pathynoob Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 i have been haveing an electrical problem that blew a bunch of fuses but didnt seem to cause any major problems. then my alternator went out and i replaced it with a reman alternator from autozone. ( its made in mexico but has a lifetime warranty) i got a jump start and drove it for about a half hour until it stopped about 10 miles up a dirt road. so after a bitch of a time getting it back to civilization i check all the connections and they all seem fine. it seems like an alternator problem (it runs just fine with jumper cables on but dies instantly when i take off the negative connection of the battery). someone mentioned that it might be a bad alternator. i am going to take it off to check it but i will have to tow it to the shop for lack of a better place and not being able to drive to autozone not to mention they are a bitch to take off. has anyone had any experience with reman autozone alternators suggesting that it might be bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 It is not uncommon for a reman alternator to be bad out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Why the lifetime warranty is nice, but yeah, it's about 1 in 5 that seem to be bad from the get go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 spend the extra $$$ and get a decent alternator otherwise you will be replacing them all your lifetime lol btw anyone know anything on those Mean Green alternators??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 so what kind of alternator is the best for the money. if it was just an issue of replacing it i could live with that but i cant live with the fear that its going to cut out on me 100 miles from anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I managed to luck out and get an actual nissan one, not an aftermarket. But this was at Canadian auto parts suppliers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Top of the line would be a sealed unit, but those are around $500 IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 the green moster ones are $$$$$$ a sealed one is useless (mine has been underwater many many times. In the 14 years i've owned my pathfinder, i have changed the alternator once, because of a bad voltage regulator. I ran it nearly 2 years with a bad voltage regulator. its now on its 2nd alty and gets wet VERY often. get a good reman nissan one and giver.. anything can be bad out of the box including new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 because i am almost broke i went back to autozone and got another one. the guy at autozone gave me alot of @!*% for replacing it after only a week and said that if i didnt get my electrical problems fixed he wouldnt keep replacing them. so i replaced the one and drove to work and it died on my before i could get home. a total of maybe 30 min of driveing. now i find it very surprising that a alternator can die that soon but if i have a electical problem that serious i am in deep @!*%. i have looked it over as best i can and dont see anything that could be causing the problem. so at this point i can go argue with the guys at autozone and try to get another alternator, break down and buy a good one from wherever i can find, or take it to the shop and hope they can find the electrical problem affordably. if there is something simple i could check like relays i can do that but i am at my wits end as what to do with this truck because i need something that runs reliably and really dont have the money for another car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Test your battery to make sure it doesn't have a dead cell or other problem. A bad battery can kill an alternator in short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I would recommend charging your battery while replacing your alternator. If the battery is low, the voltage regulator has to work overtime and will go out fast. Have the battery tested and charged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 i have gotten two new batteries because it was under warranty. so the batteries were new minus some charge to drive to autozone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Interesting that the cat at AZ gave you a hard time. I work in the local AZ part time and we swap out warranty parts all the time...you may consider speaking with his manager. Nonetheless the situation with at least AZ's alternators is this: Valuecraft (1 yr warranty)-when an alternator is sent back as a core, it is tested and they find out what part is bad. The bad part is replaced the case cleaned and painted and it is boxed and resold. Thats it. Duralast (Lifetime warranty)-Same as above, however ALL electrical parts (with the exception of the main coil) are replaced, including bearings. Duralast GOLD (Lifetime warranty)-Brand new alternator...costs more but it is new. Like 88 said, test that battery. It seriously sounds like youve got some major issues electrically speaking. I would check all the relays and make sure that none of them are stuck, check to make sure no fuses are "fused" together, sometimes that happens during a high current blow...seen it a few times. As silly as it sounds check your headlights. I have seen several vehicles with similar problems that had the WRONG headlamps installed...or upgraded bulbs that draw more current...too much demand on the alternator... But above all, check your GROUNDS. Make sure they are tight, and clean. