Brake and battery light on, and battery keeps draining on my Nissan Xterra

Asked by NotAMechanicAtAll081... Mar 26, 2019 at 04:43 PM about the 2001 Nissan Xterra

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have an 01 Nissan Xterra. My brake and battery light have
been on for some time (used to come on then go off, now it
just stays on). My battery keeps draining as well. I have
bought BRAND NEW batteries, and they last about a week.
My dad checked my alternator by removing the battery
cables while the car was running, and having me turn on
various electrical things. The car still ran, so he says my
alternator is ok. But I'm thinking maybe it is over charging?
Cause I'll buy a new battery, it'll work for a week, go dead,
won't charge, and the store I bought it from will tell me it's
bad. And I've bought then from different places, and bought
different brands, so it's not a bad batch of batteries. My
vehicle is killing them, and I don't know why! The alternator
was bought brand new in 2017.

2 Answers
40,075

beatupchevy answered 5 years ago

you need a multi tester to see if the alternator is good , make sure batt. is charged if you replace it , don't make a new alt. charge a dead batt.

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Gary answered 4 years ago

Please explain how the 'remove' battery Neg cable doesn't shine a light on the usefulness of an Alternator. It stands to reason if the Alternator still puts out enough Voltage and Amperage to run the lights - it is in fairly good shape. YES, to do a FULL test you need better testing but the test this man speaks of is very reliable.

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