it was a recall on certain 98's.
Not mine!

The supercharger / turbo spool sound I had came from the massive hole in the flexisection of my factory Y

right on sucks Geo T that it didn't fall in that year.. as for killerVQ haha its not a spooling sound its a pulley whine sound.

Oh and how do you know if your VIN falls in the timeframe that the alternators were faulty?

I have the same sound from my amp. I already posted about this but people only suggested grounds. Could my alternator also be the culprit (it's been replaced already under recall - lit my engine bay on fire a couple years ago)? I want to get rid of it (the noise). I heard something about some sort of filter? Anyone know of anything I can try? Thanks. And sorry for stealing the thread so to speak.

hey I looked and it was manufactured 12/97 so I get a new alternator, yeah!!

Yeah, I had mine changed for giggles.

Right on, but.. I'm not the original owner.

i should check mine and get it done before the problems start (if it hasnt alrdy been done)

Same boat here. Guess these cars seem to have very consistent issues, kinda irritating for 1998 technology. They didn't have stuff like GPS and satellite radio at the time, but there was every chance to build a reliable car especially given the 29k+ list prices. Nissan uses marginal parts if you ask me--that's why I think it'd be a bad move to get a GT 350Z or something. May look nice, but the parts that make it up s***. Just look at its muffler, that's tacky and fake.

Anyway, my alternator was replaced under recall and I have the same sound. I'm going to venture a guess it's not the alternator, because it'd be hard to hear anything from the driver's seat. If it's that just lift the hood and have someone step on the accelerator while standing in front of the vehicle and listen for the sound.

My hunch is the sound is related to the drivetrain--I hear it when accelerating and it disappears momentarily when changing gears. And it's definitely a whining sound.

yeah I just don't know wtf it is, I honestly hope to god its the alternator. I'm not hard on the drivetrain at all. Plus this once again is heard whether in Neutral or any of the gears so I'm almost def. on it being either the water pump or the alternator. Plus to add to that the sound, sounds like its coming from the left side of the engine so -1 on the drivetrain and +1 on something pulley driven.. and I get a faint vibration in the pedals.

I bought the car with 110K on it

They can run the VIN to see if it has ever been done.

whoa I bought mine with 95K on it in Jan, alright glad to hear about that VIN deal as well, thanks.

I installed a blower while you were out drifting in the 240.

1 - How did you know I was drifting, damn spy, btw the KA is nothing compared to the SR haha, but thats obvious and always has been.. but he jus got the car after he wrecked his S13 so I'm going to be doing an SR swap on top of things haha. what do I get? A free 350z exhaust, not that that does much for a maxima haha.

2 - I thought maybe someone snuck one under there, now I know. I'm thinking Vortech running at least 42.5 lbs of boost.

Checked with dealer, ran VIN #, &

find a s***hoscope that mechanics use and listen to the bearings in the alternator. don't know why that word is censored?

No need to call the dealer-just type in Nissan Maxima Recalls & it will say if your vehicle is in that category!

It says, If your vehicle falls into the category, it still may not affect your vehicle

Could driving thru high water cause the bearings to go bad and therefore make this noise? Because I also get a whining noise that gets louder as the RPMs rise and is present in all gears plus neutral. It is also coming from the side where all the pulleys are.
Thanks,
Ian

it could just be the bearings in the belt tensioner pulley

how could i go about finding out if it's the alternator or the belt tensioner?

its your alternator, samething happend to me. replace it before it starts to smoke

one way you would know for sure is to turn on your lights and rev it to see if the lights get brighter when u get on the gas.

& stay away from autozone/pepboys alternators.

I wasn't refering to the engine sound...my speakers make the same type of noise and I was wondering if anyone had any clue as to what I could do to eliminate it. Someone said it was my Pyramid amp while someone else said it was my ground (which I changed due to their recommendation)...anyone else have any input on this noise?

my older pyramid amp used to do it. they are junk IMO

Okay...I'll look into another amp. THey aren't too expensive.

I had the same problem and it does seem to be audio. I had it a while back and I never had an actual promblem with the car. It seemed to only happen when my ipod was plugged in. As weird as that sounds. But I did look intot he alternator at the time and such but the were no problems elsewhere.

It could also be the bearings in the a/c compressor. I know that was the case with me and everyone thought I was supercharged. To test it get a loooong flat head screwdriver and place it flat at the side of the a/c compressor pulley and place your ear on the handle and listen....you should be able to hear if its bad bearings. Hope that helps

I have the same whining sound, just replaced the alternator and still the same sound! man that pissed me off.

Im pretty sure its the a/c compressor, is there a belt that I can bypass it so I dont worry about changing it. I only use the a/c maybe for a few hours every summer at the most, rather have fresh air blow in my face.

Im curently experiencing the same problem. Changed the alternator and still making that noise. I looked around and the cheapest compressor i found was 260 including the clutch assembly.

Do you know of a belt that can just skip the compressor completely?

improve your grounds(car and amp[s]), if no go, get better amps.

yes,yes or read post #21. very effective tool. my replacement alt. has sounded like supercharger since day-one and that tool EASILY confirmed it was the alt.

i can give you the # of a kelly belt that fits PERFECTLY for bypassing the comp. been doing it for 3+ years. however can't til after work. that will be 6:30ish AZ time. sorry

I got my a/c compressor off ebay for $100 shipped with 50 k . Good luck with by passing it. I personally wouldn't do that.

Does the noise go away after a few mintues of driving? I'm experiencing the same thing and it goes away after 3 or 4 mintues. I'm assuming its my alternator, since it goes away after i drive? anyone?

On mine it does not go away.. and its really no second guessing its the alt. or the compressor. I really don't see the water pump going yet.