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-   -   2003 Altima 2.5L Battery and Brake Light (https://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/altima/19251-2003-altima-2-5l-battery-brake-light.html)

randallmixon 07-15-2011 04:45 PM

2003 Altima 2.5L Battery and Brake Light
 
Hoping someone can help me with this because I'm stuck.

Saturday - Begin driving family out of town for a get-together. Battery light and Brake light both come on. The emergency brake wasn't on. So my wife broke out the owner's manual. We discovered the Brake light could indicate low brake fluid as well as the emergency brake being on and that the battery light could also indicate that the charging system was not working. I knew the brake fluid should be ok, because I had just recently performed a brake job on the car and topped off the brake fluid. I knew the battery was under a year old so I didn't think it was bad which led me to believe that either the serpentine belt was slipping or the alternator was going out on me. Pulled over at a gas station and checked the brake fluid - fine. Checked the belt - fine. Tried to drive away, and the car had no acceleration. Managed to get the car parked again, turned it off and tried to start it again - it wouldn't start. Got the car towed back to the house.

Sunday - Took battery to Auto Zone. They told me the battery was fine but it needed to be charged. Left it there for them to charge. Went back after an hour to pick it up, put it back in the car - car still won't start. In my experiences, the car should've started. This told me that something might be wrong with the battery. I took out my own battery charger and tried jumping it off. No luck. I then placed the battery on a trickle charge over night.

Monday - The next morning, I checked the charger and it gave me an indication that the battery needed to be desulfated. This process takes 24 hours for my charger to perform so I set it and checked it the next morning.

Tuesday - Still getting indicator that the battery needs to be desulfated. Took the battery back to AutoZone and explained that I had brought the battery in and they charged it and took it home and it didn't work. They replaced the battery as it was still under warranty. Took the new battery home and installed it. Car started right up. Still getting battery light and brake light. Ran an alternator check using my charger and it indicated that the alternator was bad. Drove the car up to AutoZone and had them test and confirm that it was bad.

Thursday - Got new alternator in the car. Had trouble getting the belt back on. Finished up Friday morning.

Friday - Got belt back on. Car started right up. No warning lights. Radio does not come on. After driving the car for a little bit, the battery light and the brake light come back on after having a brand new battery AND alternator installed in it. PLEASE HELP!!!!

DCARLTON 07-16-2011 04:31 AM

I would take it up to Autozone as is and have them check the electrical system now that you have a new battery and new alternator. The brake and battery light on is normally a sign that the alternator has failed. AZ would be able to tell you this.

It may be as simple as a loose connection at the alternator or battery. I know the plug into the alternator, if not clicked in all the way will cause this symptom too.

randallmixon 07-16-2011 06:25 AM

It appears that the battery may have needed to be topped off. Between installing the new battery and installing the alternator, I had to run the car a bit (mostly so I could re-park it under some shade. I got sunburned the first day working on it.) I put a trickle charge on the battery last night and let it charge all night. Got up this morning and the indicator said the battery was full. Started the car up and let it idle. Never got the battery or brake lights again. Going to take it for a drive to make sure.

The radio still doesn't come on. I read something on the interwebz about needing to put in a radio code. I still have the original owner's manual and there's a little metal tag in the case with a 5-digit number on it. Would that be the code? How do I put it in? I can't get the radio to respond to me in anyway. Is there a prompt that I need to appear or do I just punch the code in?

Thanks for the help.

randallmixon 07-16-2011 09:28 AM

Update:

Took the car out for a drive and no sooner had I reached the end of my street the stupid lights came back on. I took it to AutoZone and asked the guy what could the problem be. He told me that the warning lights probably just need to be reset. I've ordered an OBDII scanner and am waiting for it to come in. I've also read on the internet that unhooking the battery will reset the ECU. If that's the case then the warning lights should already be cleared because I had the battery unhooked for almost two days while I waited for the alternator to come in. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I also still need to know how to get my radio working again too.

Thanks for the help.

bennyb53 07-16-2011 10:27 AM

You can download the Audio/Video service manual for your car. In Knowledgebase section.

randallmixon 07-21-2011 10:03 AM

Update
 
Thought I'd update this thread in case anyone is having similar issues.

