Hello,

I got a maxima 2002 that might be the end of it's life not quite sure yet. Hoping you guys may have any suggestions or past experiences.

Well, the car no longer turns on.
Battery was bought last year because of the same reason but now it won't start at all. It turns off as I start driving. I have to jump start the car but I have to keep accelerating or else it will turn off.

The only lights that are on are the battery lights and the BRAKE light.

Now, my guess is the alternator?


Tomorrow, I am having the car tow to my house since it's stuck in a neighborhood parked.

 

sounds like an alternator issue

 

Yep, easy fix, though.

If it's not far away, swap the battery out or fully charge it and drive it home. I'd disconnect the wire to alternator in case it drains the batt, but I bet you can drive for 30 mins during the day.

 

Perfect. Sounds like a project for this weekend. What else should I be worried about when/after replacing the alternator?

 

Not getting a junk alternator is going to be your problem. Its seems like everyone has been getting junkers b/c they're remanned. I wouldn't even think about autozone.

I go to the junkyards and pick up the ones that have been replaced
Alternatively, if you know the mileage of the vehicles, you could grab a low mile OEM one.

I believe anything from a 4th-6th gen maxima, plus the muranos/altimas/quests with the original VQ35 should work.

 

^^this^^

I recently found a 5th gen in the u-pull it yard that someone was obviously "throwing parts" at before junking it. Pulled a new starter, IACV and MAF.

The wifes starter was getting weak and at 300,000 I figured a new Hitachi IACV wouldn't be a bad swap along with the bypass.

One way to tell the mileage in the junk yard is to look for oil change stickers on the windshield or door jam. That'll give a rough estimate within a few thousand miles.

 

Good call. There's also sometimes registration/insurance/repair documentation in the glove box.

 

It's not too bad of a job.

*Make sure you disconnect the battery first if you don't want any fireworks.

*You'll have to unbolt the AC compressor to fit the alternator out but you don't have to disconnect the lines. Do that first and don't bother trying to work around it.

*It's a good time to replace the belts if they're old.

 

^^^ +1 !!!

 

Hi, I'm curious about the brake light being on. Today my 2002 Maxima suddenly wouldn't start. We took the battery off and took to Nissan. They said battery was good but low and it should be charged. We tried to charge it, but nothing happened - everything dead, nothing works EXCEPT the back lights were on!! We had to disconnect the battery to bet the brake lights to go off. The battery is not very old and we had an alternator put on it a couple years ago. It only has 134,000 miles on it. Is this any thing like your problem? We are totally stumped with everything being dead except the back lights burning. Can't find anything else working - can't even roll up windows. Got to have it towed, but don't know whether it has to be Nissan or i another garage could determine problem. Nissan will charge a fortune, so don't want to use unless I have to. Let me know if any of this is like your problem. Thanks!!!

UPDATE - had to have the car towed and it was the brake peddle stop. I didn't know but my brake l ights had been staying on because this little plastic/rubber piece had broken off. So, it run the batter completelydown. Don't think all cars have this but the Nissan Maxima does. It was just under $100 to fix. Most of that labor - I read on the internet that the part is only $10.99 - rest is labor if you take to a shop. Look on youtube to see how you can fix yourself.

 

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