Nissan Dealer Quoted Over 2000 For A New Harness!
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Date: 2022-04-10
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Comments and reviews: 9
Kevin
Folks, if your vehicle is out of warranty, do not take it to the dealer. Dealership techs are not trained to do proper diagnosis and if there isn t a TSB or a clear answer from the diagnostic trouble trees, they are lost. Many vehicle manufacturers now don t even allow diagnostic other than what the scan tool specifies (called guided fault finding. You are far better off going to a reputable independent shop for diagnostic work.
The craziest charging system issue I ever had to diagnose was before I was even a tech (I was still in school. My own car at the time, an 88 Honda Accord with a carb, would run perfectly fine during the day, but with the headlights on or the AC on, it would start to buck and misfire, and the tach would start to jump. The tach was triggered directly off the negative of the coil, so the jumping tach meant that the coil was being fired erratically. I thought I was having an issue with the pick up coil or the ignition module in the distributor until I made the realization that the problem depended on the electrical load. The alternator was putting out excessive AC and causing electrical noise. The electrical noise was enough that it was being picked up by the ignition module and interpreted as an rpm signal, so the ignition module would trigger the spark erratically and at incorrect times, causing bucking/missing and a jumping tach. I threw a new-to-me alternator (I was still a poor student at the time) and it ran perfectly after that. It was a good learning lesson that helped me out a lot during my career later on.
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Folks, if your vehicle is out of warranty, do not take it to the dealer. Dealership techs are not trained to do proper diagnosis and if there isn t a TSB or a clear answer from the diagnostic trouble trees, they are lost. Many vehicle manufacturers now don t even allow diagnostic other than what the scan tool specifies (called guided fault finding. You are far better off going to a reputable independent shop for diagnostic work.
The craziest charging system issue I ever had to diagnose was before I was even a tech (I was still in school. My own car at the time, an 88 Honda Accord with a carb, would run perfectly fine during the day, but with the headlights on or the AC on, it would start to buck and misfire, and the tach would start to jump. The tach was triggered directly off the negative of the coil, so the jumping tach meant that the coil was being fired erratically. I thought I was having an issue with the pick up coil or the ignition module in the distributor until I made the realization that the problem depended on the electrical load. The alternator was putting out excessive AC and causing electrical noise. The electrical noise was enough that it was being picked up by the ignition module and interpreted as an rpm signal, so the ignition module would trigger the spark erratically and at incorrect times, causing bucking/missing and a jumping tach. I threw a new-to-me alternator (I was still a poor student at the time) and it ran perfectly after that. It was a good learning lesson that helped me out a lot during my career later on.
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Jason
I have had 5 issue(s) with Nissan vehicle(s) in my ASE Gold certified career. 1) alternator CLUTCH head failure at over 100, 000 miles. The clutch will fail and the alternator stops spinning. 2) connection failure at alternator, the main alt out pigtail will fail due to high salt exposure (Ohio Rust-belt. 3) Internal PCM regulators are prone to fail easily, why put voltage diode trio IN the f-ing PCM? Chrysler does it too! 4) Bad motor in EPS system. Check with Fluke amps clamp on rack, could be bad clutch/motor assembly in Electric Power Steering unit. 5) wire pinch underbody, some point of suspension is pinching the wire harness to ground, is why the dealer is wanting to replace it! Look for prior work done INCORRECTLY to: control arms, rack, heater hoses, tune up and air filter assembly, you might be surprised to find this is just a wire (or 2 or 3) being rubbed on a metal bracket. Hope this helps. JP in Ohio. Love your videos.
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I have had 5 issue(s) with Nissan vehicle(s) in my ASE Gold certified career. 1) alternator CLUTCH head failure at over 100, 000 miles. The clutch will fail and the alternator stops spinning. 2) connection failure at alternator, the main alt out pigtail will fail due to high salt exposure (Ohio Rust-belt. 3) Internal PCM regulators are prone to fail easily, why put voltage diode trio IN the f-ing PCM? Chrysler does it too! 4) Bad motor in EPS system. Check with Fluke amps clamp on rack, could be bad clutch/motor assembly in Electric Power Steering unit. 5) wire pinch underbody, some point of suspension is pinching the wire harness to ground, is why the dealer is wanting to replace it! Look for prior work done INCORRECTLY to: control arms, rack, heater hoses, tune up and air filter assembly, you might be surprised to find this is just a wire (or 2 or 3) being rubbed on a metal bracket. Hope this helps. JP in Ohio. Love your videos.
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Bert
Hi south main auto, that Nissan you are working on with voltage spikes most likely has electric power steering. This would give you more electrical load when turning steering at slow speed.
Your on the right track. If you haven t load tested battery i would try that.
Modern vehicles are loaded with electronics causing great loads.
Try a good battery, you took care of battery connects. Battery connections and batteries can cause the weirdest things to happen. I am thinking a drop in battery voltage followed by Alternator increasing its output gives you higher voltage. I would check voltage connections on alternator and Test the battery And if there s any question I change out that battery then alternator. Sometimes things turn into a fiasco so you have to go back to the beginning and look for the simple stuff. Good luck fella
PS i know your pain, i used to live in Buffalo.
