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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / May 2006Electrical Problem with 88 Maxima
Hello, Looking for some advice here. Just bought an 88 Maxima that had been sitting for a while. Had a bad battery so I replaced with a new one. I've noticed now thought that if I run the air conditioner I can see the reading of the electronic voltage gauge go down like two notches - the AC really puts a pull on the electrical system. If I continue to run it it will pull all the juice from the battery and car won't start. I can drive around for days as long as I don't run the air. Also, AC fan motor only blows and high and will not blow any other speed. I know I can take it somewhere and have an electrical check done. Just wanted to post here first and hear some opinions. Thanks TF > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > TF The high speed only is the resistor pack. The A/C problem I'm not sure about. I would check the alternator output first though. > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > TF What do you mean that you "can drive around for days as long as I don't run the air"? You mean that eventually the car will die regardless? I'd check the alternator (of course first check belt, connections and battery but most likely the alternator is the culprit). Remco > > Hello, > > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Remco Thanks for reply. I meant that as long as I don't turn on the AC I can drive the car every day and the battery stays charged, car always starts, etc. If I run the air the battery quickly gets so low on power that it won't start the car. I did have the alternator checked and the test indicated that it was good. HOWEVER, the AC was not on when they were doing the test. > > > Hello, > > > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > I did have the alternator checked and the test indicated that it was > good. HOWEVER, the AC was not on when they were doing the test. I wonder if perhaps it tends to draw too much current when idling. If you do a lot of city driving, the engine is often idling: Not sure on a Maxima, but on most modern cars it has what's called an ELD (Electronic Load Detector), which detects that something is drawing more current than the engine idle can normally supply. It tells the computer to step the RPM up a bit so the battery is not loaded. It could be that your ELD is defective. Does your engine speed (RPM, if you have a tach on your dash) go up when you turn on your AC? If you have a voltmeter, hook it across the battery and progressively turn on circuits (AC, lights, etc). The voltage should stay around 14.5 Volt or so with the engine possibly running slightly faster under load. Remco Just by watching the the voltage gauge on the dash it seems that at idle with the AC on full it REALLY pulls the charging system down. Driving down the road at 60 mph the voltage indicator is at 12 (right in the center). When you pull up to red light and stop it moves from 12 down two marks (so say 10). If you let the car sit and idle for more that a couple of minutes it will go down four marks. Autozone had blower motor for $73 bucks. And they say they can test alternator on the car so I'll see what happens... > Just by watching the the voltage gauge on the dash it seems that at > idle with the AC on full it REALLY pulls the charging system down. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Autozone had blower motor for $73 bucks. And they say they can test > alternator on the car so I'll see what happens... Sounds like the alternator or regulator (which is often part of the alternator in most cars). If you have them do the work, don't let them hose you as an alternator replacement should take less than one hour. Remco Remco, Put alternator on this evening, problem fixed. Autozone did a test and their test device showed bad diode in alternator. paid $100 for one. Still need to replace the switch that keeps prevents the blower motor from blowing on any speed other than high but main problem fixed. Thanks for the info. Trent On most Nissans, it's not the switch, it's a resistor pack located in a vent pipe (usually above the passenger feet area). (Not sure on that year max, but the symptoms are very consistent.) Gary K > Remco, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Trent > Remco, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Trent Excellent - glad that worked out! Remco
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