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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / October 200599 Sentra Alternator dilemna
Hey guys, Here's my issue: I found that my ALT was starting its way to going bad by noticing pulsing of lights etc at night on my Sentra. The problems seemed to get a whole lot worse in that during daytime,the worst symptom was that if the radiator fans kicked in, the radio would actually cut out for a moment, then come back. Doing some more investigating on my car I found that one of the connectors to the + terminal was severley corroded. Fixing that made 90% of my problems go away. Now the only thing remaining is that slight pulsing of my headlights at night. My dilemna is that I bought a new ALT because I thought it was going bad real soon, but now it seems I have time. My belts are starting to squeak so I'm wondering If I should just put in the new ALT now with the belt change, or just wait and let the old ALT die, which may take a while. I can return the new ALT but I'll lose $60 or so in re-stocking/shipping fees, so I decided to hold onto it and wait. What you guys think I should do? Thanks CD You have the part in hand. Just put it in. Your other option is to wait and squeeze every last amp out of your old one, eventually (1 day, 1 week, 1 yr, who knows) get stranded somewhere and then have to get towed, and... you get the picture :) Nirav > Hey guys, > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > CD If you are pretty sure that the alternator is indeed going bad, I'd change it when you change the belts. Just beware that there may not be anything wrong with your alternator. I'd check the ground connections (battery/frame, frame/engine, etc) first. Then check the voltage across your battery (it should be about 14.5 volts running). Remco >>Hey guys, >> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Remco I cleaned up 2 electricial connections, the alternator ground and the battery ground to the body. I haven't found the others yet. Also, I checked the voltage across the battery while the car was idling at ~700 rpm and got a reading of 13.8 volts. This was all before I found a corroded +ve battery connection. The connector to what looks like it would connect to a high powered audio system was in bad shape. Where am I to find the frame to engine connection? Thanks. On 9/23/2005 8:51 AM US(ET), Codifus took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following: >>> Hey guys, >>> [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Thanks. They're usually in the back of the engine, connected to the firewall by a bolt or screw. My pickup's a 1/4" wide flat braided strap.  SignatureBill > >>Hey guys, > >> [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > corroded +ve battery connection. The connector to what looks like it > would connect to a high powered audio system was in bad shape. Perhaps tighten the belt that's on there. If, after cleaning all connections, all you see is this13.8V, I'd say that most likely your alternator is bad. > Where am I to find the frame to engine connection? Usually they are little hidden. Look for the shortest distance from the frame to engine as that is the most logical place for it. (usually near the firewall.) >>>>Hey guys, >>>> [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] > frame to engine as that is the most logical place for it. (usually near the > firewall.) Perhaps it's too well hidden on my car:) I searched and couldn't find anything connecting to the firewall that looked to be a ground type connection. However, the negative batter connection may have a double function. On my car, the negative battery terminal is connected by a thick wire that is screwed/grounded into the body right next to the battery, then, that same connection runs a thick wire to a solid and somewhat heavy gage screw connector mounted on the tranny housing. I gather that this connection grounds the engine and the chassis. CD > >>>>Hey guys, > >>>> [quoted text clipped - 70 lines] > > CD There you go -- that's most likely the wire that ties it all together. I just wanted to make sure that you have a solid ground connection. If your problem persists, your alternator is most likely bad or on its way out, as you suspected. Let us know how you made out. Remco > "Codifus" <codifus@optonline.net> wrote in message >>Perhaps it's too well hidden on my car:) I searched and couldn't find >>anything connecting to the firewall that looked to be a ground type [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Remco OK, so I checked the alternator after cleaning my electrical connections. Car was warm and idling at 600-700 RPM. Attaching a voltmeter to the battery, I get a reading that fluctuates between 13.90 and 14 volts. So the ALT is still good, right? CD |
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