Topic: Post Mojave Road adventures

[xxSVxx]

so, Monday night....driving home from Mission Viejo....she throws a code

Ok....should really be expected with the weekend she had....but ok

tues comes and goes

Wed afternoon....go to start her up, and the starter turns like it normally does....but she doesn't start

i give it an extra few seconds of trying to turn....nada

turn her all the way off.  key out of ignition and all

back in, try again....give her a little gas, and she starts

but now there's no code

drive home, park her.  hook up w/ friend for dinner and she drives

go to drive to work this am

click.

pop the hood....battery cables are fine.  not really moving at all.  i manage to wiggle an secondary wire loose on the negative....but both main connections are firm


am i look at alternator issues?  i think i read somewhere on TNX that the X's alternator sits low in the engine compartment, and we did ford some pretty high water this past weekend....

any and all help/advice is appreciated

thx

[RBduffer]

Does your X have Batt. gauge or just an 'idiot light'?  You should have noticed a discharge or red light on a bad alt.

Look up codes and see what they say.

Charge battery.  (cheapish trickle charger will work best)

Remove and clean Batt. terminals, fix the little Neg. wire that you mentioned.

If the battery is over 4 years old, replace it.

Most battery shops will give you a free batt. vs. charging system test.  BUT, you must have the battery fully charged first.

FWIW when my alts failed due to river crossings, it was rusted bearings not the wiring inside.

Hopefully it's your loose wire or another little wire that came loose near the alt.

[steve c]

May have jared something loose or had a forced hydro injection into sensitive areas.  ()

Not sure how this could have happened with your delicate approach to river crossings

Post Mojave Road adventures

[xxSVxx]

May have jared something loose or had a forced hydro injection into sensitive areas.  ()

Not sure how this could have happened with your delicate approach to river crossings

Post Mojave Road adventures

yeah, i knew the potshots were coming....

thanks for the help steve

[xxSVxx]

Does your X have Batt. gauge or just an 'idiot light'?  You should have noticed a discharge or red light on a bad alt.

Look up codes and see what they say.

Charge battery.  (cheapish trickle charger will work best)

Remove and clean Batt. terminals, fix the little Neg. wire that you mentioned.

If the battery is over 4 years old, replace it.

Most battery shops will give you a free batt. vs. charging system test.  BUT, you must have the battery fully charged first.

FWIW when my alts failed due to river crossings, it was rusted bearings not the wiring inside.

Hopefully it's your loose wire or another little wire that came loose near the alt.

I have a battery gauge that shows hi/low levels of juice, and it was smack dab in the middle whenever I checked it throughout the trip....and I check every gauge often while on long trips like that

I will check all wires and see if I can't pin it down to something like that....the battery is about 1yr old but it is a Walmart battery, so I am not opposed to buying a new battery either

Thanks Randy

[steve c]

yeah, i knew the potshots were coming....

thanks for the help steve

I wish I could contribute more, but I defer to Jordan and the Electrical Super Intendant, Sir Duffman of Fallbrook.

[xxSVxx]

I wish I could contribute more, but I defer to Jordan and the Electrical Super Intendant, Sir Duffman of Fallbrook.

yet, you keep posting.  as if you have anything to contribute.

[Ghost65]

yet, you keep posting.  as if you have anything to contribute.

Wow...sounds like a Channel 8 broadcast...don't make me moderate you before mod day. 

Back to your issues...what Randy said, and take a moment to clean your engine bay. 

I bet there are some salty dirt particles crusted in electrical places causing havoc on your rig.  Gen 2 Xterra's can be electrical gremlin magnets, and unless it's all connected/conducted correctly, you will get some bizarre codes/behaviors for sure.  A wash with a good degreaser and fresh water is always a good start post desert/water crossing tripping.

FWIW...I used Wal Mart batteries exclusively and had some charging/discharging issues over time...the Taco came with a Die Hard and I haven't experienced any issues (mostly ARB fridge drain related) since.

[Ghost65]

so, Monday night....driving home from Mission Viejo....she throws a code....Wed afternoon....go to start her up, and the starter turns like it normally does....but she doesn't start....i give it an extra few seconds of trying to turn....nada....turn her all the way off....key out of ignition and all....back in, try again....give her a little gas, and she starts

This all sounds very IPDM/ECU/Cam timing sensor related behaviors.  The Ghost suffered all three during ownership.  Search those acronyms for help and symptom tie ins.  Keep documenting behaviors, its all evidence of a root cause that will surface.

Were you able to scan for the code/SES thrown?

[xxSVxx]

Wow...sounds like a Channel 8 broadcast...don't make me moderate you before mod day. 

Back to your issues...what Randy said, and take a moment to clean your engine bay. 

I bet there are some salty dirt particles crusted in electrical places causing havoc on your rig.  Gen 2 Xterra's can be electrical gremlin magnets, and unless it's all connected/conducted correctly, you will get some bizarre codes/behaviors for sure.  A wash with a good degreaser and fresh water is always a good start post desert/water crossing tripping.

FWIW...I used Wal Mart batteries exclusively and had some charging/discharging issues over time...the Taco came with a Die Hard and I haven't experienced any issues (mostly ARB fridge drain related) since.

what happened on channel 8 stays on channel 8

i will definitely clean the bay....ironically enough, when i aired up, the bay was clean from the crossings....but i'll get a degreaser and hose her down good

I'll fidget around with the connections and see if that's not the problem....they were just so loose before and so obvious, and when I checked them last night, they didn't budge aside from the wire I spoke about

i didn't get time to get the code scanned and was going to do it this weekend, but the code disappeared yesterday....ironic that i wish it were around so i could scan it and figure it out....but, hey....no code = no worries.....right?

[Celt]

You guys mean to say you drove through that stinky water? Duffman and I had the local ferry come over and load us up for the crossing. Shesh, amateurs.......

[Ghost65]

I'll fidget around with the connections and see if that's not the problem....they were just so loose before and so obvious, and when I checked them last night, they didn't budge aside from the wire I spoke about

This is the deceptive part...engine bay/battery tray vibrations/dirt contamination can cause intermittent connection issues.

[RBduffer]

That was by far the deepest I've seen those creeks.  Celt and I tip toed through them (on top of the ferry).
 As you guys know, I like to drive safe and sane at all times

No lights is a good thing but the No-Start must be looked into.  Keep us posted.  Mod day is comming soon.

[xxSVxx]

I think I narrowed it down to the positive terminal.

Key word being THINK.

I tightened the negative, tightened the wing-nut on the top....

Checked the positive and it had a little wiggle in it.

Going to remove the whole thing tomorrow morning and try cleaning it off and maybe replacing the hardware with the hardware I have from the replacement set to see if that will do the trick.  If not, I may just try to replace the terminal itself like Toro and I did in the AVI parking lot.  I'm just not so sure about what to do w/ the big fuse box thing, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Thanks for the solid advice as always, fellas....

[xxSVxx]

WHO HAS 2 THUMBS AND TINKERED ON HIS TRUCK ENOUGH TO GET HER STARTED???

THIS GUY!!!!!


Removed the positive; swapped it out with the new marine terminals I bought on the way to TMR; re-fitted all the gadgets save for one on the new terminal....(there is one that is held on via magic)

Anyway...tightened the new terminal down....re-attached older-newer negative me and Toro fixed Fri morning at the AVI....

Boom.  Started right up.

SAWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET