Ok, 6 days ago we unplugged smart alternator cable and our 2019 Armada is running like a “big dog”. It runs so much better getting the gas it needs to preform. I was to the point of great hesitation running short errands and taking on responsibility of loading up friends to run around playing. Well no longer, it’s like having a new car. Thank you !!!!
Great to hear! It's unfortunate that we came to a place in society where automotive technology was nearing perfection but then this idea of efficiency has begun to ruin everything
Thank You! I was working on getting the alternator replaced thinking it was going out. I'm on my second battery and noticed the rev limiting problem and figured out it was related to a low battery charge. I even got a battery with a higher CCA I had resorted to charging my battery with a trickle charger about once a month. I was told that the problem was because I only had short trips and the truck was not able to fully warm up most of the time. Causing the Battire to slowly get lower and lower from driving. This should be something that Nissan Fix's outside of the warranty or at the very least puts out a PSA.
YES ! He is the ONLY one putting videos about the titan I have 2018 platinum 5.6 and discontinued the plug and my weak start stop and transmission never missed a beat so far
@@4KMotoring bc it doesn’t sell. 10k units vs 100k plus for each in the big 3… hence the discontinuation. I’m here for the info as my brother insisted on a titan cummings bc he’s a ‘Nissan guy’ and I’m the ‘handy guy’
@@JAye365 Nissan marketing was really terrible, this truck was fantastic, especially when it first was introduced. Offered a much better value than most of the competition for a very solid truck.
@moemassy8624 Have a 23 p4x and I unplugged today and noticed a big difference. The Guage has stopped fluctuating and hope it does keep driving smooth.
I have a 2018 Armada and it was not starting correctly and going into limp mode. Took it to Nissan and they did not have a fix. Finally after two months it would not start. I jumped the battery and disconnected the negative connection as you show in the video and now the battery is fully charged and it is running great. Thank you for the video! I think this will help our battery last longer than two years too.
Did it to my 2017 Nissan Titan XD. WOW. Before I would sometimes have hesitation or sputter on acceleration, like there was no gas getting to it. So far NO sputter or hesitation! Thank you!!!
2017 Armada Same issue for a couple of years. Even found someone mentioning issues with the A/C not acting properly when idling as a symptom of this “smart alternator.” Had that issue in our Armada as well as the battery drained and caused no starts at inconsistent times. Happy to find your video. I told my mechanic about it (because they ran an electrical diagnostic test on it and were stumped). It helped them. They looked into it and said on their certified mechanic forum (not sure exactly the name of it) mechanics are saying that Nissans has it down as something you can go into the dealership to get an update for that remedies the issue with the smart alternator. He also said it isn’t listed as a recall. Soooo, I called the local dealer. North Ft Worth TX area. Lady at the service desk said no recalls. Yes ma’am, I know. She wanted me to come in for a diagnostic test and see if a “bulletin” pops up for that specific issue. I asked surely there is a way you can look up to see if there is a bulletin on a generation of vehicles on a specific part. She said her techs said no, and they needed me to come in for the $185 test and see if maybe a bulletin pops up. Pfffft 🙄 No thanks. Maybe if I confirm from other vehicle owners that are having this issue. I tried poking around the internet for a minute but didn’t find anything about a bulletin. If I knew there was for sure a bulletin I probably would go in and have them do it. *makes me angry that these companies don’t recall things that will make bad PR and cost them. Who knows how many millions of dollars Nissan owners have lost trying to fix this. Similar with my 2019 Chevy truck (first year of that body style)…got some recalls but had to figure out that they didn’t have the correct transmission fluid from the factory and the transmission needed to be “reprogrammed,” until the symptoms got bad enough to take in to the shop. Seems worthy of a recall 🤦♂️ Nope they just make the vehicle owner get beat down with issues and save the bad PR from a recall…just my opinion. Sorry for being long winded. Hopefully I contributed something useful to the conversation
Thank you for this video. I have a 2018 Armada, which I bought two years ago obviously used. Previously to me buying this vehicle it had two new batteries and since me buying this vehicle, I have put two new batteries in the vehicle. We just removed this plug last night and my car started right up this morning. I will keep you posted! I was getting tired of my car, not starting and having to jump it. And never know when going somewhere if my car would start back up.
I had the same issue with my wife’s 2018 Amanda. She uses it mostly driving 4 miles ro and from work every day and the battery was requiring to be charged or jump every 3-4weeks. We would charge it and it would run fine for a bit but slowly would become slow to start. Took it to the dealership several times and they constantly said nothing was wrong. We replaced the battery twice and after investigating a bit found this and similar posts and videos saying the smart alternator was the issue. Unplugged it and it’s like a new vehicle. Better throttle response and no start issues after a few months. We still plug it up for long drives or trips just in case but it’s made it so much better.
