2001 Pathfinder battery not getting charged by alternator

[John l anderson jr]

Hey ,the battery on my 2001 pathfinder is not getting charged by the alternator
The battery indicator light works but is not on. Can anything else cause the battery not to charge?

[Rogue One]

Batteries have a natural self discharge, plus all modern vehicles electrical systems draw power from the battery, even when the car is turned off. The battery power is needed to keep the computer, clock and radio from losing its memory. Over time the battery will become fully discharged if the car is not driven. The only way to overcome this is to use the vehicle regularly or connect a maintenance charger, which will keep your battery in good condition. Additionally, short stop-start trips, driving in extreme hot or cold weather, and leaving corrosion and loose terminals unchecked all contribute to draining a battery.

Please provide more details. How often and how far is this vehicle driven? Short trips will not keep the battery charged. Is this the original battery? Have you had the alternator and/or battery tested?

[John l anderson jr]

The car drives but the alternator is not working.
The battery light on the dash dud not light to show the system was not charging..the battery shows 12.45 volts. When you crank it it still shows 12.45 volts. The alternator is not charging the battery. Cab the alternator be bad or is it something else if the light doesn't show its bad.

[cr4west]

Should show 13V+ volts if charging. Do you have a multi meter available? Attach meter to measure volts at battery and tell us the voltage when
1. Engine off
2. Cranking the engine
3. Engine started and idling
4. Head lights on high beam

The usual pattern for the Nissan Hitachi alternator failure is:
1. Engine right side valve cover has a small oil leak at the front end
2. Oil drips down the head onto Alternator
3. Oil and dirt contaminate the internal regulator inside the alternator -OR- PTO side Alternator bearing fails around 75K miles.
4. Alternator output gets erratic or varies.
5. Alternator internal regulator fails or rectifier diodes fail resulting in zero output.

[John l anderson jr]

Thank you I will check it out.

[cr4west]

And check that battery cable clamps are well connected and show no voltage drop between the battery terminal and the cable ends. Measure resistance from battery negative to the alternator casing, should be zero ohms. Measure from battery positive terminal to alternator positive terminal, should be zero ohms.

[John l anderson jr]

Thank you