| venams03 |
I have an '04 Murano with about 80K on the clock. The alternator was replaced about 2 years ago under the recall.
Last night my SES light came on when I was at a stoplight and I could barely get the vehicle moving: No matter how much gas I gave, the engine would only do around 2K rpm. I turned around and limped home because it was late and I didn't want to get stranded on the side of the road.
It's sitting in the garage now. How can I determine what's wrong?
Need some help guys... |
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| venams03 |
call the local Nissan dealer and explained what happened. He said to check the battery.
I asked if the CVT would throw the SES light and make it behave like that and he said it was possible.
Now don't yell guys but I haven't done any service to the CVT such as changing fluid etc.. Figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I know I know
OK, so with cables attached I read 12.5V on the battery which I just replaced this past June. It's a Duralast Gold purchased from Autozone. Got the recommendation from this board:)
Think the battery is the culprit? |
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| zebelkhan |
Did you try restarting the engine? The limp mode happened to mine once a long time ago and restarting the engine fixed it immediately. However, the SES light stayed on and the code pointed and Throttle Position Sensor.
BTW, unless you have a leak from CVT or you have been loading the tranny by towing or abuse, the CVT fluid has no expiration date and is potentially good for the life of the MO. |
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| venams03 |
I didn't want to risk shutting down and restarting while out on the road last night so I drove straight home. I did shut off and it did restart once back home. Engine did rev over 2K in Park. That's about it.
Do you think 12.5 is indicating too low and it's the battery? I'm tempted to try and get to Autozone so they can check the battery. I'm just afraid to get stranded! |
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| njjoe |
If you are out of the powertrain warranty period then I would not even consider taking the car to the Nissan dealer, not unless you recently won the lottery.
I recommend starting the car and see how it is behaving. If the restart cleared the problem then I would take it to an auto parts store that reads the error codes for free (most do). Post the code(s) here and we can tell you what the likely cause of the problem is.
Reading 12.5V at the battery tells you very little. A close-to-dead battery can still show 12.5V when no load is placed on it. How old is the battery? Is it a maintenence-free battery? If not, have you checked the electrolyte (water) level?
-njjoe |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by venams03 I didn't want to risk shutting down and restarting while out on the road last night so I drove straight home.
I can understand your hesitation but I think you would have been pleasantly surprised if you had restarted. When my car went into limp mode, I had read enough about it on this forum to know to try it first. That happened to me when vacationing in Las Vegas and after that I I drove almost 700 miles before getting back to my dealer in California.
Start the car, take it out of the garage, and see how it behaves. Then drive it to Auto zone and have the code read. |
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| venams03 |
Zebel and NJJ;
Started the car and it ran fine just like you had experienced Zebel. SES light still on, drove to Autozone and read code.
P2135 TPS - Throttle Position Sensor - just like you had Zebel! The Duralast Gold battery bought from Autozone was only 3 months old and tested good but they replaced it anyway. They put a computer on the alternator and under load it dropped to around 11.5v / Per the Autozone guy he says the alternator is right on the operating edge and in his opinion is going bad. HMMMM.....
Took it to Nissan. No help. Wouldn't diagnose on the machine or do anything right there. Can get me in around a week. NO THANKS!! I may be stranded by then. Did say that if the recall alternator was bad it was still out of warranty since they only warranty them for 1 yr. Thanks again Nissan!
Maybe it's just that one occurrence like you had Zebel, at least that's what I'm hoping for at this point. I'll be nervously driving my MO around town this weekend |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by venams03
I'll be nervously driving my MO around town this weekend
Don't....I mean don't be nervous...:D
TPS will need to be replaced at some point but there is no rush. I drove my car back from Vegas passing everyone else on the road in 104F heat with A/C on and the original alternator still in and the MO ran just fine! |
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| nafddur |
I had that exact same TPS code (2135) a couple years ago - but my MO didn't go into that weird limp running mode. I just diagnosed the code and then reset it in my garage, using the accelerator procedure outlined in the FSM (section EC - Pg EC-64 in the 04 FSM).
No scan tool is required to do this yourself. After resetting the code, mine never came back. I recommend trying that first. |
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| Eric L. |
| If it threw a code for the TPS, then the problem is likely the TPS, not the alternator. However, my understanding is that they measure the current from the alternator on a load test, not the voltage - it should be pushing 13+ volts all the time, with increasing current when you rev up the engine. |
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| venams03 |
Thanks for all the help guys.
I think I'll start by looking for that resetting procedure on the code unless it will clear by itself. I feel a little better about the info regarding alternator current vs. voltage.
The wife has the MO out on the shopping trip so I'll try to reset the code when she gets back.
Thanks again guys. Gotta love this forum:D |
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| nafddur |
quote:
Originally posted by Eric L.
If it threw a code for the TPS, then the problem is likely the TPS, not the alternator.
Not so coincidentally, there IS a disclaimer in the on board diagnostic (OBD) section of the manual that states `It is impossible to switch the diagnostic mode when an accelerator pedal postition sensor circuit has a malfunction.'
But, as I previously posted I experienced a couple years ago, there are times when a DTC P2135 (TP sensor) is thrown when there really is no problem - just a flukey signal triggering the code.
That's why I always recommend just resetting the SES light (after checking the codes, of course) and then waiting to see if it comes back on again. |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by venams03
The wife has the MO out on the shopping trip so I'll try to reset the code when she gets back.
Wow! What a difference a little information can make. Went from "I am scared to start the car" to "Here wifey...go ahead and take it. It will be just fine"......:D :D :D |
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| venams03 |
quote:
Originally posted by zebelkhan
Wow! What a difference a little information can make. Went from "I am scared to start the car" to "Here wifey...go ahead and take it. It will be just fine"......:D :D :D
Funny Zebel! Really gave me a good laugh.
Nafddur, is that pedal resetting procedure on this board or in a manual somewhere? |
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| nafddur |
quote:
Originally posted by venams03
Nafddur, is that pedal resetting procedure on this board or in a manual somewhere?
The thread with the reset procedure explained in detail (think it might even be a sticky, because it's a very old thread) is referenced in another very recent SES thread - I think in the General Discussion section.
I just read an 11/15 post in that SES thread, and it took me right to the reset procedure (direct from the FSM)
(Yep, I just checked it out again, and the reset SES procedure IS a sticky right here in the Problem section - just scroll up from the menu you used to get into this thread!) |
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