Appreciate this video. My 2018 Titan SV would randomly have trouble starting and it seemed like always the starter was struggling even though i had a new AGM battery installed. Now after unplugging the grey connector the starter spins fast like it should and starts immediately. The voltage is good also at 14.3 👍
Thank God, I Just came across your video. My 3-year warranty battery in my 2017 Platinum Reserve 4x4 was about a year old. Luckly it was still under warranty. I just unplugged my so-call smart alternator and immediately my voltage upped to 14.22 from a 12.24. Thanks
My first battery lasted two years three months. Died suddenly three months outside the warranty period. There was a recall for an alternator problem but Nissan said the recall did not cause the problem. Three years on the second battery I am boosting the titan every couple weeks or charging it . Happy to try your cure
Thank you so much for your video! You solved my issue. I had the transmission fluttering issue as well just yesterday and found your video. Now it is temporally fixed. I found out that that sensor is called a battery current sensor. A lot of newer vehicles have this technology especially vehicles with engines that have stop and go shut off/start option.
So I’ve been fighting this dang battery for a few months. Would take battery out and charge it, then I got a solar trickle charge and kept it on all the time. A few weeks ago my transmission would have a hard slip/hesitation when it would go into overdrive. I was getting ready to take it into a transmission shop. Before I took it there I said screw it and bought a new battery and did what you suggested and BOOM! Transmission is fixed! Great video!
Excellent video, and I can't wait to get home and see if my truck has that smart plug. I have a 2017 Titan Platinum Reserve. The battery that was in it when I bought it (used 3 years ago...had 58k on it then, and I now have 86k) lasted until back in February this year. The only "modification" I added was train horns, but we wired the pump directly to the battery and put a toggle switch in the dash inside the truck...so we didn't tap into the fuse block at all, so as to eliminate a potential parasitic draw. I had a couple different days that the truck had to be jump-started. I had power, but not enough to crank the starter. Finally after the 2nd jump start, I went ahead and replaced the battery figuring 3 years was about right. I put in a new battery back in February and then last night when I went to move the truck again, it had to be jump started. I took it in to an Auto Zone and someone came out to put their "tester" on it and she said the battery tested "low" but good, the alternator tested good, but I was told it said "bad starter"...which I didn't buy at all. If the starter was bad, the truck wouldn't have started, AND a bad starter isn't going to cause your battery to go dead. This truck often sits in my driveway and only gets used for short trips sometimes...so your video makes sense. I'll try a volt-meter before, and after unplugging that plug and see what the results are. I will re-post after that. I'm really hoping this is my issue!! Thank you!
I put a Die Hard Silver in the wife's 2018 Armada Platinum with 15k miles about 1.5 years ago. My wife drives about 10 minutes to work everyday. I thought it was kind of a hair off in the last week when moving it around. Last night, poof she was almost dead. I jumped it off with my 66 Beetle, found these articles, un hooked the grey wire, and slapped a trickle set up on it. Maybe we should report this to the EPA so Nissan will get their crap together? Imagine the amount of batteries being discarded. Thanks for the video.
Same issue here 2017 nissan titan xd 5.6 I noticed that in the summer time my ac was not working properly due to shortage of power. I took it in to nissan and I'm surprised that they couldn't figure it out they replaced the fan clutch the fan motor and I still have the same issue finally one day for some reason I turned off my daylight running lights and instantly noticed my voltage reader stabilized I new then I was simply a power issue and this video confirm it. Great video thx
I wish I would’ve known this 5 years ago. I’ve always wondered why my battery voltage would drop so low when I run my ac in the city. It would go down to around 11 sometimes and the air would blow less. I just unplugged that dumb thing and it’s right at 14.4 and isn’t moving. I’m still in the original battery with 67,000 miles but recently I’ve been having weird starting issues where the truck shakes pretty violently trying to start. Doesn’t happen all the time so it’s been hard to get a diagnosis on it. ECU was a concern from other videos but I’m going to swap the battery this weekend and see what happens. Thanks for the video!
Randomly not starting for my 2019 Armada has been a big problem. Nissan does need to be accountable. I bought the SUV with 58k miles. According to Car Fax the previous owner had 2 batteries replaced at dealership while under warranty. Now 2019 Armada has approx 80k miles so I’m currently using 3rd battery. It’s been frustrating to nightly trickle charge and carry a jump box around never knowing when it’s not going to start. It’s made me crazy to have a car that I love, yet it’s not reliable. Thankfully on TH-cam I am finding answers- solutions. When husband gets home we are unplugging smart cable. I will keep you posted and will be a happy camper if it solves it. Thank you !!!
I have a 2017 armada and we have been through numerous batteries and replaced brake switch and some other expensive component to repair BCI malfunction issue. I am STILL having issues with it randomly not starting. Wondering if unplugging the smart cable worked for you?
@@shannaryan7871 @Deborahellingtonthrasher8378 did a repost a month after this post and stated it is running fine. I have a 2018, purchased at 20k miles in 2018, today, I only have 57k miles and I am on my 3rd battery as of July 2023. Had an issue this morning. Went to Nissan and no problem with the battery. The manager wants me to (maybe VVCS, but can't recall) return so they can do a diagnostic for $183 and he mentioned bypassing something. I am sure it is this smartplug. I am not comfortable allowing the dealership to bypass anything, which could potentially void the warranty.
