NATS woes making no goes
Thread Starter
Newbie - Just Registered
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
From: Las Cruces, NM
NATS woes making no goes
I was hoping to get some pointers with an issue that we are having with my sister's 2001 Maxima (NATS related).
First, a bit about me. For the last 15+ years I have been a forum junkie and fanboy.... for GM, namely C/H bodies from 1988 up. Think Buick LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville, etc. I don't know many things about many cars beyond that, but, I can be a quick study.
But none of that matters here, because, once again, I am a newb all over again.
At any rate, leading up to this, her car has been plagued with issues with battery terminals and the like, and she was constantly fiddling with the ground terminal when the car would arc out the ground terminal (replacement terminal end). Finally it crapped out in my driveway, and I found corrosion and battery acid everywhere, with a no crank scenario. After a heavy application of baking soda water and a disassembly and cleaning of the positive terminal plates, she's off to the races.
A month later, problems come up again, and the ground terminal snapped in half when she went to give it a poke. She replaced the terminal again, which included chopping the ground wire, and then getting a fresh bit of wire to bolt in to the terminal clamp. The car then cranks, no starts, and then later starts without issue.
Next day rolls around, car cranks, no start again, and after cranking a bit starts slowing down. She calls me, I throw my Actron CP9145 on it (older OBD 1/2 scanner), find code P0420 (chronic), and P1612, which then causes us to look for the Anti-theft flags. Sure enough, security light is coming on steady after 5 seconds of key on.
Some interwebb searches later, I see some association with possible battery/voltage concerns, so we throw a jump box on it, and oddly enough, NATS behaves normally, and the car starts right up. We let it run for about 20 minutes, shut it off. She then goes to leave about 30 minutes later, no start again, NATS related, but then starts with the jump box applied.
She makes the call to replace the 5 year old battery given the circumstances (cheap insurance), and given everything was the same price, we switch from the group 35 to group 24 battery (moar powa!).
Car never started since. Attempted replacing the battery in the parking lot, no change. Tried with jumpbox, nothing. Have it towed to my house, code P1610 is now present with P1612. Clear codes, and attempt to 'escape from lockmode' by turning the key on for 5 seconds, 3 times with a known key (we have two), no change. Disconnected battery fully for 24 hours and charged it fully, and attempted lock mode escape again with both keys, no joy.
Is there anything else I can try or check before we drag this car to the dealer? My gut is saying it's something simple because it was starting with the jumpbox at the end, but I'm flying blind at this point.
Please guide me oh knowledged ones, and thank you in advance for any wisdom you can offer.
First, a bit about me. For the last 15+ years I have been a forum junkie and fanboy.... for GM, namely C/H bodies from 1988 up. Think Buick LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville, etc. I don't know many things about many cars beyond that, but, I can be a quick study.
But none of that matters here, because, once again, I am a newb all over again.
At any rate, leading up to this, her car has been plagued with issues with battery terminals and the like, and she was constantly fiddling with the ground terminal when the car would arc out the ground terminal (replacement terminal end). Finally it crapped out in my driveway, and I found corrosion and battery acid everywhere, with a no crank scenario. After a heavy application of baking soda water and a disassembly and cleaning of the positive terminal plates, she's off to the races.
A month later, problems come up again, and the ground terminal snapped in half when she went to give it a poke. She replaced the terminal again, which included chopping the ground wire, and then getting a fresh bit of wire to bolt in to the terminal clamp. The car then cranks, no starts, and then later starts without issue.
Next day rolls around, car cranks, no start again, and after cranking a bit starts slowing down. She calls me, I throw my Actron CP9145 on it (older OBD 1/2 scanner), find code P0420 (chronic), and P1612, which then causes us to look for the Anti-theft flags. Sure enough, security light is coming on steady after 5 seconds of key on.
Some interwebb searches later, I see some association with possible battery/voltage concerns, so we throw a jump box on it, and oddly enough, NATS behaves normally, and the car starts right up. We let it run for about 20 minutes, shut it off. She then goes to leave about 30 minutes later, no start again, NATS related, but then starts with the jump box applied.
She makes the call to replace the 5 year old battery given the circumstances (cheap insurance), and given everything was the same price, we switch from the group 35 to group 24 battery (moar powa!).
Car never started since. Attempted replacing the battery in the parking lot, no change. Tried with jumpbox, nothing. Have it towed to my house, code P1610 is now present with P1612. Clear codes, and attempt to 'escape from lockmode' by turning the key on for 5 seconds, 3 times with a known key (we have two), no change. Disconnected battery fully for 24 hours and charged it fully, and attempted lock mode escape again with both keys, no joy.
Is there anything else I can try or check before we drag this car to the dealer? My gut is saying it's something simple because it was starting with the jumpbox at the end, but I'm flying blind at this point.
Please guide me oh knowledged ones, and thank you in advance for any wisdom you can offer.
I dont have much to offer on your actual issue but If you want to avoid a trip to the dealer, you can use nissan datascan with a vag kkl cable to reprogram keys. https://www.my4dsc.com/program-altim...ssan-datascan/
Thread Starter
Newbie - Just Registered
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
From: Las Cruces, NM
This is a pretty compelling bit of information. I'll do some research on it to see if I can use it for diagnostics as well. I have no qualms throwing down for this solution if I knew for sure key programming was the issue, or if it would help me take the guesswork out of things.
Thank you, please keep the good news coming!
Thank you, please keep the good news coming!
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 876
From: Lagos, Nigeria
With P1612, the NATS amp/unit fastened to the key cylinder does appear to have given up the ghost. Check also the 15A fuses in the fusebox under the hood. One of them supplies power to the NATS unit. Here's the part# for the NATS unit: 28590-C9901. I should add that there is also a possibility that the ECM is the culprit. Either of the two units (NATS and ECM) was probably breached by a power surge.
Last edited by Costee; Jan 2, 2022 at 11:55 AM.
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