Now that I've had a chance to calm down, I can think straight and not rant on about why this is happenning to me again. While driving home from work, I could not believe my eyes when I saw the brake and battery lights go on at the same time. The first time my alternator failed was back in Nov. 2003. I know the '01's alternators were bad but come on, this is just ridiculous! I have the means to take care of this problem but I'm just curious to know if any 00-01 owner's had a second failure. Anyone?

Am I lucky or unlucky?!

 

It's all those ebay mods sucking your go-go juice

Whaaaz up J. sorry to here about your problems, I assume it's out of warranty. You sure it's the alt, might be the battery. Well let us know what happens

 

Haha! U funny! Yes it's out of warranty and I only hope it's the alternator. Actually I replaced the battery two weeks before the alternator back in 03. We shall see.

 

Wow, that sucks dude, sorry to hear it. How much miles you got on your ride? My '00 has about 38K miles and no probs yet.....(knocks on wood.) I'm taking my Max in to Tony Nissan next week to get that 100 point courtesy check. Hopefully everything checks out.......but I'm sure they'll FIND some expensive things that NEED to be done. How did your car start acting up when the alternator was going? Or did it just go Kapoot....one time?

 

What is the output of the stock alternator on a 2000 maxima SE?

 

Somewhere I read it was 120, but I don't believe that. I figure somewhere around 85-90.

 

It's a good thing you know the answers to your own thread hi-jacked questions.

At this rate you should make 15 posts in no time.

 

No warning signs at all. When you do get your 100 point check up have them test your alternator to see if it's charging correctly. Wouldn't hurt. BTW- good to hear from you!

 

 

90,000 miles - on my third alternator.
Replaced headlight bulbs more times than I can remember.
I feel your pain.

 

Maybe you should have them check for a grounding issue, or bad cable, come to think of it I've been through two batteries on my 02, you may be right in saying that our electricals suck

Bran, do you really trust Tony's? I wouldn't been there twice and had poor service. In fact the last time was to troubleshoot a hard starting problem and do a tune up. Did the tune up but over filled all fluids (PS,Brake and oil), Changed a 02 sensor they said it was dead and was causing the hard starting but picked it up after two days and car hard started in their lot, turned out to be a shorted battery. Sorry to Hi-jack but I would go to New City or I know "Spec" takes his to Infiniti, which is where I'm going next time.

 

What alternator are you using ?? Quit buying the junk and buy OEM

-matt

 

My neighbor mentioned that I should have them check the electrical system. I go to New City. Ever since King took over Infiniti they don't service Nissans anymore.

OEM

 

do all 5th gen Maxima alternators have the same output? like '01, '02, and '03 have the same amp output?

sorry for thread jacking a little... still can't post new threads lol & it's on the topic of alts.

 

My alternator died on me for the first time on Thursday. I had the typical brake and battery lights come on. Dealer fixed it free due to the extended warranty.

Just figured I'd rub it in.

 

Since I got back from my trip I've finally decided to have a local auto electric shop replace my alternator. I would do it myself but I figured I'd leave it to the professionals. Besides I'm not too thrilled about removing the radiator. The local shop also told me that they can do the job for me tomorrow, unlike the dealership which said the next available date would be May 30th!?! I can't wait that long and I need my car. So hopefully everything will be cool by the weekend.

 

I'm new to the forum and can't post a thread yet, but my problem is related. This morning the brake and battery lights were on when I started the '01 20th Anniversary Ed SE. The car started without a problem, but I did notice that the map light had been left on (either me or my wife) for about 4 days (hadn't driven for that long). Drove the car 40 miles to work, no issues. Do I need a new alternator or could it just be that the battery hasn't charged yet?

 

Get it checked out as soon as you can. I remember someone said Autozone will check it for free. If you do have a bad alternator, hope you have an extended warranty.

 

Yeah it's all 110amp alts.

 

Start the car and put a voltmeter across the posts of your battery. Anything between 13.5-14.5V is normal. I bet it will be somewhere around 14.4V. If it's in the 12s or low 13s go to a shop and have them test the alternator. I just can't see this many going bad.

 

Brake lights and battery light came on today. Had autozone check it. 12.2v at idle. 12.08v w/ stereo on. 11.8x with fan and stereo on

Original OEM battery is still strong

Going to the dealer tomorrow ... I <3 security plus

 

just talked to the dealer. They said the harness on my alternator is melted...has this happened to anyone before?

Hope this is covered...

 

Yikes! Seen a lot of post about melted harness to the headlights, but never to the alternator. If you have an extended warranty, it should cover.

 

Hey are you running a system in your car? Cause thats what could be causeing your alternator failure. Also was the second alternator an oem one or a remanufactured one??

 

Not running a system. The second alternator was a brand new OEM. This time I got a remanufactured one. Not sure if it's a OEM or aftermarket but I know it's a 110 amp alty.

 

i believe hypergrounding on the alternator should help it

MELTED? thats pretty scarry

 

Ok, got my car fixed now and all good to go. The harness is some tiny harness that only runs $30. I thought it was a major harness. Either way, warranty covered the alternator and harness.

The blame for my failure is on the alternator AND the battery. Chances are a diode or something failed in my alternator, then a weak oem (almost 6 years old) battery not holding charge put a lot of stress on the alt and caused it to heat up and melt the plug on it.

I'd check your battery if you are having multiple failures. Just threw in a red top for myself.

 

Good to hear everything is ok. The guy at the shop said my red top is working fine. Just bad luck for me that my alternator failed. May consider putting in a hyperground kit and voltage stabilizer. We shall see.

 

How old is your red top, cause if its more then 3 years old i'd get a new one. I just replaced my alternator yesterday, cause i ran on oem battery for 5 years then when it gave out slowly i think the alternator had to much stress put on it and thats why it failed. I put in a oem that had 17k on it put in new belt car runs great. Check to see if you have a drain any where also i say check all your fuses.

 

My red top will make three years this October. It should last well into next year but I plan to keep a close eye on it. My OEM battery only lasted me three years. I was kinda disappointed because I thought those batteries would last longer. As a result I switched to the red tops. Thanks for the tip on the fuses. I'll check on them tomorrow.

 

i've had my max for about a year and a half, its been to the dealer to have the alt. replaced 3 times. atleast i was under warranty but it's expensive, i've seen the paperwork. I feel your pain good luck man!