2019 Nissan Titan. I had issues with the engine starting up but only seeming to be running on half the cylinders almost. Super rough idle, try to turn the truck off with the starter button and it wouldn’t react, would have to put the truck in gear and choke it out. Would restart fine most of the time. I took it to the dealership on 2 separate occasions, they had it a total of 3 weeks and couldn’t figure anything out. I disconnected this plug and have had no more issues. I think the voltage was dropping so low at start up that it would affect the canbus system.
I have a 2017 titan XD, and it keeps going into limp mode. The transmission goes into some sort of a lockout mode, similar to being in tow mode. I have heard that if the alternator has a bad diode in it, it will create AC current in the system, and that will affect the speed sensor of the transmission, causing it to go into lockout mode and I’m getting ready to test the alternator or disconnect the alternator and see if that eliminates that problem even temporarily. I thought it would be easy but I can see that the alternator is down below the engine and not too accessible. I’ll let you know what I find out and I appreciate everything that you’re doing, all the information you putting out. Thanks.!
I purchased a new 2021 Pro4x and only had it about a month when the truck went into limp mode. After the dealer keeping it for about a week, come to find out it had a bad throttle body sensor. They replaced it and it’s been running great ever since. I now have 48k on the vehicle. I did however put in a XS power D4800 AGM battery about 6 months later because I am running a aftermarket subwoofer and amplifier and I was just at the dealership for an oil change and they said the cold cranking amperage was low on it. After reading reviews on AGM batteries, vehicles that don’t come with AGM batteries don’t have the charging capabilities they need to keep them fully charged. So if you run an AGM battery in your vehicle, be prepared to give them a trickle charge every now and then. And this was told to me by one of the technicians at XM Power.
Great insight and thank you! So, my 2019 Titan SV has been having an intermittent slow-to-crank problem. I sometimes observe large voltage (driver display) fluctuations when driving and when I do see this activity almost always the next time I start the engine its a problem. Sometimes starting is absolutely normal but 1 out of 4 or 5 starts are sluggish and twice it failed to crank altogether resulting in needing a jump start (battery tested normal after each). The intermittent nature of it interests me since I tend to think this (mostly) rules out the battery itself and places the problem on a "smart" charging system and its components. I took the truck to Nissan yesterday who gleefully charged me the full $140 diagnostic fee to tell me the battery was outputting 490 Amps versus its CCA rating of 760 Amps (something autozone or similar could do for free) and blamed it on the battery. This particular battery (AGM) is only 12 months old and if I replace it, as per Nissan's advice, it would be the vehicle's third battery in 35,000 miles. My question is this, if the battery voltage is dropping every so often due to charge deactivation, as appears to be the case with mine, why doesn't the smart charging system detect that condition and wouldn't a depleting battery force the charging system on all of the time? Might this indicate a fault within the systems ability to detect or act upon a low voltage. Thanks again for putting this out!
That's a good question. I don't know exactly what factors the vehicle uses to control this system. Like most stop-start systems, I doubt it is programmed to work with anything but a fresh battery.
I have the same issue. Makes the wife really anxious when the truck is slow to crank with 20k miles on it lol. It is intermittent also. Also tired of the crash system warnings popping up.
Great video. My 2018 XD 5.6 had a battery replaced under warranty earlier this year. I'm having issues again. Truck barely cranked over Sunday morning. Consensus seems to be that Nissan flooded batteries are garbage. I'm cutting my losses and installing an X2 AGM on my dime and unhooking the grey smart alternator cable.
My wife’s 2018 Armada had been doing this I just tried this and hope it works. Should I be concerned about it having too much voltage? I have seen where they say it could have too much voltage.
I have been monitoring the voltage on my Titan and, for AGM batteries, anything over 14.5 or 14.6 can be detrimental to the life of those batteries, I haven't noticed any any voltage that approaches for 14.6, mostly 14.3 to 14.5 so I think it should be fine, but will keep monitoring.
Not disputing your findings, but my concern is the video only proves there is a charging system regulator, what the video doesn't address is whether or not there is serial canbus data present. Most certainly, everything visually seen through the voltmeter makes sense in a conventional sense, what isn't discussed is the constant higher voltages effect on all the control modules running constantly at a voltage they may not have been designed to handle without a duty cycle. The new models use electric pumps in the transmission, which may now be providing a higher than designed pressure, among other systems. The battery can certainly handle the higher voltage without cooking, but the other systems longevity is now in question.
Definitely something to consider, but my opinion would be that the alternator stays charging at high output if you're on the interstate all day long, only disengaging at idle or low load scenario around town to save MPGs or whatever their reason is. If it can handle constant voltage on the interstate for undetermined amount of time, I doubt constant engagement will be a problem. Time will tell, I'm hoping to find out more about exactly how the system works to find any potential problems within.
Oddly, mine fluctuates at highway speeds, same as in town driving, on/off so I'm thinking different years have been modified, if the module is addressable and is also programmable, Nissan may have made corrections, without taking a a few years apart we won't know.
Same issue with a 2022 Frontier. Vehicle was undercharging the battery and eventually killed it at 26,000 miles. I put a new battery in and unplugged the load sensor per this video and the battery is performing and charging like it should. The only downside are the two codes that get stored in the computer but they don’t appear to trigger the engine light.
