Car question

[Al Bundy]

I’ve had an issue plaguing me for a good while now on my hunting rig. 98 Nissan Pathfinder. The very beginning of the story,  I’ve had an annoying electrical gremlin since about 2005. The interior dome light would be on every now and again. That went away and after a while the next issue came up. This was a weird one. Whenever I would hit a bump just right, the power locks would unlock.  That went on a while and stopped. Next was a highly annoying one. The alarm would go off arbitrarily. I pulled the alarm fuse and “fixed” the issue.  Now I have no idea these were related or random separate. I’m thinking related.  I had a distributor go on me and the morons who repaired it replaced the cats, despite my saying it would not fix it. They did a bunch of finger poking, replacing this and that. Some months after all was said and done, my check engine light came on with catalytic efficiency code. It would come on and go for a while until it was on permanently. These were new cats with only a few thousand miles on them. I had to replace some steering parts and after that the light stayed off for 8-9 months. This also tells me the cats are fine. I think the engine light is another manifestation of the electrical issues. But... just a guess. Now the latest is I had a new tranny put in. Check engine light came on with a code for tranny part. Tranny shop was good and replaced it. They were confused though as the part is not a common one to go. My theory is this is now the latest manifestation. Now.. light is on again. I’m wondering all these items are related and each time some replacement happens a loose ground, a  wire touching somewhere it shouldn’t. Something. I really find it weird and coincidental. Also not sure how to fix properly and once and for all. Inspections have been a challenge. ???????

[Jeremy K]

How old is your battery ?

[TreeGuy]

Honestly, electrical Gremlins = sell. If it was the same issue then it may be worth diving into but multiple issues could mean a million things. I'd say, check where the main harness comes through the firewall, check the wires near the ECU and check where they go into the door panels. Could be multiple wires shorting / loose / etc. Good luck !!!

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[mowin]

I know it's not easy, but this thing needed a proper burial long ago.  

[doebuck1234]

6 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

Honestly, electrical Gremlins = sell. If it was the same issue then it may be worth diving into but multiple issues could mean a million things. I'd say, check where the main harness comes through the firewall, check the wires near the ECU and check where they go into the door panels. Could be multiple wires shorting / loose / etc. Good luck !!!

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
 

X2 to this^^^^electrical sucks!!!deff sounds like shorting out somewhere.

[ny hunter]

I agree harness comming thru the fire wall and go from there...goodluck...

[stubborn1VT]

Have the grounds checked and look at the fuse box.  Electrical sux.

[Robhuntandfish]

i dont think they are all related - some of them maybe a broken wire or a bad ground.  I would say mostly it is age and from what i remember a pathfinder (?) is a hard ride suspension?  So a lot of jarring going on there.  But a '98 is a 22 year old vehicle so in 3 years it is actually considered an antique. 15 years is considered a classic.  I think its just wear. 

[First-light]

Not a Pathfinder but my 2007 Tahoe had all kind of electrical issues. Found out that water was dripping from the roof into the main controller for windows and mirrors on the drivers side. These trucks have no rain guards on the windows so even if just condensation it would drip. Horn, lights would go off windows going up and down by themselves along with door locks. Good luck. 

[ApexerER]

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/oem-nissan-pathfinder-body_control_module.html

This is my guess. You should be able to find out online how to test it. Its an expensive part to just guess.....

 

[Steuben Jerry]

I had random electrical problems in a Tundra I used to own. Over a few moths it went from random occasional to frequent in different systems. Found out that rodents attacked the wires in a few different places, and moisture was causing havoc. Was hard to see the damage at first.

[Al Bundy]

Battery has been replaced multiple times since these gremlins. The rig runs great, no rust.  The issues described here are the only issues since 1998 and 200k. Only been in the shop once for repairs. This is the best vehicle I’ve owned, despite the annoying electrical. The original rotors still there and still well within spec.  I have time now to investigate hence the post. Inspection is the real reason to repair. Thanks for posts everyone. 

[phade]

Body control module, wiring harness, or PCM/ECU. Some real sound advice given already.

Look for signs of rodent damage if the vehicle sits for any period of time (hunting rig sounds like not a primary driver to me). I don't know if Nissan did this, but several manufacturers for a period of time used soy-based wire coatings on the harnesses and rodents were induced to chew on them. I know Toyota has that issue and at one point GM did as well.

