well lastnight my car died as i was driving home i watched my amnemeter or however u spell it go from 14 volts to nuthing then the car jus died, would this be bcause of a bad alternator or wold the realy for the alternator have gone bad? i kno the belt was gonna gte replaced pretty soon cause it lost 2 ribs but it still turns,
so im gonna check my realy and hope thats the problem temporarily any ideas feel free to lemme kno thanx alot, oh and another qusetion really fast if it is my alternator how $ should i be looking to spend to have a rebuilt one put in labor included?

~mike

 

did the alternator ("battery") warning light come on at all?

Leave the car off, turn the ignition on. The light should glow red. does it?

actually, this is usually a good indicator. If the light comes on, it's usually an internal alternator problem, a broken belt, open coil winding or bad regulator, for example. If not, it's usually external, simply a loose or corroded connection.

Charge the battery (slow charging is best) to its full capacity. A battery tester with 4 floating ***** in it is good and inexpensive, a hydrometer is best and is only a few dollars more. Have the battery load tested.

With the car running, use a digital voltmeter and measure across the battery terminals. You should be between 13 and 15 volts DC. While the car is still running, turn on the headlights. If the alternator is operating properly, and recovering from the load, the battery voltage should drop for a second or two - then come back up to around 13-15 VDC. If there is a problem in the charging system, battery voltage will stay low and continue to drop.

First and foremost, check the drivebelt. I'm pretty sure it goes between the power steering pump and the alternator. Make sure it's still there - and that it's tight.

On the alternator itself are 2 connectors. One is simply a screw-post connector with a red 10-gauge wire going from it straight to the battery. This charges the battery. Make sure it's tight, and that the connections are not corroded. The other connector has 2 wires, a thin one and a thicker one. The thin one goes from the regulator to the alternator ("battery") warning light, the other one goes from the ignition switch into the field coils inside the alternator, to produce the electromagnetic field required to generate the current. Make sure this connector is tight as well.

If any of those connectors are loose, the alternator will not charge the battery. A past experience I had with my 88 Maxima is the 2-wire connector (warning lamp/coils) and when I turned the ignition ON the alternator light did not come on and the battery did not charge with the engine running. The connector had simply come loose.

There are a series of fusible links near the battery - check them, especially the one that says "ALT.NAT." with an ohmmeter or continutiy tester. Make sure it's good.

And as a last resort, check the connections at the positive (+) battery connector. Make sure the red charging wire from the alternator is connected and clean.

If nothing else, and nobody else here can help you, I'd say it's time for a new alternator. A rebuilt one won't run too much, I can't say exactly how much because I've never bought one - but maybe less than $70? labor...it's not hard at all to replace these alternators, a good Haynes manual explains the steps in detail and would only cost about an hour of work for yourself. No special tools are needed, and it's simply 2 bolts holding it in place.

Hope this helps, and good luck. It's hard to get these cars to have problems.

Dan
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i kno its not alot of work but the thing is i have 2 problems i hva e no where to work on it and i dont have access to the proper tools. cause worst comes to worst my old maxima has a brand spankin neq alternator with less than a 1000 miles on it, had it put on about a month or 2 before it sat, but i will go check wut u said in jus a few, hopefully i can get it runnin again soon cause the funds rea low if u kno wut i mean, i jus called a shop to see how much it would cost and the said about $350 so i hope that i can get this taken care of as simply as possible.. but thanx for the info great help

~mike

 

well ok heres the scoop i found and alternator for our cras for about $90, which is not bad at all here is the link

http://go-there-now.com/track.asp?id...n%20Alternator

so if anyone needs one, its the cheepest rebuilt i could find and i believe it comes with a warranty. i was quoted 120 labor with belt so im figurin about 230 n change instead of 230 for the alternator rebuilt and 120 for labor plus tax like 380 it almsot came out too...whew hell no that god for online services

~mike

 

Go to Pep Boys. I paid around $120 for the alternator and the install.

-C-

 

I just read your post a little more closely. $120 for labor for an alternator!?! Man, you're getting ripped, go somewhere else. I only paid $180 for labor for the timing belt which takes a long time to do. An alternator swap takes a good 20 minutes at best. There's no way you should be paying that much.

Like I said, go to Pep Boys, it's a lot cheaper.

-C-

 

ok i'll call trem up

~mike

 

Anyone know of a place to get a high output alternator? I've seen some around. I know ours puts out 90amps. With the plans I have for my car with the stereo, 90amps may not be enough. I've seen 200amp 12 volt alternators around, but I dunno if they fit or not.

S

 

hey sarin i crossed this website in my search for the cheapest alternator http://www.powermaxx.com/ they have like a alternator thats supposed to put out 200amps check it out

~mike