max-nutcase

my battery is old, bought in 06!.....its an interstate battery, anyway when i start it , it seems to start slow as of late and the belt squeals for 10 or so seconds...longer if the radio or a/c etc. is on
i put a multimeter on it and it holds 12.6 volts with no load unstarted, while i start it ,it drops to like 7 volts.....when its running the alt. seems to be charging...it holds at 14.5 volts when running with lights on.i tightened the belt a little to no avail. to stop squealing..
Im sure it could use a new belt, but im thinking that a new battery would eliminate my problem...does anyone agree with this? is droppin to 7 volts while cranking a sure sign of a weak and shot battery?

im hoping my alt. has noting to do with it sqealing and cranking slow...thats why im asking this
thanks

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

A battery should not drop to 7 volts when starting. A good battery shouldn't go below about 10.5 volts when starting the engine. Your battery has a couple of cells that are not capable of providing full power anymore.

Replace the battery and you will be good to go.

max-nutcase

Thanks for the quick response...im hoping everyone else agrees with ya!!
thanks again

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

8 year old Interstate? Give that battery a big thank you!!!

PH98I30

^^^^^^^^ Both of these guys know what they're talking about. You got great service out of that battery. I hope you get another one just as good. No more advice needed.

max-nutcase

I guess your right about that, especially since i live in a cold weather climate...

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The interesting part about what kills a battery is the misconception that the cold weather kills it. That is exactly opposite of what kills a battery. If that were true, us people here in the southwest that don't see freezing temperatures should never have to replace a battery.

Heat is what actually kills the battery, if you believe what the battery manufacturers say. Heat plus the fact that the alternator is always (over)charging the battery when the engine is running.

The misconception comes from the fact that batteries always seem to fail in the winter. It's just that the summer heat combined with the engine heat and the over charging has weakened the battery and the extra electrical current needed to start a cold engine with thickened oil is more than the weakened battery can supply.

max-nutcase

well, i put in a battery that was known to be good and the starter is hanging up still..so i guess its the starter, i put a load tester and the 8 y old battery is still good.......i gave it a quick look when cranking it and i thought it dropped volts but i guess i wasnt paying good enough attention to it....

now, is there anything else ,power wise other than the starter goin out that would cause the starter to not spin that biotch fast ?
the alt, holds a good 14.2 volts with a good load on it(A/C,Bose,lights)so i believe still that the alt is ok....
any ideas on starter would be appreciated !
thanks

greaseyoda

Im surprised how no one stated aboot the only way to fix that screechin banshee of a belt is to rip it out and replace

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Congratulation for having the smarts to have your battery tested instead of blindly running out and buying a new one just because some bozo on the internet told you to.

I should have thought back to my 97 Maxima when it wouldn't start. The engine just barely cranked over. Borrowed the battery out of my other Maxima to get the car started so I could get it home. Really surprised me when the engine still cranked slowly. Scratched my hemorrhoids for a while and finally swapped starters and the 97 cranked right up. So the starter was bad. I took the starter apart to see what ever I might see.

First, you have to understand that Nissan uses a gear reduction type starter. Gear reduction starters use a wimpy little weak-azzed motor that spins at a high rpm. The motor output shaft goes into a set of gears that reduces the final output rpm to the flywheel. This also increases the torque output. Kinda like using a lever. Anyway, it turned out that the gearset (Nissan uses a planetary gearset arrangement) had lost its lubrication and had bound up and the little motor couldn't spin it. I cleaned and lubricated the gearset and it helped some, but the shafts that the gears spun on were galled and pitted. So the starter got replaced and resolved the problem.

I never checked battery voltage while it cranked, but it probably would have been similar to what you experienced. If a motor can't spin like it should, it will draw a lot more electrical current than it normally should. When this happens, the battery voltage will go down.

So if the battery is good and the voltage is dropping, you either have a bad starter or the engine itself is binding and won't spin freely. I view the engine binding as highly unlikely.

jholley

iTrader: (13)

The starters drain our batteries more than anything if the alternator is working fine. As Dennis stated most likely your starter is dry or the gears are gone.

If you want to try re-greasing your starter here is a write up

Re-Grease Starter

Another How To for more guidance in disassembling the starter

Re-Grease Starter

jholley

iTrader: (13)

Tell us is your MAX starting fast and easy after re-greasing the starer?

max-nutcase

i will know for sure in a day or so if it helped.....i will post my conclusion here for all the people thinking of giving it a shot...