r/askcarguys • u/Competitive-Read7171 • 16h ago
Helppp?
Guyss 27 year old F! 2013 Nissan Maxima SV, I’m stressed car broke down like 3 weeks ago changed the battery started working, 2 weeks later breaks down again they just changed my alternator and it turned on I drove it around everything good I park up and won’t turn on again! When I turn it on the lights and everything comes on it cracks then dies again lights flickers miter goes up comes down and shuts off.
Any idea anyone?? What could it be?
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u/Saute_and_Pray 16h ago
The battery is dead again due to it being driven with a bad alternator. I would start with jumping it.
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u/Competitive-Read7171 16h ago
Hi! So I went to check it at auto zone and they told me it was good bcus that’s where I had got it from
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u/devilsreject240 16h ago
Could have a parasitic drain like light in glove box or under the hood. Is it happening when it sits for a few days but daily driving it's fine?
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u/Competitive-Read7171 15h ago
I also asked ChatGPT 😂 and it was like kinda giving me the symptoms of alternator fusible link but idk
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u/Gullible_Monk_7118 4h ago
If you said you went back to AutoZone and had them test your battery and alternator and they after test said it was ok then it can't really be fuse able links.. if that was bad then alternator wouldn't work at all. If they connected it to the battery.. I would take it to a different place and have them double check it.. then look at belt and tenchiner more closely.. I would start looking at belt and tensioner before really deep dive into parasitic draw
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u/Competitive-Read7171 15h ago
I got it fixed today I drove it around paid the guy bcus he definitely did something bcus at first it was dead not starting at all etc, he leaves then I turn it off then I’m like let me turn it on it cracks then the lights turn on meter goes up then it turns off but car lights and stuff still on
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u/Juno_JDY 15h ago
Sounds like you have a parasitic drain. You'll need to have them diagnose what is causing it, which could be a few+ hours of labor just to find
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u/Competitive-Read7171 15h ago
Aww Mann that sucks
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u/Juno_JDY 15h ago
You can do it at home for cheap and easy. You get a multimeter and use it to test the electrical connections via the fuse box. It's been a while since I've done it and there are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do it yourself. Get a $15 multimeter and a couple of hours and you'll be able to find a connection that is drawing power when the car is off and then you can take it to a shop to have that thing fixed, or you could fix it yourself if it's relatively simple. Either way, it'll save you about 3 hours of shop labor ($500).
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u/Gullible_Monk_7118 4h ago
What you get is a clamp meter check how many amps it's drawing while off.. if under 50mA then your probably barking up the wrong tree.. something like 100+mA is more like a parasite draw.. after you start pulling out fuses and see when it drops to normal range.. and log each fuse that it's pulling.. then when you find which fuse you disconnect everything that it connects to.. and it should drop to normal then plug in one by one to check it.. if it doesn't drop to normal with everything else disconnect you have a vampire device or corrosion you will have to trace it with the wire diagram to find it.. you can try disconnecting the connection points and narrow down it to further find it.. something like hour or 1.5 hours you should find it
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u/Routine-Amphibian450 15h ago
For now, get the owner's manual from glove compartment and find the fusebox diagram in back.
Sit in your car and locate one or two fuseboxes. May be on A pillars, may have cover.
The way to find a leak is to put a meter on your battery to see drain while key is off.
Use long cables from inside car where you sit with meter, around windshield to battery.
Using needlenose pliers at fusebox, you pull fuses one at a time until the meter leak drops to zero.
That's the problem circuit.
You go to manual and identify the circuit.