Just replaced my battery on my 2018 Titan under warranty with another oem Nissan battery on August 30, 2023. Went to start my truck today and was locked out of it. Battery was completely dead and the doors won't even unlock. Drove to work fine three days ago and had to drive the wife's car the other days. So after two days of sitting the battery completely drained. This has been a constant issue since I've owned the truck. It also had the issue with the harness pinched and caused it to stall while driving on the highway the first year I had the truck.
Wow! This is news to me. I’m driving my third Titan, a 2019 Pro-4X. I’ve never had it stutter like your example in the video. But, I’ve had four batteries in four years. It’s starting to drag upon starting, again, and the local dealership told me the battery terminal was loose. They wanted to charge me $80 to tighten it! Of course, when I got home and tried to tighten it, that wasn’t the case. I couldn’t locate a loose bolt anywhere. None of my other trucks had this problem. Maybe because they were SV models and didn’t have as much stuff on them?
Thank you for this video. I have a 2023 Frontier Pro 4x with now 5500 miles and have been babying this Renault lead acid battery since day 1 with a trickle charger, almost nightly. I thought maybe the dealership rapid charged the battery from dead before I drove it off the lot. It's always showing between 71-75% charge when first hooking up the trickle. Also have been looking at trying to install an Odyssey group 27, or group 31 "if it will fit". Would have been a $500 mistake if that smart plug was connected as I'm sure a group 31 is going to need 14-14.5 almost constantly. And with Auto Start/Stop, you're really asking to abuse the battery on top of it not being charged in the first place. I'm disconnecting the plug, I'll let you know what happens
I have a 2020 Titan with only 27K miles: Truck operated normally Friday 12/15/23 - tried to leave Sunday 12/17/23 and truck is completely dead. Attempted to jump start but my device indicated "vehicle system fault" and would not let me proceed. Also attempted to charge the battery but my charger gave the same error code. Battery is completely dead even though it is only 5 months old after being replaced by the Nissan dealer. Towed truck to dealer - They charged battery and ran tests that all came back as "Good Battery". I will most likely be stranded again in the near future.
Bought brand new 2023 Titan Xd less than two months ago. Dealer gave me new battery at purchase due to truck sitting on lot for 2 years. Battery was completely dead this morning. Nothing turned on and had to manually unlock my truck. Tried to do battery warranty replacement but sadly battery had 768 crank amps which is well above the nissan warranty threshold so they wouldn't replace the battery.
The dealership that installed it should offer the replacement. Seems like an odd scenario. Check loose battery connections, common for sudden no voltage scenarios.
I have a 2008 Armada with a lot of miles, some years it got driven a lot, some years not so much, but regardless how much I drive it, I get 2 years out of a battery, lead acid or AGM. I had a cheap $59 walmart battery last 2 years and a $159 AGM last 2 years. Lead acid batteries require a saturation charge around 14.4 volts, also they need a periodic equalization charge around 14.6. Periodic overcharging will desulfate the weak cells. Constant undercharging will cause the weakest cell to sulfate and eventually fail. How much fuel does it have to save to offset the cost and inconvenience of having to buy a battery every 2 years?
My 2018 is having slow starts. It’s the original battery and 46k miles. With the truck off my battery voltage is 12.1 I guess I need to replace it..? Should I unplug that grey plug too?
I have a 2018 Titan SV and have had a few instances where the truck doesn’t want to start. I put 900 CCA deep cycle battery and it reads good. I will try this and see if it helps. If not maybe my starter is faulty.
Having the same issue with my Mitsubishi outlander. My 1st batt almost died after 1yr and 6mos so I had it replaced. But still the charging sucks. I'll try to do this, hopefully I'll get a better charge 😂🙏
wonder if this works on my juke 🤔 i know ti has the same annoying smart alternator that basically almost stalls the car if i'm at idle and try to do something as unthinkable as roll down a window.
While I'm not positive, I would imagine it has the same system. Unfortunately if you're experiencing those symptoms your battery probably already needs replaced.
I have a 2020 Titan SV. Bought in 2021 with 1400 miles. Had to replace the original battery in 2022 at around 25,000 miles. Replaced with Nissan OEM battery under warranty. Now, 18 months later at 53,000 miles, truck starting to have those sluggish starts. Also, the crash detection/parking sensor system randomly disabled the other day while driving down the road on a clear day. Possibly a voltage drop? I’m going to give this a try and see if it improves.
Battery last about 4 years. And I replaced with AGM, since then I have experience when voltage is low, window roll slower. And it’s been 3 year, I realize AC cooling harder when vehicle stop in a light after highway. (Because voltage is higher when I stop) I will unplug it and see if it get fixed
My 2017 king cab S 4x4 is still on the factory batttery at 46k miles. It’s usually only driven on long trips so maybe that’s why my battery is still in good shape.
Hi Chris and thanks for the video! Can you give an update on how your truck has been running since you did this mod. Did u have to plug it back in due to issue, did you have any error codes coming up due to it not being plugged in? Let us know and again, thanks so much!!!
