Hey I was driving home the other night, it was slippery out, I tapped my brakes and they locked (I don't have ABS), and when they locked, my engine cut off...the dashboard lights came on, I lost my power steering, etc. I was able to stop but wonder why the engine shut off. It was cold out and snowing, but this seems like an electrical problem. Any ideas what could cause this?

Your a 5 speed, did you hit the brakes b4 you got to the clutch? Locked up wheels = shut down engine.

What gear were you in? (not sure if it makes a difference)

I don't remember the gear...but why should locked wheels shut down the car just because I didn't get to the clutch in time? I was still going fast enough to be at high enough RPM's to not kill the engine. Otherwise you should never brake in a 5-speed without first engaging the clutch on the off-chance that you'll shut down...even on the highway.

well, if your wheels are locked then they aren't spinning and the rpm's will drop. so, lock up the brakes and the wheels stop causing you to slide then that means your front wheels aren't spinning anymore. well, at least thats the way i see it..

...and stalls out the engine b/c the clutch if the clutch is engaged?

Think about it this way.

What would happen on a perfectly sunny day (ie not slippery out) if you came to a complete stop (reguardless of the gear) without pushing in the clutch? The engine would die, right? Why? Because the wheels stopped turning, which causes the tranny to stop turning, which caused the engine to stop turning....

When it is slick out, it is real easy to lockup the wheels, which kills the engine for the same reason as above.
When this happens to me, the car usually still has enough momentum that I can take my foot off the brake and pop-start the engine, just like nothing happened...

Clear as mud ?

Joe

So if you don't have ABS and have to brake really hard for just a second on the highway and it locks your wheels, you're screwed unless you also pushed the clutch in? Shoot, I brake hard all the time...but I don't push the clutch in unless I know I'm so slow that I'll stall out. If just locking your wheels (regardless of speed) does it, then slamming on your brakes at 90 mph for one second, and locking your wheels in the process, would cause your engine to die. And that has never happened before, even though I know I have locked my wheels without pushing the clutch in before.

I wouldn't worry about it. Usually if you have to brake that hard, stalling isn't going to be a big problem, its worrying about stopping in time!

I got in the habit from day 1 of driving a stick to always press the clutch in while "panic" braking. Its just a reflex now. Stomp with both feet!

...gotta agree with ejj on this one.

If your slamming on your brakes at 90mph, the engine dieing is going to be the last of your worries.

However, if your wheels locked up momentarily (sp?) because you hit a patch of snow, but your car is still moving, as soon as the wheels get a grip again, or you let off the brake, your engine should pop-start itself again...

Joe

I think you should go back to school and learn how to drive stick shift, thats normal to happen when you dont use the cluch. when you break hard you drop speed, before you know it you dont have enough RPM for it not to stall. good luck to you.

Just joking. I dont know what would cause that......

You really should make it a habit to hit both the clutch and brake together during a "hard" stop... If your engine dies, you LOSE your POWER STEERING... try controlling the steering w/o the help of the PS when it's fighting you (when you lose control)... It won't be pretty.

In the rainy weather with a slick oily surface, I like to find an empty parking lot and test the capabilities of my Maxima in the worst case scenario. Under severe brake locking, my Maxima will shut down in Neutral just before the car comes to a stop.

funny thing..about a year back the same thing happened to me, (panic stop, wheel lockup and no abs) and my car shut off too. but the only thing is my car is an auto...well it started up fine and have had no problems since.

i know the purpose of abs...are you telling me that i should purchase a car that has it next time??
well tell nissan they should have made it standard a long time ago