Vehicle: 2004 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab 2X4 3.3L V6. Currently at 70,000 miles.... Problem: either the battery or the alternator. I dont think this is a starter issue. As Im leaving this morning, the truck doesnt start, I get a few tumbles and dimmed lights and radio, alarm still works. Thanks to a neighbor, I get a jum and drive into work. When I get to the Hyatt parking garage downtown, and I turn off the vehicle, I try to start it again to see if the battery has enough juice to start, i get NOTHING. Now IIRC, driving the vehicle after a "jump" would let the alternator charge the battery, correct. So....is this a battery or an alternator issue?
Oh yeah, I hooked the battery up to my nipples so I could perfect my new hairstyle......the Kosmo Kramer/Don King look. My fault totally.....
good thing you didn't try that with an american car. The car would have blown up for sure because american cars use tech from the 1970's. i guess you want to fixt his yourself. In that case you can get your battery tested or just replace it. If it is bad and needs replacing then pop it in and see if the trouble continues. If it does, pull the alternator and get it tested. A bad battery can kill an alternator, but usually a battery will die slowly giving you some warning of slower starting, not just die.
Check the terminals, or do you have an amplifier connected to your battery, sometimes it doesnt hold up after a while. By the way Autozone will check it for free.
When you got the "jump", you used the other guy's battery to start your machine. Through driving, the alternator did not recharge. When you turned it off, you didn't get juice through the alternator. Your truck will turn on if it is a brand new battery, but rest assure that if you don't check the rest of the stuff, your battery will be drained by a short or a bad alternator sucking up the battery juice. When you get a jump again, grab a flat-head screw driver. Put the iron tip of it next to the chromed end of the alternator (the one that doesn't have the spinning side), shown here by the red rod that's what she said on the left and test to see if there is any magnetism from the alternator to the screwdriver while the truck is running. If no, then your alternator is messing up something or there is a short inside it or in the electrical system. You DO know how to open the hood, yes yes?
A modern car will not run without a decent alternator, so this test should not even be close to the first thing he should do. (or really ever since there are free alternator checks available)
To be quite homest, I dont recall any slower starts. And I listen to vehicle closely. So that's why Im also questioning the alternator.
Dimmed lights is battery. Driving fine indicates the alternator works. You won't know anything until you get to wrenching, but both of these items can be tested for free so guessing which one makes no sense. Battery is easier to test and swap. So start there.
I've had a car battery fail overnight on me - it happens. I had similar symptoms to yours. I replaced the battery and everything ran fine again. You could test the battery or yank it out and take it to an Autozone and they'll test it for you. At least you could rule that out.
It's alternator man, I had this same problem. I always thought it was my battery for my car too, and then I bought a new battery. Turns out I wasted my money buying a new battery, it was my alternator... my battery wasn't charging.
Take it to a place that does system tests so that you'll be sure of the problem. I'm thinking its your battery.
+1. My mom's battery on her '05 Accord just died on her one morning not too long ago. Ran fine after the jump while doing a bunch of errands, but once she actually turned the engine off for more than 15 minutes, it crapped out again. New battery was her solution.
Free alternator check.....where? I assume AutoZone, Advance, O'Reilly's etc..... BTW, Thank you guys for all your help thus far! Much appreciated!
check your battery first. Yes all those places offer that service. Don't buy your new battery there though. Get a nice battery with a long free replacement period.
Could be either. Your battery may not hold a charge or your alternatator won't charge enough to get a good start. Or as someone said - could be the cables need cleaning. Anyway - go for the free battery check and go from there. With the years and the mileage though, I'd put money down that it's your battery. Too low of mileage for most normal alts to go bad and just enough years have passed for a battery to become suspect.
Just Curious.....where would you recommend me get a battery then? The lowest of those places is Oreilly's (@ $79.99). Every place thus far has hovered around the $85 dollar range.....
