My 93 GXE wouldn't start this morning. It was pretty obvious that the battery was drained. I was able to jump the car and get going. However...

After a 3 hour drive, I had the exact same problem. Even worse, if I was idling, all of the electronics in the car would just shut off (A/C, Stereo, etc.). My wipers would get so slow that they would get stuck on the windshield. Once I would start moving again, it would all turn back on and everything was fine. Is it a pretty safe bet to say it's the alternator? And if so, could someone point me to a good write-up on replacing that beotch?

Thanks,
Spencer

 

yea its dying - you can have it rebuilt, or replaced. but first have it tested for free at autozone or a place like that.
click here for testing and replacement instructions
tom

 

Check the belt first. It sort of sounds like you might just have a loose belt. Easy things first. If the belt is good and tight then yeah you are probly losing the alt.

 

Cool, thanks guys. I'll try the belt first and then I'll take it into autozone for testing.

Thanks,
Spencer

 

I am jealous that you get to use your a/c now.

 

You won't be in the summer time. I've been there and you need a machete to cut through the humidity.

 

Hey Guys, thanks for your help. And yes - every summer I'm here I want to move or stab out my eyes because it gets so hot. It's kinda cool using my A/C in January / February but it's even cooler riding snowboards and snowmobiles

Anyway, I ended up replacing my alternator and belt and that fixed my problems. I was able to get a reman 90A genuine Nissan alternator from Oreilly auto parts for $99 plus my core ($50 core charge if you didn't turn it in). I pulled my battery and cleaned it up, topped off the water, and charged it overnight. I replaced the belt at the same time for another $10. It's running like a champ now. Gotta love these 3rd gens!

Thanks again for your help and stay warm (or cool depending on where you are)

-Spencer

 

Use u A/C to condense all humidity off from u cabin. Right in snowstorm. hlps.

 

Tera-
Next January I'll trade you MN for some nice warm weather.

 

im having the same problem. maybe its my belt too.

 

abs light came on when mine died; noticed badly running heat and energy dimming. next time i went to start it...died. charged....died again. charged again...died again.

and then my water pump went right after that, so look out.

 

My alternator short circuited not too long ago, so it wouldn't stop draining the battery. After we discovered the problem, I had to keep disconnecting it whenever I was done driving it, haha.

 

Been there, done that!

 

Alternator

 

I brought this topic back because I have the same problem.

I have a 97 and it had a bad accessory belt. Took it to a dealer and had it replaced. I brought the car home and the battery light was on after a day of driving the car and no accessories like wipers, air con, and radio worked. I disconnected the negative battery lead and the engine shut off after when it's still suppose to run. I figured the dealer broke the alternator. I went and got a new one and replaced it myself and I put everything back myself and didn't miss anything. I ran the car and disconected the negative battery lead and the car still shuts off. Later after driving it for a day the car would run for a few min and than shut off because the car was running on the battery the way it is now and the battery ran out of power. I put in a new battery and the car runs fine but the engine shuts off when I disconnect the battery and I'm guessing that battery wont last long since the car is running on it and not the alternator.
Does anybody know what is wrong?

 

Well it sounds like a fusible link to me...But you are also in the wrong forum ...You have a 4th gen maxima...

 

Didn't see that. I found the topic on google and forgot to check what forum it was posted in.