jordandalley

Hi All

So here we are one night at the petrol station filling up and the car wont start. Turns out it was the alternator.

I order a brand new one off ebay. It arrives and I install it (What a mission that was).

After a little bit of driving car seems ok, battery is definitely charging, no problems there. All signs point to success. It even drives well at night with the lights on.

That is until I boot it the next day and the revs climbed probably about 5k, then all of a sudden the Battery light comes on and the handbrake light comes on (but faded). Car goes for about 5 mins then everything in the dash begins to fade and the car comes to a grinding halt.

It's the alternator again. Except this time I can't figure out what would be wrong with it.

Is there any kind of generic thing? All the cables are plugged in correctly.

Just before the car died I gave it a few revs. If it goes past 4k the dash illuminated a bit more - so its getting some electricity off it.

Anyone have any ideas before I send it to an auto electrician/mechanic?

Cheers all

wiggafly808

iTrader: (17)

Is your alternator secure?

Is the belt tight?

jordandalley

Yes to both. I might go through the connections and check if they're loose or whatever.


Changed the battery as I knew the battery in it was old.

jordandalley

Connections all seem fine. This really has me beat.

I'm thinking it may have been a faulty unit. I'm guessing the regulator is gone because the alternator seems to spin fine.

Which means - I need to get another one - which means - taking the alternator out again

Now that really does suck. I'm thinking I will take it to a mechanic if that is the case, because I can't be bothered doing it all again.

SVI30

Charge the battery with a battery charger then start the car. Measure the battery voltage with the car running on the alternator and the battery. It should be about 13-14V. If the voltage is around 12V, then the alternator is bad. If the battery end and the alternator end measure differently, the cable is bad.

jordandalley

Thanks SVI30 - I'll check that out.

I did replace the battery in it too as I thought maybe the battery was getting too old.

Unfortunately it still seems its something wrong in the general alternator area - cables or alternator.

kaneda_77

iTrader: (5)

Cables man, definitely cables. Start with the cheap and then move to the expensive. Clean the crap outta your terminals and connections.

Your Alternator should be waranteed for at least 90 days too. You can pull it out and have it tested at an auto shop right?

jordandalley

man, I hope you're right. Here's what makes me think its bad cables. When I put the new battery in the battery light was still on. I drove a couple of blocks and the battery light started to blink on and off. I gave it a few more revs, and the battery light came on fully again. Something is faulty in the wiring somewhere.. i dont think I can be bothered finding it though.

Auto electrician here we come..

jordandalley

lol - this sounds promising:

http://forums.maxima.org/showpost.ph...1&postcount=12

jordandalley

turns out fuse is fine.

voltage of battery with car off: 12.43 Volts
voltage of battery from alternator terminals: 12.43 Volts
voltage from battery terminal when car on: 12.02 Volts
voltage from alternator terminals when car on: 12.02 Volts

Alternator is definitely dead which is a shame since its a brand new OEM.

SVI30

Good that you've identify what the problem is and you will feel great once it is fixed.

jordandalley

Well.. not so great that ive already bought a new alternator and now i'll need another one. We'll see. It's at an alternator specialist now. Will hear the news on Monday.

SVI30

Hopefully it is just a loose connection inside or something simple like they left the carbon rod peg still in the brush holder. Good luck.

Looks like Townsville is on the East Coast. Must be a beautiful place.

andrei3333

I dont know if it relates. But i have had a 4 month problem cause me lots of trouble.

The wiring harness that connects the alternator and the AC compressor to main power had a small nick in it and was shorting out causing the batt light and the hand brake light to come on. i replaced the batt and the alternator and within 4 months the alternator dies again.

Look into that harness and check it out

SVI30

Can you describe where this nick is or post a pix?

andrei3333

sorry dont have a pic, i did not knwo what the problem was until the car dies on me, ( the bastard maxie still got me home and died in the underground garage parking damit love her) towed it to a mech and he is the one that repaired the harness

The only info i know is that its the actual plug that plugs into the alty, the wires coming from there were half way cut and were touching the +ve and the -ve

Inspect that harness, but you cannot replace it wit ha new one, the dealer will only sell it together wit hthe engine harness which is $1100 or just go to a junk yard

sodie14

jordandalley... u mentioned that you got your alternator new off of ebay....if it is true that your alternator was bad, who was the seller? did they refund all or any of your money?

jordandalley

Yeah the alternator was covered under warranty but unfortunately because my car is taking up space at my mechanic's i've had to buy another one off the guy and pay for express postage. He will refund that money when he receives the faulty unit back.

This stuff is such a pain when you fix something successfully but it breaks because of faulty replacement components. Just annoying...

Oh - I also checked all the harnesses. They're fine. I just think its a faulty unit....

SVI30

When they put in new carbon rod brushes in the brush holder, there is a peg that holds back the carbon rods until the armature and housing is closed up. After they bolt the housing together, then they pull this peg thru a hole in the housing and releases the carbon rods onto the armature.

Take a look to see if this peg is still in there. It looks like a nylon tooth pick.

jordandalley

I would but the alternator is at the mechanics. Also, if it *was* working and then died then all would point to a unit that once worked and is now blown up. If the peg was still in there it would have never worked because the brushes wouldn't have come into contact with the armature - cool theory though - thanks

SVI30

Well you never know what kind of unbelievable things people do.

I replaced an alternator once when I lived in New England. Then drove to New York City about 2 hours away. On the way it snowed and the wiper was going slower and slower. Fortunately it was a diesel and didn't need much juice to run. When I got there and took a look, I never put the belt back on.

jordandalley

lol - yeah. A mate of mine had a similar problem with his alternator in his maxima. His mechanic forgot to plug it in.

jordandalley

Ok so now we've put the new OEM alternator in - and 24 hours later THAT blew. I got the infamous Battery and Handbrake lights again. This time i'm quite pissed off...

