Hey guys - it's been a while.

So here's the deal - I'm at a total loss over this one.

My guess: electrical system near-failure.

Symptoms:
1.) The light that illuminates the shifter plate (its an auto tranny) went out about 6 months ago, then came back on briefly and then went out again and hasn't come back.
2.) The audio deck - specifically the CD player - has worked only intermittently for about 6 months and seems to respond to the vehicle being turned off and then back on - reset, so to speak.
3.) This is recent - my driver-side tail-light illuminates as it should until the brakes are depressed, then instead of increasing intensity, it turns off.
4.) Most recently and most disturbing - tonight I return from an errand, run into the house for a second and then head back out to the car to go someplace else and the thing just flat out won't start. I tried to start it a couple of times and then gave up. I had power to all the accessories I tried - windows, locks, lights, windshield wipers, etc. I didn't have time to do anything - so I jumped into my mom's car and left. When I got back home I tried to start my car again and it STARTED without a hitch!

What in the world could that be? I ruled out the starter motor b/c the thing starts now ... it can't be fried (can it?) ... I ruled out fuel pump b/c I drove the car around for quite a while after I got it started tonight and it didn't hesitate or stop running for want of gas.

The only things I can think of are:
A.) Major electrical problem.
B.) I recently put an American flag in the car; perhaps the Mexican-built Sentra's nationalistic sensibilities have been stirred into some form of bizarre retaliation. I'm Native American, so it's probably only tolerated me driving it until this point.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

Mike

 

Where you been, Chief ?.................It HAS been awhile. Glad to have you back.

No, it is not your imagination.....and it's not the Gringo flag either. Newer Sentras.....especially Mexican-built ones..... are distinctly less reliable than the older ones. The Sentra has been removed from Consumer Reports' recommended list.

Now to your problems. The first thing to check with the shift-quadrant bulb ( if the bulb itself is not burned out ) would be a bad socket, then a bad wire. Other possibilities, too...but those are the most likely.

The audio problem......I'm not sure, can't help you there. You might want to have a quailified audio shop look at that.


The brake/tail light problem sounds like either a bad brake-light switch (the switch that is activated when you press the brake pedal to reroute the circut ) or a short in the wiring. Again, it could be other sources, but that is probably the most likely.

On the starter problem....start by simply having the the battery terminals and posts cleaned...there may be enough corrosion to partially block the starter but still give the accessories power. In the old days you could do this yourself just by using a 3/8-1/2" or 10 MM wrench, unscrewing them, and using an ice cream-coned shaped tool with wire brushes to scrape off the corrosion, but with some newer cars it will affect the engine computer and some other electronic features. A shop can do it for you.
If that doesn't work, then have a QUALIFIED shop and technician do a voltage-drop test on the starter. Not every technician knows how to do one properly. Modern cars are very sensitive electronically and the starter motor requires almost EXCATLY 12 volts to crank properly. If you have 12.1 or 11.9 sometimes it will not work. You will, however, have power to other things like windows, door locks, etc........ Again, it could be other things as well, but start with there two.
If you DO have a voltage-drop problem, the technician or service manager can advise you from there....I am not a qualified-enough person to know ALL of the car's wiring and components and I don't want to just lead you on a wild-goose chase.


Good luck

 

Thanks a lot for the welcome back and the information. I've been pretty busy.

My Sentra is a '01 SE which is powered by the somewhat venerable 2.0 liter SR20DE - so I thought I'd be able to avoid some of the reliability problems of the 1.8-powered Sentras - but it appears that I was mistaken.

I'll probably end up taking the car into Northside, the Nissan dealership where I bought the car. They have one of the best service departments of any dealership around.

I'm a little alarmed that these sorts of problems are cropping up around 60k miles. It'll probably be necessary for me to keep the car for at least another three years.

Mike

 

After years of electrical work on cars, boats, RV's and bikes, I am convinced that DC electrics are probably the largest contributor to insanity on the planet. Especially mine.

First, have an auto retailer like Auto Zone do a load test on your alternator and battery to be sure that they are in good condition. As mm notes, all kinds of craziness ensues in today's electrics when the basics aren't right. Next, visually inspect the shift quadrent light - since that seems to be a good candidate for your probl***s point of origin. Like mm said, remove the lamp and proceed to check out each electrical function one by one. Is the proper voltage present with the key on and the engine running/off? That tail light would seem to be a ground fault - check out that circuit first - it sounds like an independent problem.

Now that you've driven yourself nuts, insure heavily and set fire to the car . . . j/k!

If I had to guess, it would seem that your battery voltage is low, meaning an internal short or more likely, a dead cell. That load test should tell you if this is the case. We've had a lot of these kinds of gremlins strike owners over in the RX forum, strange displays, odd responses from the radio/CD stack, starter problems, etc. - caused by a seemingly sound battery that is actually in its death throes. If your battery is over 36 months old, or if you have discharged it deeply in the last six months (most modern batteries are good for only one deep knee bend), that's the first place I'd look. More often than not, a new battery solves the RX electrical problems. At least it's cheaper than some other solutions.

Of course, my Cherokee bride usually recommends burning feathers on a ceremonial stone . . . I don't know if it helps, but the smell does take your mind off the problem . . .

 

Ha! Thanks a lot for the info. Before I initiate contact w/ the dealership - I think I'll take the car to autozone and have them run the alt load test and batt check.

The battery is the OEM that came w/ the car four years ago.

Thanks again mmarshall and Lil4x!

M.