Taxed1
CarAudio.com Newbie
Hello all again. This is just an fyi. I just finished installing a system in my son’s 2012 Nissan Altima. Big3 completed, XS power batteries front & back. After it was all done I wanted to check what the voltage was from the alternator to the front battery. I told my son to start the car & then by the time I got my probes on I was reading 13.6 & fluctuating. Immediately I was like ok, the alternator is the stock alternator from 2012, never replaced. I searched & did find a thread over at the Nissan forums about a regulator on a 2013 & most of the thread spoke about it being attached to the negative post right at the battery but this 2012 did not have anything attached to the negative at the post. So I figured it did not have one so new alternator it was. I pondered a high output alt but for a 1200 watt system before rise I was like no way, especially after I saw the prices all starting around $359. So I purchased a new non-refurbished factory OE alt for $149. We installed it today. Set up my Fluke & told him to start it & bam 14.29 then another bam, 13.6 then fluctuating 13s. WTF. So I followed the negative factory wire & there it was. About 10 inches down near the bottom of the battery tray was this black box that encircled the negative with a 2 wire plug attached. I did read over at Nissan that one guy just unplugged & removed the one that was attached up at the post but mine is not removable but the 2 wire plug is. I am still wondering why I never saw it when I swapped the battery to an XS power one. Anyways, after simply unplugging the connector on that black regulator & retesting now I have a mostly constant 14.29-13.9. Also no computer complaints nor check engine lights.
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