dan.worts

Car is a 2001 Maxima SE, 110,1XX miles. Just changed the oil ~30-40 miles ago, and did the spark plugs at 105K.
I started up my car before going to school this morning. It was very cold out, in the teens, and the car started fine. I let it idle for only about 15 - 20 seconds before backing out of the driveway (with defrosters, seat heater, and heat on full blast). After I put the car into drive to go forward, I heard a loud, constant, high-pitching whining noise coming from (what sounded like) the engine. It continued, whether I was giving it gas or not, for about 200 feet (until I got to the top of my street), when it stopped completely. That never happened before.
Once I got the school (~6 miles), everything seemed to be acting normally, and I parked and shut the car off.
After school ended, (temp ~60 degrees) I tried to start the car, but it didn't fire up the first time, just cranked... I stopped trying about a second after it would have normally started. I waited about 10 seconds, then tried to start it again, and it started up at the same time it usually would. The RPM's were odd, though. When it first started, it did not jump up then settle into a "cold idle" as per the norm. It jumped only to 900 or so RPM, then faded down to around 500-600, then jumped up to ~1500 and settled into a normal "cold idle" RPM (1150 or so).
I drove down the hill to advanced auto parts, picked up a few things, and had them check for codes (SES light was on already, for catalytic converter).
Pulled the following:
P0430 (cat)
P0455 (?)
P1448 (?)
Cleared the codes
The car started up and drove home without issue, and the SES light did NOT come back on during the drive.
Now, car is sitting in the driveway, and I'm concerned.

Thank you very much to anybody who can provide insight to my problem(s)

sontakke

Generally, the whine is from alternator. Check it for the charging voltage with all the loads on and at idle speed. Also verify that your battery light in the cluster is working. A dying alternator along with weak battery will give you lots of unrelated problems.

P0455 and P1448 are evaporative codes; they will NOT lead to any problems as far as your engine running is concerned.

dan.worts

exactly what are those two codes, though? TWO codes for something evaporative, like a pinhole leak in the gas tank or what?

The battery light on my dash DOES light up with all other lights (that should) when the key is in the on position

I have a digital multimeter I can use to check the battery/alternator. I can do voltage, resistance, amperage, etc etc it's a good meter. I don't know what voltage to expect out of the battery, though (I read somewhere that 9.6 volts on a cold morning is the minimum on a decent battery?). And I'm not sure where/how/what setting to check the alternator, if I even can with the multimeter.

thank you

dan.worts

just an update. Battery does not seem to be the problem. Not sure if the wires going from the battery could be the problem, though (as there was white corrosion of some sort around both terminals. I snapped a quick picture)





I don't feel too confident driving it tomorrow morning, but I'm thinking I will end up doing so. Need more input here, though, as I have no idea what's happening

Ghost_54

iTrader: (13)

As mentioned the it is normally the alternator related issue when you hear that screeching noise, loose belt comes to mind. You should clean up those battery terminals and make sure they are good and tight when you re-connect. Also try and get a reading on the alternators power out put, when mine was dieing I was only putting out 6 volts barely enough to keep the engine running with no accessories on.

sontakke

Hook up the voltmeter to the battery terminals (after cleaning them and tightening them).

Before start: About 12.6V
During start: Stay over 10.0V
After start: Between 13.7 - 14.7
All loads, A/C, Defroster, full fan, high beams, brake light; should NOT drop under 13V at 1000 rpm

Google the codes e.g. "maxima P0444" etc

dan.worts

just an update, car drove fine today (10 miles or so in 3 trips) and SES light did not return.

I will test the alternator tomorrow and post results

dan.worts

SES light has yet to come back, but the car did not start on the first try again today. I tested the battery about a half hour after getting home, and got 12.88 volts. It is running completely normal, it just did not start right this afternoon. Drove it again a few minutes after testing the battery, and started up fine. I haven't had the whining return, and the weather has not been terribly cold. I changed the air filter, but that can't have caused any problems. No E-brake light + battery light either.

I bought a wire brush to put on my drill to clean out the battery terminals, will do that soon.

dan.worts

SES light still not on. Tested alternator - before I started the car, battery was at 12.6 volts. After starting it, and with both defrosters, AC, seat heater, radio on, it was 14.5 volts. So the alternator is not the problem, I think.

sontakke

Add high beams and full fan to the mix. What was the engine speed? How much is the voltage with no load and engine at idle?

dan.worts

true, I did not do the high beams. And it was right after I started the engine, so the RPM's were higher than normal idle (750) - maybe 1300 or 1400. Should I test after driving for a bit, when the RPM's are at 750? I could do that tonight, after a 5 minute trek, and throw all the accessories on.
I didn't measure voltage without load, so I will also do that

sontakke

You want to measure

Measure voltage at following times:
-----------------
Engine Off:
(turn the head lights on high beam for a minute and then turn off the lights)
This is your base battery voltage
---------
Engine running @ idle with every load on
If the voltage is at least 0.5V higher than the base battery voltage,
your alternator is good.
----------
Now remove all the load and observe the voltage
(and also look for changes in the alternator sound; you might notice that it was
making lot of whining noises under load)

