Brake Light and Battery Light stuck on.

[shadow98]

My Brake Light and Battery light are stuck on. I am going to autozone at lunch to have battery and alternator tested. Is there anything else I should look out for that could cause this problem. I know for sure that I need new brakes as they just started squeeking.

Looks like the alternator is 400 dollars with shipping. If that is the problem is there another option to get it reconditioned or anything.

Alternator, q45 97-99 $360.07

[TBrack]

Hope it's just the battery! There are a lot of places that rebuild alternators for a lot cheaper than buying a new one which is really just a reconditioned one with a name brand on it.

[Q451990]

Not all reconditioned alternators are created equal! Some are "fix whatever is broken with cheap aftermarket parts" rebuilds. This is what you'll usually get at places like Autozone. OEM reconditioned ones get all new wear components and are rebuilt with OEM parts. Major difference if you don't want to repeat the labor. On the Y33 it's not so bad, but still - who wants to be stranded with a bad alternator?

Heath

[shadow98]

So I took it to AZ and the ran their tester on it. It is showing it is charging at 11.58 volts. Does this for sure mean its an alternator or battery. If it is an alternator what is the best place to by a reconditioned one.

[qship96]

If it is "charging" at 11.58 volts, it is the alternator. I would get a nissan remanufactured one from Infiniti of Scottsdale{$291.65 this month only+ shipping|, or if that is too much $$$, then go to http://www.sparkplugs.com and order the Denso remanufactured one for $226

Denso has a great reputation and seems to do a very good job using genuine nissan cores for their rebuild

[elwesso]

fortunately replacing an alternator on a Y33 isnt nearly as hard as it is on a G50, so i'd be less concerned if I had to replace the alternator again during the warranty period... its like a 1-2 hour job vs a 4-6 hour job [on a G50]

[qship96]

I would probably go for the Denso then, and save some coin.

[shadow98]

Any of these a good choice http://www.thepartsbin.com/cat...d=Q45

[qship96]

I would stick with the Factory part or the Denso .

[shadow98]

Anbody else have an opinion. She just died tonight on the way back from a soccer game.

[shadow98]

Funny thing is I called Denso and they said they don't sell an alternator anymore for this car. I called them because when I went to sparkplug.com they didn't have a listing for it. So I called them and they couldn't find anything and suggested I call Denso. So I called Denso direct and talk to someone in tech support and they couldn't find a part number for an alternator for my car.

[qship96]

Denso #210-3104

Under $200 delivered direct from Amazon
Modified by qship96 at 8:10 PM 12/22/2009

[Epod]

Many 97 and 98 Qs are eligible for free alternator replacement under a voluntary recall that's described in a Service Bulletin, provided that it hasn't already been done.

I emailed Infiniti with the VIN on my car, asked about the replacement campaign and got the following reply a few months ago

[email protected] to me show details Jun 10

File # 6516xxxVIN # JNKBY31A9WM 5015xxx

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for contacting Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the opportunity to assist you.

Please be advised that a review of our records indicates that the vehicle with the vehicle serial number listed above is involved in the open recall as follows:

OPEN R2009 Q45/I30 ALTERNATOR ITB02-043

Please contact your local Nissan dealership for an appointment to have the necessary repairs performed on your vehicle. These repairs are free of charge to you.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be of service.

Sincerely,

Nissan North America, Inc.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

You might call your dealer, too, and be sure to give them the bulletin number in the email I got. Good luck!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Not all reconditioned alternators are created equal! Some are "fix whatever is broken with cheap aftermarket parts" rebuilds. This is what you'll usually get at places like Autozone. OEM reconditioned ones get all new wear components and are rebuilt with OEM parts. Major difference if you don't want to repeat the labor. On the Y33 it's not so bad, but still - who wants to be stranded with a bad alternator?

Heath

Yes! This is very important to consider. I have had very, very, VERY bad luck with remanufactured alternators. Even if you get one with a warranty and save money, you may end up under the car again in just a couple years. Not ideal. I'm all for using aftermarket or used parts when they do the job right, but in my experience alternators aren't in that category. OEM is worth the extra money.

