Brake light on the dash on my 02 gle wont go off.

Also had a really loud squealing sound from first start this morming seemed like it was coming from the fan? It was 38 degrees and it stopped after about 5 min.

145k on the clock

 

Battery light on too? Brake and battery = alternator.

Squealing might just be a loose belt because it's so cold out. Since alternator is on the belt, they might be related.

Need you to confirm where the sound is coming from though. Tomorrow morning have someone else start the car while your head is under the hood listening around.

 

Only the brake light is on. I'll do that and post up a video. Thanks

 

Check your brake fluid level.

Assuming the squealing was when not in motion, correct?

 

Correct, only on the first couple minutes within starting then it stops. Where would I check brake fluid levels?

 

In the brake fluid reservoir?

It's a plastic container under your hood that has liquid in it. Should have "brake" stamped on the lid....

 

Under the hood. The brake master cylinder is on the firewall in line with the steering wheel. Only fill the brake fluid up to be just above the minimum line. If the brake fluid is low, have the brakes checked for worn out pads.

 

If u stand infront of the open hood then its that white resovouir on the left rear of the engine.
Btw what is the regilar life of a 5 gen alternator? Replace battery about a month ago, went dead almost overnight with the climate changr from hot to cold. I just noticed it was a rad slower to crank tgis morning than usual. No sympthoms of bad alternator expect if it drains the battery again

 

Please spell check before hitting submit.

Your brake and battery light will illuminate on your dash - this is an indication that your alternator is failing.

 

After filling up on gas today the brake light is now off...weird. I'll have to see if the sound still happens tomorrow morning.

 

Yes i know that. Still the question stands, how long is the usual life of a 5th gen maxima alrernator?

 

Did you ever check your brake fluid level?

 

Brake fluid is right above miniumum

 

There is no definite answer. Too many variables at play. Can be 50k miles, can be 150k.

 

Add some to where is just below maximum. That might fix it.

Thx on thr alternator thing. This is my first maxima and also my first good car. Previous caes alternator went out before 150k

 

No, you don't add brake fluid just because it's low. This isn't washer fluid, it's a sealed system. If the fluid is low, either there's a leak or (more likely) the pads are rather worn.

If you top off the reservoir then go around and replace the pads, (assuming you don't open the bleeders) retracting the pistons will cause the fluid to overflow out of the reservoir...big mess.

And as said, alternator life is dependent on many variables. Battery health and average state of charge, battery cable condition, electrical loads, belt tension, etc. The biggest issue is trying to recharge a completely discharged battery, say right after a jump start. That will stress the alternator beyond what it's really designed for.

 

Actually you do add brake fluid. Not ovetflow it like i said below the full level mark. If it goes down then u know for sure theres a leak or something. The brake fluid level coulda been low all along since who knows when and he didnt know.

 

Yeah if this battery goes dead then either they give me a bad battery or alternator is going out

 

No, you don't. The only time you should be adding brake fluid is if you're bleeding the system, or there's been a leak (or you compress caliper pistons with the bleeders open).

You obviously don't understand what I was describing when I said overflow. Read the post again.

The first step is for them to pull the wheels and check the pads, but brake fluid is NOT a 'just top it off' fluid.

 

Good try ark LOL.

Anyway, brake light is on this morning again but no start up squealing sound. It was even colder this morning. Warmed up for about 15 min. Again, brake light is on again but other than that the startup was pretty clean.

 

For the squealing noice check your belts. Do u know how to tight them? And pmohr come on dudr think about what u saying, i know i may not be as good as a amechanic ad you are but there could be several reasons why his brake fluid is low. He might have gotten a brake job and they bled thr system and forgot to refill it. Or one of his caliper might be going out and it leaked some then stopped. It is like saying "my engine oil is low so instead of putting some and waiting to see if it goes down again ill take it apart"

let him add brake fluid to the right measurment and keep a close eye about it cheching it everyday. if that fixes the problen then excelent (specially since adding brake fluid is the cheapest alternative)

 

My brake fluid isn't low..

 

I am, thanks. It seems to be you that isn't understanding what I'm saying.

Yes, we've established that.

Indeed. I listed them above.

You don't bleed the system and leave the reservoir near the minimum level. Find me a shop that does that, please.

It doesn't work like that. Once it's leaking, it's leaking. It doesn't just stop, and get all better. At that point you either need to reseal the caliper or replace it.

That is a ridiculous analogy. Removing the wheels and looking at the brakes (which should be done regularly anyway, as indicated by the OE maintenance schedule) requires absolutely nothing but time. Your (absurd) reference to tearing an engine down for an oil leak (be it internal or external) would require much, much more time, as well as parts cost for gaskets, fluids and such.

Adding brake fluid never fixes a problem. It can fix a symptom, such as the brake light on, but it doesn't fix the original problem. The brake fluid is low for a reason, the cause must be found.

Adding brake fluid is not the cheapest alternative, as it requires the parts cost of a bottle of brake fluid. If you really wanted to advise the cheapest alternative, you would've said the same thing I did, which is to remove the wheels and look at the condition of the pads.



tl;dr: If you chime in on a subject of which you know very little, do not state your (false) opinions as facts. You would be well advised to heed other's advice, especially those with experience. You might even learn something.

