'03 Altima Alternator Insanity (3.5L Gen 3 alternator)
This isn't a question, just a summary of everything that can happen as your alternator slowly dies....
The first hint that something was up was when I suddenly lost accelerator pedal control of the engine--guy behind was NOT impressed. Engine would idle fine and limp forward in first gear, but any attempt to accelerate would result in a short increase in RPMs, followed by both the Brake and ABS lights illuminating. You would be forgiven for not immediately identifying the alternator as the culprit at this point! I tried all the usual things, shut off the car, restarted it, same issue again and again. Then I noticed that it started happening much sooner from start up with the A/C off...hmmm...OK, so I put the front defog on MAX (AC clutch engaged, blower fan at max) and it ran just fine, got me all the way home in rush hour traffic. OK, off to google the forums...
Took a while, but I found an obscure post here. Ok, makes sense, but why the battery light showed no issue, who knows. In short, if you keep the electrical load high, then the alternator can never push the battery to that magic 17.4V point and the ECU won't put the engine into safety mode. I drove it to work for a few more days like this--as I had a million things going on.
Then I went on vacation for a couple of weeks, and when I came back, the battery was completely, 0V dead! Lovely--figures. Charged it up overnight...connected the battery and bam...alarm goes off. Ok, it was early and the coffee hadn't hit the system yet, but, never set your alarm, remove the battery and then open the driver door via the key. To reset alarm, just unlock and relock using the key...all will be fine. Left it at work for 8hrs...battery so low I couldn't even pop the trunk...grrr. Bummed a boost and after some initial hiccups was able to drive home again.
Figured I'd better debug this puppy soon. Got the old multimeter out and popped the hood. Measured the parasitic drain using the ammeter function (0-10A range just to be safe). Lo, it was pulling 2.3A just sitting there. Sounds like a bunch of other posts out there, like this one. Okay, pulled all the fuses and links in the fusible link box adjacent to the battery...not much change. Ok... removed the two plugs from the bottom of the +ve battery terminal assembly...no change. Removed the heavy cable, attached by a 12mm nut on the inboard side of the +ve connector assembly...Viola!....current drops to 'normal levels'. A note on 'normal levels' which for this car is about 70mA (0.07A) steady state. When you first connect the battery a number of systems power up and then slowly go back to sleep over the first 20-30seconds...so keep the ammeter in the loop and wait... For those not used to measuring current draw, you must put the ammeter in series between the negative battery post and the negative battery cable as the power must flow through the meter to be measured (exception is if you have an 'amp clamp' style meter in which case you just clamp it around the -ve cable).
Continuity test verified that this was the main power cable from the Alternator (B terminal). Great, so now, not only is my alternator charging like there is no tomorrow, when it ain't charging it's sucking the life out of my battery. Ok, so now I am quite comfortable that the Alty's Alty is the issue.
Ordered one from RockAuto...taking a chance on the $120 Pure Energy...like why would I pay more for a reman of the same POS Hitachi OEM that caused all this in the first place?!? Managing the car by removing the -ve battery cable when not driving.
More fun this morning...had a trickle charger on it overnight...must have peaked the battery or something. Started it and the RPM's kept cycling up and down with the Brake and Battery lights flashing in syncopation. Frick me. Okay...tried the full Defog trick...no dice. Shut off engine. Curse. Ok, maybe if battery voltage too high...turned on headlights for 2 minutes and restarted car...now runs normally again. Put defog on and head to work...get there okay.
Waiting for alternator to show up...should be here tomorrow. Researched some 'How to Vids' because that sucker is wedged in there pretty tight. FYI there are some very BAD videos on YouTube...like the dude with the chopsticks. Apparently the shop manual method is to remove the passenger front wheel, the inner plastic shield, loosen the belt tensioner and remove the belt, remove the battery cover, and now drain and remove the cooling fans and the rad. Use cardboard to protect the AC condensor from tools and bouncing alternators. Once you get that sucker off, remove the top bolt from above and drop the alternator out the bottom of the engine compartment. A liberal application of PB Blaster or your favourite alternative is recommended. This will apparently take at least 2 hours and I am budgeting more like 3-4hours for my first time and all those 12 year old bolts... Fortunately I replaced the V-belt earlier this year so I have half an idea what I'm getting into.