I fixed the radio. It was a fuse issue. The fuse was either completely missing or I put it back in the wrong slot when I was checking all the fuses last week. Either way, the radio is working again.

Still getting the battery light intermittently while driving. Car starts up everytime and handles great. The stupid lights just won't stay off. I've gone so far as to disconnect the alternator and reconnect it to make sure all the bolts and cables were making good connections. Currently I'm waiting to get my hands on an OBDII scanner to see if resetting the warning lights might help.

I'm also having an issue with a popping noise coming from what sounds like the driver side wheel well. It sounds like I'm kicking up a rock or something and it's hitting the underside of the car, but it happens too consistently for it to be that. It seems to happen when I'm braking or making a sharp turn and in some circumstances when I drive over some kind of bump or curb. Any ideas on this?

Thanks again for the help.

randallmixon 07-26-2011 05:03 PM

Update
 
Either AutoZone sold me a shitty alternator, or there is something seriously wrong with the charging system in the car. Battery died again. Managed to make it to a gas station and that's where she sits at the moment. Recharging the battery now and hope it will be enough to get the car home so I can work on it. Any input or advice would be appreciated.

bennyb53 07-26-2011 06:35 PM

There's a phantom that is sucking the life out of your battery. BTW - did you get your OBDII that you ordered? Did you scan your ecm yet.

When you get the car running again and with a simple multi meter test your battery output. It should be about 12.4-12.6V. Then test your Alt. output with just about everything on. Output should be 15.0 - 15.5V. The fact they are new shouldn't even be an issue but test them anyway. Also check your ground cable at the tranny case and be sure its not rusted.

randallmixon 07-26-2011 06:40 PM

The OBDII scanner did come in just the other day, but it doesn't work. That's what I get for trying to go the cheap route. I downloaded the Torque app for my Droid and ordered an ELM 327 OBDII bluetooth scanner. The problem is that I can't get my Droid to pick up the scanner. I've tried it with two phones and it still doesn't work. Luckily, a neighbor of mine has a "real" one that I can borrow.

I'll definitely be checking the battery and the alternator again once I get it back to the house. Thanks for the input.

randallmixon 07-26-2011 08:43 PM

Charged battery up. Re-installed battery. Drove car home. Used alternator check feature on my charger to check alternator. Faulty alternator. WTF is up with that?

Going to bed. Too tired to think. Will take it up with AutoZone tomorrow.

randallmixon 07-27-2011 10:15 AM

Car started this morning. No battery light at first. Put the charger on it and did an alternator check and it passed. Turned on a bunch of accessories in the car and the battery light came on shortly after. Tested the alternator again and it failed. Removed alternator and took it back up to AutoZone. They tested it and it failed there also. Swapped out for new one. Installed it. Car started. Left it running with AC on for about 10-15 minutes and no battery light. Going to drive it around town later to be sure, but looks like it was just a bad alternator.

bennyb53 07-27-2011 07:53 PM

I am convinced your problem is behind you. Yipppppppppppppppy!

KY03ALT 06-28-2012 09:44 PM

Battery & Brake Light????
 
Did replacing your alternator fix your Altima? I hope so! My 2003 3.5 is having the same issue. My batt & brake lights came on together early last week, and the car died on me by the weekend! Autozone told me my battery was bad and I replaced it. The same dash lights came back on when i put it in park with the a/c on. I guess I'm headed back to Autozone to have them test my alt with everything on! Thanks for logging your experiences guys!!!

randallmixon 06-29-2012 05:07 AM

Its been awhile but from what I remember Auto Zone sold me a bad alternator. They replaced it and I haven't had any more trouble out of it since. Good luck to you.

DCARLTON 06-29-2012 08:15 AM

When buying a new/remanufactured alternator, I recommend having them bench test it before you walk out the door. I too have received a bad alternator, even though the paperwork that came with it showed it tested fine. AZ or any of them can do this and it saves you the labor of putting on, taking it off and repeating the process.


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