1999 Pathfinder car dies randomly.

A forum for the legendary Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4.
nodashi
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:04 pm
Car: 1999 Nissan Pathfinder

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Im trying to figure out what is causing my pathfinder to randomly die. Here are the situations where the are dies.
When the are in idling and i turn on the heater or headlights or electric windows anything that uses some electricity the car will die. Not all the days its random sometimes it doesnt kill the car. Then it cranks back up and car works again.
When I'm driving and i let out from gas and apply brakes. The engine will die and most of the time and restart in a couple of seconds. One time the car died on a red light and wouldnt restart until a few minutes later when i pushed the car off the main road.
Just to clarify when I say the car dies. I mean everything that uses electricity wont work like the hazard lights or the radio. And then randomly it will work again either in a couple of seconds or in a few minutes. I dont think its the battery because it has no issues cranking over when the car dies and restarts. And the alternator is showing 14 volts when the car is running. My current guess is a grounding strap. What do you guys think is causing this issue and what ways could I diagnose it to figure out the issue. Thanks :)


User avatar
VStar650CL
Technical Expert
Posts: 11931
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 1:25 pm
Car: 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL
2004 Nissan Altima 2.5 S

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The fact that it dies when you turn on an electrical load means you almost certainly have a high resistance someplace in either your power or ground bus. Here's the right way to check it:
post6817410.html?hilit=ground#p6817410

The post specifically addresses grounds, but voltage-drop testing is just as effective at locating bad power connections. Where you see a big change is where the resistance lies.


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