Hello everyone,

I have a 2003 Maxima, last night I was near the end of an hour long drive, going 35mph when the RPMs dropped and the engine stopped. A few seconds later, while keeping my foot on the pedal, the RPMs shot back up to 2,500 and the car would jump a few feet, but then the engine would die again. Every time this happened the TCS and ABS lights would go on. I live in Western New York State, we've had alot of snow and it's common for roads to have a light layer of snow on them. I made it into a parking lot where I noticed the wheel wells packed with built up snow, I removed all the snow, waited about 10 minutes, then started it back up and it seemed to have been fine. I had to make the hour long drive home, and for about 30 minutes it was fine but then started up again on the thruway. I pulled over to the shoulder, turned off the car and started it back up, after a few tries to worked, but it seemed everytime I attempted to merge back into traffic and went over the rumble strips it would die.

I asked a few friends and one mentioned that he has had several cars where built up snow in the wheel wells would set off the TCS and cause this, I would like to think that is it but I wanted to ask for a more professional opinion.

Thanks everyone.

 

ABS/TCS and SLIP ABS/SLIP or some variation of the three have come on my car (2002) and these fixed it

Battery
Ignition coil
rear ABS speed sensor
Alternator

Odd eh!

 

I replaced the battery last winter, the weird coincidence is I just got it inspected yesterday morning, so I feel like blaming New York State's inspection computer for messing something up.

 

TCS/SLIP light combo is cam/crank sensors, you have similar symptons so.... ?

probably that or the alternator as george_ mentioned

 

I would say look for your alternator to die very soon.

 

Hey everyone, just wanted to give a brief update.

It was in-fact the alternator, it didn't give me any issues for almost 2 weeks, then started again while leaving a parking lot. I pulled over, left the car running for a minute or so, started seeing a good amount of smoke, opened the hood and saw a tiny, lighter sized flame coming from the cables attached to the alternator. I quickly threw snow onto it and had it towed to my mechanic. The damage was only to the alternator and the cables, however the sheer amount of snow here in the Northeast made it impossible to find cheap replacement parts at local junkyards.

I got it back on Friday, but as I was driving to work this morning, after stopping at a red light, I move my foot from the brake to the gas, the RPMs rev but the car doesn't move for a second or two, then it jumps into gear. Happened a few times during my 20 minute drive, it's not stalling or making any weird noises, but I guess it's back to the mechanic.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

^
Good luck