Alternator Removal Help/General alternator q's..the saga continues
 

I have a 99 Maxima and I'm trying to remove it. How do you remove the two-wire black plug? Do I pinch the tab towards the body of the plug or do I use a small screwdriver and move the plug away from the plug body? I'm sitting here with greasey hands eagerly waiting for your responses. Thanks,
Paul

IIRC, the tab goes towards the plug. That plug's connection is real tight...With my right hand I use a long screwdriver to push the tab in, and pull the harness with my left hand.

THANK YOU, back into the garage I go!!

Next question, should 1) I disconnect the compressor harness and the other end of the wire bundle from the car, drop the alternator and then remove the 2 wire connector off the car or 2) just remove the 2 wire connector while the alternator is still in the car?

Thanks again,
Paul

Disconnect both wires prior to unbolt ing the alternator, also you must lower the AC compressor to change the alternator,

Ignore my last post, I finally got it. I had to grab the harness with needle nose pliers and pull as I pushed the tab in. Thanks again

maxfever, thanks for your help. I did as you said and was able to get the alternator out. Hopefully the new one goes in a bit easier but that'll have to wait till tomorrow.

I should make a video next time I do my alternator lol

My Alternator Saga Continues
 

Several weeks ago, my check engine and battery lights came on for about 10 seconds and then went off. The same thing happened again a few days later, both lights on for about 10 seconds and then off.

Nothing strange happened again until two days ago when my air bag and seat belt light kept going off and on. Also, my antenna kept retracting and extending and my digital clock would go dim and get bright again.

I immediately thought my alternator had finally died but was able to get home (I was only about a two miles away when this happened).

As soon as I got home, I turned the car off and tried to start it again right away but it wouldn’t crank. I assumed that I had been running on battery electricity and that’s what drained the battery.

I threw the battery on a 10 amp charger for about two hours and this time the car started. While it was running, I turned on the lights, hazards, rear defroster, radio, heater, etc and measured the voltage across the battery terminals. My volt meter showed no more than 12.2 volts so again I thought my alternator was dead.

I ordered a new alternator from AutoZone and picked it up today (it was a 125 amp unit and it didn’t fit). While there, I had them test my old one and they said it failed.

I headed over to PepBoys and they also tested it and they said it passed as well, so now I’m confused. I also had them test my battery for the first time and it had one bad cell (it’s only two years old) so I got a new free battery.
I went to a different AutoZone, had then test the alternator and they also said it passed.

Would a bad battery cause all those lights to go off and on? I’ve had plenty of dead batteries and have never experienced this before.

I guess I need to check the battery ground cable connect to my but any other suggestions? I don’t want to spend the $ for a new alternator if it’s not needed but I also don’t want to get stuck on the road.

Thanks

Nope. The symptoms you described are exactly what a dead/dying alternator would do. Autozone/Pepboys have been known to misdiagnose batteries and alternators from time to time fwiw.

Thanks again.

Got the new one installed last night and so far, so good.

When I was removing the old alternator, the nut on the lower alternator bolt fell off before I saw how it was installed. This nut is attached to a small square washer that has a little tab on it.

When I re-installed the washer, I installed the wash with the tab behind the tensioner so when it came time to install the belt, the tensioner wouldn't slide up enough to install the belt because it was hitting the tab.

I had to remove the a/c compressor again, rotate the washer the right way and finally finished.

Thanks again for all the help.

By "rotate" you mean flip the washer over so the tab is pointing toward the engine, right? The point of the tab is to keep the nut from rotating while you tighten the bolt. But you probably already figured that out.

Hopefully your alty lasts longer than 2 weeks. The 6 I got from them only lasted that long.

I did figure that out but it's always good to ask, thanks.

I ended up getting a rebuilt Bosch from NAPA, hopefully it'll last a while.