The truck has been running great! No issues at all. There is one code that comes up when you scan the truck with the plug disconnected. It doesn't throw a check engine light and resets itself if you plug it back in. I'd still recommend it!
Hey what are the potential long term consequences for unplugging this. Im having shifting issues. So i unplugged and it immediatly felt better! Jist worried i might cause more problems or void warranty. Thanks!
This is how vehicles operated for a long time, so there are no significant issues. Some say constantly overcharging AGM batteries can shorten their lifespan, seems as though the "smart charging" system was already doing that. There is a code thrown when the plug is disconnected, but it doesn't trigger a check engine light. It automatically resets itself if you plug it back in, so may want to do that if you take it in for warranty work.
Agm batteries don't explode, although some traditional wet lead acid batteries do. AGM batteries can have their lifespan degraded by constant overcharging, but usually at voltages higher than what our alternator puts out. Given the amount of failures these trucks have with the smart alternator system connected, I can't imagine todd leaving it unplugged could possibly shorten the life anymore. From what I see and from my own experience, this is allowing a much longer lifespan for our batteries, AGM included
2017 nissan titan - I’m driving and the radio goes black battery voltage jumps up to 18 and there’s this ticketing noise that last from 10-20 second, it’s been doing it now for few days straight , it use to only do it sometimes, the stereo was in truck when I got it , no other electrical items have been added since , I did have to replace battery once few months ago , just trying to figure if it’s the alternator or battery
If you're still using your factory battery connections, try this first. Pull the cables off of the battery and reinstall them and ensure there is no corrosion and that they are tight. I had some similar issues to what you were saying due to a poor negative connection on the battery that I thought was good, but after cleaning and tightening the terminal all the problems resolved.
Juke 2011 here. New AGM battery won't charge over 12.2v. Mechanic says nothing is wrong with the charging system but I bet they can't say to disconnect the "Smart" alternator. Just did it. I'll let you if I can keep a charge on my battery.
AGM batteries are sensitive to overcharging and can be ruined quickly. Hopefully unplugging the grey cable will fix the problem, if not, the battery may be ruined
My 2021 Titan SV battery just dropped out on our first cold overnight, 10/16/24. I'll be installing a new $ 275.00 battery today. Thank You Nissan for the poorly designed "Smart Charging System". Nissan needs to be held responsible for the incorrect settings on this system... This isn't Rocket Science, nor is it hard to fix. Just set the SCS parameters to keep the battery voltage where it needs to be for a standard service life... Leaving customers stranded is not good business.
What was the stutter issue you showed in the very beginning? My old Titan did that and the dealer told me nothing was wrong. Ended up trading it in anyway so never pursued it. Just curious.
Disclosure, yep same here 2019 Titan on my second battery Nissan said had to do with a variable valve timing and did a reprogram but also said battery was bad in replaced it. Only had 40,000 mi
Other that warranty is there a risk to this? If one unplugs this does it then operate like a normal battery and alternator? Does it put extra strain not meant to be handled on the alternator or anything?
No warranty issues here, just plug it back in before taking it to the dealership. As far as I can tell, no objective risks here. More drain on alternator, so fractionally lower fuel economy. Battery voltage remains constant (some say constant high voltage that may shorten the life of AGM batteries).
Shortened battery life is better than no battery life. Can the car handle a different upgrade battery when I do have to change it next time, is there a better battery in this situation I’m still on a 2021 factory Nissan battery.
Any AGM will outperform the factory battery. I personally went with an Optima Yellow Top, but ProjectFarm has a good TH-cam video comparing AGM batteries
I tried this on my Ford Transit custom and the alternator was pushing out 14.8 volts consistently my concern is that that voltage will be too hot for some of the wiring over a long period and also with the battery charge properly ?
Just unplugged mine today after my battery dying with no warning. It was an AC Delco that was only 38 months old. Thanks for the detailed content. Side note. Just noticed your 2018? Titan has the coolant overflow tank on the RH center of the radiator. My 2017 tank is located left of the radiator. Was this moved to deal with a known issue possibly?
SOS!!! Just picked up a 2019 with the 5.6 and experiencing a similar issue. Under light acceleration, the truck has anything but a smooth rpm. It bucks and has troubles to accelerate but not when asked for a heavier response. Swapped the battrry for new and no solutions. Didnt have this experience when test driving. Only when i got about 2 hrs into the drive home did it start to do this. Any assistance is welcome.
If your truck is exhibiting this behavior only when it's hot, it's probably time to flush your transmission fluid. A lot of similar issues get solved by this relatively inexpensive fix
I didn't try this before I replaced my battery, replacing the battery fixed the balancing issue so simply unplugging the cable may buy you some time. Ultimately, the fixes to replace the battery and unplug the cable
I've heard this is not as much of an issue with the 23+ trucks, but have not been able to test this myself. Watch your voltage screen to see how it's acting.
The big issue with the VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROL is the current sensor is located near the battery along the negative battery cable. If you add electrical accessories to your vehicle, be sure to ground them to a suitable body ground such as the frame or engine block area. Attaching accessories directly to the battery terminal bypasses the current sensor and the sensor is unaware of the additional drainage and doesn’t compensate for this.
