Hey everyone,
Im new here, and hoping someone can help me out with a problem Im having with my wife's car.
She drives a 97' Sentra GXE 5 spd, and I *think* the alternator is going out. It's symptoms are differenent than I've ever seen on any other car though. Check it out:
When the RPM's get above, say, 4000 RPMs or so (not totally sure, it doesn't have a tach), the battery light and brake light will come on. My wife has been noticing this for a while, but its getting worse. It seemed to only come on when she shifted, so- I thought it was that the slave cylinder was low on fluid or something. I rarely drive it, so I didn't get to see it with my own eyes until recently. Turns out, that she was just shifting right at the perfect RPM for the light to come on.
We were making a 2 hour road trip south, and everyone was sleeping in the car. I was driving about 80 MPH, and noticed that the stereo turned off about 100 miles into the trip. I thought maybe the fuse blew or something, so, I ignored it and kept driving. Everyone was sleeping anyhow, so it wasn't a big deal that the radio cut off. I didnt want to pull over just to check fuses either, and wake everyone up. So, anyhow, about 20 miles down the road after the radio cut out, I went to change lanes, and noticed the blinker arrow on the dash was very dim. The light bulb up in my head clicked on, and I realized there was an electrical issue. I pulled the pictures my wife keeps of our kids on the inst. cluster off (I HATE THAT, and this is a perfect ex why), and there they were-------> the brake light and battery light glowing like a police spotlight. I pushed in the clutch, and pulled over immediatly. As the RPMs came down, the lights went off, and the radio popped back on. Seemed odd. So, I started driving again. Everything was fine, as long as the rpms stayed low enough. It was a long drive home, as we couldnt do over 62 MPH, or the lights would come on.
Ive checked all the battery/ground/starter/alternator connections, and everything is fine. So, Im wondering, does this sound like an alternator failing? In my experience with failing alternators, (Ive owned 30 cars now), the Amp/Charge/Battery light (depends on the car), stays on at *LOW* RPMs, and goes off when you stab the throttle. This Sentra is doing the exact opposite.
What do you all think?
-Thanks!
-George in Colorado