On Jan 6, 11:04 pm, Plague Boy <plague_...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Codifus wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> > Electrical, like you said. You probably have a bad ground somewhere.
> > SInce you've replaced the ALT and BATT recently, a bit too frequently
as
> > well, I might add, those connections must be clean, right? I suggest
you
> > nurse the car until you get to warmer temps and replace or clean all
> > ground connections. For example, follow the negative battery cable
from
> > the battery. It will ground to the chassis. Clean that. Then the cable
> > will ground again to the transmission or motor. Clean that. Use
> > something like a stainless steel toothbrush so all your contacts are
****ny.
>
> Well, I cleaned all the terminals on the battery, clamps,
> alternator, and engine ground and drove the car after
> re-installing the charged battery. Got about 10 miles from home
> and *pow* car dies, fortunately in another parking lot. could not
> restart. Switched out the battery for the fully charged spare
> from the trunk and everything was fine for the rest of the day.
> On the last leg home, it started feeling odd again, although it
> did make it home.
>
> Car would not start this morning, so I jumped it from the brand
> new battery (replaced under warranty from PepPartsSuperZone last
> night) and drove to work. Car would not start when I left work,
> so I swapped in the new battery, drove home, and put the other
> battery on the charger.
>
> So, I am now of the mind it is the alternator, or at least
> something in the charging circuit. I will test the voltage and
> amps when I have a chance, but I may have to just charge the
> battery every night for now.
>
> Although I believe the party I purchased the car from said he
> replaced the alternator, on reflection:
> -he doesn't know an alternator from a spark plug
> -the alternator says "Nissan" (Hitachi) and looks much older than
> November of '06 when he thought it was replaced
> -I can't see a small independent garage putting in a Nissan
> alternator.
>
> I have cleaned the alternator main wire, the field wires, and
> the ground wire. I have tightened the drive belt. Is there
> anything else I could check? Obviously, I will know more after
> some electrical tests.
>
> If I decide to replace the alternator, should I get a rebuilt
> from PepZonePartExpress, or one from a Nissan dealer? I'm
> guessing we're talking $125 or about $250 so I'm not going to the
> dealer without a good reason.
>
> --
> PB
> "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the
> Red Bull generation." - CJW
Got a voltmeter? Test the battery while it is connected to the car.
When the car is off, the battery terminals should read 12 volts. When
the car is on, the battery terminals should read 14.2 volts.
Something tells me your ALT is the original one and is dying.
CD
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