Alternator questions

Topics related to Lights, Radio, Stereo, Headunits, Alternators...

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ShipFixer
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Joined: Sun May 24, 2009 9:52 am
Location: San Diego, CA

Re: Alternator questions

Postby ShipFixer » Fri Sep 10, 2021 11:22 am

Nissan alternator is in with a new belt...no more whine and strong voltage.


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NWPathfinder
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Location: Vancouver Island

Re: Alternator questions

Postby NWPathfinder » Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:47 am

Nothing worse then putting a part in and it solves the problem but, sounds terrible. It's even worse when it's super labour intensive!!!
At least it should be quicker the second time as you've done it once before.

lebowski
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Re: Alternator questions

Postby lebowski » Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:36 am

What't the average life expectancy of the alternator? Mine died at 185K km without any warning, no low-voltage light. It started with that the gearbox didn't shift, remained in the same gear. First I thought the gearbox died on me :shock: . Parked the car at the shoulder and wasn't able to start due to a dead battery. Apparantly the gearbox needs some power to shift :D . Mechanic said that the alternator was covered in oil, probably from a leaking gasket of the previous engine.

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ShipFixer
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Re: Alternator questions

Postby ShipFixer » Thu Sep 30, 2021 6:25 pm

lebowski wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:36 am
What't the average life expectancy of the alternator? Mine died at 185K km without any warning, no low-voltage light. It started with that the gearbox didn't shift, remained in the same gear. First I thought the gearbox died on me :shock: . Parked the car at the shoulder and wasn't able to start due to a dead battery. Apparantly the gearbox needs some power to shift :D . Mechanic said that the alternator was covered in oil, probably from a leaking gasket of the previous engine.
Mine lasted until 190K miles or so. While they don't typically last forever, I likewise think the sludgy coating of oil from my leaky valve covers probably hastened its demise. Off roaders see them die more often because they're relatively low and get muddy (and complain about where Nissan put it of course).

What I saw was battery and brake light indicator lights, and the sorta-meter for voltage dropped to ~11V in between 8V and 18V, which is about where it would be expected running off battery. Truck was happy running long enough on the battery to get me home when the original failed, and was plenty happy to keep going when the remanufactured one was cutting in and out. For a while, hitting the gas hard would kick the alternator back on and get across whatever resistance was in the coils. I could see the voltmeter jump between ~11V and ~14V.

I thought about getting one of those power outlet volt meters, but the dummy gauge and lights did a pretty good job of telling me what was happening.


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