Alternator problem, please help.

[240marcuSX]

I keep killing batteries.

I have replaced my battery 3 times, and my alternator once, and i still keep killing batteries.

My friend is a Lexus technician and has tested for parasitic draw on the battery, there is none, He has tested for continuity between the battery and the alternator, and there is continuity, I have removed the alternator and had it tested where i bought it (autozone, rebuilt Nissan, duralast alt.) and it passed their test.

The car will run for about 1-2 weeks fine without dying on me, and then my battery will go dead and not be able to start the car without a jump.

What are some things that I could look for that could be causing this, I need to figure it out because i have some distant races coming up and need the reliability.

I have removed the wiring for the antenna, door ajar lights, aiv, among a few other things. When i say removed, i mean i have cut the wires to make them shorter and neater, to remove uneccesary harnesses. I have wrapped each wire separately with electrical tape to make sure they're not grounding out or touching each other, could this have anthing to do with the problem?

please help me, thanks for your time.

[inthawind2]

i kno it sounds stupid but do u have the right alternator on? when i bought my 240 the guy had custom fit a 93 convertible alternator and it was not charging properly....also did u check the alternator fuse?

[240marcuSX]

Yeah, im pretty sure that i have the right alternator, it looks identical to the old one i had, except cleaner, and they said the part number was right.

the alternator fuse does not look blown.

[inthawind2]

damn man...i'm puzzled

[240marcuSX]

it really is a strange problem. between myself, a lexus technician, and a mutli-meter, we couldnt figure it out.

btw, what is the plug that plugs into the alternator? some kind of resistor?

[inthawind2]

idk not much of a technician....i jus had a boatload of problems with my alternator. it might be the wiring. it could be touch or crossing some other wire

[240marcuSX]

and yesterday i found two wires that were cut that were supposed to be plugged into the emissions thing behind the head.

i just wonder if its problems like that that are draining the battery.

[240marcuSX]

bump for a little help.

[ricebike]

<shrugs> weird that u can't find a parasitic load; something's not right...

did u have whole vehicle tested in the autozone parking lot or did u remove the alt itself to have it "bench tested"? do both, i guess...

[240marcuSX]

I removed the alternator and they bench tested it.

parasitic load basically means that a wire from the battery is frayed or cut and is grounding out or keeping something from cutting off while the car is off. right?

[ricebike]

yea , i guess... (i'm not that strong in electrical)

did you actually see your buddy put a multimeter in-series between a battery post & the battery cable to read how many milliamps... then u pull a fuse @ a time to see if it drops down??? that'll narrow it down to which circuit u haveta trace to find the short...

just for the heck of it, have your charging system tested in parking lot to confirm that the rebuilt alternator is doin it's job...

Quote »I have removed the wiring for the antenna, door ajar lights, aiv, among a few other things. When i say removed, i mean i have cut the wires to make them shorter and neater, to remove uneccesary harnesses. I have wrapped each wire separately with electrical tape to make sure they're not grounding out or touching each other, could this have anthing to do with the problem?[/quote]a possibility/ can't rule it out since maybe u wired something together incorrectly??? give your Lexus tech buddy another case of beer to go @ it again

[thejapino]

mine was doing the same thing. it turns out that my alarm was dwindling on my already weak battery. once i got a new battery, ALL GOOD.

heres a situation. your battery dies. you jump it and it starts but you depend on your alternator to power up your weak battery. did you know that the extra load put on the alternator to charge a very low battery will cause premature alternator life (something i learned while working at kragen)? best thing to do is trickle charge your battery if it dies and you jump it. do it asap buddy

i hope i helped out

[240marcuSX]

Thanks for all the suggestions, ill try to coax him into using his multi-meter on it again. Ill try the fuse test also, if it turns out that there is some draw on it.

[Alfador]

If you still dont get a result, try in the Nissan Online Mechanic forum. NISTECH can be insanely helpful with some of the more puzzling problems. That being said... It is most likely an incorrectly done wire, or one hooked up to the wrong thing. Hell, if you crimp the wrong wires onto a sereo harness you're gonna kill your bat. It you do have to go back into the wires I recomend crimping this time. Electrical tape IMO is asking for a problem.

[240marcuSX]

Do you need a special tool to crimp the wires?