[Murano_driver]

Hi Mo gang,

I have a little problem. I noticed when Mo is on the idle, the interior lights goes down (dimmed) every 5-7 min for about a second or so. Is this a sign of bad alternator??? Should I go to dealer and force them to change it? I am not sure what to do, because I had the same problem in my Maxima, but it was running fine for 4 years I owned it. Thanks.

 

[mgthe3]

Put a voltmeter on the battery at idle, it should be at least 14 volts.
If it is, I wouldn't worry.
I had to come back and edit:
Why are you idling it that long?

 

[GMTURBO43]

Hmm...are you running the AC/Defrost. Sounds like AC compressor times. It would cause a similiar thing.

 

[mgthe3]

I was thinking the same thing.....but then I said, New York? I was thinking he wasn't using it there yet. Sure could have here today, but my windows were down and the wind was niiiize.

 

[Murano_driver]

Volmeter readings

I have a build in voltmeter in my Passport 8500. On the idle it shows 13.6-13.8, during the city driving (20-40 MPH) its 14.0-14.2, during highway driving (50-80 MPH) its 14.4. I have no defroster or AC running during those instances. And here is the short answer for the question why I am idling that long – traffic. Thanks

 

[Eric L.]

Re: Volmeter readings

I have a build in voltmeter in my Passport 8500. On the idle it shows 13.6-13.8, during the city driving (20-40 MPH) its 14.0-14.2, during highway driving (50-80 MPH) its 14.4. I have no defroster or AC running during those instances. And here is the short answer for the question why I am idling that long – traffic. Thanks

Hmmm I guess I should use my Passport 8500 to check voltages as well to see what I have.

 

[viewmont]

my '03 did exactly the same thing and it was really annoying but i thought it was probably just normal for the mo but my '05 has not yet done it. :8:

 

[Murano_driver]

Viewmont,

For how long you had your 03 Mo? Did you replace the alternator or did you have any power related problems? Thanks

 

[viewmont]

i had it for just over a year and a half and the only thing i ever needed to fix was the driver's seat rattle. it is a great car and i had no problem letting my big brother have it. he will put tons of miles on it.

although i will say the reasons i wanted an '05 were selfish but minor things that he will not notice.

1: steering in the '03 was really stiff and the '05 has great steering.
2: i wanted pewter (or platinum) instead of silver.
3: i was hoping the dimming problem mentioned in this thread would be gone.
4: i missed the new car smell.


re the dimming problem.... it kind of forced me to stop idling the car when my wife would go in the store but it really didn't bother me that much.

 

[Murano_driver]

Thanks. I think if my voltmeter reading are steady for every mod I should not be worry about it.

 

[Spin_Echo]

The dimming thing happens on my 05 as well... I hardly ever notice it - but I did see it happen a few times.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

You should get about 13.6V at idle, higher than 14V while driving. I think the problem is, when the A/C kicks on, so do both of the electric cooling fans (the ones that blow on the rad), which seem to draw a LOT of power. That being said, my lights don't dim much when it happens.

 

[midnitexpress]

Without going outside and looking under the hood to see if we have electric fans, it sounds like a radiator cooling fan is causing your flickering. I assume we have elect. fans.

 

[zebelkhan]

Without going outside and looking under the hood to see if we have electric fans, it sounds like a radiator cooling fan is causing your flickering. I assume we have elect. fans.

We do have electric fans and the current draw causes the dimming.

 

[Gonzo]

The dimming is normal... its just as others have said. A sudden load increase (i.e. AC or cooling fan) will do that.

 

[Coness]

Electric Fans.........Electric Fans! My fooking Electric Fan went out on me at ~3000 miles!:3: