The Nissan Path

I'm having an odd problem. Yesterday I was driving across a set of railroad tracks at a good pace when my engine stalled. Today it happened again. I am by no means crossing the tracks like the "Dukes of Hazard" , but it is a pretty good jolt when I cross.

This happened about a year ago, I hit a large pothole on the interstate while on cruse control and the vehicle shutdown. But until yesterday it hasn't happened since. When it shuts down the engine, I do not loose electrical...radio, AC, etc stay on. But the engine stalls. If I put in in natural and try to re-crank it while coasting it will start for a sec, then die again.

If I pull over, put it in park, turn the key off, then restart it, it starts. But seems to idle rough. After a few revs, it returns to normal. It almost seems like there is some kind of kill switch (like a fuel-pump cut-off) that is activating after the initial bumb? I have check it each time after the stall, and I am getting no lights or codes?

Anyone else experiance a engine shutdown or stall after a medium size road bump? Thanks!

I have no experience with your symptoms, but I'd start with the basics.....
check battery cable & clamp condition, in addition to the tightness of the clamps on the battery posts (even with a tight pinch bolt, the clamp may pivot on the posts, esp. the negative cable clamp)

Yes, I did that and.. Good battery, good connections. I also checked that all the fuses were in tight. Tomorrow I will check all connections I can find.

When it first happened I was surprised. But when it happened today I realized what had happened and immediately took stock of the situation. As I say, no loss of electic, not even momentary. Just an engine shutoff with all dash lights coming on.

In the old days I would say a loose coil wire, but with each cylinder having its own coil/injector, it must be happening before that. and the fact that it starts rough then returns to idle after a few hard revs, acts like a fuel issue??, (maybe electrically induced, like a fuel pump shut-offs that engages during an accident). I know the Fords had an issue with that some years back.

The fact that it is not throwing a code makes me think it's power related.. As the system should go into granny mode and NOT shutdown motor, if it was sensor or component related... and it should give a code, I would think? I had a cam sensor do the same on an Excursion, but it always threw a code.

Since it has only happened at medium to high speed, its pretty unnerving to loose power steering and power/abs brakes .

*more research ... I have read here that the IPDM relay can cause sudden engine shutdown as well, and is a common issue. But I think most produce codes? I went ahead and ordered one for a few bucks from http://www.courtesyparts.com. Worth the effort.

I see a few people have the entire IPDM available for $150.. Not sure I'm ready to do that yet. Damn I wish I had a code...

Can always try the Ford trick and shake every harness you can get a hand on easily. Just start the car and give everything a healthy, but no destructive shake.

Its amazing what pops up. Hopefully its nothing to do with fuel pump wiring.

Time will tell, I guess. Spent the day checking, tightening, and cleaning every connection I could find. Hoping "eieio" is correct and it was something basic. The aftermarket battery that it came with is at least 2 years old, and a brand I have not seen, so I went ahead and replaced it with a Diehard gold.

The other thing I realized was it only happens (has occurred 3 times in 18months) when in 4x4 Auto, on dry pavement, when I hit a hefty bumb after prolonged period of driving at interstate speed. But it has never happened when driving aggressively with much larger bumps off-road. Tomorrow I'm going to replace the transfer case fluid and I'm going to use 2 wheel drive, not Auto, for a while to see if that helps. I normally drive in auto most of the time. I did notice that when it starts after the engine stall that the front wheels felt fully engaged, almost as if it was in 4x4 low. After a few cycles of the gears & transfer it then seems fine.

I'll update if it happens again. Fingers crossed...

A bit late but vehicles being produced since whenever have included a fuel cut off switch activated by inertia, IE: the big bumps. Had a friend who was able to set his off in an '01 Focus by going over certain train tracks a certain way. Exact same symptoms but this one was a manual reset IIRC. Designed so that engines don't stay running. /fuel pumps pumping when in accidents. If I were you I'd look into that and try bypassing it then repeat your test to see if it's faulty or going out.

Fords have inertia switches, but not Nissans.

Dammit! Here I thought I had a good idea.

blink32 wrote:Dammit! Here I thought I had a good idea.

That was my first thought, as I had a similar issue with a ford years back. So far it hasn't returned since tightening everything and replacing Batt., but it's been infrequent in the past, so only time will tell.