Thread: Electrical issue...

OK, so we've been getting snow & rain all day today, and my car was working fine. I drove to get a client lunch and ran through a puddle, parked the car and went to order food. When I came back out and started the car, the ABS, battery and brake light were all on. So I thought that I might have messed the alternator up when I drove through the puddle.

No worries, picked up another alternator, dropped it in (it was only drizzling at this point) and buttoned things back up. The lights went away and I drove to drop my core off.

As I was heading home, I noticed at idle the battery light would start to DIMLY come on. If you blipped the throttle, it went away. it only comes on at idle.

I am confused at this point. Is there something I am missing, like the belt needs to be tighter? Or did I just drain the battery alot more than I thought driving without the alternator? Or, is this alternator already on its way out? Any advice would help me greatly.

The parts in bold

The blipping means you're not getting enough juice. It's almost like the alternator spins irregularly, which could indicate a slipping belt. Do you notice any problems with headlights/radio/dimming interiorlights?

No I have not noticed, but I do have an Optima red top battery, so I don't think I'd notice things dimming. I DID notice however that my wipers seemed a bit slower...

The alternator has never been used, it's a refurbished unit that I had. I'm really hoping it's just a belt tightening it needs. It's raining b*tches outside so I'm going to have to look into it tomorrow I think.

Let's hope it's just a loose belt...

I tightened the belt, and the light seems to have gone away. I didn't think i wanted THAT tight, but I could totally tell. There was slack and then if got to a point it got really snug really fast. There was a bit of slack so I half turned it back and started her up. Got down to idle and I didn't see the light. I hope that took care of it, but it looks promising so far. Thanks for the heads up man.

OK, so this morning, at idle. I saw the light again. I called Auto Zone about, they said come by so they can test it. They tested it and it failed the last 2 parts of the 3 part test. They did it again and it failed the FIRST 2 parts of the part test, basically saying it's a bad unit. So I got another, dropped it and the problem looks to have been a bad alternator.

If this ever happens again, I'm just going to say screw the free lifetime warranty and drop in a B15 alternator or buy a high output one and call it a day. Thanks for the direction though fellas.

Re-manufactured alternators you get from most of the cheap parts shops like Autozone are more headache than they're worth.

You may find that if you use the warranty enough that you will finally land a unit that will last a little while. But most of them have lifespans that can be measured in days, if not hours.

If you have the option, it would be worth getting them to look at the inventory they have and try to find a reman'd Hitachi unit over a Mitsubishi unit. Bost are supplied as rebuilts for the same part number, but in my experience, the rebuilt Hitachi units tend to last longer.

Junkyard a ~2000 Altima alternator for a 100A unit (up from the 80A stock) that'[s a direct-swap.

You can also swap from a ~96 Maxima for a 125A unit, but it requires splicing the pigtail and adding a spacer to the mounting bolt. I did this on my rally car, but it's probably overkill for most.

I have actually looked and I think just get a unit from the Nissan dealer for my sister's b15. I hear those are the best, PLUS I have a buddy who works at the dealer so I can most likely get it for cost. They are 100 amp units and since it'll be brand new I am sure I can have it for years.

For now, the unit I've got is pretty good. The battery light stopped coming on at idle and things seem to be running right, so I'm happy with it. Thanks for the info on the 200 Altima and 96 Maxima units. I'm curious as to the spacer you are talkinga bout for the Maxima's mounting bolt. The highest output alternators I've seen for Sentras/NXs are Iraggi 140 amp units, but they require a 4gauge power wire to work to their fullest potential.

I'll see if I can take some pictures of the maxima alternator vs the B13.

I bought a brand new maxima alternator that was rated at 125A, but bench tested at 158A for my rally car. In order to make the best use of that kind of power, you *do* have to upgrade the wiring, but as I had already relocated the battery to the trunk with 2ga, it was simple to just run another 2ga wire to the distribution block I had in the engine compartment. For most people this would be a lot more involved.

The Altima and B15 alternators seem like the best direct fit.