One morning I suddenly started hearing a whining noise from my engine bay. A week later I took it to a mechanic and he said it might be the idler pulley so i got that replaced but that didnt fix it. Then one night I noticed my headlights were dim and the clock radio light looked dim. Ive taken it to Autozone and had them check the battery and they said it was good they pulled up a knock sensor on the computer even though my check engine light wasnt on. Do you think it could be a sign of my alternator going bad? Sorry its so long but i wanted to give some background.

 

Coulda sworn AutoZone can check your alternator also.

 

@NmexMax Glad to see someone else is from the 505!

 

It's depressing, no one wants to really mod these things like i do from around here.
But I do try to get everyone around here together, sorta.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=392882

 

I thought they did. that was the first thing i told them to check but they hooked the battery tester up to it and so i didnt know.

 

yeah they can.

 

Is it possible the whining noise could be anything else?

 

whats the highest alternator that a 95 maxima could go up too (amperage wise)?

 

how do your belts look? if theyre cracked, replaced them. that could be a source for the whining noise. and this is kind of a shot in the dark to explain the dimming (if belts are actually bad) but....maybe if theyre worn and in need of replacement theyve streched a bit, which would potentially cause a loose belt, and maybe not spinning the pully for the alternator as fast or whatever which in turn would charge the battery less creating dimmer lights?...told u it was a shot in the dark haha...

 

haha well im open to any suggestions right now. i wish when i got my idler pulley replaced he would have just put on new belts then but i wasnt thinking. i will check them and return with the results.

 

First thing I would do is make sure autozone checked the alternator.

Does the whining nouise change pitch with engine rpm's?

 

When my alty went about a month ago it was just all of a sudden I had a loud whining noise coming from the alty and I could smell that "electricity" smell. I never did get the brake light/ Bat light.

 

start the car like you normally would, pop the hood and listen for where the source is coming from. Try to narrow it down to a specific area, then identify item in that area and what could cause the noise, Test one by one till you've found the culprit.

a bad alternator would eventually result in your dash lights illuminating, weak battery (noticeable at start up), and eventually a dead battery. You'd have to remove the alternator for autozone to test it, 1-2hr job, depending on unknow variables thorwing you off.

I'd check your various grounds under the hood, especially the headlight ground, might find something.

 

its your alty
you may have a shytty belt but if your lights are dimming likely tha alty. the alty bearing is likely shot and because the lights are dimming the alty's prolly shot too, not too much fun to replace on the maxi but take it back to Auto Zone and have them check the charging system>>alternator, battery, etc.
does it squeal(whine) just on initial start up or constantly??? the most 'drain/load' on the alternator is on initial start up so if it only squeals for a couple seconds after start up its likely tha alty bearing

 

Yes it gets higher pitched as i rev up it starts at start up and is always whining.

 

I have an upgraded wire harness so one of them could be loose but that wouldnt cause a whine would it?

 

take a voltmeter to your alternator output terminal while the car is running... if your not putting out more than 13.6V (ideally around 14V)... than its your alternator.

 

I just connected the dots....

good ole alternator whine, when you mention just a moment ago that it increases with the rpms... yes its the alternator that occurred to me before.

 

do i really have to take it out to get autozone to test it?

 

If you have acces to a multi meter, put it accross your battery. In good condition you should get around 13.8v. Start the engine. The reading should still be around 13.8v. Now turn on every electrical appliance you can, lights, stereo, everything. Should still be around 13.8v. If at any stage it goes down below 13 or so, your alternator is either needing new brushes, or if badly worn a rebuild will be needed. Best to do it sooner rather than later or your car will just stop.

 

i thought it should be around 12V with the car off, then with the alt charging it it should go up to 13.8v?

 

unless you just shut the car off and even then it'll likely be around 13
I'm pretty sure anyways.

But I'd check your grounds as well. Do you have a aftermarket deck in the car/amp etc?

 

Not yet i was going to add an amp and subs but not until im sure my alt is ok. I checked the belts and they seemed to be fine no cracks in the part i could see at least. ill next check the battery. is a multi meter the same as a voltmeter?

 

For this case, yes

 

no but all you need to check this is a DC volt meter.
From what I'm gathering now though sounds more likely to be electrical whine rather than a squeal. Thats why I was wondering about stereo components. I'd check for good connections to starter, alty, grounds, etc, make sure there's no corrosion or anything of the like.

 

Alright tomorrow ill go buy a haynes inorder to locate it all. Is it going to be hard to see from above or do i need to remove anything to see them all? I bought the max in Feb and so far its been good just small things like this keep poppin up. I wish i knew how to and had the time to do a full service maintence on it because lord knows how it was maintained before.

 

Alright I checked the battery and i read 14 3 times one off one on and one with all electical stuff on. so alts good.

 

man is that confusing
but the alty can stil charge fine and have a whine to it, check your grounds, upgrade with a good 4g from the alty if neccessary.

 

ok. ill check those i think for $12 ill buy a drivebelt and just get that taken care of anyway.

 

advance auto will check your alternator in approximately 2 minutes, with it in the car....

 

You think when they check it theyll check the grounds too?

 

they may be able to inspect SOME grounds visually, but i dont think theres much more they can do than that.

 

Well I took it by another auto shop today and they said its the power steering pump going $368 for everything including rebuilt pump from nissan.

 

Shenanigans! Take a long screwdriver and carefully (with out sicking it in the alty) put the tip on the alty and listen in with your ear to the base of the screwdriver. If it's noisy it's your alternator....

 

I thought it might be "shenanigans." Today while changing the oil i performed a closer inspection of my alt and ac belt and there are a few cracks sooo im getting that replaced and ill see how that goes.

 

yeah I've never heared of anyone having to take an alternator out of the car to check it thats ridiculous

 

Bring to advanced auto and they will check it, it sounds like your alternators not yet bad but will eventually die because of the pully going bad, allot of friction on it will cause wear. I had same problem on friends max. good luck!

 

Does $468 sound resonable for parts and labor for a new alt?