Mystery electrical problem - 2013 Rogue

[mtnrogue]

Hello NICOclub folks,

My 2013 Rogue SL (95k) is having electrical issues, and I am not able to identify the cause.

Symptoms while driving: While driving, dashboard started going crazy (ABS, traction control, brake, tire pressure, PS and headlight indicators went on, sometimes intermittently; CEL on; tachometer and speedometer needles started jumping between zero and correct value and zero; navigation screen switched between dark and bright mode; fuel gauge and coolant temp gauge remained stable though). Car drove fine for another 20 miles, then went into limb mode (no throttle response) and stalled, would not start again. Had it towed home.

Tests and symptoms while idling: I put the battery on a trickle charger overnight and tested it with a battery tester in the morning, got 825 CCA (spec is 725 CCA), 12.50V, internal resistance 3.63mOhm. Battery is 1.5 years old, terminals are clean and connections are tight. Harness wiring in the engine bay looks visually intact. The engine starts up normally. Voltage across battery terminals reads 14.5V when idling, and voltage drops by just 0.1V when turning on all the loads (A/C, rear window heater, seat heaters, high beams). So it appears that battery and alternator (it's the original) are fine. But the dashboard indicator lights still are crazy: the tachometer needle jumps between 0 and the correct RPM, the headlights go on and off randomly, ABS/traction/tire pressure etc. are on. CEL is on.

Codes: My OBDII reader shows just P0462 (fuel level sensor "A" circuit low). This does not make sense. Tank is full, and fuel gauge reads correctly.

Is this a charging system/power supply issue even though the battery tests ok and the alternator voltage looks ok? Or is this an issue with one of the modules? Does anybody have suggestions what to test next to narrow down the problem?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

[VStar650CL]

This is sounding like your whole car has foggy glasses. Do a voltage drop test on your grounds, both chassis and block. With the engine running and your voltmeter on the lowest setting (usually 200mV), measure from the battery negative post (the post, not the lug) to the engine block and the chassis. Neither one should exceed 50mV (0.05V) differential. If anything is higher, check the other ends of your ground cables. If the chassis is high you'll find the lug underneath the battery on the fender support midway down the cable. The block grounds through a bolt on the transmission housing. If those are healthy, perform the same check on one of the ground pins at the OBD connector. If that's high, one or both of the "gang grounds" on top of the steering crossmember (underneath the cluster) are compromised. Lastly, if the car has a sunroof, pull up the doorsill trims and look under the carpet for water. If you find any, pull the kick panel on that side and inspect all the connectors (especially the big SMJ connectors) for green corrosion and water intrusion.

[mtnrogue]

As you predicted, the connectors behind the kickpanel on the driver side were wet. Drying the area with a hair dryer brought the car back to normal function. Next step will be cleaning those clogged sunroof drain channels.

Thank you so much for your expert help!

[VStar650CL]

You're most welcome. Don't just dry those connectors, hit them all with WD40 so any corrosion that's got a foothold won't get worse. The tubes aren't the real problem with Nissan sunroofs, the egress fittings are. See this post for what to do about it:
post6844183.html#p6844183

[mtnrogue]

Thanks - will do! Regarding the drain tube egress fittings, the post refers to second-gen Rogues. Are the locations of these fittings the same for first-gen Rogues like mine?

[VStar650CL]

IIRC on gen1's the fitting on the driver's side is covered by sheet metal from the cowl, they're actually easier to access from outside by peeling back the rear half of the wheel well liners. Been a long time since I worked on one, maybe one of the gen1 owners in here can give you a better answer. For sure you can get at the passenger's side from inside by reaching way up behind the glove box, there are no clamps on the hoses. Pushing a stubby screwdriver through the fitting will snap one side of the nub. As I recall on the driver's side you may need to loosen the fusebox to do the same thing.

[mtnrogue]

Thanks!

Despite taking wheels off and fender liners out, I could not find an access from the bottom. The outlets are also inaccessible from the window cowl - although I was able to peek at them through a sheet metal hole using an articulating borescope camera.

Turns out access to the drain outlets is relatively straightforward from the inside. On the passenger side, I took out the glove box, since it's easy. On the driver's side, there is enough clearance to get your hand there without any disassembly. If you have big hands, it might be a problem.

After disconnecting the tubing from the outlet nipple, I got a few inches of dirt and grime out of the tubing using a long drain tube brush. Then I used the long end of a 5/32 Allen key to punch through the bug screens on the outlet fittings. After reconnecting the tubing, I used a bit of copper wire to zip-tie them to the nipples. The drains work again!

Now I still have two questions:
(1) According to the parts diagram, there are rear drain tubes as well (#20). How to access them, in particular the outlets?
(2) To really fix the problem, I need to stop water from getting into the car in the first place. Is there an issue with the profile gasket around the sunroof glass? Suggestions?

Sunroof parts Nissan Rogue 2013

[VStar650CL]

You can't stop water from getting in, the perimeter seal on the glass is an air stop. It's in no way meant to stop water, that's why you have drains.

The rear drains will come out behind the rear wheels. To get at them from inside you need to partially peel back the inside trim panels in the cargo space, from outside you peel back the wheel well liners. Debatable which is less work. That said, with a few exceptions like Altima coupes, the rears rarely clog because the angle of the roof makes the fronts do all the work. So unless you have an uphill driveway, you probably don't need to sweat them.

[mtnrogue]

Thanks. The rear drains indeed work perfectly - phew!

To dry the car, I had to take out the driver seat, peel back the carpet (after removing some trim) and take out both the front and the back floor insulation. They were both soaked, and there was water standing in the entire floor pan from front to back. Passenger side is dry.

What I don't understand is how so much water could have gotten into the driver side floor pan without any sign of water intrusion on the headliner or the A pillar.

[VStar650CL]

Yah, the foam undercarpets on the gen1's can be a complete PITA, much harder to dry than the fiber mats on the gen2's.

Nissan headliners actually have a plastic inner liner just like the carpets, so it takes a crapload of water to saturate an edge enough for it to wick into the outer fabric. They're actually very well made, I've always been impressed with them. I'm sure there is evidence left behind in the A-pillar trim, but you'll need to look close. The clue is usually dirt left behind on the plastic reinforcement ribs where some of the rainwater dried out. Chances are that's all you'll find.

As for the carpets, the plastic liners on those are very efficient. You can have literally gallons of water under there on some models without ever knowing it's there. We had a gen2 come in some years back that had white pond scum growing happily across the entire passenger side floor. The drain had been cleared by the owner 3 years earlier but he never lifted the carpet or removed the diffuser nubs. When it happened again he brought it to us, and was utterly horrified at what had been living in his car's basement.

[mtnrogue]

Yuck, that's disgusting.

My car is back on the road - thanks for all your help!

[VStar650CL]