I suspect that my alternator is going bad.

While at a complete stop my tachometer will drop to 0 rpm (engine does not stall) and the ABS light will turn on followed my the airbag light. Once i rev the engine up the lights go away and the car functions normally (Seems like the alternator is not producing enough voltage at low revs). I shut the car off while it was doing this yesterday and I needed a jump to start it back up.

I think i saw something about a recall on the 1998 Maxima alternators but I can't find it again.

What do you guys think?

 

I had the same thing happen to me, some one told me that my stereo was killing my alternator. I dont know if it was my stereo but I experienced the same thing you are talking about. The car would shut off and I would have to pop or jump the car all the time. I would replace the alternator and have your battery checked as well.

 

thats not the symptom of a going altenator.. thats the symptom of a dirty battery terminals or a dead battery.

When your altenator goes, your car will no longer run.

 

Yup, Sprint is right....when I first got my car is started to do soomething like what you said, turned out that the ground cable was so loose that it was barely making contact so I bought a new one and it fixed it.

 

another sign of an alternator going bad is if your battery and brake warning lights are both on

 

their are no stages of an altenator going bad. It just goes and thats it.

 

that sucks.
wait...
...what exactly is an alternator again?

 

that shiny thing there on the passenger side of the car above the oil filter

 

Sorry to say but thats not true. I’m the victim of a 98 alt. recall. On my way to school my stereo started to fade in and out, the lights would start to go, the tach would drop, error lights would pop up. I barely made it back to town and got it towed to the local stealership,(after i had it checked out my my local mechanic) and tada! melted alternator.

 

Sorry to say but that is correct. What you were experiencing was your car running on just battery power. However your altenator was already dead.

 

well if your alternator is toast, then it will turn on the battery light, and parking brake light. if this continues on to the next stage, your in big trouble. if your abs light goes on, then the abs computer is not getting enough power to keep it running. goto nissan's website and look up any recalls. there is one. but if your battery is toast, then it will probably do the same. you have to check on each account

 

Your headunit ( if you have one it goes on and off), abs light , annonying noise from the engine high pitched

 

Holy **** !! Are you serious?

 

it makes a crank noise when slaminnn the gas paddel

 

hmmm so you think its a loose ground cable?

So why would all the problem go away as soon as i rev the engine to 1500 + RPMS?

P.S. This is not a constant problem. I first saw it one morning two weeks ago in rush hour traffic. I then saw it yesterday in rush hour traffic. My point is the problem only shows up when stopped and the engine was at less than 1000 rpms.

 

i thought i had that same problem with my alternator. i had this high pitched sound coming from the passenger side(whislting). it would only happen when my car was in idle but when i rev the engine it would go away and it would come back when it was back in idle.? i took it to my mechanic and he did a test on the alternator and everything was normal. he checked a pulley and he said it was that. so he replaced it and it stopped. then 2 weeks later that noise came back. i took it back and he did the test thing again and it was fine. and he said it was the pulley, he was saying it was loose, so he tighten it and it was fine. after another 2 weeks went by the whislting noise came back. ??????????HELP??????????

 

ive got the same problem, but it comes and goes. no idea why.

 

Start your car. Remove the ground off the battery. It should stay running. If not your alternator is bad. Your car operates on the alternator when it is running.

 

go to the auto parts store.. buy a can of liquid silicone (comes out as gas) .. start your car... go over by where your belts are (next to the altenator) spray on the silicone on the belts.

 

or another thing is.. he could get a volt-o-meter.. test it with the car off.. where should see 12 volts. Start the car. If the altenator is dead your volts will still remain at 12. If your altenator is good it will go up to 14 volts.

 

Well first question

What will the silicon do or tell me?

Second I know the alternator is not dead because its been working fine for the past few days. The problem is intermittent..... Maybe I will be in a position to test one day instead of on the highway in rush hour traffic on my way to work...

P.S. Thanks for all the input guys.

 

Alternators can have stages of going bad... athough it lasts a short period of time. Very worn brushes can cause some pretty interesting symptoms.

 

the Silicon is for the people with the belt noise. When the belts get dry they make that squealing sound.

You have a loose connection somewhere or dirty terminals. Have you also checked the fluid in yoru battery? Your symptoms are those of a battery thats dead or terminals that are dirty.

 

Wow, I had the same exact problem yesterday !!!!!!!! I was going to make a thread about it today until I saw yours. Mine also all of a sudden started losing power. First the radio, then the abs light, then the airbag light and then the car slowly shut off. I had to get it jump started and it started right up. Its parked now until I have time after work to get it checked. The brake lights did not come on so you guys think its the battery? Battery looks fairly new, about a year old or so is what the previous owner said. What do you guys think.

 

the same exact thing i said before

 

If its a bad battery then why would it die in the middle, shouldnt the alternator be responsible for power once the car is on and moving. I hope you are right and its the battery, dont want to spend $300 on a new alternator.

 

did i say it was a bad battery?

 

I was referring to the bad battery as being dead.

 

if the battery is dead.. the car won't start. Check the terminals and fluids first. Or if you are feeling ghetto pop out one of your 1157 bulbs from your rear tail light, get a wire and test it on the battery

 

wow sprint they are giving you a workout today...

 

yeah.. soon i will have to start flexing

 

Now you know the frustrations we have to go through answering the same questions over and over on the same thread.

 

not reading all these post but...battery light on or stick a voltmeter on the battey as its running and make sure it doesnt keep dropping voltage