02 Nissan Maxima Brake and battery light on Alternator fine, low voltage reading, help!

Asked by samantha121212 Jun 07, 2016 at 11:58 AM about the 2002 Nissan Maxima SE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have an 02 Nissan Maxima 3.5 liter. The other day i was driving, and out of nowhere the break light and the battery light both came on, of course i called my dad, and he told me it was probably the alternator, hurry and get home before my car dies on me. Well i managed to make it the 40 minutes home, the car didn't even act a little different, headlights a/c and radio were on the whole time (found out later i should have turned them off). So we went and got the alternator tested, and it tested just fine, which i would assume since it it fairly new. However when they did a voltatge reading it read at only 11.2! where they said the normal should be around 14.5 this leaving me my dad and the guys at autzone clueless on whats wrong, ive been driving my care for 2 weeks now, still running just fine, but no idea how or why the battery and break light are still on?

2 Answers
190

Mike answered 8 years ago

I've had voltage problems like this. If your alt was bad it would have went out after a few days. Make sure your battery is good check the terminals for currosion and check your negative battery ground. If it's really dirty that could be where your 2 volts are going. And auto zone is a joke. They are far from professionals. I recommend O'Reillys. Service is a lot better and they know what they're talking about. And get your battery tested to. Could have a dead cell that was my problem. Good luck

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McCheez answered 5 years ago

Both AutoZone and oriellys are equally stupid and not at all qualified to give any advice. AutoZone alternator are junk right out of the box. There lame tester says it's ok but it's not. I have a shop and won't use either ones parts because they just don't work or if they do, not for long. If it's your daily, don't be cheap unless you like exploring the side of the road

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