nissianmaxi2002

Okay , so I have been having problems with my Nissan maxima 2002
My battery kept going dead ( going to the grocery store coming out dead)
Just kept getting jumps. .. so I bought a new battery and a week later it went completely dead (the new battery)
So I went to auto zone and bought a new alternator. Had a friend put the new alternator in. After he put it in my battery was completely dead still. I thought that the alternator charge the battery? But I guess not so do you think it's my battery thats completely dead. Should I go buy a new battery and take back the old battery? Or do you think it wasn't even my alternator that needed replaced?

4DRZ

iTrader: (4)

I am betting your issue is poor ground wires. If the grounds are bad on a car, it can literally fry not only the battery and alternator, but also the ecu and the coils. Have your ground wires checked for resistence and or replaced, and then you will be good to go. More common than people actually know. Hope this helps.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

Usually bad alternator would lit up brake + batt lights on the dashboard. There were some weird cases when the bulbs were out (easy to check when you turn the key to ON, all lights on the dash are lit just for that very purpose) but in general bad alt would lit those 2 lights. Are you still able to jump the car and start it? Does the engine keep running after the jump as long as you need it (more than 15 minutes)? 'Yes' to the first question would mean your starter is in good shape. 'Yes' to the second (and with those lights on dashboard off) would mean your alternator is good too: the car would not drive longer than about 15 min on fully charged battery with dead alternator. Something does not add up here, some more details on the current problem could help: do you hear fuel pump running for few sec if you hold key in ON before moving it to START? What exactly happens when you turn it to START- lights go out, relay start clicking, anything at all? Just speculation- you prob had a bad battery originally which could not hold charge anymore but whoever replaced it didn't clean / tightened clamps on battery posts. This would make lights go out when you move key to START and car wouldn't start. Bad contacts on the battery posts might also prevent alternator to charge it successfully too.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

wow, I heard it could take your house out too- please don't make stuff up. Car has good ground - it managed to sustain 100A starting current during jumps if 'jumping' meant connecting another running car battery in parallel with OP's using thick wires. I hope they cleaned/tightened battery posts during replacement.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

You need to charge that dead battery first.
Alternators are there to help the battery maintain a charge.
If the battery is dead the alternator doesn't have a chance.

D.Stillwell

^^ There it is, bingo.

You should get one of those portable battery chargers and charge it up fully, you can then test that it's fully charged by simply using a volt meter.
Then, the alternator will be able to maintain charge, once a battery is drained the alternator doesn't have enough juice to maintain a proper charge.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

Good idea mostly because alternators tend to overload completely discharged battery. BTW, the battery got replaced very recently with brand new one and she still has problems. Usually they don't die within week unless it was DOA.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

She said she put a new battery in and drove it for a week and then replaced the alternator.
Makes it sound like the alt was bad and killed the battery, then she installed the new alt and tried to start it.

Just sayin.

nissianmaxi2002

I know nothing about cars thank you, I will show a mechanic what you wrote . because honestly I don't even know what you're talking about... sadly lol

4DRZ

iTrader: (4)

Are you kidding?? Maybe you should research this more BEFORE you stick your foot in your mouth. Ask anyone who knows about electrical systems if a bad ground could cause failing components as I suggested.....then post about making things up.

One of MANY explanations of a bad ground and how it can damage the electrical system...including the alternator.....
http://www.ehow.com/info_12129200_si...o-battery.html

nissianmaxi2002

wow you said exactly what my neighbor said. My battery is at autozone right now charging. so if this does not help I don't know what's going to .. hope it works out for me

nestorlugo

iTrader: (11)

Try to take or have your friend take your battery to an autoparts store that offers to recharge your battery! Or get a new one under warranty for the one you just purchased


Edit: a lil too late


This lil guy knows There’s Smart Kids And Then There’s This Kid: http://youtu.be/GPO6ARmMbXQ

4DRZ

iTrader: (4)

I assure you my post is 100% correct and factual, and I truly hope it helps you. I know from experience, how the electrical system works, and more importantly when it doesnt work correctly. I hope you get this solved quickly as I am sure this is a headache. Sorry for your troubles, you'll get it figured out.

D.Stillwell

Yup, that should hopefully solve your issue, since you already have a new alternator and all.

But if not, don't hesitate to come back and update us on the situation, then we can go from there.

Good luck to you!

D.Stillwell

Listen to Fakie, his advice is on point.

george__

iTrader: (1)

get a alternator locally

so many brands are just pure crap they will break within a few months

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

No ground no reference!!!! Anyway that battery and altenator should be checked with a VOM to ensure it's charging (With and without a load) and that the battery is fully charged!

gwmac

I am having some similar issues as well. We are both lucky to have found this forum. Lots of great advice in your thread here and mine. In my case the battery and brake light would show which is why I am leaning toward a bad alternator in my case.