 

You just said that it's right above minimum...that's low. Right around there is where the brake fluid level sensor will trip the brake light.

 

Ark I can't say it in any other way and I don't want to be an ***, but stop trying to help me. Thanks I'll check on the pads after school and check in. Thanks pmohr

 

Lol ok sorry i tried

 

Alright. I have searched the forum and I'm not seeing any concrete answers or I just suck at finding the answers. I am in the Chicagoland area and wanted to tune my Max (5.5). My problem is I cannot find any tuners (with software?).Am I to assume that YOU personally have to purchase the software for the tuning or will some of the shops already have the software? Anybody that live around here know of any good tuners? Can I just flash the Stock ECU? ._. feel free to slap me

So far I have emailed AMS (said they don't have it), SoundPerformance (to purchase it) to no avail and waiting on a response from GRDperformance.

Thanks for the help.

 

Yes i learn something new everyday. Obviosly we think very different but ill leave it alone i think i just dont know how to express myself. All i wanted to say from the beginning was what u said about the break light being trigger by low fluid level but i guess i never found the right way to say it like you did. and believe it or now since break fluid expands seals my right caliper ( previous car) indded stoped leaking...but thats just me and the weird thigs that happen to me. in any case i apologize for the trouble to both of you

 

Just want to know if anyone on here have any information about this brand that makes this "oem fiberglass hood for my 01 max"!!! The label say "Number 1" i searched and couldnt find anything about this brand..Just want to know who, where, and if they still exist..TIA

 

I swore someone said thats where its suppose to be..

 

Not really, no. Assuming brake fluid at the max level with new pads and rotors (and no leaking components), brake fluid level will be a fairly good indicator of pad wear. The further out the caliper pistons are extended (meaning the more the pads are worn), the more internal volume that must be filled by fluid, the lower the brake fluid level.

You generally don't want it around the minimum mark, because (again, generally) this will indicate the pads are getting pretty low, not to mention the possibility of tripping the brake light on the dash (especially on cornering, hard acceleration, anything that will cause the brake fluid to slosh around and trip the level sensor).

 

Alright it's most likely the rear pads because front rotors and pads were just replaced. Thanks pmohr

 

I don't know about yours but mine I was just driving the car and without any warning all the lights came on the dash for me and the car wouldn't move. I got someone to come and give me a boost for about half an hour until the car had enough power to take me home.

Ended up changing both alternator and battery just be careful not to go anywhere far with it.

 

Noob here with an ALTERNATOR ISSUE possibly for a 2000 Maxima?

Symptoms for past two weeks in chronological order:

-dash dims when sitting idle at red light with defroster and heat blower on but brightens again as I accelerate
-car sputtering at idle progressively getting worse (even though I consciously do not turn on any accessories any more)
-car dies sitting idle at red light with my battery light indicator lighting up on dash. I was able to turn it back on with no problem thankfully but now I'm sitting at a light in neutral revving it at 1500 rpm until ti turns green

I used a voltmeter on my battery after letting it sit overnight and got a reading of 12.57v. With the voltmeter still on the battery terminals, turned the engine on and the reading jumped to 14.47v (seems as if alternator is kicking in?). However, when I turn on the accessories to give it a load test (heat blower, headlights, defroster, wipers, radio), the reading drops from anywhere to 11v - 12v only. From what I've read, the reading should drop for a second or two but then jump back up to a minium 13.5v minimim reading.

Does anyone know if the alternator is working but not holding a charge? Or that it's crapping out and needs to be replaced? Apologies for sounding like a total noob but any help would be greatly appreciated! By the way, there are two autozones by my area but they are both run by teenagers that look like they are 16 years old so my faith in what they can tell me is very minimal, at best.

Thanks again!

 

The alternator is failing. Probably the internal voltage regulator. The only other possibility is that you are using more power than the alternator can provide. This would only happen if you have added things like sound system, the stock equipment on the car won't overload the alternator. So get the alternator replaced before it goes out totally.

 

Thanks for the advice. I definitely do not have any accessories other than the ones that came with the car so it most likely is a failing alternator. Will get one soon - can anyone suggest a good reputable site for alternators? I'd prefer one that has not been rebuilt.

Thanks again!

 

Just get one from a local parts store and make sure it has a decent warranty. A NEW un-rebuilt alternator will cost you upwards of $400. And I think the only place you can get one is OEM/dealer. Not worth it when one with a similar warranty will be $150.

 

If u wanna be entirely sure its your alternator have it tested. They do it for free at autozone here and i dont think takes rocket science for them to test it (the teenagers you mentioned im refering it)

Btw make sure your belt its good and tight before you replace your altetnator. I was having the same problem when sitting on idle the dash lights would dim down a little then would come up again once rolling. Turned out my belt was loose...

On a different note i got almost all my moog front end parts today but my fsbl. They should get here wednesday. Does anyone know for sure if the autozone inner tie rod puller tool works good?

 

Well my non bose 2000 headunit display doesn't light up so im picking up a bose 2001 head unit for $40, it should just plug and play without any problem right? and my sound quality should increase or do i need a speaker/headunit bose combo to hear a difference? Just wondering.

thanks guys

 

INCOMPATIBLE.

Your speaker levels will be VERY low. You need a non-bose replacement unit. Or just get aftermarket.