Dsquared

Hey y'all just gonna get right to it.

Was told my 2009 maxima had a bad alternator. Got it replaced with a "new" remanufactured alternator from Napa. Got it in the car, it started up, kept running after disconnecting the negative terminal. Sounds good right?
Car dies while idling. Get it tested, they say bad alternator. Before replacing it again I went in and replaced the connector as it seemed to have 2 loose terminals. Car starts up, runs with the negative terminal disconnected. Go back to have it tested again, say still bad. I was talking to a guy at advanced auto and he was saying it maybe a faulty or disconnected ground wire. Does this sound right? Did I get a dud remanufactured alternator? Please lmk what you think and I'll give any info I can if y'all need it.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

The disconnecting the negative battery terminal isn't really a good test, if the replaced alternator was bench tested by Advanced and they said it was bad, it's probably bad. I was a mechanic for PetroCanada and Napa years back and probably half the reman alternators from Napa on vehicles failed within 4-12 months and came back for warranty not charging and smelling like electrical fire, especially Ford and Nissan lol. If Advanced said the reman is bad, just return it to Napa and get it switched out

Dsquared

By bench tested do you mean taken out and tested? If so, that wasn't done just the testing they do by connecting to the battery while still in the car. I plan on swapping it out either way with another reman I got from advanced auto which was tested on the machine inside and says it's good.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

Ohh I thought you meant they used the bench tester most parts stores have that test alternators and give a reading, I would see what swapping it out does. My best guess is the Napa one is bad

Dsquared

Sounds good, thank you!

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

I agree with Chrome91, I think you got a lemon. Swap it out and report back.

Dsquared

I'm back. Swapped it out with another reman that I had tested before I bought it. It was good. Put it in this morning, my buddy threw an old school tester (I think just for the battery tho) and it was back to reading ~14 v. Went and got it tested at advanced with their newer testers, it's reading no output for the alternator. I drove it around before and after getting it tested and it's jumping back and forth from 11.6 up to 15.2 at a couple times. I'm assuming it's a wiring problem based on everything I've done so far. Does that sound right?

Dsquared

And the engine light is on now after it's been parking for 2 hours.

MaximusN8

Now's a good time to scan for codes and get to the bottom of this.

Dsquared

I don't have a tool to do that and I don't know anyone who does. Is there a decent but kinda cheaper one you would suggest?

MaximusN8

Go to Advance Auto Parts or Autozone, tell them your check engine light is on and you would like them to scan for codes. This is a free service they provide.

Dsquared

Okay cool, thanks! I'll report back when I get new info on what's up.

Dsquared

So these were the codes I got. I actually fixed it, there was a tube that had broken off cuz the rubber was a bit old so it got hard.

I'm still getting the typical bad alternator signs even though I just put a good one in. I know y'all said removing the negative terminal while the car is running isn't really the best test but it's the only one I can do myself. It's turning off now when I remove it. I did find and look at the ground for the battery. It looks rusty as **** but I can't get to it atm with the tools I have so I'm gonna go to my bosses detail shop later and use his tools to get at it and clean it off.

If you guys have any ideas of what to look at next I would be super grateful. If y'all want any extra info lmk

MaximusN8

Besides the test result, how's the car been running?

Dsquared

It's running mostly fine to me, been driving back and forth to AAP and to and from work (only a couple miles away). Brake and battery light pop on when I first start the car but go off after a couple mins of driving. Occasional "chugging" when I first press on the gas from stop but it's not everytime (2 out of 5 times) and nothing during driving. If it was someone else's car I would just think it's kinda old, cuz it is.

MaximusN8

Brake and battery light stays on for a few minutes while driving and then goes off? It should light up for a few seconds at start up as a system check and go off. If it's staying on for a few minutes after start up then there's something going on.

Dsquared

From what Ive read and been told, that points towards a bad alternator. Thing is I just put a new one in that I know is good. Only thing l can think of is something with the wiring. I think I said early I found the ground for the battery and it's pretty rusty so im gonna go at that and clean it up tomorrow morning. Other than that I'm not sure.

