Bad Alternator??
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29
Have anyone replaced their alternator yet? Funny, I have about 90K on my 97 Max and have recently noticed whinning sounds from the engine. I have heard that when an alternator starts to go bad it starts to whine. Any ideas and/or inputs welcome...thanks.
FYI: no timing belt in the VQ engines. just timing chain.
Originally posted by yo_its_ok
Where did you hear if the car whines its the alternator. If you need to replace your alternator, you would know when you car won't start after your shut it off. Alternator recharges your battery as your engine runs, but as you use your accessories on your car such as radio, and lights, and anything else electrical, your battery drains. If a repair shop replaces your battery w/o testing the electrical system, your battery will die within a week. As for the whining sound, sounds like you need your timing belt and/or your accessory belts replaced. If the belts have been replaced, check the tension of the belts and the tensioner pulley if the bearing has gone bad. If your belt hasn't been replaced, while your car is being serviced, have your cooling system checked, since you are knocking on 100K mark.
Alternators can burn out in 90K miles easily given the amount of heat produced under the hood of a car, and 90K miles in 3-4 years. Depending on when you had your car serviced, keep track of when your fuel filter was replaced, and have the spark plugs checked. Please don't fall for....you need to change the wires too, cause the Maxima uses a Distributorless Ignition...has individual coils for each spark plug.
-Seasons Greetings
Where did you hear if the car whines its the alternator. If you need to replace your alternator, you would know when you car won't start after your shut it off. Alternator recharges your battery as your engine runs, but as you use your accessories on your car such as radio, and lights, and anything else electrical, your battery drains. If a repair shop replaces your battery w/o testing the electrical system, your battery will die within a week. As for the whining sound, sounds like you need your timing belt and/or your accessory belts replaced. If the belts have been replaced, check the tension of the belts and the tensioner pulley if the bearing has gone bad. If your belt hasn't been replaced, while your car is being serviced, have your cooling system checked, since you are knocking on 100K mark.
Alternators can burn out in 90K miles easily given the amount of heat produced under the hood of a car, and 90K miles in 3-4 years. Depending on when you had your car serviced, keep track of when your fuel filter was replaced, and have the spark plugs checked. Please don't fall for....you need to change the wires too, cause the Maxima uses a Distributorless Ignition...has individual coils for each spark plug.
-Seasons Greetings
Donating Maxima.org Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,931
Originally posted by yo_its_ok
WHAT ENGINE DOES A 97 MAXIMA HAVE ???? VG30DE NOT THE VQ...YOU MONKEY....
-Happy Holidays
WHAT ENGINE DOES A 97 MAXIMA HAVE ???? VG30DE NOT THE VQ...YOU MONKEY....
-Happy Holidays
All 4th- and 5th-gen Maximas have the VQ30DE, which has a timing chain, not a belt. Also, alternators can go bad several different ways. Sometimes they will stop charging; sometimes the diode in the regulator blows out and the alternator runs wide open, so the battery continues to get charged, but everything is overcharged; sometimes the brushes wear out, like a bad starter.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,835
Um, if your maxima is making a whining noise (similar to a supercharger), it's the alternator. It happened to me at 32k miles, and guess what...the dealer told me it was NORMAL!! I asked them to bench test my alternator but they wanted to charge me for it (no pun intended).
The next day, the alternator died. Towed my car to the dealer, and they said it was MY FAULT that I didn't get my alternator tested. Ridiculous. Then the dealer told me that it would take a week to get the alternator in. So I towed my car to another dealer, got the alternator replaced under warranty on the same day, and filed a complaint to 1-800-Nissan against the first nissan dealer.
It is possible that the noise is something else like a loose belt (squeal), noisy pulley (also a squeal), or increased vibration due to a broken motor mount. But the classic cause of a whining noise is a defective alternator.
As for "yo-it's-ok"'s here's how it is: all 4th/5th gens have VQ30DE engines (the "K" for the 5th gens is a myth I think), and they all have timing chains.
The next day, the alternator died. Towed my car to the dealer, and they said it was MY FAULT that I didn't get my alternator tested. Ridiculous. Then the dealer told me that it would take a week to get the alternator in. So I towed my car to another dealer, got the alternator replaced under warranty on the same day, and filed a complaint to 1-800-Nissan against the first nissan dealer.
It is possible that the noise is something else like a loose belt (squeal), noisy pulley (also a squeal), or increased vibration due to a broken motor mount. But the classic cause of a whining noise is a defective alternator.
As for "yo-it's-ok"'s here's how it is: all 4th/5th gens have VQ30DE engines (the "K" for the 5th gens is a myth I think), and they all have timing chains.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29
Guys, thanks for the inputs. I'll go and alternator tested. My friend just burnt his out over the weekend...actually it caught on fire! Cost him about $550 to replaced it at the dealer ($400 parts and $150 labor). Anyone with a shop manual? How hard is it to replace the alternator? Looks like a pretty tight area to work with. Any special tools needed?
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