[shadow98]

Awesome note about the recall I emailed them to find out. I sent an email and I have also tried to call. No luck yet. They are not answer the phone even though it says on the site they are open from 8 am to 5. I called thepartsbin.com and had them place my order on hold until I find out.

[Epod]

I would suggest that you also phone your local dealer and talk to a service advisor. Be preprared for a certain scepticism when you suggest that there's still an active recall campaign on a 10 year old car. Give them the bulletin number from my post along with your VIN and offer to let them call you back once they've looked it up.

Good luck! ...and keep us posted.

[Q451990]

I would suggest that you also phone your local dealer

Ditto on that... the recall replacement is probably already in your car, but it can't hurt to check. The dealer will be happy to get $$$ from the factory under the recall if it's available to them.

Heath

[shadow98]

Yeah I called dealer and they said nothing showed up. I called infiniti and they had to run a check against a car that is in the archives. They said they usually don't archive cars if there are active recalls. I still asked them to run the check however being the holidays I won't know until Monday. I will keep you guys informed.

[Epod]

This is a third party's paraphrase of the service bulletin, and not the offical text from Infiniti, but it suggests that all 97 and 98 Q45s are covered. There's also a hint regarding the color of the label that can help you guess if you've still got the original factory alternator or if it's already be replaced in the recall.

http://tinyurl.com/ydwrf3f


Modified by Epod at 9:21 AM 12/24/2009

[DoinkMobb]

fortunately replacing an alternator on a Y33 isnt nearly as hard as it is on a G50, so i'd be less concerned if I had to replace the alternator again during the warranty period... its like a 1-2 hour job vs a 4-6 hour job [on a G50]

The first time I did the alternator on my '94, it took me at least 2.5-3 hours. The second time, less than an hour.

Save yourself the trouble and buy a brand new OEM one. I went the cheap route with an alternator and it ended up costing me an extra $500 after my car died on the highway.

[Q451990]

Here is a link to the recall. It will tell you if your Q is in the VIN range (I think it's all of the 1997 and 1998 models, but I'm not sure?) and a nice step x step if you need to replace it and are going to do it yourself.

http://x.infinitihelp.com/foru...d=743

Heath

[shadow98]

Looks like I am going to be out of luck. My vin starts out...

JNKBY31D4VM005xxx

Looks like I might just want to go ahead and continue my order from thepartsbin.com what do you guys think?

[Epod]

1) I would agree that you seem to be out of luck on the recall.

2) If the 10th character of your VIN is a V, I think your Q is a 1997; a 1998 would have a W. I don't think that it matters for this project, but it is worth pinning down in case you ever need a part that is different on one year than the other.

http://www.towlog.com/html/10t....html

[Q451990]

I'm still in the OEM camp for alternators...

http://www.infinitipartsusa.co...gid=0

I would call them, as I think there is a core charge included in this price that would be refunded if you send your old one back. There's also an additional 5% discount available this month.

Heath

[shadow98]

I went with the denso for 186 shipped to my door. However I haven't taken the order off hold I think I will just wait till Monday. They had an xmas special with 15% off.

[shadow98]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all their replies and willingness to help. I received my alternator today. Looks like thepartsbin.com did not put on hold. However it worked out because it wasn't under the recall notice. So now I just have to get some brake pads and get this installed and we should be good to go for a while.

[qship96]

Awesome!!!! Fast shipping on the Alternator!!!!! Might as well install fresh belts while you got it all apart.

[shadow98]

Can I get those from Autozone or Advanced Auto?

[maxnix]

Awesome note about the recall I emailed them to find out. I sent an email and I have also tried to call. No luck yet. They are not answer the phone even though it says on the site they are open from 8 am to 5. I called thepartsbin.com and had them place my order on hold until I find out.

If you look at the actual TSB, the VIN numbers to which the recall applies is specified. Posted here previously.

3rd party technical information is incomplete, at best.

[shadow98]

Well she is back and in working order. New brakes and a New Alternator. My father in law is a service manager and mechanic as well. He put everything on and said he think the alternator made it run a little better. He also did an inspection of the car and said I need front struts on the car. So now that I need those is there any particular brand you guys can recommend.