As of recent a few things have started occurring with my Pathfinder. I am hoping someone may have had a similar issue and that a common ground may be at fault. Here is whats going on:
- Speedometer randomly stops working
- Cruise control stopped working (would still work if the speedo stopped)
- The tail lights/dash lights have about a 5 minute delay from when I turn on the headlights
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Electrical Issues
Moderator: volvite
-
PhdPerformance
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:52 am
- Location: Albany, OH
-
PhdPerformance
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 9:52 am
- Location: Albany, OH
You might find this strange...
Its fixed! Now first of all, I don't recommend this for anyone to try..but here it goes. This past Saturday I went trail riding with some buddies and I tried to hit this swampy mud hole. Unfortunately, it was too deep and soggy and I got stuck and the engine just crapped out on me and turning the key did nothing at all. There was 4" of water in the cab (we all know where the ECU is). Also at this point the corner/dash/taillights came on permanently along with the annoying tone when you leave your headlights on and take the key out.
My buddy pulled my Pathfinder out of the hole onto flat ground. To test and see if the water had killed the starter I jumped the starter signal wire to the battery. The motor just rotated a few millimeters and stopped. Bad news. I pushed the Pathfinder into a sunny area and went back to the shop for tools.
When I got back I pulled the plugs and 5 of 6 had signs of water on them. I bumped the starter again and I got drenched in gas and swamp water. After cycling the motor over for a minute or so I popped all but 1 plug back in. I used the last one to test for spark. What we found was a big healthy spark. So I put the last plug in and went for a test fire. It fired right up and ran on just a few cylinders for about 10-15 seconds then died. We tried to start it again, by now the procedure was I had to turn the key to the start position while my buddy Luke hit my jump wire to the battery. But this time I noticed something different....no fuel pump sound. So we tested for spark. None.
We knew that the ECU had to be the culprit since it had been submerged. So I pulled out the passenger seat and right away you could see the plastic cover had crud on it. We popped the top of the ECU and found the motherboard was covered in slime. I used some starting fluid to clean it off but it basically just froze the mud so we put the ECU up against Luke's radiator to dry it out. After 20 minutes or so we popped it back into the Pathfinder. It fired right up. I kept on the gas until the idle smoothed out to normal and I drove it home.
I have been parking it outside in the sun with the windows down since then to dry out the inside. But today I couldn't take the smell anymore so I pulled out the carpet. At one point as things started drying off I put the negative battery cable on the battery and I noticed there was no more constant tone....no corner lights. I hooked the starter back up to the factory signal wire...turned the key...it fired right up. I then tried the headlights..the dash lights and taillights came on instantly.
I LOVE THIS TRUCK.
My buddy pulled my Pathfinder out of the hole onto flat ground. To test and see if the water had killed the starter I jumped the starter signal wire to the battery. The motor just rotated a few millimeters and stopped. Bad news. I pushed the Pathfinder into a sunny area and went back to the shop for tools.
When I got back I pulled the plugs and 5 of 6 had signs of water on them. I bumped the starter again and I got drenched in gas and swamp water. After cycling the motor over for a minute or so I popped all but 1 plug back in. I used the last one to test for spark. What we found was a big healthy spark. So I put the last plug in and went for a test fire. It fired right up and ran on just a few cylinders for about 10-15 seconds then died. We tried to start it again, by now the procedure was I had to turn the key to the start position while my buddy Luke hit my jump wire to the battery. But this time I noticed something different....no fuel pump sound. So we tested for spark. None.
We knew that the ECU had to be the culprit since it had been submerged. So I pulled out the passenger seat and right away you could see the plastic cover had crud on it. We popped the top of the ECU and found the motherboard was covered in slime. I used some starting fluid to clean it off but it basically just froze the mud so we put the ECU up against Luke's radiator to dry it out. After 20 minutes or so we popped it back into the Pathfinder. It fired right up. I kept on the gas until the idle smoothed out to normal and I drove it home.
I have been parking it outside in the sun with the windows down since then to dry out the inside. But today I couldn't take the smell anymore so I pulled out the carpet. At one point as things started drying off I put the negative battery cable on the battery and I noticed there was no more constant tone....no corner lights. I hooked the starter back up to the factory signal wire...turned the key...it fired right up. I then tried the headlights..the dash lights and taillights came on instantly.
I LOVE THIS TRUCK.
Last edited by PhdPerformance on Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Find Your Forum!