More as the situation progresses.
This isn't a question, just a summary of everything that can happen as your alternator slowly dies....
The first hint that something was up was when I suddenly lost accelerator pedal control of the engine--guy behind was NOT impressed. Engine would idle fine and limp forward in first gear, but any attempt to accelerate would result in a short increase in RPMs, followed by both the Brake and ABS lights illuminating. You would be forgiven for not immediately identifying the alternator as the culprit at this point! I tried all the usual things, shut off the car, restarted it, same issue again and again. Then I noticed that it started happening much sooner from start up with the A/C off...hmmm...OK, so I put the front defog on MAX (AC clutch engaged, blower fan at max) and it ran just fine, got me all the way home in rush hour traffic. OK, off to google the forums...
Took a while, but I found an obscure post here. Ok, makes sense, but why the battery light showed no issue, who knows. In short, if you keep the electrical load high, then the alternator can never push the battery to that magic 17.4V point and the ECU won't put the engine into safety mode. I drove it to work for a few more days like this--as I had a million things going on.
Then I went on vacation for a couple of weeks, and when I came back, the battery was completely, 0V dead! Lovely--figures. Charged it up overnight...connected the battery and bam...alarm goes off. Ok, it was early and the coffee hadn't hit the system yet, but, never set your alarm, remove the battery and then open the driver door via the key. To reset alarm, just unlock and relock using the key...all will be fine. Left it at work for 8hrs...battery so low I couldn't even pop the trunk...grrr. Bummed a boost and after some initial hiccups was able to drive home again.
Figured I'd better debug this puppy soon. Got the old multimeter out and popped the hood. Measured the parasitic drain using the ammeter function (0-10A range just to be safe). Lo, it was pulling 2.3A just sitting there. Sounds like a bunch of other posts out there, like this one. Okay, pulled all the fuses and links in the fusible link box adjacent to the battery...not much change. Ok... removed the two plugs from the bottom of the +ve battery terminal assembly...no change. Removed the heavy cable, attached by a 12mm nut on the inboard side of the +ve connector assembly...Viola!....current drops to 'normal levels'. A note on 'normal levels' which for this car is about 70mA (0.07A) steady state. When you first connect the battery a number of systems power up and then slowly go back to sleep over the first 20-30seconds...so keep the ammeter in the loop and wait... For those not used to measuring current draw, you must put the ammeter in series between the negative battery post and the negative battery cable as the power must flow through the meter to be measured (exception is if you have an 'amp clamp' style meter in which case you just clamp it around the -ve cable).
Continuity test verified that this was the main power cable from the Alternator (B terminal). Great, so now, not only is my alternator charging like there is no tomorrow, when it ain't charging it's sucking the life out of my battery. Ok, so now I am quite comfortable that the Alty's Alty is the issue.
Ordered one from RockAuto...taking a chance on the $120 Pure Energy...like why would I pay more for a reman of the same POS Hitachi OEM that caused all this in the first place?!? Managing the car by removing the -ve battery cable when not driving.
More fun this morning...had a trickle charger on it overnight...must have peaked the battery or something. Started it and the RPM's kept cycling up and down with the Brake and Battery lights flashing in syncopation. Frick me. Okay...tried the full Defog trick...no dice. Shut off engine. Curse. Ok, maybe if battery voltage too high...turned on headlights for 2 minutes and restarted car...now runs normally again. Put defog on and head to work...get there okay.
Waiting for alternator to show up...should be here tomorrow. Researched some 'How to Vids' because that sucker is wedged in there pretty tight. FYI there are some very BAD videos on YouTube...like the dude with the chopsticks. Apparently the shop manual method is to remove the passenger front wheel, the inner plastic shield, loosen the belt tensioner and remove the belt, remove the battery cover, and now drain and remove the cooling fans and the rad. Use cardboard to protect the AC condensor from tools and bouncing alternators. Once you get that sucker off, remove the top bolt from above and drop the alternator out the bottom of the engine compartment. A liberal application of PB Blaster or your favourite alternative is recommended. This will apparently take at least 2 hours and I am budgeting more like 3-4hours for my first time and all those 12 year old bolts... Fortunately I replaced the V-belt earlier this year so I have half an idea what I'm getting into.
More as the situation progresses.