kroze

I replaced my alternator today with an upgraded one that put out 160A , apparently the alternator from the nissan murano fits the maxima & i30.

Just as I suspected, the bearing on the old alternator is bad. I can spin pulley on the old alternator and hear it rubbing something inside on every revolution.

Anyway, it wasn't that hard. The hardest part was me trying to find the lower bolt that attach the alternator to the engine. The whole process was pretty easy and no special tools required.

All you have to do is remove the (4) AC compressor bolts and then slide the alternator out.







New vs. Old


The only slight difference is the third prong where you plug the harness to....I don't think it'll make a difference because this is also made for the nissan murano.


Drop and let the AC compressor hang loose





New one going in.




New alternator is in there....somewhere


I'm extremely dirty now and must take a shower

kroze

The reason why it was tricky to find the lower alternator bolt is because most of the DIY guides tell you to remove the bolts first and then drop the AC compressor.

It's *** backward. You have to drop the ac compressor first to be able to get to the lower alternator bolt.

pavelsmax

iTrader: (12)

Just did this last week as well. I used a rebuilt unit from Autozone that ran me 130 bucks.


Consider yourself lucky and/or myself unlucky because it appears you have way more play with your ac compressor lines. Even after unbolting mine I could barely get it out of the way to get the old alt out.

kroze

Finally got rid of that annoying whine. It's the alternator lol.

ThurzNite

iTrader: (13)

LOL, in the other thread, I assumed you already did the ac compressor, like most of the DIY guides say. I was confused as heck, cuz like you said, there's only 1 way to get that bolt out, and it's via the compressor, and my bad, I made an assumption.

btw, which service manual are you using that gave you the wrong info? I wonder if it's some generic manual or 1 specific to vq?

Dr J

kroze

I used this guy

Fatboy98maxima

good post dude

ThurzNite

iTrader: (13)

Cool. I've read his site, but never used his info. Just be careful using any source that does not continually update their procedures based on feedback, including factory service manual from nissan.

Dr J

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Murano alternator is 3 pin? What did you do about that?

1st gen murano has a 110 amp alt... Is this one of those ebay ones?

kroze

Yes I got it on ebay, the back of the alternator saids that it's a genuine Nissan so I don't know if it'll put out 160A...

How can you check the output of the alternator?

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Go to autozone and get a charging system test. when they are doing the test ask um to check the peak(they likely will anyways)

Yea I have seen those, I was always iffy since I dunno the quality of the reman parts.

Keep us updated on the quality/longevity of the alternator.

kroze

Well it is a genuine Nissan alternator that they rebuilt....

kroze

So far i'm extremely happy. The car run a lot smoother now and there's absolutely no whinny noises. It was driving me insane with that high pitch squeal that sounded like you wire your speakers wrong or bad grounding.

Found out it was because the bearing on the alternator was bad and replacing the alternator fixes it.

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Yea that just means its the nissan casing, we don't know whats inside Hopefully good stuff!


That's good. Hopefully this lasts a while, if it does. It will likely be picking one up.

defiance

iTrader: (1)

My mech picked up one of those RGB Reman Alt and the thing failed on me within 3 months
and its was one that was designed for the 4th gen Maxima it was a 110 amp unit.

Hopefully yours is more powerful and lasts longer then mine did. Good luck ! Lets see how much Amps this this actually makes !

Daniel1120

iTrader: (1)

Cool deal dude. Im curious to see whether or not it really is 160 amp. First gen muranos show to put out 110 amp, and the part number cross refrences to the maxima, interchangeable. 09 and newer muranos use a 130 amp unit, same as the newer maximas. Its just easier logistically to design the cars to use the same alternators. Im sure the latest maxima and murano alternators would fit too. Remaned alternators come with a pamphlet saying not to worry about the third plug, supposedly its just not used. But I would like to know what it is used for on the newer alternators. Any kind of warranty with it?

Daniel1120

iTrader: (1)

I think you mean RBG. Should stand for remaned bosch generator. Im curious to know who is making the newest alternators. Used to be hitachi. Bosch reman alternators should be good. But unlike any reman part its seriously hit or miss.

kroze

It's a 1 year replacement warranty.

