Just bought a 01 Maxima, car had alternator like issues and the guy said he purchased a new/reman alternator from O’ Reilly’s, had it installed and the car died again after driving fine for a day or 2 so he took the alternator back & had it replaced, installed the 2nd alternator along with a new battery only to have the same issues once again. I was unaware that he had already replaced the alt. until I had already driven 2 hours to get the car so I went ahead & bought it & hauled it home. The speedo & entire gauge cluster isn’t functioning at all either and he said that it worked properly until the car died the first time so it seems that is linked to the alternator issue in some way. I don’t think O’ Reilly’s could’ve sold 2 faulty alternators but I also don’t know of anything else that would cause these issues but this is my first maxima. ANY & ALL HELP/SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

 

test the battery, if you can turn the car on, unplug the negative terminal.. if it dies the alt is bad. take the alt to be tested and if its good make sure ll connections are good and the cables are all good. start there.. hope this helps

 

Check the alternator harness at the connector. The small wire sometimes breaks leading to no charging. Its a $30 repair. attached is a link to the youtube video.

 

Just a note regarding the above video.

While all the different years of the Maxima use that short piece of harness, The different years have a slightly different harness, so make sure you get the correct one for your car.

 

Ok so I’ve read where if the “meter” fuse is blown, the gauges will not work & the car didn’t have a fuse in that slot so I put when in, turned the ignition on & my cluster and gauges worked but as soon as I crank it it blew the fuse twice with 10 & 15amp fuses, what could cause this?

 

Sorry bro that method doesn't work on computer controlled Cars! Maybe carb cars but not these...

 

Have you tested the battery voltage with engine off and not running, then w/o anything running except the engine, test the voltage again hopefully 13.5-14.5 Volts, now test it with all your lights on (headlights, foglights, caution lights, window defroster, map lights, a/c blower on maximum, and even your foot on the brakes!!!!! A damn good Alternator will usually read above 13.1v..if you're not over 12.5v, you got a charging issue...Check and inspect your wiring, grounds, bonds, connectors for clean connections...Good

 

Thanks about to borrow a volt meter now. Still concerned with the “Meter” fuse blowing repetitively bc supposedly the alternator can’t charge without the circuit complete through the gauge cluster and “battery” light in the cluster.

 

There are 2 fuses involved with the alternator. One is located in the dash panel and is for the idiot light in the dash. The other fuse is under the hood and is for the alternator windings so it can produce power. Which fuse was/is blown? The one in the dash for the idiot light will not effect the alternator generating power.

The fuse for the idiot light also supplies power to 22 other circuits in the car, not just the idiot light.

Have you done the voltage checks yet as outlined above?

 

First step is to do all of the voltage checks, then check harness wiring and grounds for any bad contacts / condition.

The next step is to check alternator. Aftermarkets and remans are hit or miss. I've done aterrnator jobs on my 92 and 97 and had to try multiple alternators before getting one to work. No fun at almost $200 a piece, but most local places (autozone, napa, etc....) offer warranties and allow returns if things don't work.

 

There's also a ground wire that get rusty where it connects to the chassis.

 

It’s only pushing 8-9v. I’ve been told the battery light in the cluster completes the circuit and the alternator will not charge without the cluster functioning and the cluster only comes on when I put a new fuse in it and last about a minute before it blows, it usually blows immediately when I crank the car but it has blown with only the ignition on and the cluster goes out as soon as it does.

 

well maybe not on your car but thats how i could prove to pepboys that the alt they sold me wasnt good.

 

Ok if you believe it and it works for you, cool....Just want you to know that field windings need voltage to make dc volt to make ac voltage before being rectified.....

 

 

 

For a list of devices supported by that fuse see the EL section of the FSM.
There are 14 devices on fuse #12; the diagram on page EL-10 has the full list. You'll need to go and chase down that list.

 

got it, thanks for the video