2015 Altima - DTCs C1154, C1103, P17F1

[darkclan]

About a year ago, my Altima's ABS and traction control light comes on. C1103 and P17F1 showed up at the time with ODB reader. I tried to replace speed sensor, but it wasn't it. A new speed sensor did not fixed the problem. I did some inspections and troubleshooting, and it appears to be broken wire. See photo. This photo was taken a year ago.

Recently, it has problem accelerating (hope it is not the CVT). It is sometimes hesitate to accelerate after making a turn. It feels like shudder and shaking. the Altima is also having problem starting in the morning, and I think the battery (almost 5 years old) needs to be replaced. I cleaned the battery terminals for corrosion and gave it full charged. Autozone did a battery test and said the battery is fine. ODB pulled the code today and it shows C1154, C1103, and P17F1.

I did some researching about C1154, and it appears to be related to the transmission range switch/harness wiring. Based on the service manual, it appears that this switch is hardwired to the TCM module, and the signal is sent to the ABS Control Module via CAN communication.

I also put in wrong fluid in the transmission a year ago, and a completed flush was done at the dealership. The transmission appears to run better after the flush.
nissan-power-steering-fluid-in-cvt-tran ... 33907.html

Here are my questions:

1) Can a bad battery cause acceleration problem?
2) Can C1154 cause acceleration problem? If yes, maybe wiring to terminal #14 and #26 is broken?
3) If no to #1 and #2 above, P17F1 is acting and my car's transmission is dying?

Broken wire

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ImcezR ... drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vXfI6_ ... drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k2CrmK ... drive_link

[VStar650CL]

Here are my questions:

1) Can a bad battery cause acceleration problem?
2) Can C1154 cause acceleration problem? If yes, maybe wiring to terminal #14 and #26 is broken?
3) If no to #1 and #2 above, P17F1 is acting and my car's transmission is dying?

1) Yes, if the voltage to the ECM/TCM goes low enough.
2) No, and chances are the problem is also being caused by low voltage f#cking with the CANbus.
3) P17F1 is a "judder" code indicating the TCM has detected belt slip. It's usually the canary in the coal mine for worn out fluid. It won't erase even if the fluid is replaced, the only way to get rid of it is to reprogram the TCM. If you were driving for awhile with the code before the fluid got serviced, it's possible the CVT belt is damaged. The Valve Body needs to be dropped to check that (using a borescope), but there's a detailed bulletin about how to do it and what to look for:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/ ... 8-9999.pdf

[darkclan]

Hi VStar - Thanks for responding to my post again. Very appreciated it.

I tested the voltage on the old battery - 12.64VDC, and I replaced it with a new battery from Costco. Battery appears to be not fully charged. Test voltage at 12.6VDC. If C1154 is caused by low voltage, can the error code cleared by itself with a good battery?

Car has been driven by the wife in the morning, and still has acceleration problem. Any thoughts on this?

[VStar650CL]

If it's shuddering when it misbehaves then it's entirely possible the CVT belt is slipping. However, usually you get other codes with that. If the C1154 won't erase then you might actually have a bad Range Switch. The switch isn't "hardwired" to anything, it's a separate part which sits on top of the transmission underneath the airbox. They fail rarely, but then, C1154 is a rare code. Before you go nuts looking for anything else, try cleaning the MAF and the Throttle Body and see if the hesitation improves.

[darkclan]

I was able to clear C1154 code. I drove the car yesterday, and made a sharp turn then accelerate. The car vibrated and shake and the power to the car is gone. Gas on pedal, but the car won't run. I was able to pull it over and the car was able to restart, and was driveble. My wife who has a lead foot experience a few more times (gas on pedal - but car don't run) that day when she drove it. Any thoughts on that? I'll check the MAF and throttle body when i have more time.

[VStar650CL]

It's odd that it happens in turns and that there are no other codes with the P17F1. It sounds more like an induction or wiring problem, something that's changing position under side load. How are your engine and subframe mounts?

[darkclan]

It's odd that it happens in turns and that there are no other codes with the P17F1. It sounds more like an induction or wiring problem, something that's changing position under side load. How are your engine and subframe mounts?

The car shakes and vibrates when accelerate in a short period of time like speeding up on the freeway to catch up on the traffic speed. I had to slowdown, if not I think the car would shutdown like it happens in turn and accelerate. I keep the rev at around 1k rpm. It can be higher rev but has to ramp up slowly. I can feel the vibration and hesitation when ramping up the speed. It feels like shudder and it might be the transmission. My wife told me the car stopped on her even local street driving, but she has lead foot on the gas pedal. I drove the car for a few hours at low rpm and low speed, it feels normal. CVT fluid temperature is not so high (maybe 70 c max).

The other code would be C1154, it was there before. I check the code and it says it is achieved(inactive), and I cleared it last night. The transmission range switch is communicating with the TCM control module and sends the position status to the control module. If TCM lost communication with the transmission range switch or it goes bad while the car is moving? will the computer freak out and shut off the car? I ask because I check the other day, and the harness at the switch has alot of dirt around it. I'm thinking it might not have good contacts.

How do I check to see if the engine and subframe mount is ok? I think this altima has some vibration going on. The broke wire for the ABS sensor is due to excessive vibration.

[VStar650CL]

The Range Switch doesn't "communicate" with anything, it's a roller switch with multiple throws. It has no brains, the TCM simply reads it. It sends the results out on CAN, and C1154 means the ABS didn't get the message. The TCM would be throwing an entirely different code if it couldn't read the switch. Since the code erased, you're basically chasing nothing, it was most probably a CAN glitch resulting from your bad battery.

If the car is threatening to stall then it isn't the trans causing the issue. Judder has entirely different symptoms, the RPM's will jump up and down or over-rev but the car won't gain speed. It's sounding to me like your engine is simply out of tune, perhaps exacerbated by bad engine mounts. You can check those by holding the brake and working the shifter back and forth R->D->R->D, gassing it slightly after each shift. The engine shouldn't rock more than about 1/4" and there should be no front->back movement on either side of the car. That said, it still sounds like you could stand fresh plugs and a MAF/Throttle Body cleanup. Dirty TB's and MAF's are the most common causes of hesitation and performance issues on every Altima built since throttle cables went away.