WelcomeToCostco

'01 Maxima with no codes but occasionally for a second the Brake and Alternator lights will simultaneously flicker. Some have mentioned this can be an early warning of impending alternator death. It doesn't happen when driving over anything bumpy. I have also noticed that if I keep the rpm's around 1550 that at times the engine will surge and then oscillate +- 200 rpm for a few seconds and then settle down. And again there are no codes and otherwise everything runs just fine.

I have load tested the alternator and it puts out >90A at 14.25V. This is the fun of intermittent problems, you can't always fix them until they stay in the acting up mode.

Anyone have similar issues and what ended up being the problem?

uptownsamcv

I had the same issue 2 weeks ago. I found it weird cause I put in a brand new alternator with my swap a little over a month ago. it ended up being the wire plug on the alternator, it was loose.

TallTom

Its definitely voltage. I would check the grounds and if all good, then start shopping for an alternator.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Easy. Alternator or alternator related issue like the alternator wiring harness.

WelcomeToCostco

Grounds are fine. Too bad Nissan went cheap on the wiring.

I'll dig into the circuit used to detect what ends up turning those idiot lights on.

TallTom

When both lights come on together, it's 100% a voltage issue.

ChrisMan287

iTrader: (34)

I’m noticing a lot of people having failed alternator harnesses lately. I wouldn’t say Nissan went cheap it’s just that these cars are 20+ years old at this point.

uptownsamcv

i got an aftermarket one and whenever I see the battery light and brak elight flicker I know it's time to go under the hood and push the connecter in again.....

95maxrider

iTrader: (32)

I had to replace the little alternator wiring harness on my car a few years back since a wire had split on it. Thankfully you can still buy a new one from Nissan, and it's pretty cheap. Might want to visually check the wires and make sure they're still intact.

WelcomeToCostco

Nissan 24076-5Y700 Harness Assembly-ALTERNATOR
2001-2003 Nissan Maxima 240765Y700

or it might be

Nissan 24076-4Y900 Harness Assembly-ALTERNATOR

2000-2002 Nissan Maxima 240764Y900

Looks like ~$110 currently.

95maxrider

iTrader: (32)

From what I've seen Nissan Parts Deal offers the best prices in the US, but you may be surprised to find the total price (including shipping!) be even cheaper if you order from Amayama in Japan.

WelcomeToCostco

Took almost four months (~3k miles) from when the lights started flickering until they stayed on due to a dead alternator.
The wiring is fine in my case. The regulators just start to become intermittent until they finally die.

uptownsamcv

make sure your battery is good. usually a bad battery will over work an alternator to death.

WelcomeToCostco

Battery is fine.

How do you go about testing your battery for intermittent sulfate shorts?

Do you monitor the current only going into the battery over time while driving over bumpy roads, hard accel and deccel, etc?

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

I wouldn't worry too much about the battery. The primary role of the battery is to start the car, not run the car.

WelcomeToCostco

Yes, but speaking as an engineer and not as a mechanic @uptownsamcv has a point.

Continuous as well as intermittent loads over the rated output current of the alternators voltage regulator will cause it to malfunction and die prematurely. A battery with a shorted cell or two is easy to diagnose.

More info here: https://www.ayixa.com/signs-that-a-c...ow-to-confirm/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewa...-to-short-out/
https://www.techconnectcanada.com/bl...battery-charge
https://www.batterystuff.com/blog/ho...ry-is-bad.html

uptownsamcv

battery and alternator work together to run the car and the alternator keeps the battery charged up.

back when I had my CRX it's previous owner trunk mounted the battery and didn't use a big enough wire. the voltage drop was enough to keep killing the alternator after I hooked up a sub and amplifier.

the first time the alternator died in my Maxima the battery tested bad at Autozone. the 5 year old Optima battery I had at the time had plenty of amperage to start the car but it was bad.

just 2 months ago the alternator died out in my van,and just as I thought the battery ended up being bad.

I use to have a 98 Ford Contour SE V6 and it's alternator was really sensitive. it kept blowing alternators until someone sold me the right size battery. Autozone's system has the 4 cylinder and V6 Contour as using the same battery but they don't. the V6 contour uses a huge battery. the little battery always tested good than when I had the alternator changed under warranty many times so it was never changed, just charged up when a new alternator was installed ( it went through 3 alternators) . when I broke down out of town with it the people at Tire Kingdom told me the car had the wrong battery so I had them install the right size one along with a new alternator and never had an issue with the alternator again on that car. the battery was noticeably bigger.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

This is poorly worded and I can read this two ways. Please clarify.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

You changed your alternator (again) at the same time you installed a new (bigger) battery. How do you know that that the previous alternators were not the cause of your issues, and that the bigger battery had no effect?

I do agree that a properly sized battery with the correct CA and CCA needs to be installed per the manufacturer's recommendations without a doubt. An improperly sized battery causes undue strain on various components during the vehicle's start-up and can have long term effects.

uptownsamcv

it's hard to say if all the other alternators that were previously installed before the final one was the problem but stepping up to a battery that was as large as the OEM one that the car came with seemed to solve the issue of alternators going out. I had the car from 2003 - 2008 and from 2005 - 2008 i never had issues with the alternator again after installing the correct battery.