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burton8it Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 It may not be your alternator that's the problem buddy had something similar happen to his and he replaced everything battery, alternator, etc. It actually landed up being a bad ground which cause the issues. He replaced his cables and worked wonders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 after the second one blew i figured it wasnt the alternator but i have checked all the connections as best as i can and not found anything. i am taking it to the shop tomarrow to see if they can figure it out but i am very worried because everyone says it could take 10 minutes or it could take 10 hours. i blew a started relay in my tacoma and cant remember exactly how i figured it out but it took awile. a fuse i can look at and tell if its bad but i dont know of anyway to test a relay. tmoore it is a duralast and i think that the guy was an assistant manager. he had a grey shirt on. normally the lower down the less they give a @!*% thats why i have gotten two new batteries from walmart without them even testing them. i think that as long as i say that i figured out the electical problem he wont give me a problem. normally i am not like this but since i need this vehicle to run and while im good mechanically i hate electronics so i am very worried because it is all in someone elses hands, but thanks for all the help and hopefuly my mechanic can fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Pathy, on our older trucks "wire cancer" is always an issue. What I mean by that is the wire/connections may look good but in fact there is corrosion that is inside the shielding and intertwined with the copper conductors. I discovered several of my grounds had the same issue, and when they were replaced my issues went away. Now I am not running a winch, or massive off road lights. I do have 12 strobes, a 200 watt siren system, as well as several LED packs on top of the factory XE power windows and locks and fog lights. You may just shave a small portion of the wire back and make sure there is not a green residue or buildup. I know it sounds finicky but it is a very real issue. As far as checking relays, you can do it two ways: First apply 12 volts to the coil of it, and while doing so have a multimeter connected to the LOAD side's of it. And, visually check it. The covers of most relays easily come off. Take a look at the electrical components and see if you can find some evidence of it being hot, or burned up/out. Sorry about the guy at AZ. He should be reprimanded. AZ's policy is to return or swap out no matter what as long as the item checks bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 well it turns out those fuses i was blowing for the speedo dash lights and turn signals are needed for the alternator to work. so i am back to where i was on the original electrical problem but at least she runs. now the first alternator did test bad at autozone but i still dont understand how the truck ran for as long as it did off a jump start without that fuse. so now i guess she will run as long as i make sure to keep the fuses good. which since they blow pretty often i need to figure out what is causeing my meter fuse to blow. i suppose my next thing to try is replacing the instrment cluster and check those grounds for wire rot. on a side note tmoore where are you from i grew up in burnsville NC just across the border from unicoi country TN if i remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 The instrument cluster in my 95XE has been going crazy since the day I bought it. Tach is all over the place, and sometimes the other gauges just plain dont work. The fuse popped once or twice, and I extracted the cluster to find some nasty green corrosion looking junk on 90% of the connectors. I cleaned that silly thing and it didnt fix the tach, but it did fix the fuse blowing/other gauges intermittently working problem. the buildup more than likely raised the resistance to a point that the draw was just too great, and thus the fuse would go. If I could find another cluster with the tach I would replace it in an instant. Anyways, I would pull it and check...may be part of your problem. Originally I am from the west coast. Born in Seattle, WA. Lived all over WA and some in CA. Did alot of really cool wheelin trips up into Canada and over to Palin country, onto some logging roads. Talk about wicked. At the time I had several different trucks, (was single, worked for a software company out of my apartment and had very little bills) an 89 XJ with 79 F150 axles...went pretty good on the trails. Only problem I had was tires coming off rim...was fixed by a set of beadlock wheels...anyway, thats another life...I dont wheel my pathy...just drive it back and forth to work, and thats about it. I ended up in TN on a roadtrip to FL. Met my wife at church and well...end of story. I live in a small town called Shelbyville. It is the "Wlaking Horse Capitol of the World" whatever the crap that means...except once a year a crap load of people come and watch horses walk around a ring. Whatever floats it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathynoob Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 well i think i found my problem. the tow hitch electrical thing wires were dropping onto my exhaust pipe and melting themselves. so after taping them up and out of the way i havent had any problems after about a 100 miles. such a simple thing after ripping out my dash carpet and trying to check everything under teh hood. thanks for all the help and maybe now i can get some new tires and enjoy my pathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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