- Vikas

dan.worts

Got my readings -

- base voltage (high beams on for 1 minute without car on): 11.93 volts
I then made a quick, 10 minute round trip. Upon getting home, the engine was at full operating temperature and 750 RPM idle. I put on all loads - high beams, both defrosters, heat full blast, radio, dome light.
- full load voltage: 12.49 volts
I then took off all loads, with the engine still running.
- no load (engine running) voltage: 14.25 volts
and for good measure, I then turned off the car and tested the battery.
- car off (after driving) voltage: 12.91 volts

There was certainly a lot more (whining) noise from the engine bay with all the loads on

the full load voltage was .56 volts higher than the base voltage. That's a good sign.

sontakke

I believe you will be needing both the battery and alternator. It is likely that a weak battery has put lot of toll on the alternator. I am little concerned with the 14.25 reading because it tells me that your battery was depleted quite a lot as the alternator had to jack up the voltage all the way to 14.25. The swing between 14.25 to 12.49 is too wide for my liking.

The battery resting voltage under 12 is not good. Assuming more that 4-5 years on battery and 100K+ on alternator, it is NOT unreasonable to replace them.

Battery is the cheapest and easiest to replace. Assuming it is not brand new (and even of it is) just put a new one. You can get a new one as low as $60 if you shop at Costco. Even Walmart's best battery is only $85. If you are lucky, your alternator may be still fine.

Watch the batt/brake light like a hawk. Make sure it turns on when you give the ignition and goes off when car starts. You can't even guess its location in the instrument cluster when it is off!

By the way, car randomly NOT starting might be completely different issue unless you can feel that it cranks weakly when it does not start. On the other hand, a sick electrical system can result in such bizarre behaviors that without a good baseline electrical system, it is not worth speculating on other symptoms.

Good luck,
- Vikas

dan.worts

I got a feeling the alternator is going to be ok. If it was, in fact, capable of jacking up the voltage to over 14, logic says it is functioning, right?

I will, and have been. Nothing yet.

It cranks completely normally on the odd occasion that it doesn't fire up in one shot.




I think the next step I will take is to have Advance Auto do a (free!!!) battery, starter, alternator test. I doubt they'll do anything too different than I've done (besides test the starter), but it can't hurt. The battery could be 5 years old for all I know, I just got the car a bit over a year ago


thank for all the help man

dan.worts

I didn't trust my own tests - I couldn't recall if I left the high beams on while I got the base voltage. I re-tested last night and got different results.

Base (and I KNOW I turned off the highs this time) - 12.62 volts
then turned on all the loads and the car and got - 13.34 volts
that, coupled with the earlier test voltage of 14.25 volts without loads, seems like more normal numbers

sontakke

Yes, looks good! Just keep an ear open if the whining increases.

dan.worts

I will. My SES light finally came back for the front catalytic converter (about 100 miles, which is consistent with prior occurrences), but the car is driving beautifully. I gave it about 90% throttle a few days ago, a quick 10mph - 70mph, and it felt as good as new. RPM's behaved, tranny was spot on, and I hit 70 QUICK. Boy does the VQ30 sound awesome when opened up.

Will clean off the battery terminals and will let you know if the car misbehaves at all; thanks again for the help

sontakke

Search under my name for P0420 or P0430. Enough hints on how to take care of that problem, you just have to read between the lines :-) That way when the next time SES comes on, you know it is something which you need to look in to.

- Vikas

dan.worts

the PO430, it appears, is likely one of the oxygen sensors in/around the pre-cat (says much searching), but it could also be the cat itself. The whining happened again this morning, and the first try-no start happened again this afternoon. They were both exactly how I described in my first post of the thread, except that the whining went away in half the distance it took the first time, after I let off the accelerator a second when I hit the top of a small hill 100 or so feet from my driveway. Going to hit up Advance Auto to check codes again (I wonder if those two EVAP codes are back...), and see where that leads me

dan.worts

Car did not start up again on the first shot today.

Went to advance auto - the evap codes and po 430 are still there, no biggie, they dont really effect the way the car drives.

I also got an electrical test there. Everything came up as normal and good, but the battery "charge" was low. Since the battery was one of the ones they carried and was still under warranty, the said they'd replace it with barely any out of pocket from me. "Charge" voltage was 11.98, I wouldn't call that a major problem, and I do not think the battery is the problem at all (it has the power to crank the car...), but they're going to give me another battery absolutely free so I'm not going to decline

magpie24

My car did the exact same thing. It wouldn't start on the first crank sometimes. Turns out it was the timing chain. It only did it on start up when it was cold, its like a loud pitch awful screetch. Replaced the timing chain and all the pullys and have heard nothing since

dan.worts

My car's been good since replacing the battery, but if it ever comes up again i will be sure to look into the timing chain, thank you!

CraigsMax01

iTrader: (8)

also sounds like it could be a starter issue.
bad spots where the starter is coming to rest.

i have a whinning in my car too, it has 266k, i need to do my iming chain and pulleys im sure.
my batt light and brake light just came on, so does that sound like the ALT? new battery