Whats up?!

Well my alternator needs to be replaced I havent a clue which one to get though.(FYI I am a chick!) Thia is the specs its a 98 its a standard and the vin starts JN1CA21D0...if ANYONE has a clue please let me know.

Thanks,
Goldie

FYI the car wont start but there isnt any clicking like its the started....tried to jump it and it sounded like it wanted to start but it didnt. The sound is like the noise right before the engine turns over.

 

Are you a cute chik ??

lol...Give your local Nissan dealership a call and order a Nissan unit. Or call up David Burnette at South Point Nissan, 1888-254-6060...Im in Jersey and I deal with him..hes in TX. Please dont get an aftermarket unit like autozone, pepboys.

-matt

 

Whats a Nissan unit a genuine Nissan altenator? Whats wrong with aftermarkets?

 

Bump because I am hot

 

Hey Goldie (cutie?)

There was a recall on some 97-98 Maxima's, you may want to check with your local dealer to see if your car is one of them.

 

thanks do you know if I can see online?

 

PM sent.......

 

I think you need a starter, not an alternator. Have the car checked by a qualified mechanic before you start replacing components.

 

How can you tell which alternators the recall is covering? I think mine is dying.

 

u put ur VIN on nissans website and it will give u a range of VINs that were recalled

 

MAXIMA 1997 Recalls
There are no recalls at this time.

* 1997-1998 Maxima Alternator Replacement



1997-1998 Maxima Alternator Replacement

Applies to 1997 Maxima, the following Vehicle Identification Number Ranges:
JN1CA21D*VT218136 - 222389;
JN1CA21D*VT847525 - 877868;
JN1CA21D*VM518869 - 540253.
Applies to 1998 Maxima, the following Vehicle Identification Number Ranges:
JN1CA21A*WT300201 - 405210;
JN1CA21D*WT500001 - 615203;
JN1CA21A*WM800002 - 806538;
JN1CA21D*WM900001 - 923624.
Please be aware that not all VINs within these ranges may be affected by this campaign.

 

My 2 cents:
- never buy an aftermarket alternator or starter. When you get an alternator or starter, it's been rebuilt (remanufactured) unless it says "new". Most aftermarket are rebuilt with a minium number of components to get it working again, so it will only last as long as it take for the next part inside to go bad. Nissan remans tend to be rebuilt more thoroughly than aftermarket, and the difference does matter. If you have a choice, get the new part instead.

- you may have a starter solenoid problem, not an alternator problem. If you go to Autozone they will test and figure that out for free.

- you may need a new battery, even if the problem was the starter or alternator. The battery can take a lot of abuse when either of these go bad, so don't be surprised if this incident kills it.

- definitely get the car checked out for the alternator recall.

 

not trying to jack the thread, but is there a good alty replacement that provides more power than stock unit?

 

hey i got the same problem and i had to change the alternator and the starter the best bet is to go to the dealership and get the factory one. goood luck

 

this man knows what he is talking about. i replaced my alternator with an auotzone one and they only replace what they want and if there dumb machine tests pass its good... but there machine DOESNT test everything it could. i had to change the alternator out twice. they know me and my girl at the autozone we went to so we got the replacement even tho the bad one passed there tests.

i wouldnt recomend autozone for the alternator - if you so choose to get an aftermarket one. i had to choose cheap - and this problem could happen to any aftermarket alternator.

changing out the alternator was also a pain in the rearend. we had to remove the radiator hose and drain all the fluids to remove it - it may have been able to been changed without doing that, but i have an aftermarket 3 row radiator which is alittle larger than stock so it got in the way.

TEST your alternator - goto sears and buy a multimeter for like 20$ and test the battery for voltage while off. then test voltage while on. then test voltage with lights on after car warms up a bit. i belive with car off 12v should be about right - then with car on voltage should be no more than 14.8 or so, and should be some what variable. if the car is not keeping charged when the lights are on then its definatly not charging the battery.

when i took my car in at first the car didnt even start - was a compleatly dead battery - nothing was able to charge it... so you may have a bad battery to begin with... if its less than 12v at battery i belive its bad... i dont know the whole details on this tho my girl knows more than me!

 

If the battery has less than 12v with the engine off, you can try charging it. If it's new(er) the battery can often recover from a very deep discharge. I've seen batterys down at 8v come back and function normally, but I would never assume that.

If you buy a multimeter, test across the battery terminals with the car off and the key out of the ignition. It should be 11.5-12.5v. Then start the car (if possible), the voltage should go up to 13-14v, which is the alternator charging the battery. Having a multimeter is actually useful for a lot of things.

If the battery has at least 11v and the car won't start (maybe it makes a faint click), you have a bad starter.

Dave

 

Dave the car wont start at all.So would the multimeter prove useful still? Thanks everyone for advice

 

Dave ( ) the car wont start at all.So would the multimeter prove useful still? Thanks everyone for advice

 

Yes, the multimeter will allow you to test the battery.

See what the voltage is with the engine off and the key off. If that's above 11v, then pull the ECU codes. Procedure is in the stickies.

If the voltage is below 11v, you can try jumping it. If that doesn't help, and the ecu has no codes, try removing your intake snorkel and tapping the starter solenoid with a wrench (don't hit the electrical connection!).

Once the car is started, use the multimeter to see the voltage across the battery again. It should be 13-15v and fairly steady. That is a quick test for proper alternator function.

Dave

 

agreed. no ticking means starter isnt working. plus if your alternator was bad, your car would still start because battery starts car, alternator charges batt and runs car while its on. it would die soon after though.

 

Whats wrong with getting an alternator from checkers? I just replaced mine with one from there and it runs really nice.

 

It's not a matter of HOW it runs, it's a matter of for how long.

Dave