MaximusN8

Believe it or not I have had issues with reman Alternators from Advance and Autozone. I ordered Denso reman from Rock Auto with no issue. I've heard Napa's Alternators are reliable as well. The problem with the reman aftermarket parts their literally hit or miss.

Dsquared

I'm looking but I can't tell, does a 2009 maxima have an actual voltage regulator or not? I was just talking to someone at my work and they're saying that could be it. But looking around I cant tell if my maxima has an actual one or if it's in the alternator itself or something with the ecm.

Dsquared

I had it bench tested in front me of me before I bought it and it tested good out of the car? The one I put in before this was from NAPA (a reman) and it was doing the same thing.

MaximusN8

That's in the alternator.

Dsquared

That's what I figured from what I could read. Odds of it going bad immediately after putting it in? Like I said I had it tested in front of me before I bought it so I assume the vr was good at that point.

MaximusN8

Tough to say, as said before it's trial and error. It's not unheard of to coincidentally have 2 Alternators bad. I don't think that's the case here, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised.

Dsquared

Alrighty, I guess I'll clean up that ground tomorrow and see what happens after that. My battery is good so other than that idk what would cause an alternator to go bad so quickly.

LtLeary

If you have a voltmeter, start measuring voltage between the neg post on your battrry to various places on tbe engine and even to the alternator while car is running. That will tell you where a ground issue exists or at least get you close.

Dsquared

I don't have one but I can get one. I'll do that tomorrow morning as well. Thank you!

maxipower

rebuild alternators or starters aren t guarateed.. they only replace the defect part and clean out the housing to
look like new and resell the unit only with the enchanged part,,they do not replace each part in the unit and no wonder they
aren t performing to their percentage..it s a waste of time for labor in exchanging defect units,, so it s better to
buy a brand new one but costly and it could be worth the headaches of replacing two or more units and labor.
and not to get stuck

LtLeary

And here is a nice instuctional video that may help

Dsquared

So even if they bench test it in front of me and it comes up good, it's still possible that it just dies once it's put in the car?

Dsquared

Thank you very much man!

MaximusN8

Very much so yes. Not all the parts on the reman alternators are replaced. Hit or miss.

Dsquared

Really? I was told with a reman they just keep the housing and the rest is completely gutted and working OE parts were put in. I thought a refurb was when they only replaced failing parts and kept stuff that was working. Jeez I guess I should've just gotten the brand new one

MaximusN8

My apologies, please allow me to correct myself. The reman alternators are gutted out and have all new parts put in. I don't believe it's OE parts used, keep in mind that the parts used in both rebuilt and remanufactured are not always of the highest quality.

Dsquared

That's just what I was told and have read a bit. The odds of getting 2 reman duds, with the second one being tested as good, sounds super unlikely although not unheard of.

I'll just start with cleaning the grounds and report back tomorrow. All the info and help is much appreciated y'all

MaximusN8

Good luck and do keep us posted.

Dsquared

I'm back, replaced a couple fuses, found, checked ( with a voltmeter) and, cleaned 2 grounds so far. Also checked from battery to alternator and then just poked around a bunch of places on the engine. No dice, everything is checking out fine so far. I've got absolutely no clue where to go from here besides forking over the dough for a brand new alternator. If y'all got anything else I could check lmk.

New things I noticed (not like haven't happened before just things I've now taken notice of):
Airbag light on dash says they're off
Regular headlights don't turn on only in conjunction with my high beams
Everytime I start the car the mechanism that changes the position of my steering wheel keeps clicking like it's trying to work but can't (I can stop this by just moving the switch)

That's all, thanks again y'all for the help so far

Dsquared

So I should probably shell out the money for a brand new alternator.
which one of these should I get

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...41n/12097876-P

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...1an/12186885-P

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...iap/12108819-P

These are the only ones I've found that I can actually buy. If y'all have better options lmk