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Hi south main auto, that Nissan you are working on with voltage spikes most likely has electric power steering. This would give you more electrical load when turning steering at slow speed.
Your on the right track. If you haven t load tested battery i would try that.
Modern vehicles are loaded with electronics causing great loads.
Try a good battery, you took care of battery connects. Battery connections and batteries can cause the weirdest things to happen. I am thinking a drop in battery voltage followed by Alternator increasing its output gives you higher voltage. I would check voltage connections on alternator and Test the battery And if there s any question I change out that battery then alternator. Sometimes things turn into a fiasco so you have to go back to the beginning and look for the simple stuff. Good luck fella
PS i know your pain, i used to live in Buffalo.
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kirbyyasha
I have a Buick Roadmaster where it was doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Driving it, it'd throw codes all over the place, including a code for bad PCM code (94, so pre-OBD-II. It was very intermittent though, it'd run fine, then start acting weird. I did the obvious stuff at first, as power/grounds were all dirty from age, still no change. Using a digital multimeter, I noticed way too much fluctuation on the voltage when running, I decided to remove the alternator trigger wire, took it for a shake, and it drove just fine. Ended up rebuilding the alternator, and it's been a dream since.
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I have a Buick Roadmaster where it was doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Driving it, it'd throw codes all over the place, including a code for bad PCM code (94, so pre-OBD-II. It was very intermittent though, it'd run fine, then start acting weird. I did the obvious stuff at first, as power/grounds were all dirty from age, still no change. Using a digital multimeter, I noticed way too much fluctuation on the voltage when running, I decided to remove the alternator trigger wire, took it for a shake, and it drove just fine. Ended up rebuilding the alternator, and it's been a dream since.
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neville
Absolutely fascinating - is the electric steering rack drawing too much power when it is at full lock?
Maybe she does lots of hard left's 5 miles from home. Would be intresting to check her route.
I have the feeling that most dealerships are not that bright and follow some sort of flow chart. The 'parts cannon' that Rainman talks about.
I always thought that New York was a horrible built up urban slum, however, your area looks quite the opposite. It would be fascinating to see a video of the area.
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Absolutely fascinating - is the electric steering rack drawing too much power when it is at full lock?
Maybe she does lots of hard left's 5 miles from home. Would be intresting to check her route.
I have the feeling that most dealerships are not that bright and follow some sort of flow chart. The 'parts cannon' that Rainman talks about.
I always thought that New York was a horrible built up urban slum, however, your area looks quite the opposite. It would be fascinating to see a video of the area.
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william
Start by saying love the videos, they have helped me as a DIYer several times.
Maybe off topic but our governor is trying to help us out here in NY by pushing electric vehicles Eric. My vision they will be like vaccines, Safe and effective but lots of them on the sides of the road due to low battery and more. Won't be going to napa for a battery for them! I am glad to be 68 so maybe I will miss out on this BS. Can't believe we are following California into electric everything is the answer.
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Start by saying love the videos, they have helped me as a DIYer several times.
Maybe off topic but our governor is trying to help us out here in NY by pushing electric vehicles Eric. My vision they will be like vaccines, Safe and effective but lots of them on the sides of the road due to low battery and more. Won't be going to napa for a battery for them! I am glad to be 68 so maybe I will miss out on this BS. Can't believe we are following California into electric everything is the answer.
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Mark
My guess is battery voltage. PCM and ECM are sensitive to voltage from the sensors, as with any computer and you will get bad readings with overvoltage. Not so much with undervoltage because most sensors are looking for 5 volts or 12 volts. so either a bad alternator OR something to do with the electric PS.
Also an alternator will put out high voltage if it loses contact with the battery.
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My guess is battery voltage. PCM and ECM are sensitive to voltage from the sensors, as with any computer and you will get bad readings with overvoltage. Not so much with undervoltage because most sensors are looking for 5 volts or 12 volts. so either a bad alternator OR something to do with the electric PS.
Also an alternator will put out high voltage if it loses contact with the battery.
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Dave
Hey Eric. What model Autel are you using these days? I'm in the market for a diagnostic unit, and wanted to know what you're thoughts are on the ms906bt? Or if you have a recommendation for another model. Essentially, I am looking for something that covers all bases generously, and without the need to purchase many additional devices. Your response and opinion is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Hey Eric. What model Autel are you using these days? I'm in the market for a diagnostic unit, and wanted to know what you're thoughts are on the ms906bt? Or if you have a recommendation for another model. Essentially, I am looking for something that covers all bases generously, and without the need to purchase many additional devices. Your response and opinion is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Mark
-- I like your starting thought process. With a cascading problem, always start at the top. Eric, I'd look at the regulator next, if it has one. If it doesn't, grounds, PCM, but I'm not hands on. Then the fly by wire steering to the left, though I highly doubt that's the issue. Seems to me it's a regulator, or more likely, something is commanding an over volt. God I miss the 70's.
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-- I like your starting thought process. With a cascading problem, always start at the top. Eric, I'd look at the regulator next, if it has one. If it doesn't, grounds, PCM, but I'm not hands on. Then the fly by wire steering to the left, though I highly doubt that's the issue. Seems to me it's a regulator, or more likely, something is commanding an over volt. God I miss the 70's.
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