Any ideas why? My theories are the alternator is going (I'm only a month out of the '97 model year recall) or some of the grounds are corroded. I was thinking of picking up one of those grounding kits and seeing if it helps...

/edit - more description - I only notice the headlights but it's possible that the rest of the lights are dimming also. It's not a very significant change in brightness. I have 2 amps in the car, 100Wx2 for the front speakers and a 200W mono amp for the sub.

 

I think you need to change you drive belts. My car did the same thing. I found that it was because my belts were slipping and dragging the alternator.

 

Weasel, I was told by JRNissan that even the Nissan Alternators are rebuilt so it's possible that it could be going. I fried 2 in 2 years so I finally went with an aftermarket 200 amp alternator with a smaller pulley. It runs its peak power at 2500 rpms and I swear that my car runs much better since I added this power mod to the collection.

My lights would dim when rolling up my windows and you couldn't hear the load being put on the alternator. I have a smaller pulley on my new alternator and the only issues I have now is that I'm running the alt without the top bracket and my belt slips a bit when the car is started cold but everything works great.

 

How old is your battery? I had this same issue you have. The battery I test the battery....tested ok but just ok....being it was 8 years old I decided to play it safe and not get stuck. New battery no more headlight dim. Remember the battery does more then just start your car.

 

How old is your battery? I had this same issue you have. The battery I test the battery....tested ok but just ok....being it was 8 years old I decided to play it safe and not get stuck. New battery no more headlight dim. Remember the battery does more then just start your car.

 

Whatelse does the battery do?

 

When you left off the gas and rpms drop the alternator slows down reducing output. The battery picks up the slack for the moment before the voltage regulator can adjust accordingly

 

The battery is fairly new but it's pretty crappy... Wal-Mart special. I noticed it first when I was in park and braking to back out of a space and I've since tested it in neutral and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with revs.

 

Are the terminals clean? Tight connections? Battery water level correct? Battery to small? How crappy.....crappy enough to be heading south already? Do the belts slip at all? Does the alternator whine?

Neutel=no load....alternator not working hard

 

Most likely it sounds like a battery problem. See if you can test the car with someone elses battery.

Then I would check the connections/grounding points or alternator.

Last I would check alternator, then belts.

 

Battery...

Check the terminals for corrosion or being loose, if not, drive to your local Autozone or similar and have them load test your battery/charging system.

 

its a nissan thing mine does the same thing, when ur windows are close try putting them up and watch ur lights dim

 

Mine does dim as well, and I think this is unrelated to alternator since even when my engine is off (key on ACC) the whole thing will dim when pressing the brake pedal/window switches.

 

You need a new battery....get a good one. My max the headlights would dim when you would brake and when the windows are already closed and you try and put them up. Put in a battery with a large reserve and guess what....no more dimming...

If you are interested the battery is a Deka

 

95Max,

I also checked my battery/alternator voltage....and they are excellent, 12.38 and 14.5 (<-- alternator at idle). I suspected that I need a new battery, but when I was posting this thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?p=2872007

.....there is a person with red top optima who is still experiencing the same problem. Before I read that particular thread, I was going to buy an Optima with 980 cranking amps/800 cold cranking amps and 130 minute reserve. But then I did not buy it since I thought it would not solve the problem.

I just tried a suggestion from this thread, I tried starting my car with my friend's Jetta, and the car starts much faster. This also points out that my battery, although still delivering enough voltage, but it does not have enough amperage to power the car.

What's the spec of your Deka battery? If you could, would you mind posting the link where you bought it (if available)? Thanks in advance, though!

 

I bought the battery from my mechanic....so site. There home page is dekabatteries....I have sold the car so I can't tell you which battery it was, but it is there maintenance free and the largest that would fit in the car.

 

Man I would do the same thing Deezo did only if hte alternators were cheaper.