The Nissan Path

Out on a back country track over easter, when i stalled the pathy going up a steepish rutted hill. I tried to restart the car, but sounded like the battery was flat, and just would not turn over, and it knocked out all the dash lights. i was worried as i was by myself and a good 10 kms from any houses. I checked the battery and tried to wiggle the terminals. seemed tight, then tried to start again (but this time i turned the car completely off), which she did first pop. So i carried on up the trail, when i stalled again when changing back out of low range. Exactly the same thing happened , but this time all i did was turn the key off, waited 10 seconds and fired back up, but all the trip computers setting had been reset. now reading through other post, people with similar problems say its the battery posts, i checked for tightness and corrosion and all seems fine. i have noticed this a couple of times when stalling while driving in the city the computer resets it self , so has anyone else struck this problem or can maybe suggest things i can look at. because i would really hate for it to happen and not restart. '07 ST-L TDCi

Definitely sounds battery related. I had the same issue last fall, except mine didn't restart 20km+ from civilization., in a snow storm You'll want to get that looked at

H.

seems to bee the general consensus that it maybe the battery, has any one had issues with their ECU as well.

Did you check the terminals or just the posts? May need to do more than just tighten them.

Last time mine did this I removed the terminals, wire brushed them and re-installed with a good coat of dielectric grease (again)...

I will get off my arse this weekend and look a little deeper at the electrical system.

I should probably clarify...I just wire brushed/sanded the insides of the terminals to make sure the mating surfaces were clean and flat. I didn't wire brush the whole thing.

The current capacity of a junction is directly proportional to a few things including the surface contact area, and by extension contact force. (A fun engineering exercise is making rail gun rails hard enough with a high enough melting point to maintain adequate conductivity through the shuttle while it travels down the barrel, while the same force is trying to push the rails apart and therefore reduce contact.) So problems with either of these will reduce the amount of current available to the starter.

I then re-greased the terminal and battery lugs after they were connected to prevent further oxidation. It's happens once a year or two though, so now I take a 10mm wrench out twice a year just to make sure they're tight.

Long term fix would be new/better terminals but I'm too lazy for that and my 10mm wrench's time is free...

I'm sure you knew all that, I just didn't want someone else reading it to spend their time wirebrushing external rust when it doesn't matter

Well, I went over the battery (electrical) system yesterday, and guess what i found? the Positive terminal was loose on the post. I checked for signs of corrosion and electrical fatigue , but the connections were clean, had a blue wax like corrosion inhibitor painted on the posts and clamps. So i tightened up the positive clamp, and took for a small spin over a fire road near by. I even stalled it on purpose just to replicate the problem, all seemed fine. But will now keep a close eye to make sure that the clamps remain tight. Thanks for the help and advice