Anovice

I have a 2000 I30. I was driving home from a friend's tonight and out of the blue, my brake warning light and charge warning light came on. When I arrived home I turned the car off and started it again, and both lights on the instrument panel remained on.

Any ideas what this can be?

Anovice

Amerikaner83

iTrader: (17)

alternator

This is actually one of the simpler VQ "what does this mean" troubleshooting questions.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

^^^^^^ a big +1 on the alty.

Anovice

Thank you very much for your posts!

Another piece of information that came to mind. Prior to these two instrument panel lights coming on simultaneously, I was on the highway and thought I heard a bit of a whining noise. It was faint (or my hearing is bad) and I want to say that I heard the slight whining noise when applying the gas. Does change your opinion?

Assuming it is the alternator, I have purchased parts from RockAuto before and the local mechanic puts them in. Is RockAuto as good as any place to buy the alternator?

Also, while I know nothing about cars, I also assume that if the alternator is the problem, my battery is not charging. If this is the case, any idea how long I can go like this (I do have AAA to get me home)?

Thanks much.

Anovice

Well, I got part of my answer

All the instrument panel lights started blinking (ABS, Air Bag, Seat Belt, Speedometer, etc.) and then the car died! It will not start now.

Luckily I was a block from my house so I round up a few people and pushed the car home.

I do not need the car this week, so I will buy an alternator from RockAuto today, and get AAA to tow the car to the mechanice once I receive the alternator.

Anovice

rebelhell

iTrader: (1)

I see you got your answer sooner than expected. With a bad alternator everything electrical in your car is running off of the battery, including your ignition running the engine. Lead acid batteries are not designed to last long on their own.
Also, the whining noise you heard was likely the alternator. Rock Auto is fine for parts but if you need on the road faster you can get one locally just as easily most places. If you get one from Autozone, Advance, or someplace similar I would ask them to test it before I left. They are usually rebuilds (I believe Rock Auto sells rebuilds too) and it sucks to get a bad one and have to do the job twice.

BlackThornDemon

Did you check to make sure you alternator belt was tight? And was it a whining or squealing?
If you want to make sure its the alternator then start the car up and test the battery with a volt meter. Anything between 13.6-14 volts is good (lower and higher than that are bad).

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

If you are willing to believe the Nissan FSM, the voltage reading for a good working alternator is 14.1 to 14.7 volts.

cjandura

iTrader: (3)

huh!?@

BlackThornDemon

THIS ISN'T THE 4TH GEN. WHERE AM I?

whoops

cjandura

iTrader: (3)

Bro i rebuilt starters and alts for 10 years please dont say that

T_Behr904

The only time my voltage reads under 13 is when I have everything turned on... Fog lights, both heated seats on high, rear window defroster, radio, a/c, etc. It will be anywhere from 12.8 to 13.2 or so. For some reason, the fog lights and the rear window defroster seem to suck up the most voltage.

Like everyone else has said, 9/10 its the alternator. Get a lifetime warranty. I worked part time for an auto parts store for 4 years, and we got more warranty defect returns on alternators than anything else. Because it was a main depot store, our pallet for defective returns would get filled up every week with defective alternators.

Professor

iTrader: (4)

alty for sure, just threw one in a 4th gen at work yesterday, also mine did the same. But to be sure, check the fuse at the battery.

5aprilc

Just recently had the same problem, my alternator died and I drove the car running solely off of the battery, and ended up killing that too, had to get the car home. So if you did the same, I would look into replacing your battery too.

5aprilc

Like everyone else has said, 9/10 its the alternator. Get a lifetime warranty. I worked part time for an auto parts store for 4 years, and we got more warranty defect returns on alternators than anything else. Because it was a main depot store, our pallet for defective returns would get filled up every week with defective alternators.

+1 to this.

I used to work at AutoZone, T-Behr is right. We would fill our cage full of dead alternators that customers brought back to us, that had the lifetime warranty.

tosheto

iTrader: (5)

Did anyone say alternator yet? I think that's the problem.

5aprilc

Are you being a smart ***? I can't quite tell.

Anovice

I received the new alternator from RockAuto yesterday (lifetime guarantee) and had the car towed to the mechanic this morning.

The mechanic took a quick look under the hood and mumbled "it looks like I need to take the radiator out to change the alternator".

Do you need to take the radiator out to gain access to changing the alternator? If not, I would appreciate knowing how you gain access to the alternator. I would hate to pay for extra labor if the radiator does not need to be removed!

Thanks!

Anovice

sontakke

I know that on 2000 Maxima, radiator does not need to come out for replacing the alternator.

sontakke

From the Auto Repair Reference Center (needs access to it, your public library might have free access to it)
================================================== ==================

Alternator Assembly, Replace (b)
Labor Times
Comments Factory Regular Severe
0.0 1.8 2.0
Includes
Includes: Pulley transfer.



3.0L (VG30DE) Engine

Before servicing the vehicle, refer to the precautions in the beginning of this section.
Remove or disconnect the following:
Negative battery cable
Alternator adjusting bar
Alternator harness connector and cable
Stabilizer fixing bolts
Lower radiator hose bracket and move lower hose for clearance
Alternator bolt
Alternator

3.0L (VQ30DE) Engine

Before servicing the vehicle, refer to the precautions in the beginning of this section.
Remove or disconnect the following:
Negative battery cable
Engine right-hand undercover
Right-hand side inspection cover
Loosen the belt idler pulley.
Drive belt
4 A/C compressor mounting bolts
Cooling fan and fan shroud
Slide the A/C compressor forward.
Alternator harness connector
Upper and lower alternator bolts
Alternator

5aprilc

The radiator does not need to come out to get to the alternator, only on the 3.5L engine. Find a different mechanic.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

if you have A/C you will probably need to move it.

You should have checked the battery terminal first. A loose/corroded terminal will cause your problem also.

There's more to this than just pointing the finger at the alternator.

9/10, not really, I'd say 7/10 times it's the alternator. You should be diagnosing this before throwing expensive parts at it.

Sorry I got to this thread too late, hopefully the alternator fixes it! In the future, follow this first:

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...eshooting.html