@@corihernandez9226 none whatsoever. The XD never got great mileage, putting the KO2s on didn't help at all. Can't say I've noticed any difference with the smart alternator plug disconnected
So, I have the same truck it's a 2017. I bought it in 22. Last night I got to the race track, I was their for six hours. Went to start my truck later in the evening, and it just clicked. So I got a jump from a atv and I was on my way. So this morning I checked the battery with my tester and it said it was bad.
I did this a couple years ago on my 2015 armada. Only problem is the P1551 code. I don’t like having the check engine light on in case something else throws a code and I don’t know about it because the light is already on.
@@4KMotoring It did fix the charging problem though. I’ve read that you can cut one wire from the alternator to the ecm that sends the signal to reduce the charge but I have no idea which wire it is.
This works. Look at the charging section in the FSM and it will show which plug in the IPDM and which #wire to cut. Mine was the ALT-C, (alternator control)@@cnoodle7650
I unplugged it. Then I took it apart and removed the steel piece which conducts from terminal, I was then able to plug in, however still disable it. I was worried about contamination.
In my 18 Titan I just had a weird starting event after stopping quick at a gas station. Came back out and pushed the Start button and it tried to start (it was partially firing) but never got close to idle speed and died. Then on 2nd Start button press it did the same thing but did try to stay running at very low rpm for a couple seconds before dying. I then waited a few seconds and pressed the Start button again and it started like there was never a problem. STRANGE electrical issue that I wonder if is related here. I am going to watch my voltmeter for a span here to see anything weird.
WOW! I've been struggling with my 2016 Titan with the RPM flutter for 1.5 years. I just unplugged this and it's about 90% gone! The truck drives soooo much better now! Do you think upgrading the battery could fix the remaining slight flutter?
These trucks are sensitive to voltage fluctuations, if eliminating the alternator base fluctuation has helped, and your battery is more than 2 years old, I would say a battery replacement is probably warranted
But they also have some transmission related flutter from the torque converter. If you haven't replaced the transmission fluid that should also be one of your next steps
@@4KMotoring battery is 3.5yrs old. And I agree it could be torque converter, but the trans fluid has never been changed, currently 140k miles. I was told that if I changed it now, I'd certainly be asking for trouble.
@@lagsautosales6088 that sounds like a cop out answer. If you're only experiencing a slight fluttering (not as bad as the limp mode flutter), it may be a cheaper fix
@@4KMotoring the trans shop and the Nissan dealer told me that if I were to change the fluid, it would most likely ruin the transmission. BTW thanks so much for answering! And I'm ordering the Optima battery now!
I have a 2017 used Nissan Titan s b that I bought with 108,000, mi. The car will randomly not start and say that it has a dead battery. I take the key out of the fob unlock the door manually because the power locks will not work at all. I cannot even open the doors manually from the inside the other doors. I unplugged the smart charger. We'll see if this helps. I appreciate anybody that posts helpful videos. Thanks for the idea. I unplugged the great thing.
Check the battery terminals. It is super easy to not have them tight enough or to have some slight corrosion that keeps the connection from being solid. I would remove the battery terminals, clean them, and re-tighten them to see if you're still having a problem.
I have a 23 Titan. I am on my 3rd battery. The dealership keeps saying they do not find anything wrong. Basically telling me since they can not duplicate the outcome. Im gonna try this and see what happens.
@@4KMotoring My battery would just be dead. The locks wouldn't even work. I'm on my 3rd battery, the first 2 were so bad it wouldn't even take a charge. I just got it back last Thursday after my truck was there a week. Basically the guy said they charged the battery and said their favorite saying. We can't duplicate the problem so it must be ok. Well this past Monday it was dead but I used a battery boost to start and was able to get around.
Most all of the commenters have 2020 and older trucks. Does this connector “trick” also apply to a brand new 2024? Does a 2024 even need to be concerned with this?
From my understanding, Nissan switched to AGM batteries in the newer trucks that seem to handle the voltage swings better. Though, I think the reason the older truck owners are more vocal is because their trucks have had more time to show symptoms. I'm not sure if the smart alternator algorithm was tweaked in the 2020+ trucks, but I would imagine unplugging the cable is still a good idea
No dash lights at all. The truck does recognize when they gray plug is disconnected but to my knowledge doesn't store any codes for it. I would recommend plugging it back in if you need to go to the dealership for any sort of warranty work. Make sure you keep it watertight if you unplug it to ensure it does not corrode or short.
Awesome, thank you for responding. I've had a intermittent problem with starting. 2018 titan, It would turnover extremely rough, sometimes would start others it would fail to start and would Starr normal the next try. The times when it would start after turning over rough it would go onto a limp mode exactly like you featured in the video. Been into dealership 5-6 times, they've replaced battery and cam position sensor and it still did it.
Long story short, had another issue with the engine and started to knock pretty bad. Dealership replaced the engine, 2 weeks(approx 900miles) after new engine and it started rough again.
@@gilby6389 That's terrible, sounds almost lemon law like. To rule out any sort of battery issues, keep it on a tender to stay topped up. Unfortunately the limp mode can be triggered by many things, voltage being just one of them. Good luck and let us know if you find any solutions!
