GU Patrol - Power Loss

Submitted: Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 02:20
ThreadID: 104890 Views:7925 Replies:11 FollowUps:2
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Hi guys,

I have just come back from travelling about 2,500km of WA's southwest and am starting to have intermittent problems with my 2009 Nissan Patrol GU VI 3.0L auto engine.

While on a beach, alone, on relatively soft sand my engine lost all power and cut out completely. Managing the panic, I switched off all electrics and the engine restarted after about a minute off bursts of turning it over.

I had another problem in soft sand 2days later where I could not get any power, not moving at all, in drive or reverse, 4WD or 2WD, but still could rev to 4000rpm in neutral or park. I fixed this again by switching everything off, waiting 30 seconds and starting again.

Driving home the car lost all power and shut down twice, leaving me of the side of the highway. I noticed that both these incidents occurred either on or just after, reasonably steep inclines.

The car was packed with camping gear at all these times, but still within the GVM and was not towing.

The engine has no modifications, no exhaust, chip, blocked egr etc. and has just over 60,000km on the clock.

It has just has a major service with did not indicate anything of interest. I have since called the service centre back who request they take another look at the vehicle.

I just wanted to know whether anyone else has had similar problems with their 3L Patrol and if so, how they fixed it? I'd just like an unbiased opinion, before I start paying big $$$ for 'tests' and unnecessary replacements.

Cheers,

Nathan.
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Reply By: Member - Tony (ACT) - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 06:41

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 06:41
Could be in the fuel pump. My Step Daughter had very simular problems with her 3 lt GU.
The fix required a new fuel pump.
AnswerID: 520487

Reply By: Robin Miller - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 07:42

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 07:42
It sounds like its a problem that might leave a diagnostic code behind Nathan.

They can be read manually but its a bit tricky - look most shops have a general purpose code reader these days and it wouldn't cost much to read it - I had mine read a couple of times for free even before I got my own scanner.

The meaning of the code can be found in service manuals or online manuals with links on sites such as Patrol4X4


Robin Miller

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AnswerID: 520489

Reply By: Lyn W3 - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 08:18

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 08:18
Try disconnecting the battery completely and leave for 30 minutes before reconnecting, sometimes that helps to "reset" the computer if there is a gremlin in there somewhere.
AnswerID: 520491

Reply By: John and Regina M - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 11:01

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 11:01
Do nothing.
Take it to the experts. Disconnecting and/or playing could delete any codes or compromise finding the problem.

Many experts on Forums. Some even know what they're talking about. Most don't. They guess.
AnswerID: 520502

Reply By: Member - John N (SA) - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 12:10

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 12:10
G'day Nathan,

I would agree with getting an expert to have a look - at least in the first instance. You are probably aware of a pending recall for the Patrol for an issue concerning the Throttle Position Sensor. Apparently there is a fault that causes similar symptoms to the "shut down" you describe. I have an intermittent problem with slow starting that is apparently also associated with a crook TPS. Might be worth a try.

Cheers

John
AnswerID: 520507

Reply By: UltimatePatrol - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 14:06

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 14:06
Thanks guys for all of your help and advice.

I have done some brief research on the web for similar problems and there seems to be a range of problems it could be, from Fuel filters and fuel pumps to sensors, and simple ECU problems.

I have spoken with a reputable mechanic in town who will take a look at it tomorrow and see if he can diagnose the issue.

I will post the problem when I find out, hopefully it might help someone else in the future.

Cheers,

Nathan.
AnswerID: 520514

Reply By: KevKim37 - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 14:55

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 14:55
Hi Nathan,
I don't own a Nissan but a chap at McLaren Vale caravan Park who has heaps of upgrade additions to his engine had a problem he was telling me about which was similar to yours. He was told something was amiss with the Boost Map Sensor dirty or faulty I am not sure but problem was rectified after replacement.

Cheers Kev.
AnswerID: 520517

Follow Up By: UltimatePatrol - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 15:25

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 15:25
Thanks Kev,

I heard something about the Patrols having a habit of making all sorts of sensors dirty, causing them to send error messages to the ECU.

Very interested to see what comes out of diagnostics.

It's not a comfortable feeling when you don't know when your car is going to shut down, especially when 90% of my 4WD'ing is solo!

Appreciate to advice,

Nathan.
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FollowupID: 800973

Reply By: gke - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 17:46

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 17:46
No expert but soft sand, steepish hill makes me think of heating issues. Could a heated transmission be protecting itself? Graham.
AnswerID: 520526

Reply By: Member - blackbird1937 - Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 18:01

Monday, Oct 28, 2013 at 18:01
Hi, I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. At times very hard to start and lacking power. The mechanic at Boulia saw fuel leaking underneath the patrol. The fuel filter had a small hole in it where it had been crimped. He told me that he had a fuel filter for a toyota and it looked the same. We found it fitted the 3l patrol. A new fuel filter and all is ok. I have driven 7000 kms since and no problems with starting or lack of power.
AnswerID: 520529

Reply By: UltimatePatrol - Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 at 01:28

Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 at 01:28
Hey guys,

Just a quick update, I got the car back from the service today.

Speaking with the mechanic, he stated that he actually worked on my vehicle when the previous owner had it. He said that when it was brought to him before, the previous owner had filled up both tanks with bad fuel, that included plenty of water and sediment. The fix included removing the tanks, lines and filters and cleaning and replacing parts to eliminate the dirt.

When putting everything back in, he installed a cheap aftermarket fuel filter directly from the tanks, to pick up any loose sediment still hanging around, to save replacing the Nissan filter which is much more expensive.

This aftermarket filter was replaced every 2,000km for a while then every 5,000km.

It turns out this is where my problem stemmed from. Not knowing that this filter was present, meant that is was not replaced in the last 15,000km.

It was found blocked today and and replaced, that car now seems to run perfectly and has noticeably more response and power.

I'm glad it was only a $60 fix, and cheap insurance for any future bad fuel!

Appreciate all advice and opinions given on original request.

Cheers,

Nathan.
AnswerID: 520599

Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Friday, Nov 01, 2013 at 14:10

Friday, Nov 01, 2013 at 14:10
I guess it might be hard to tell if its the filter or accel Nathan.

On my petrol 4800 GU I never replaced the fuel filters - but do backwash them every 50k or so.
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Reply By: UltimatePatrol - Friday, Nov 01, 2013 at 13:02

Friday, Nov 01, 2013 at 13:02
Just a quick further update.

I have just received a Recall notice from Nissan for the Y61 Patrol, regarding a fault in the accelorator pedal, which causes a incorrect electronic signal to be sent to the ECU causing the engine to go into fail safe mode. It also states in worst cases the engine may come to a halt and stop completely, and then restart almost immediately.

I have got the car booked in for the replacement, hoping that it will fix my problems.

Thanks for all your help,

Cheers,

Nathan.
AnswerID: 520722

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