zachary1988

I have a 2002 Maxima with electrical a problem. It just started about one week ago to where both the battery light and brbake light would both come on simultaneously for a split second. This has caused a loss of power to where the dash lights goes dim and the wipers slowed down the other day. Tonight, it did the same and dash lights went dim. I did not notice a difference in the headlights. I know I have to take it in tomorrow since I live in Illinois near the Wisconsin border and do not want to get caught stranded. Thanks, Ed.

trooplewis

iTrader: (1)

Your alternator is dead or dying, if you have a battery charger use it tonight or you may be stranded tomorrow.

If the light is not staying on, you could be lucky and just have a bad connection, so check the cables at the battery and alternator.

zachary1988

If the cables are fine and not loose, how can I check to see if is the alternator? I just had the alternator replaced in 8/09 and put 10K miles on it. I know it can be the alternator. Thanks, Ed.

VQP0WER

Autozone can test the alternator.

byrdman164

iTrader: (4)

Just because you changed the alternator doesnt mean it didnt go bad again...I worked on an F150 that had a bad rectifier bridge, letting out AC voltage. Changed the alternator, did a road test of 5 miles and it was fine...went to pull it around for the customer, and the voltage regulator took a dump. Long story short, new parts arent always good parts. Cant hurt to have yours tested.

ulrich

The exact same thing just happened to me......It was the alternator. Brake light + Battery Light = Alternator.

zachary1988

I appreciate all of the great comments on this subject! Ed.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

And if it's from junkozone, you have your answer.

zachary1988

I took the car to a local shop that I trust this morning since Autozone is about 4 miles away and I did not want to get stranded last night. I was informed that the flashing battery/brake light was caused by oil dripped onto the alternator harness and voltage regulator. I did spill some oil the last time I put some in, about 1/4 cup. I rushed and pulled out the sleeve that went into the oil fill and some came out. I wiped up as much as possible, but I did not look beyond the valve cover and he showed me that the corner of the cover is directly over the alternater harness/plug. He said that they tested the car, drove it and the lights came on once. It must be after the oil sitting gets warm and becomes loose. Anyways, he hopes this was the problem since even though I put on actually 11K miles since the alternator was replaced in 8/09, he said that the warranty is beyond the time(if one year) and if I need to replace the alternator, he most likely cannot give me a discount. The cost of the clean up of the harness and regulator was $95. Thanks for all of your advices.

Amave

grab a voltmeter and test it at the battery...

you should have at least 14.5v with no loads

trent25

I believe I have a similar problem to this, where the brake light and battery light flash simultaneously, but ONLY flash at very irregular intervals. For example, sometimes the lights will go nuts, other times it won't even happen at all. I took it to a mechanic and he said the alternator checks out fine (WTF!!!) but he said possibly a diode was going bad and eventually the alternator would die. So I didn't have him put a new alt. in because it didn't need it yet (according to him) and now honestly I'm not even sure what is going on. Could be my imagination, but it seems like it only does it after the car has been on for a while. As far as the bad alt. symptoms the only thing I have noticed is that the dash lights occasionally get kind of dim, but no other symptoms. I'm just hoping in advance to get an objective opinion of where I should go from here because I'm not trying to get stranded somewhere and I'm also not trying to pay $300+ for something that doesn't even need done. Thanks in advance. -TJ

VQP0WER

Replace the alternator. All the symptoms you described are that of a bad alternator.

dubacious

I started having this same problem last night. The ABS and Battery lights flashed on and it felt like the car lost power momentarily. I made it to Advance and had them check my battery (which is fairly new). Battery checked out ok so we looked at the terminal which looked like it could have been cracked or broken.

I went to replace it this morning, realized that the terminal that I got didn't work because it doesn't have the mounting stud for the wiring connections to the car's fuse holder. I called the dealership who didn't have any in stock, but at their suggestions went back to Advance and found a marine battery terminal that has the stud on it for the fuse mounting posts. I got a new terminal this morning, replaced it and then had the same problem on the way home. ABS and battery lights flashed on and momentary power loss.... It happened a couple more times on the way home, but it always recovers just fine - at least so far.

For everyone else who's had this problem 1)did a check show that the alternator was bad and 2)was the problem fixed with a new alternator?

2damax

1. Never checked anything when it happened to me. Car just did not revive back one day. Took about four days.
2. Yes