hey every one I have a 1995 Nisssan D21 Hardbody that is acting like the alternator is bad, itll run on a full charge for about 4 hours but then the lights slowly dem and the truck eventually dies all together and wont restart till i jump it or charge the battery. the alternator is brand new and i have had it tested by multiple places because I was convinced it was the alternator. Nissan believes it is the wiring harness between the battery and alternator but i dont have the cash to through at it right now.I thought fellow nissan owners might be able to help me out or that they have had a similair issue. so what do you all think it is.
the truck is a 1995 4x4, 4cyl, 5sp bone stock done to the radio and carpet. the only thing i know that is after market is the trailer hitch and trailer light plug ins.
the brakes lights are fine but the tail lights dont always turn on i have to mess with the brights till the dash lights come on and then the tail lights will come on.
How much voltage are you getting to the battery with the truck running?
It should be 13.5 or more.
If it is less than 13 volts, then you have a bad alternator, a bad voltage regulator, or bad wiring.
If you are getting more than 13 volts, preferably close to 14, then I would suspect a bad cell or multiple bad cells in the battery... which would charge funny, cause starting problems (failure to engage on the starter), and a slew of other electrical gremlins. Most auto parts stores can check a battery for bad cells.
Also, after charging the battery - I would check the voltage. You should have slightly more than 12 volts. If you're getting 10 volts on a fully charged batter, you definitely have a bad cell.
Although, if you do have a short grounding out somewhere, it could be causing a slew of problems as well. However, I don't see a short causing all of those problems after 4 hours... it would come on erratically or consistently, but not over time, IMO.
It gets 13.5-13.7 when it is fully charged which makes it confusing to solve, cause it seems like it is charging. it has done this with three differant batteries. the newest of which is a Optima red top.
I would wire up a voltage meter to the batter terminals, so you can see what is going on while driving it. Watch the voltage during acceleration, idling, decel, and the differences when it gets warm or cools down. Specifically, watch what happens when this problem occurs. It may give you insight into what is happening and give you a better picture of what is happening, voltage-wise when this happens.
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