After six runs at the track, I started home at 75-80mph. All lights began dimming around 2500rpms regardless of what gear I was in. At one point, I pulled over, turned off the car and tried to restart it. No go. Waited fifteen minutes and after struggling, it started back up. I drove the rest of the way at 50mph (2000rpms in 5th gear). My question is, what do I need to replace? Battery, alternator or both? The alternator was replaced close to six months ago.

 

If you run to any auto parts chain, or Sears, they will test your charging system for free. I'd just do that instead of guessing. Post back after and tell us what went wrong.

 

i know sears checks ur old battery and it takes them about 45min to do the diag. check that first. sound like the alternator though

 

sounds like the alternator not charging properly

 

could be a loose belt. check belts. what did you run at the track?

 

Yeah, I wanna know too.

 

THT - these symptoms are continuing since the 5-spd swap eh? where did you get the alternator...? If its not a Nissan rebuilt, then that would be my guess... also, if the alt is bad, it might have ruined the battery too... so you might need both.

 

Is this an on-going problem you've been having? Did you get any warning lights at all when the lights started to dim? I just have a feeling that you have a short somewhere, whether its a corroded ground wire, an open wire touching or rubbing against a metal object or another open wire ect.. etc.. ect..

Otherwise, get your charging system checked again. I think I remember you just recently changing your alt. but it wouldn't hurt again. You're battery as sufficient charge because you were still able to start it after that incident. If it was complete drained and below 9 volts, it wouldn't even start at all.

 

if you can start it, start it and unhook the battery. if the car dies its the alternator. if not its fine. (the alternator that is)

 

Actually, I had this issue when I was an auto too but I rarely encountered it since my time at or above 3K was very slight. Now, as a 5spd, at 70mph, I'm at 2800 so I notice it a lot more. The alternator is a Nissan remanufactured unit too.

Yes, it's a chronic problem. Slimer and I installed a grounding kit and didn't see any shorts.

What about the regulator? The people at Autozone hooked up their machine and determined that I had a bad battery. I replaced it but I still have the same problem. I will be severely pissed if the alt. is bad too...

 

you never want to do this with a late model car. There are safer methods to testing out the charging system.

THT, the voltage regulator is housed within the alternator, so if its the voltage regulators fault, its the alternators fault, therefore should be covered if you still have a warranty on the alternator.

 

Okay, I dug into my records and I replaced the alternator on April 12, 2005. How the hell did I kill it already??

 

more problems eh? I really thought that grounding that alternator would be the best for grounding.

did you put any more in?

 

Yeah, I used more 4 gauge cables to ground the two I had previously ghetto-rigged.

Alternator tested at 14.79 and 189 amps with the new battery and 14.62 and 170 amps with the old battery. Think Nissan will honor the warranty even though I installed it myself? Let's hope so.

 

its your altenator.. quick easy way to to make sure.. start your car, and with the car running, disconnect your battery.. it should remain running on its own. if it stalls, you have a bad altenator

 

Thats sufficient, actually probably slightly on the higher scale than the specified 14.1-14.7 volt range. The only time you should worry about insufficient charge is when it drops below 12 volts.

 

I thought it should test between 13 and 14 volts?

 

Haynes service manual states differently. You're ok with a higher than normal charge so long as it's not above 16volts, you'll fry your ECU in 5 minutes.

 

Checked the big fusible link in the engine bay...it's okay. The blue-top relays in the dash are snug too. Any more ideas?

 

Wiring harness that leads to the Alternator and also the ground wire on the alternator itself.

 

Does your alternator make a whining sound?

 

Nope. After speaking with BlackbirdVQ and all these posts, I'm 90% certain its the alternator. F'ucking POS.

 

Call up the dealer and see if the warranty will still be honored if the installation wasn't done by a certified Nissan Tech.

 

Yeah, did that already but they were already gone. Left a message and hopefully, they'll get back to me tomorrow.

 

They shouldn't care. It's the part that is warranteed by Nissan. The labor piece is waranteed by the installer (i.e. the dealer). The only catch is proving to them that the alternator indeed has failed... you might have to take the car in with the alternator installed, show them the signs of failure, then pull it out and get a replacement... if you just walk in with the alternator, not sure if they'll be willing to bench test it to determine that it has failed.

I know a buddy had his Maxima starter replaced a local dealer and in 6 months it developed a squeal and he went back and they said they couldn't replace it under warranty because the part hadn't failed (the car still started, which meant the stater worked). I was like is this ... so he's still driving around with a squealing starter (2 yrs later)...

 

If the alternator still registers 14+volts during testing, there is a good chance that they *might* not honor the warranty since its considered within spec. How come it came to 189amps? I recall there are two, 110amp (fed) and a 115-120amp(cali).

 

Stealership wanted $95 to just look at it. I took myself to Autozone, picked up a reman alt w/ lifetime warranty and am going to put it in today or Sunday.

 

Install took two hours but all troubles are gone.

 

Replace the drive belt. If it's old or dried out a bit it may very well be slipping at certain engine speeds causing the output from the alternator to decrease to the point it can no longer charge your system.

 

Belt was properly tightened though. It was a bad alternator.

 

i dont think thats fed or cali spec, i think GLE's or SE's with the winter packages will have the 115-120 amp.

 

stock is 100amps.. SE or GLE with winter package is 110amps

 

I see

10char

 

THT..

I need to replace the alternator on the 95 Maxima.. I've looked at the
How-To's and found this procedure.
http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/500

Did you replace your alternator the same way ? ie.
- From the bottom, loosening the compressor, etc,. ?
- Taking out the electric fans-assembly ? What for ?

Looks like the alternator might be able to come up thru the top..?.
if you get real lucky. It might not though, without disconnecting
radiator hoses, etc..

Thanks in advance.
-Ken

 

you may check the voltage of your battery by a multimeter, when the engine is off and on.

 

This is the second alternator replacement I've done and this is how I do it:

0) Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery
1) Remove passenger side wheel
2) Remove underbody covers (plastic shields)
3) Remove drive belt
4) Detach radiator from reservoir
5) Detach large hose going into the top of the radiator (coolant will come out)
6) Unclip the electrical connectors attached to the fans (there are two total, one for each fan)
7) Remove the bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator
8) Unclip the hose (coolant?) at the bottom of the radiator; it's "clipped" to the rad, tug on it and it will come off
9) Take the fan shroud out of the engine bay
10) Remove the four bolts securing the AC compressor
11) Support the AC compressor using a jackstand but push it off to the side
12) Remove the power line going into the alternator
13) Unbolt the alternator (two or three bolts in various places)
14) Slide the alternator out of the bay from below (harder than it sounds)
14a) Take care to NOT damage your radiator while taking the alternator out
15) Install new alternator and reverse steps 1-14a.

First time I did it, I took three hours. This last time was under two.

 

hey ty, for the odyssey battery, just google it. there are plenty of sites. don's ask me which one, cuz i don't know.