Taxed1 Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dafaseles Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 13 minutes ago, Taxed1 said: 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. No battery light on the dash is surprising, but glad it all worked out. Thank you for posting this for anyone looking for answers about their Nissan! 2011 Chevy Silverado under construction My build log here. Check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrifter Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 Oh yep. Current meter! Seeing those more and more on vehicles. tl;dr it lets the computer control alternator voltage to smartly charge the battery. Hell... I have one on my '05. If you add any wiring on, you have to make sure any frame-battery ground passes through this sensor. Otherwise it'll act all sorts of goofy as you discovered. Good to know that the default fail-behavior is constant voltage an no CEL. ~~~~~~~~SAY NO TO PHOTOBUCKET~~~~~~~~ Snow's DD-1 tracks here: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/167433-snows-dd-1-tracks/ My take on OFC vs CCA: https://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/110381-things-that-piss-you-off-in-the-car-audio-world/?do=findComment&comment=2461444 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingray72 Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 might have to see about doing that to my nissan versa sv 2019. Mine goes 12.9 - 14.7. Sometimes 14.8 but very rare. ps....i have a 240 amp ho alternator sitting in the box only wired up for a few days that was for my 2011 nissan altima sl 2.5. Let me know if your intrested (if it fits in your year) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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