2001 Nissan Sentra alternator

LASHKAT

MEMBER
2001 NISSAN SENTRA
4 CYL
120 MILES

About two days ago my battery and brake lights came on while I was driving. The next day it started right up and the lights did not come on. This afternoon, the lights came on. All the information I have gathered so far points to the alternator needing to be repalced. I haven't had trouble starting my car or loss of power to the lights or radio. I get paid on Friday; is it okay to drive it until then or is the battery going to die any minute while I am driving?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,752 POSTS

Happy to hear you understand it could leave you stranded, but when you have an intermittent problem like this, the generator is still working part of the time. The most common cause of intermittent generators is worn brushes. That's actually a mechanical thing, and as long as they work intermittently, you may get by for as much as days or weeks before the battery runs down too much to restart the engine. Once the "Battery" light turns on, about the most you'll get is around one hour of driving time before the engine stalls. You'll be driving strictly on the battery, so the less power you use, the longer the engine will run. Turn the heater and radio off, and anything else you don't need, like head lights in the daytime.