Two years ago my 03 Nissan Sentra started acting up. When driving, the gas pedal would randomly stop sending information to the throttle position sensor. It would have an erratic idle and stepping on the gas would yield a maximum increase in engine speed of 500 RPM. Let it sit a few days and it would re-set and be drivable for a day or two.
I scoured the internet and found many posts about this issue with no final solution. Tantalizingly similar descriptions of my obscure problem in threads that ended with NO SOLUTION and NO UPDATE!!!! GAAAAHHHH!!!!
I tried all the usual fixes: replacing the throttle body, idle relearn procedure, replacing mass airflow sensor, reprogramming by the dealership. You name it, I tried it, all to no avail.
Eventually I took it back to the dealership, and the horror show began. They thought it might need an emissions cleaning. Guess what? That didn't work! After having picked up the car and getting stranded on the way home, they made another attempt. The second time I took it to them, they finally managed to replicate the problem. Without any lights or codes, they were baffled. So what did they do? They ended up attaching a monitor that recorded everything the car was doing when it acted up, replicated the problem....and......
Found that the ALTERNATOR was overcharging!
I installed a new alternator myself (the can keep their $700 one) and as of today, it is day 4 in a row that I have been driving flawlessly. So far, so good.
I scoured the internet and found many posts about this issue with no final solution. Tantalizingly similar descriptions of my obscure problem in threads that ended with NO SOLUTION and NO UPDATE!!!! GAAAAHHHH!!!!
I tried all the usual fixes: replacing the throttle body, idle relearn procedure, replacing mass airflow sensor, reprogramming by the dealership. You name it, I tried it, all to no avail.
Eventually I took it back to the dealership, and the horror show began. They thought it might need an emissions cleaning. Guess what? That didn't work! After having picked up the car and getting stranded on the way home, they made another attempt. The second time I took it to them, they finally managed to replicate the problem. Without any lights or codes, they were baffled. So what did they do? They ended up attaching a monitor that recorded everything the car was doing when it acted up, replicated the problem....and......
Found that the ALTERNATOR was overcharging!
I installed a new alternator myself (the can keep their $700 one) and as of today, it is day 4 in a row that I have been driving flawlessly. So far, so good.