My new alternator arrives tomorrow but I will make sure to have the mechanic check my belts and also ground wires checked for resistence and or replaced if needed. Good luck and hope you get your problem solved. Like you I am at the mercy of mechanics since I have so little knowledge but just happy to have all this great expert advice.

4DRZ

iTrader: (4)

Ever heard of corrosion? It effects resistence, resistence effects components... I am aware that no ground attached, no reference. No wonder this place is dying....All the knowledgeable members have moved on.

D.Stillwell

Take it easy.

We know about grounding. And if you look at the members who posted and how long they've been around, you would realize that.

TDotMax

iTrader: (1)

I had this issue this summer.
Lesson from my past experience:
- NEVER buy rebuilt alternators
- Always make sure the battery tie down is secure (wore my positive connector from jumping around)

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

The trouble is - none of us knows what he is talking about , please disregard his comments.

As someone suggested posting voltages here would really help, otherwise it's really hard to diagnose blindfolded. If it's possible borrow / buy multimeter (~$20) and ask your friend to measure voltage on the battery posts when car sat for few hours, how much it drops during cranking, what value it has when engine is running at around 1500 rpm.

Hope one of the checks at Autozone will find the reason for your troubles and none of that would be required.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

I can just ask myself- no, bad ground is not known to cause failures of the components. Stuff will stop working, or start working intermittently but it usually survives and things get back to normal after the ground connection is restored and it's not even the case here.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

Ground wires don't fail as often as one of the participants made it look like, it's rather exotic cause. One of the reasons is the current it needs to conduct during engine cranking. Since the current is high and this happens few times daily you'd learn very quickly you have a bad ground. Once this happens (if ever) you'd lose ability to jump the car too as the very same wire is used during the process. FYI, the resistance of the ground wire is in vicinity of 0.001 Ohm, not so easy to measure directly. It is a thick wire which doesn't rust that easily. Its contact to the car body could become bad but it's a rare problem.

maxiiiboy

+10 !!!
Borrow/buy a voltmeter, and have your friend measure the voltage on the battery in the following states: a) Battery in standalone mode (not connected), b) Battery connected but with engine not running, and c) Engine running, alternator charging. This data will tell you (and us) a lot. And let us know what you get.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

No agrument here regarding grounds....They need to be cleaned if corroded or not really a good solid ground/bond! But they don't cause component failures maybe intermittent operation...but anyway hopefully she'll get her problems solved it's a 10 min job to diagnose...I'm hoping the problem is found! Yeah all the knowledgeable members have moved on... I'm an imbecile if you wanna believe it...Lol!

nestorlugo

iTrader: (11)

You act like they took all their post and search option with them!

D.Stillwell

All I got to say is... this site has taught me mostly everything I know about Maximas. And I know a lot at this point.

There's a wealth of knowledge here, especially for 4th/5th gens considering the years on them.

There are good knowledgeable members here. And sure you could say things here have died down a bit. But it's to be expected, cars are only getting older and people moving on.

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

step 1: never go to autozone for moving parts

Actually, that's the only step you need

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

All you said is correct but you need to one more thing! With the engine running now turn on every electrical device you can: blower fan on max, emergency flashers on, headlights and foglights on, if you don't have foglights then High Beams, Interior light on (open door) and now check your voltage! If it's not above 12.5 volts, you're in trouble!!!!
Stay away from Autozone....It's only good for chemicals, cheap tools, and etc.....

maxiiiboy

Bump.
OK, did you have a chance to measure those voltages? We can really help you if you do, and if you let us know what they are. To recap, have your friend measure the following:

1. Voltage on standalone/unconnected battery; should be 12-12.5V
2. Voltage on battery connected to to the car, engine not running, ignition key not in; should be the same as in #1 above.
3. Battery voltage with ignition key ON, but engine not running; should be a fraction less (by 0.1 - 0.2V) than in #2 above.
4. Battery voltage with engine running; should be 14-14.5V.
5. Battery voltage with engine running and all "appliances" ON (lights, AC, radio, blower, etc); should be the same or a bit less (by ~ 0.2V or so) than in #4 above.

On my car, the above voltages are (12.3, 12.3, 12.05, 14.18, 14.02). My battery is almost five years old but the car is in very good shape.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

Another very informative test is to measure how far the voltage drops during cranking: if you pull fuel pump fuse out, let the engine die and then connect multimeter and start cranking. The voltage drop reflects 'internal' battery resistance and should be less than 2V. Basically, it shouldn't drop below +10.5V. If it goes lower I'd start shopping for new battery. There were rare cases when starter was going bad and it was overloading the battery during cranking therefore making this test ambiguous: on a bad starter the voltage can drop below 10.5V even on a good battery. Since such cases are rare this test provides quick assessment how much life your battery has left: this drop reflects decrease of the active surface area of the battery's electrodes over years so while new battery drops to about 11.5V the battery which 'doesn't take/hold charge' and needs replacement drops below 10.5V. Please don't crank for too long, only few seconds should be enough for this test.