I think i'm going to autozone tomorrow to have them check to see what's the alternator putting out, power wise.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I willing to bet that that e-bay alternator is not 160 amps. the infinity and Murano used a Hitachi 110 amp alternator like the maxima. The 2010 murano uses a 130 amp alternator made by Mitsubishi. I don't know when the Murano started using the 130 amp unit, the 2007 still used the 110 amp alternator.

There was another thread where the poster saw a 250 amp alternator posted on e-bay for our maximas. The seller gave the Hitachi model and it was the 110 amp unit.

I 'm thinking that high output e-bay alternators are more rip-off than reality.

kroze

Went to autozone to get the alternator tested, found out they do not report the amperage. It just said whether the alternator, battery, and starter is in good operating condition (within spec) or not. So gay.

Snypa

iTrader: (35)

Good Job! I did this about 4 months ago.

phatboislim

iTrader: (27)

THIS...what did you do about the 3pin opposed to the 3pin?

you more than like would have to let them bench test it. they have a machine to test to see if its good or not

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

Weird, must have a differ machine now. The one they used on my car showed the amps it was outputting. Made me rev to 2k for 40 sec.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

How did you put a 2 prong female plug into a 3 prong male?

Clip a pin? Made a hole for the 3rd prong?

Kevlo911

iTrader: (36)

IIRC, the maxima connector is a 3 pin connector and only 2 spots are used so maybe the 3rd pin on the newer alt's is something we don't need and the two pins are the same config as the max.

kroze

The female plug on the maxima is actually 4 prong, but the alternator only uses 2 prongs. No modification was necessary.

As for the new alternator having 3 prongs, the old plug on the maxima plugs right in, it just doesn't make use of the third prong. Like I said, the alternator is a cross reference part for the Nissan Murano. Maybe on the Murano, it uses all 3 prongs.

wirelessdude04

iTrader: (24)

Might do this soon.

Snypa

iTrader: (35)

looking for some more juice eh !

phatboislim

iTrader: (27)

oh wow, good info

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

If you can, find somewhere that can verify the amperage output. Maybe try another AZ or another parts store. Otherwise I'm with DennisMik, it's just a marketing strategy until proven.

High(er) output alternators come with a performance test sheet usually. (sometimes)

kroze

I found out today that you can't check the amperage because it is load dependant and self regulating. No matter how much you rev the car, the computer will regulate how much the alternator put out based on the needs. There is no way in hell you can put a 160a load on the alternator without professional testig equipment. That means autozone/napa/advance auto wouldn't be able to stress the alternator to the max to get an accurate reading.

kroze

One way to check whether an alternator is a higher output is to look at how thick the coil wires are compared to the stock one.

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

That's armchair science...

We're not calling you out or anything. It's just that we don't trust ebay sellers that sling high performance products without backing it up. Anyone can say they are selling high output alternators....

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

in regards to the 3 pin connector, I looked in the 2004 and 2010 Murano FSMs and they only use 2 wires like our Maximas do. It may be a case of that was the connector they had in stock and didn't want to order and stock another one. Anyone who is in manufacturing and knows MRP will tell you that.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

If you are interested in seeing how you knowledge of the charging system compares to what an ASE mechanic is supposed to know, here's a test for you to take:

http://www.autoshop101.com/asetest/asetest5.html

asand1

iTrader: (1)

There are testers that clamp to the pattery posts and apply load across a carbon pile (big resistor).
You can adjust the load while reading the alt output. On older altys, there were ports in the back
of the frame to short the regulator and output full amperage.
http://www.harborfreight.com/500-amp...ter-91129.html
Go to an independent shop and ask if they have a REAL load tester.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

I got 21/24. Kinda rusty in the electrical.

beegeezy

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Dennis, nice refresher. I only got half of them right...but then, I'm not a mechanic.

Jmahad01

iTrader: (8)

Hmm. I bought one of those 160 amp alternators from ebay for my 5th gen (should be same as 4th gen). Paid about $180 about a year ago. Just sitting in my garage now. Mine had a red stripe though

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I think I missed 4 questions. Maybe my head is a little swollen, but I thought I did pretty good, considering its been over 45 years since I learned this stuff and about 40 since I stopped being a mechanic.