I have searched this forum for somebody who has had the same exact problem as me but i cant seem to find any answers. I have a 2010 Maxima SV with 57,000 and this past weekend i was driving on the turnpike when suddenly the car completely went dead including the instrument cluster, ac, and navigation/radio. I pulled onto the shoulder and was immediately able to start the vehicle back up with no indication of any problems. I continued driving without the car stalling for the rest of the trip. The next day I was pulling out of a parking lot and the same exact thing happened and i was able to start it right back up. Everything seemed to be ok once again until the following morning i went to start the car and the car appeared to have a dead battery. I tried to jump it but was unsuccessful. I noticed that the power locks/trunk and the headlights seemed to work without any hesitation or dimming. after doing some research, i learned that the reason the car might not be starting is due to the steering lock module which prevents the ignition to work. This is a common problem in 2009/2010 models. The symptoms of the bad steering lock system are consistent with what is going on with my car right now except for the stalling that occurred the prior two days. I am going to pull the steering lock fuse to see if i can bypass that system and see if she fires up. On a side note, My power steering pump had gone out about a week earlier and i did not have a chance to replace it yet. It has a slow leak which makes it hard to turn at lower speeds. other then that the power steering is pretty functional. I am kinda curious as to the faulty steering pump to have caused problems with the serpentine belt which may have caused problems with slippage on the alternator pulley. The one thing with that theory is that when the car stalled, there wasnt any type of battery icon on the instrument cluster, in fact, the instrument cluster was completely off. If anybody has any suggestions, i would really appreciate it.

 

are you running with the original battery?

 

This sounds very much as what happened to me when my alternator went. No idiot light at all came on. If I were able to jump the car it may rev fine in park or neutral but would not go at all when in gear (or only for a short while) I guess it may be possible, given your issues with the ps pump and belt that it is only slippage (let us hope!) our 7th Gens require removal of the AC compressor to get to alternator....turning a DIY $100 project into a $850 and up problem!

 

The battery is about a year old. I do not think it is the alternator because i cannot even get the car to turn to accessory. When i push the start button. i get absolutely nothing. The headlights and interior lights are bright as can be when i turn them on which tells me that the battery has a charge, at least enough of a charge to turn the car to accesory without starting it. There is an icon on the dash telling me to press the brake but when i do it, i get nothing.

 

I'd bring it to a auto zone or whatever and have them test the battery and alternator

 

Sounds like you have both the steering lock issue and a charging system issue. Double whammy!

 

thank you all for your answers and suggestions. i thought it was the steering lock issue but when i went to pull the fuse for it under the hood, it was already missing. Also, when i sit in the car with the ignition off, i can turn the wheel fully to both sides without it locking. This is mind boggling to me because the symptoms are exactly the same as the steering lock problem. I wonder if every 7th gen is equipped with this system or not.

 

Yea FWIR steering lock issue was only for the 09's so you can rule that out.

 

I would check the fusible links in the engine compartment. A bad connection there could cut power to the car as you describe. Best to make sure the fusible links are all secure. This may include reinstalling them to make sure that are all secure. You should also make a good visual inspection of that area.

Check out the FSM Power Supply and Ground section PG. Power supply routing pages PG 6-24. If you can read block diagrams you can get an idea of what part of the circuits may be malfunctioning. You can narrow things down by finding out exactly what circuits lose power and which circuits continue to function when the problem occurs.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Maxima/

It may not be a fusible link issue but I would suspect you are loosing power at Link "A" 250 amp or link "E" 100 Amp. Could be other reasons you are losing power but if power disappears here the car will shut off. You will also lose Nav and AC. If/when it happens again see if your horn works. That will help confirm that you are losing power to those circuits.

Does the entire vehicle lose power or do some circuits continue to function when this problem occurs?

 

Nopike, thank you for those diagrams, i am going to double check all of the fusible links tomorrow. Currently, the horn honks when pressed, keyless entry works, interior lights, headlights/brakelights are all working. I just cant get the car to turn on to accesory or start. When i push the start button. The little light on the switch says lock. The only thing that has me hesistant is that both times that the car turnes off, it turned right back on. That leads me believe that the links are good. I did notice corrosion on the positive battery terminal. I am going to clean that up as well to see if that makes a difference but I doubt it will because the features i mentioned earlier work as they should without any dimming or hesitation. I should at least be able to put the car on accessory without actually starting the car.

 

So the power loss issue is intermittent. But the assy and start issue is constant? In that case you are dealing with a power control issue. Section PCS of the FSM. Page PCS-65of the FSM mentions a 10 Amp fuse #9 maybe it is the ignition lock fuse you mentioned.

Your intelligent key battery could cause issues with getting into assy or start mode. You would probably get a message displayed in the vehicle if that is the case. Try another key or new battery. Insert the key in the key holder slot of the car.