Electrical problems on a car are the worst. Best of luck on your hunt to fix it!

Edited March 24, 2020 by phade

[fasteddie]

33 minutes ago, phade said:

Body control module, wiring harness, or PCM/ECU. Some real sound advice given already.

Look for signs of rodent damage if the vehicle sits for any period of time (hunting rig sounds like not a primary driver to me). I don't know if Nissan did this, but several manufacturers for a period of time used soy-based wire coatings on the harnesses and rodents were induced to chew on them. I know Toyota has that issue and at one point GM did as well.

Electrical problems on a car are the worst. Best of luck on your hunt to fix it!

My wife had a Buick Century that the guys at the garage called "the Car From Hell" . Car was always parked in our garage when not on the road . Apparently mice had gotten in and chewed some wires at different times . Got rid of that monster !

 

[Steuben Jerry]

39 minutes ago, phade said:

I know Toyota has that issue

Yup, that was mine. Got an '18 Tundra now. And about a zillion mouse traps in the garage.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I had a F-150 that did this as well. The lights would come on at random time. wipers and a host of other things. Turns out the windshield I had replaced was the culprit. It allows a slow drizzle by the windshield and corroded the back side of the fuse box and a few other electrical components. 

[cas]

A good rule of thumb with modern cars, when they start acting wonky or running por, is to check the engine grounds. 

[Arcade Hunter]

On 3/23/2020 at 9:35 PM, Al Bundy said:

I’ve had an issue plaguing me for a good while now on my hunting rig. 98 Nissan Pathfinder. The very beginning of the story,  I’ve had an annoying electrical gremlin since about 2005. The interior dome light would be on every now and again. That went away and after a while the next issue came up. This was a weird one. Whenever I would hit a bump just right, the power locks would unlock.  That went on a while and stopped. Next was a highly annoying one. The alarm would go off arbitrarily. I pulled the alarm fuse and “fixed” the issue.  Now I have no idea these were related or random separate. I’m thinking related.  I had a distributor go on me and the morons who repaired it replaced the cats, despite my saying it would not fix it. They did a bunch of finger poking, replacing this and that. Some months after all was said and done, my check engine light came on with catalytic efficiency code. It would come on and go for a while until it was on permanently. These were new cats with only a few thousand miles on them. I had to replace some steering parts and after that the light stayed off for 8-9 months. This also tells me the cats are fine. I think the engine light is another manifestation of the electrical issues. But... just a guess. Now the latest is I had a new tranny put in. Check engine light came on with a code for tranny part. Tranny shop was good and replaced it. They were confused though as the part is not a common one to go. My theory is this is now the latest manifestation. Now.. light is on again. I’m wondering all these items are related and each time some replacement happens a loose ground, a  wire touching somewhere it shouldn’t. Something. I really find it weird and coincidental. Also not sure how to fix properly and once and for all. Inspections have been a challenge. ???????

This is tough diagnosing  from the armchair but here a few thoughts I have as to track down what is going on.  You will need some good diagnostic equipment and a scope and the wiring diagram for your truck.

First, a full vehicle scan is needed.  Making sure all modules  that your truck has get scanned,  I  would be looking for "U" codes.  U codes tell you that  certain modules lost comms with the ecm.  Fix that stuff first to get comms back.  Check powers and grounds to any modules that are not communicating.  My gut tells me something whacky is going on with the BCM.  Powers and grounds need to be checked using a test light... a headlight bulb works good for a test light cause it will let about 4 amps through the circuit you are testing.. a multimeter will send you on a wild goose chase if you use one to test for powers and grounds cause it's not pushing any amps through the circuit.

The cat inefficiency codes may or may not be the cats...  I've seen stretched timing chains and belts throw cat codes because the engine is running too rich...  Maybe that's why they went after the distributor.  Have to look at fuel trims and see if the ecu is in control of fuel delivery... If the thing is running too rich all along and they replaced the cats and it throws the cat codes, the new cats may be destroyed. (bad news cause its not a cheap date)

The tranny and the cat codes sound like different problems as long as they do not share the same powers and grounds.  Downstream o2's may share that ground. This one is probably going to be a bitch to fix without the proper diagnostic equipment and some electrical expertise..