So now I have two faulty units. So i'm telling the guy - hey refund all my money.

I decided i'd go and get the original unit out of the car reconditioned. Turned out it was the diodes in it that clapped out. This cost me an additional $220 over and above the other $600 for two new alternators and $170 for the installation of one of them as I chose not to do this myself.

So now I've got the original unit in the car, all going.. all good - tested 14.1v at all outputs - We drive it around a bit... until I get home and hear a whining noise from the Alternator.

I test the terminals again... my worst fears. The THIRD alternator replacement has died. This time - no Battery or Handbrake lights - this time however its only bringing back 11.8v - so obviously the THIRD alternator is now cactus.

Please someone - if anyone has had a problem like this before - chime in. I'm at a total loss as to what is wrong with this car and its costing me a fortune in repairs.

For some reason the car just keeps blowing alternators.

jordandalley

Beautiful - Palm trees, always sunny, warm - never cold, good money in jobs .. yeah its a good life

DcMaN

iTrader: (13)

i had the same problems, it turns out the connector to the alternator was damaged. It looked like it was snapped into place, however it was not beacause there was a piece of plastic broken. I would check that.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Seems unlikely three alternators would go bad like that. At that point I would start thinking that something else is causing the problem.
1) Check connection from the alternator to ground I believe solid black wire.
2) Check connection from the alternator to fusible link "a"I believe solid black wire & red wire.
3) check fusible link "a" is secure and not damaged.
4) Check connection fusible link "a" to battery positive terminal.
5) Check battery connections are clean & secure.
6) Make sure negative terminal of battery connection to ground is clean & secure.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

. I'm moving to Townsville will help you repair.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=550818
this person appears to have a similar problem.

jordandalley

I'm getting my auto lecky to look at this. He's "Intrigued" more than anything .. wants to find the source of the problem.

sodie14

i agree with NoPike...youve deffinately got something wrong...a short in one of those main wires or a bad connection somewhere....the really sh!tty part of it all is that once you get THAT figured out...you still need a new alternator! Best of luck man.

jordandalley

Auto lecky still has the car. I told him to give it a good thrashing lol. Maximas love it.

Anyway.. apparently he has reconditioned the alternator, run new cables, and taken the car for a test drive - giving it death to redline and it hasnt died yet. He's keeping it a couple more days to see if it survives.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

FIRST, put a GOOD ground on the alternator, and load test the battery (free at autozone/etc if you dont have access to a load tester).
EDIT: be sure that you remove/disconnect the battery before it's load tested, some shops dont do this, but it is necessary.

Then you take it from there.
Also make sure the ground from your battery is good it is located just between the battery and the air box on the wheelwell.

After you assure that is good, then start looking at harnesses, and escpecially main power wiring from the alternator to the battery.

jordandalley

The auto electrician has just called me again to inform me it's blown its 4th alternator. Same problem again. Blown diodes.

What's going to happen now is a complete rewiring.

If this doesnt work then I'll probably look at junking it.

SVI30

Sorry, I went on a trip last week and hasn't watched this board for a while.

In the FSM page EL-6, there is a concise fuse and load diagram. So this would be a good place to start looking for this short or fault.

Firstly, does the car drain the battery when it is off or only when it is on? Then you can find the fault location to be after the ignition switch or in other places.

Many of the larger loads are in the fuse and fusible link box at E8, left side fender for left drive cars. Pull the non-critical large fuses one by one and watch the current drain with an inductive clamp probe on a DVM. The idea is that it should be a large drain to cause the diodes to blow.

Inspect the larger 12V wires for any damage in the engine compartment. Look at the wiring runs around corners for chaffing or rub spots.

jordandalley

thanks - I've had a look at the FSM EL-6 and forwarded those details to my auto lecky.

Yes the car does actually drain a little when the car is off, and this is something my auto lecky asked me about. He said that if my battery wasnt new, i'd probably have a dead battery by the morning.

SVI30

In order to fry the diode bridge, it is unlikely going to be a little drain, it will be 10s of amps. Take a look with the key on.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

Good luck man, it's gotta a be some loose/broken wiring issue.

jordandalley

i'd say...... no new developments yet though. Will keep you all posted.

This is one expensive maxima lol.

This is the fourth 4th gen i've bought and ive never had this much trouble with them.

I owned a 2L V6 Cefiro with a VQ20DE - automatic. Was a gutless pig of a thing.
I then bought a 3L V6 Cefiro - auto with LSD.. had black leather - everything - nicest car so far
My next car is the one in my sig - Maxima 30 S.Touring
And then we bought my fiancees car - a Maxima 30G - piece of s**t lol

SVI30

Boy, you have a lot of A32s.

I was in a 5th gen 2.0L V6 taxi in Taipei last month. This is really strange since the 2.5L Altimas here are not V6.

The cabbie really loved his car. He was surprised that I have an A32.

jordandalley

Yep. In New Zealand they use Cefiro A32's and A33's as Taxi's. The cabbies swear by them for their reliability. I was in Auckland and one cabby had just got a new A33 Cefiro after retiring his A32 Cefiro - i think vq25de - it had done over 400,000 km's or something and it was still running fine.

This problem i'm having with my fiancee's car is a real fluke, but word from the auto electrician today says that everything is running good. He thought the alternator blew the other day because the voltage dropped a little. He suspected one of the diodes, but after inspection of the alternator, it turned out it was fine.

He wants to keep the car over the weekend just to make sure everything is ok before giving it back to us. Whats cool is he's not charging me labour for all the work he's done.

So... I'm quietly confident.