Thank you !!! I have a 2019 Armada that I love, yet it is not reliable and won’t start at random. How can I haul friends around on “girl days” and take elderly parents places. It’s been frustrating beyond. It has 80k miles on it and I bought it with 58k miles. According to car fax , the dealership had replaced 2 batteries for the previous owner while it was still under warranty. So I am on battery 3 and will definitely go unplug the cable. You have saved lots of frustration! Thank you again and I’ll keep you posted.
Interesting. I've had my 2018 P4X since April of 18, between 0-40k miles I had 2 or maybe 3 times where it would start funny. Start & immediately bog low rpm, electronics going wild. Once I'd turn it off, give it 10s or so, and start again, it was fine. Around 45k miles, I could tell that the battery was getting weak, no real funny business, but it just sounded strained at times. I've had shit luck with OEM batteries in the past from multiple mfgrs. I chalked it up to being an OEM Nissan battery, and went and got a new AGM Platinum something or other from Autozone/Advanced. Just about to hit 50k on it. No issues at all since the battery change, though a much shorter period to notice such a thing. I'm just now hearing about this plug. I may disconnect mine as I dont really understand the point anyway. With a 3" lift and E rated 35s, and a 5.6 V8 pulling a 6000lb vehicle, I can't say fuel economy is great (though not any worse than any other like vehicle regardless of maker) Dumb alternators have been working great for decades....Guess I'll try this and see what dumb can do for me! Hey sometimes dumb works out! Cheers.
I've had a few minor electrical gremlins over the 7+ years I've had my '17 Titan which include having 2 batteries replaced under warranty. Currently I'm dealing with start button issues where I need to hold the fob to the start button to make it work. Remote start and also lock and unlock from fob work but button on the door handle and don't. So the proximity function of the remote isn't working or isn't being recognized by the truck. Any thoughts? anyone else out there had and solved this issue?
I've had kind of similar issues in the past related to the battery terminals, for whatever reason these trucks have super sensitive battery terminals that need to be very tight, they can be deceptively loose causing intermittent connections and related issues
I just got a 20 armada and wanna get myself subs again. Need to install ho alt as well as a bunch of agm or make switch to lithium. Will doing this trick mess my install up? Help the install or if anyone has also done this tell me bout your install. Thanks.
I can't imagine disconnecting the smart alternator plug would make any difference. Lithium batteries can output a lot of power for a very short time, but the AGM will have a far greater capacity for that
Exactly the same issue with my 2020 Titan. Replaced battery at 25,000. Now at 53,000, and battery is weak again. I just tried this fix, hopefully it will help my battery charge properly.
I have the same rpm gauge rev issue exactly like your vehicle, along with slow sluggish/weird starts but I’ve also have intermittent cam/crank position dtc’s. Did you have any random dtcs during your trouble shooting? While I was scanning my truck info center informed me the ignition will shut off for power conservation.🤦🏻♂️2017 Titan SV. I’m looking at replacing the battery and disconnecting the “smart voltage regulator”. Thanks for the video!
No joke, a week ago my 2017 Titan Platinum Reserve started doing this then threw me into limp more with a ton of codes and a dreaded P0606 code. Turns out it was a bolt that went to the crankshaft position sensor and it fixed all. So maybe check that, crazy weird thing to me that it'd cause that much chaos but it did.
I certainly never got any codes, but if you're still running your original battery it is absolutely a good idea to replace with a good AGM battery. The tip above about the crankshaft position sensor bolt may be worth exploring if you're experiencing a code as well.
I have a 23 P4X with around 20000 miles. I’m having zero issues and hoping I never have any. I don’t want my battery to go bad so I’m considering unplugging the wire but I read a post where some guy said his transmission screwed up because it was unplugged. Anyone else have issues after unplugging the wire?
There have been several transmission issues noted in these trucks related to various causes, the majority I've heard are from low voltage rather than high voltage. Make sure you are following Factor instructions to change your transmission fluid every 30-50,000 mi to avoid problems
I've got a 2021 Titan S with the gas engine and gone through 2 batteries under warranty already. Unplugged and capped the system and it's quit. Only problem I have now is when I idle for extended periods 10-15 minutes then go to drive the thing goes into cripple mode, have to stop, shut off and restart. Get check engine light and the dealer can't find anything wrong. It's not tied to the PMS plug because it's done it both ways. Kinda dangerous in city driving going into cripple mode and no one can figure out why. Anyone else experienced this?
