Driveline electrical failure

[thePharaoh]

8:36 PM 5/3/2026

A new to me, 2005 Nissan Pathfinder SE Off-Road.  114k miles.
Bought a week ago at a dealer.  Carfax says it has had a good life. I now had a intermittent problem to solve, I will probably go into too much detail, hoping it rings a bell with someone.  I don't have an owner's manual or service manual as yet, working on it.  I am a decent home mechanic, having maintained and repaired all my family vehicles for many years, until recently.  

 

I almost immediately took it to a well known shop.  Four wheel pads and rotors, replace leaky power steering pump (shaft) and replace plugs. Four wheel alignment.  Oil and filter.  Runs, goes and steers like a champ!

 

The next day, drove it around the city, maybe 40 miles.  Next day, headed out on a desert dirt road expedition.

 

I made it about 10-12 miles in on twisty, washboard, dry road.  10-15 mph, select 2nd gear for alot of it, 1500 rpm.

Then the drive failed, instrument panel and hvac panel went blank.  Engine was still idleing (a little hard to tell, it's very quiet, no tach).  I found I could get about no motion forward, I could get a little more, quite jerky progress in reverse.  I got to a wide spot and shut it down.  Under the hood, it seemed a little warm (the gauge had been in the middle range) and a slight aroma of hot auto transmission fluid.  Nothing on the ground.

 

I removed and replaced relays that seemed to be associated with the driveline.  None appeared burnt.  I removed, tested (dvm) all fuses that seemed to be associated with the driveline.  Nothing blown, fuse legs seemed to have a very light corrosion.  I pushed them in and out a few times to 'clean' them.  The battery had 12.5v with the engine off.  With the engine running, there was 14v, but it climbed to 16.5v (!!!) over 5 minutes.

 

Well, wife and I are about 25 miles from base, maybe 15 into the desert; and she is starting to question my life choices.  Time to get it a go.  I found that if I floored it, I could get intermittent progress forward. No response from idle to maybe 90%.  I drove harder, maybe 20-30 mph where possible, a bit rougher ride.  The instrument panel and HVAC panel began coming back intermittently.  By the time we hit the pavement, the panels were almost normal, as was the driveline response.  We went the remaining 8 miles to base, directly; parked, and I checked the battery voltage at 13.6.  After shutting down the engine, I was able to hear a slight hiss from the battery, I would guess from overcharging.  

 

I know I need to get the owner's and service manuals, but it seems to me that the most likely root cause is a loose or poorly seated multiconductor cable, somewhere.  Anybody out there have any similar events, or any ideas on which connector where?  Thanks in advance from a new Pathfinder initiate.

[Slartibartfast]

 

I'd say you found why the last guy sold it! Now that it's self-healed, you may have an uphill battle trying to track down the problem. 

 

The first thing to do is check it for codes. No way you lost drive and power to the dash without it setting a code somewhere, and that'll give you a lot more to work with than you have now. Do that before chasing any of my speculations below. (Also keep in mind that I don't know the R51 for crap. This could be a common issue that I haven't heard of.)

 

Without codes, I would start by chasing the overcharging issue. The starting/charging section of the service manual shows that the alternator is controlled by the intelligent power distribution module, which takes orders from the ECM, which watches a current sensor on the battery ground cable. So that's narrowed it down less than you'd hope.

 

Given you're having power distribution issues, and the truck has a power distribution module, I'd be suspicious of the IPDM. This guy reckons the early IPDMs have bad solder joints and do weird stuff when they crap out. Naturally he's selling IPDMs, so, do your own research. 

 

If the alt loses its signal from the IPDM, it's supposed to default to its internal regulator, like an old-school non-computer-controlled alt. The regulator in the alt could be bad, but that wouldn't explain the other issues.

 

I would also have a look at ground cable on the battery. That's where the sensor is for the smart alt, and bad grounds can cause all kinds of weirdness besides. 

[thePharaoh]

Thanks very much, Slartibarfast!  Gives me something to go on.  I have an owners manual that should be here Wenesday, Haines manual later this week, I hope.  I got an online service manual, last night; .pdf, 46 documents/files, not organized very well.  The electrical chapter has 1800 pages, so your post will definitly help me narrow it down a little.  I appreciate the good info!