Battery loosing charge when rpms down

Hi,

I recently bought a used '94 Nissan Maxima GXE. About every three weeks or so the battery will loose its charge. I've been thinking its the alternator, but the previous owner said that the alternator was replaced less than two years ago. Here is a description of the problem:

As I'm driving sometimes, I'll notice that the heater fan will slow or cut off, the dashboard lights will go dim, and the windshield wipers will slow or quit working. If I press the accelerator and get the rpms up to about 2000 everything will come back on. If I drive around or rev it up for a while without any of the accessories running before I turn the car off, it will start fine. Otherwise, the battery will be dead. The other thing I've noticed is that the there are no problems if I turn it on and leave it running for a long time; it's not until I drive it that, after a while, I notice this problems.

Does any one have any ideas what would be causing this? Is it a "flaky" alternator or is there something I can check to have more of an indication what the problem is?

Thanks,

Lloyd Cotten

Reply to
Lloyd Cotten
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This sounds like a classic alternator problem.

If the previous owner used an aftermarket rebuilt alternator that is most likely why it has given up the ghost so fast.

If you are going to replace the alternator I strongly suggest that you go to the dealership and purchase a factory OEM rebuilt alternator, otherwise you may be replacing it much sooner than you think

Reply to
NissTech

yep, Nisstech's right. My 90 did the same thing w/ the original and an aftermarket alternator. Probably some bad diodes in the voltage regulator gizmo, but you have to replace the entire unit. If you have go w/ an AutoZone or O'Reilly's reman'd unit, at least get the lifetime warranty model in case the same thing happens again.

Chris

90 & 94 GXE's
Reply to
Chris H

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