i have an 2002-2003 infiniti i35 and today i was driving my car and all of a sudden my brake and battery light turns on. i was like it's gonna turn off because at times my car said check engine light and turns off. after a few blocks all of my lights turn on and i can barely go 5mph. i was like sh** and pulled over to my right side. i tried to start my car several times and it did not have enough power. Then my aunt's boyfriend who lives around the coner where my car was parked. He thought the battery was fine but i tried to drive the car and i could not go faster than 5mph. i was frustrated because my car only has 44,000 miles and i just did a royal purple 5w30 oil change. i take great car of my car as in maintenance and try to wash the car every week because i have a black car. so back to the car problem i knew that my performance upgrades was not the problem. i have a injen cold air intake, ur crank pulley, sun auto voltage ground system, 2.25 custom exhaust with a cat back apexi ws2 exhaust, and i upgraded my stereo system nothing major just an new kenwood headunit. i knew my transmission was not bad. So i went to autozone and brought a new battery that was 750 cold cranking amps. i never replaced my stock nissan battery and that battery when it was tested had only 2volts left on it. after changing the battery the car drove smooth however the brake and battery light still turned and all of the lighting equipment looks dim except my odometer when driving at night. i do not know what is wrong. Autozone said since i ran alot of power that i should buy a more powerful battery but they do not carry anything more powerful than 800 cold cranking amps. What should i do next? do i need a new alternator? i did look at the red top optima battery but the power is like 750 amps. will the light turn off itself. i know i should post this thread in the infiniti i35 thread but there are more opinions here. thanks

 

New alternator. I knew it was the alternator when you stated you could hardly go over 5mph. You need a New Alternator. I would recommend buying one that has more amp, 160,170,180 etc..

 

but after i changed the battery i was able to drive over 65 mph. everything worked fine. does someone think that the light will turn off because it did turn off once than turned on again. also, i always drive with my ac on 60-65 degrees in the summer.

 

For peace of mind, you can have Auto Zone or any other place check the alternator for free. But yes, you need a new one. Unless you've got serious RMS, you won't need a high output alt. I've got a 358W RMS MTX amp and the stock alt is fine for me.

 

Once again, it is your ALTERNATOR. You was able to drive around for awhile BEcause the battery you had was brand new, fully charged. You driving it killed the power. Once your car starts, your battery does not keep it going, your alternator does. If your alternator dies out on you, your car wont run for very long seeing as the battery cannot handle all thee power that the car is asking..

 

new paragraphs help us read long posts

 

get a new alternator.

/thread.

 

so today i turn on the car and the brake and battery lights turn off. so i was on my way

towards pepboys to get a new alternator and my car suddenly can't go more than 5

mph. i pulled into wawa and waited for AAA to come tow my car to my place. now i am

wondering did any one ever had a problem with there alternator please remember i

brought a new battery yesterday. everyone i called like infiniti and nissan told me that

its what i am running in the car. i just running a custom 2.25 piping with a apexi ws2

catback, an injen cold air intake, ur pulley, sun voltage ground system, with a kenwood

headunit. when i drive my car i have the ac on from 60-65 degrees with the music on.

most of the members on this forum if not all have performance parts in their maximas did you have to upgrade your battery and

alternator. any ever have this problem like i do. also, is it hard to install a alternator? i saw an ebay stock 2002-2003 infiniti i35

/nissan maxima atlernator that is used but comes with a lifetime warranty. infiniti told me that it will cost $332 for an alternator but

is not not lifetime warranty. are the ones at pep boys or autozone any good.

i don't want to run into this problem in the future so if anyone can suggest an alternator

with a lot of power please pm me or reply to this thread. thanks

 

sorry for the paragraph aligments.

 

Why get one with 'a lot of power'? it will last the same amount of time. Get a new alternator.

I got one from AutoZone.

 

install of a alternator is a slight p.i.t.a., but if you can do basic stuff like brakes, oil change and other crap your self then im sure you'll finger it out... if you cant then dont do anything your self and are not mechanicly inclined DO NOT try to change it out yourself

 

my main concern would be the idler pulley bolt. i remember when i brought a ur racing crank pulley i had an hard time removing the idler pulley. i had to pay someone to install the pulley but if i had the right tools i could install that pulley. but back to the idler puller i used a 3/8 socket wrench with a 14mm socket and i stripped the bolt. any help trying to remve that damn bolt would be great. was i using the right tools. thanks

 

so you needed another thread huh

 

i think you mean sorry for posting.
thanks for the pic though.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=538414

 

anyone knows what tool is used to remove the idler pulley. i heard a serpentine wrench but i am not sure. any suggestions?

 

14mm socket.

 

I replaced my alternator (got 130K off the original one) with OEM remanufactured alternator that cost me $289.

Replacing the alternator is a PITA job, don't know how hard it would be in a ur vehicle, but in my 2K maxima it was hell. It was easier to replace the struts than to get the 3kg alternator thro the small opening from the bottom facing down.

If you think it is a DIY job, go for it, you need tiny hands, lots of patience, soak the idler bolt with penentrating fluid (I spent more than a hr getting that sucker out, in the process stripped it becoz only a wrench can attack it and a socket is out of the question since the frame is close to the bolt, more fun, then finally got it out and put a hard strut hat bolt in place of the original 14mm soft bolt), lower the compressor to attack pivot bolt, drain the radiator, remove fans etc. I must say on a scale of 10 it will be 6-7, and also would spend close to 6 hrs to get it out, clean up the mess etc. All this for lousy Nissan engg to have the pivot bolt of the alternator behind the compressor, freaking idiots.

Good luck.

 

ehh. way to kill your new battery
now it will hold even less power cuz you drained it
that was obvious, wasn't it

i don't think anyone will offer you a lifetime warranty on an alternator because the stator always gets fried. that's the main reason for alternator failures. u don't need a high amp output alternator because you don't run much. why spend the extra money for something you're not going to utilize. u should just go to pepboys/autozone and pick one up as they should be cheapest in retail store. if you attempted to look online, i'm sure you can find it even cheaper, but if you are going to bring it to a shop to change, just get it at pepboys or they'll probably just charge you more for labor since you provided the part.

 

I've learned the hard way and have heard enough from many others that electronic car parts from auto zone are JUNK!!! Oreilly is a close second!
If at all possible, use NAPA.
If this job is a major task, like dropping a fuel tank to replace a bad fuel pump, don't go cheap! Use a high quality American made part with a lifetime warranty!
Chinese auto parts use subpar materials that do not last long!!! Use them at your own peril!!

 

We've got another necrophiliac, boys!