After replacing battery with new, car lost all power and shut off

LEERU212

MEMBER
1992 NISSAN MAXIMA
2.3L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

I bought the car about a month ago which previous owner said needed new alternator. So bought a new one out it on. After that found out battery was no good so bought a new battery put it in. Car fired right up ran for about 10 minutes and lost all power and cut off. Wouldn't start back, like battery was dead again. So checked battery and had low charge. So charged it again and repeated steps done same thing. What could be issue? Checked all fuses none seem to be bad? Thanks in advance!

Monday, September 2nd, 2019 AT 5:02 PM

2 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
110,176 POSTS

Welcome to 2CarPros.

Wow! That is dying really fast. With that, I first suggest confirming the new battery and the new alternator are working properly. If they are, we will need to determine what is drawing that much power from the battery.

Here are a couple links. The first is for load testing a battery. The battery should be charged before doing this. The second is how to test an alternator.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

Let me know what you find. Also, let me know the voltages you find when testing the alternator.

Here are a few links you may find helpful when testing the alternator:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-wiring

I will watch for your reply.

Take care,
Joe

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Monday, September 2nd, 2019 AT 8:13 PM

SCGRANTURISMO

MECHANIC
4,897 POSTS

Hello,

This could be a problem with the alternator not charging the battery. Double check all of the connections at the alternator and the battery. Make sure they are all connected, clean, and tight. Also check that the serpentine belt has the proper amount of tension on it. A loose serpentine belt will not spin the pulley at a high enough speed for the proper amperage output to charge the battery. Finally, if none of those are the problem, you could have purchased an alternator that is bad right out of the box. It wouldn't be the first time, nor, unfortunately. The last time that that would have happened. In the diagrams down below I have included a wiring diagram of your vehicle's charging system for you for reference. Please get back to us with what you are able to find out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros

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