So my 98 Max SE stick is acting up on me and im looking to you guys for assistance. I barely drove the car through the winter but each time I went to start her she would sputter and reluctantly start after a few turns. Well now that summer has officially started, I grounded the starter. The wire is 4AWG shielded and is no longer than 18 inches, going from the negative terminal of the battery to the mounting bolt on the starter. Then I replaced the battery, and now even after all of this, my airbag and battery light stay illuminated after I remove the key. Is this the alternator? The input is much appreciated.

 

I also forgot to mention that the CEL is NOT on.

 

well dont know if this will help, but i had the same problem. i grounded the starter, it got a little better, but it still was messed up, and last evning, i added more ground wires...wires that ran form
radiator support - battery
tranny - batter
shock - batter
starter - batter.
its much better, but its still a little messed up, but i think i just need to get better wires.
it helped a lot.....just add some more wires

 

Wouldn't it be better if you grounded them to the chassis instead of the battery?

 

yeah. but they connected all at the battey, and then it goes to the chassis in 2 wires. plus i was rushing it, and to connct them to the body, you need to sand the area down first. i'll do that when my ground kit arives

 

Hey thanks for the replies guys, but what im really interested in is why the AIRBAG and Battery lights are staying illuminated AFTER i remove the key from the ignition. When the alternator on my 00 I30 went out, it threw a similar set of lights off at me,but only when the ignition was on, so im thinking it is the same deal with this car. Im wondering if there is anyone that can confirm my suspicions.

 

have you checked the voltage at the alternator?
I am thinking that it is the alternator as well, actually to be more specific the voltage regulator is bad from the sounds of it.

 

Hey thanks for the reply. I havne't checked the voltage at the alternator but could you explain what the voltage regulator does and where it is located? I think i will fiddle with the car this weekend, if the weather permits....but i'd def like to atleast get a little bit of insight on the voltage regulator. Thanks.

 

Check the voltage on on the battery when the car is on, then leave the negative led on the battery, the positive lead and check the voltage directly on the alternator positive, a big bolt on the alternator. If there is no significant difference, alternator should be fine.

Then try loading up the alternator, monitoring the voltage, start a light, see if the voltage drops, then the AC, then the stereo system, if the voltage from the alternator remains the same [function of voltage regulator] then your alternator should be fine. For better take it to advanced auto parts or autozone and check it with their system again.

I also was diagnosed with a bad alternator, but instead it was the positive battery cable. The wires inside the little red box on the positive battery post were corroded as hell. Just take care of that first.

 

woke up and car wouldn't start. returned the battery to pep boys, got a brand new one, car started right up. Next morning, car wouldn't start, doesn't even turn over or anything. Is it true that the alternator has nothing to do with the car starting. Something is draining my battery, the brand new one (600cca) is now reading 119 amps. Could something be draining the battery over night? Does this sound like an alternator issue? It clearly is not starting because the battery is drained, every time i get a jump, it starts right up.

 

does it run fine after you get a jump? I would have to lean towards alt. While the alternator has nothing to do with the car starting, it does run the car after it is started. if your alternator is dead then the job of running your car falls upon your battery, leaving it dead.

How about taking your car it pep boys and having them test your charging system.

 

If your alternator is fully dead, your car would shut off/stall since it would be relying on power from the battery. It will still run for a little bit. Get a boost, drive it and see if it dies after a bit(with someone following you to give you a boost). My guess is you have a battery drain somewhere. Like posted above, check the red plastic box thing by your battery terminal, make sure its clean and not corroded. Check grounds again. Also if you have done any wiring check those. I had a problem similar to this. It ended up beeing my amp turn on wire had a small slice through the insulation and was touching ground sometimes draining my battery real fast and I would need a boost. When the wire wasnt touching it would start fine. Also if you have RCA's that are unplugged and they touch it will also kill your battery. Just check whatever you can check manually, and if you need to start spending money on it, go with the cheaper possible fixes first. Anyway post your results.

 

6 weeks ago I replaced my alternator. The car had died and after testing a drained battery (and then recharging it), tested the alternator and that was the culprit.

Last week the brake light and charge light came on, and yes it was the alternator. Just got the car back w/a replacement alternator and on my way home, both lights came on again. Could it be another bad alternator or something else, like the cables? There is no corrosion on the Interstate battery.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Jeff

 

if both the battery light and the brake lights are on then its defenetly the alt. did u get get it at a junkyard or was it new?

 

Rebuilt one from oreilly and now replaced with another rebuilt one from oreilly. Is there another rebuilt one that is recommended? These are Nissan alternators that have been reconditioned.

Jeff

 

Sounds like the alternator

 

The car is still running fine, but the brake and battery light continue to come on every other day for a brief period. Battery is still not drained and no low voltage was experienced. Could it be my grounding wires and batter cables in this 13 year old car? Has anyone heard of that happening before?

 

Good morning. OK, on my way to work, my BEL 985i radar detector gave me the low voltage warning, but I made it to work. Is it possible that a bad alternator (the latest rebuilt one) could have lasted this long (2 months) without fully draining the battery. Isn't it possible the wiring needs to be replaced? Thanks for all of the help and replies.

Jeff

 

You might also want to check the wiring harness at the alternator. On my 95, it had a wire that would work itself loose causing the alternator to work sometimes and not at other times. I had read somewhere that a loose connection here could short out the diodes in the alternator, but I'm wouldn't swear by that.

After replacing the alternator and it acting up, I replaced the wiring harness with a new one and my problem went away.

 

Get a multimeter, set it to 20 V. check your battery before you start your car (should be 12-12.5) then check it when you car is running (should be ~14) if lower than 14 Alt is bad OR your cable to alt is bad...

PS make sure your belt tensioner is operating correctly. I just changed my alt to find out my tensioner wasn't spinning...