so about two days ago while driving home my car randomly turned the e-brake and the alternator light on and the auto trans locked into 3rd gear. when i got home i could not start it in park or neutral. today i had it towed to the stealership and they told me that because i upgraded my battery cables to 1/0 gauge for my cars stereo that i had fryed every component of the car...

just one thing, when they jump the starter the engine runs great and there are no codes in the ecu. and my stereo and everything else but the starter and trans works. my thought is that it might be the tcu freaking out and blowing the imobilizer fuses and stuff....

anyone have any thoughts?

 

What dealership told you this? Running a 0 ga wire off of the battery wouldn't fry components, unless you did something wrong. Is your car drivable after jumping the starter? Have you checked your fuses and fusible links? Did you smell burning electronics or see smoke when this happened? I trust you used a fuse at the battery when installing the amp wire.

 

BULL****

 

gladstone nissan in miluakie oregon. yea it drives but stays locked in third and yup i always use a fuse withe my amps and if it was the cabe then why would it blow two weeks after i put the cable on? never had any smells come from anywhere when it happend and no smoke at all ether. and i couldnt check them because of a dead $500 multimeter(go figure) just frustrated and i want my baby back lol

 

I believe being stuck in 3rd gear is safety mode or something like that.. I remember reading a while ago about it and you have to follow a certain process to reset it to normal. Hectic probably knows what I'm talking about.

 

Sounds like you might have blown the fusible link to the alternator. why I don't know, unless you shorted something during the cable install or left something undone which eventually worked loose.

check/replace the fusible links and then reset the TCU and see what happens.

 

TCU resets itself with a simple power cycle of the ignition. done it a few times myself before my a/t blew up.

 

This repeatedly happened to me years and years ago upon my initial install of the original WSP y-pipe. It would repeatedly blow the ENG CONT. fuse as well as one of the fusible links in the engine bay (can't remember which one).

After months of pulling my hair out, I finally noticed that the o2 sensor bung placed the o2 sensor right up against the gusset for the control arm. Eventually, it frayed all the o2 sensor wires, and it would repeatedly short out thus blowing my fuses. Once I contacted WSP and they sent me a y-pipe with a better placed o2 bung, and a new o2 sensor, it fixed the issue completely.

So, long story short - check your o2 sensor wires for fraying/shorting

(also, I've been to Clackamas several times )

 

these old OBD I cars rarely throw any codes.

James is probably on the right track. There could be a blown fuse or a short somewhere.

My thought is that likely you have a bad alternator and the loss of power in the system caused some kind of electronic malfunction.

For example, on my old QX4, the alternator started to go out and from time to time the gauges all went crazy. Then, the car started running funny. Different dummy lights would light up (not all at once). Initially, I thought I had some kind of electrical short. Replacing the alternator ($400!) fixed everything.

I would get your alternator tested.

Sounds like the dealership didn't do much checking into it. I imagine they could give a frog's butt about old cars like ours. If you seriously have a problem, take it to Nissan Specialty on NE Halsey in Portland. It's around 72nd or so. That guy has been very honest with me and seems like he loves Nssans as much as most of us. He also knows a lot about the VE. I quizzed him on it pretty good when I took the Q in there. haha

OH,

if you need any of the big fuses or anything let me know. I have a whole box full of them that I pulled from my parts car. Just tell me what color it is or show me what it looks like in a photo.

 

well its possible that the trans computer dumped it went in to limp mode.
you can usually pull the computer and open it up check the board for burn marks.
this is a easy check to do.

 

well after over an hour on the phone with them telling them that there was no way the cables could have done anything (because the fuse from the alternator wasnt blown) they got off the phone and got off there *** and found a shorted vtc solenoid that was blowing fuses left and right ( i guess) and they told me that it was drivable again without the vtcs. but they have to replace the problem for free because of the warrenty on the parts they put in and i should have it back tomorrow. Cliff thanks for the advice on the nissan shop. the next time anything happens I know where im going to go, and thanks for the offer on the fuses. if any of them blow i will hit you up.

 

Dang, I have the VTC solenoids, too.

For your current situation, it sounds like you are hammering the stealership and hopefully they resolve the problem. I have actually bought two Nissans from that place (back when it was Thomason), but never had any work done. Actually, I had one recall issue on a pickup I bought, but everything was free and they gave me an Altima for a few days.

I think your issue would have been a tough one to diagnose, so I am glad they are working with you. I bet most of those mechanics haven't worked on many VEs and have a tough time figuring them out. At my local dealership, I know more about my engine than most of their mechanics. I have spoken with them before and told them about stuff. Not that they aren't good mechanics, but they rarely see these cars and most of the VEs are long gone from the roads.

If you don't have an emergency, in the future try to check on this board first, then go to Nissan Specialty. I have saved myself hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars fixing things myself (or with other board members) with lots of help from the people here.

 

+1 for Specialty Nissan guy. If I needed a mechanic that is definitely the shop I would go to. I once drove there just to ask him a question instead of posting a thread here, simply because I knew I'd get a quick and accurate answer, and the shop wasn't too far away.

My pops bought his 3rd gen from Thomason.



I'm the reason for that totaled remark Would be fun to run a VIN check on it but i'm sure it was crushed, I really did a number to it. Unfortunately the Polaroids are gone

Good to know they're fixing it for free. Did you have the VTCs replaced/rebuilt there or something?

 

nah not hammering them most of the hour was helping him try and figure out the problem and try and figure out what it was. the next time i have a problem i will hit up the guy you are taking about now that i know he is there lol. anyway they said the solenoids and connectors where bad and after only 3 months too. its a shame but i only have to pay for the connectors and thats only about $50 because of the warrenty. hey hectic do you have to original window sticker??? and yea i had the vtc's done and a recall i just dont remember what it was

 

so now im pissed. the dealer called me today and said my car was read to go. so i went out after work and tryed to take it home. i looked down and noticed that my ebrake handle was cocked off twards the drivers side at about 45* angle. and the ebrake was stuck on about half way with no light on the dash. and the drivers door hinges were busted as well as the latch that holds the door close and it was busted in 3 pieces. they said it was like that when it came in but everything was fine when it went in and the tow truck driver says everything was fine when he dropped it off as well. i just dont know what to do.

 

Don't stand for it. do you have any recent photographs of the interior, before it went in?

 

dang, I don't know what to tell you on that one. Sounds like BS to me.

get a lawyer?

usually threats of legal action bring results.

 

i do actualy have a lawyer my aunt and i have pics of the interior and the outside before and after

 

So a certified Nissan technician bent your e brake handle 1/8th of a complete circle, ruined your door latch and put 20 years worth of wear on your door hinges in a day?

Yeah I have the window sticker.

 

well i have pics before and after i gave my car to them and when they tryed to give it back. before there was nothing wrong with it other than the above post. and after, i had bad hinges and a latch as well as the bent ebrake. they fixed the ebrake but wanted $30 to adjust it to not lock the rear going down the road, and the hinges would have been $45 each and $175 for the latch and they still refuse to tell me how the hell all of this happened.


and I thought i might have been the only one who still had to original sticker lol