I would recommend getting a code reader if you don't have one so you can pull whatever code is appearing when you get the CEL. If you don't have one, I would recommend the bluedriver
This is off topic but am I the only person experiencing the transmission shifting way too quick into 3rd at low rpm’s? Its always done this and it hits 3rd and drops to about 1500 rpm’s leaving me no power and having to stomp on it to downshift to get up a hill
I have same issue. I just drained trans fluid. Looks good. There is. TSB for a TCU update regarding shifting point 2016-2019. $160 if you don’t have warranty
Not a 2019 Armada, but we have a 2018 that randomly would not have enough juice to turn over the engine. Drive all day and out of nowhere it would be almost dead. Get jumped and badda bing, back up and running. I’ve read dozens of threads about this issue and just disconnected the smart charging/shunt connection on the negative side about an hour ago. Started the car back up and it is charging at a constant voltage now instead of fluctuating while I am driving. We had a Costco battery I took back under warranty and have a new one that is about a week old, so this is right on time! Hopefully no more issues!!! 😊
2022 Frontier Pro4X it is on its third battery with in 30 months 37K miles. Battery goes dead without any warning. Nissan says nothing wrong with the truck. You gotta be kidding me! There's no plug on the negative battery terminal to unplug unfortunately.
Electrical gremlins are a PITA to track down. If you have a battery tender, cheap insurance to just keep it plugged in while you're not using it. Going with an AGM battery may help as well
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Ok, 6 days ago we unplugged smart alternator cable and our 2019 Armada is running like a “big dog”. It runs so much better getting the gas it needs to preform. I was to the point of great hesitation running short errands and taking on responsibility of loading up friends to run around playing. Well no longer, it’s like having a new car. Thank you !!!!
Great to hear! It's unfortunate that we came to a place in society where automotive technology was nearing perfection but then this idea of efficiency has begun to ruin everything
I’m having the same issue with my 2021 Nissan Armada but I can’t find where the smart alternator cable is located?? Any help? 🙏🏻
Check out 3:50 in the video, should be on the front of the negative battery terminal
@@aimeemcadams4355 were you able to find it ?
Thank You! I was working on getting the alternator replaced thinking it was going out. I'm on my second battery and noticed the rev limiting problem and figured out it was related to a low battery charge. I even got a battery with a higher CCA I had resorted to charging my battery with a trickle charger about once a month. I was told that the problem was because I only had short trips and the truck was not able to fully warm up most of the time. Causing the Battire to slowly get lower and lower from driving. This should be something that Nissan Fix's outside of the warranty or at the very least puts out a PSA.
Keep the Titan videos coming! Think you’re the only who creates these for the Titan.
It's a small community, for sure!
YES !
He is the ONLY one putting videos about the titan
I have 2018 platinum 5.6 and discontinued the plug and my weak start stop and transmission never missed a beat so far
@@4KMotoring bc it doesn’t sell. 10k units vs 100k plus for each in the big 3… hence the discontinuation. I’m here for the info as my brother insisted on a titan cummings bc he’s a ‘Nissan guy’ and I’m the ‘handy guy’
@@JAye365 Nissan marketing was really terrible, this truck was fantastic, especially when it first was introduced. Offered a much better value than most of the competition for a very solid truck.
@moemassy8624 Have a 23 p4x and I unplugged today and noticed a big difference. The Guage has stopped fluctuating and hope it does keep driving smooth.
I have a 2018 Armada and it was not starting correctly and going into limp mode. Took it to Nissan and they did not have a fix. Finally after two months it would not start. I jumped the battery and disconnected the negative connection as you show in the video and now the battery is fully charged and it is running great. Thank you for the video! I think this will help our battery last longer than two years too.
I just did this today to my 2017 Armada….. noticed a MASSIVE difference immediately!!! Thanks for the video!
Did it to my 2017 Nissan Titan XD. WOW. Before I would sometimes have hesitation or sputter on acceleration, like there was no gas getting to it. So far NO sputter or hesitation! Thank you!!!
This is happening to my 23 titan! I'm going to unplug this and see
2017 Armada
Same issue for a couple of years. Even found someone mentioning issues with the A/C not acting properly when idling as a symptom of this “smart alternator.” Had that issue in our Armada as well as the battery drained and caused no starts at inconsistent times. Happy to find your video.
I told my mechanic about it (because they ran an electrical diagnostic test on it and were stumped). It helped them. They looked into it and said on their certified mechanic forum (not sure exactly the name of it) mechanics are saying that Nissans has it down as something you can go into the dealership to get an update for that remedies the issue with the smart alternator. He also said it isn’t listed as a recall. Soooo, I called the local dealer. North Ft Worth TX area. Lady at the service desk said no recalls. Yes ma’am, I know. She wanted me to come in for a diagnostic test and see if a “bulletin” pops up for that specific issue. I asked surely there is a way you can look up to see if there is a bulletin on a generation of vehicles on a specific part. She said her techs said no, and they needed me to come in for
the $185 test and see if maybe a bulletin pops up. Pfffft 🙄
No thanks. Maybe if I confirm from other vehicle owners that are having this issue. I tried poking around the internet for a minute but didn’t find anything about a bulletin. If I knew there was for sure a bulletin I probably would go in and have them do it.
*makes me angry that these companies don’t recall things that will make bad PR and cost them. Who knows how many millions of dollars Nissan owners have lost trying to fix this.
Similar with my 2019 Chevy truck (first year of that body style)…got some recalls but had to figure out that they didn’t have the correct transmission fluid from the factory and the transmission needed to be “reprogrammed,” until the symptoms got bad enough to take in to the shop.
Seems worthy of a recall 🤦♂️
Nope they just make the vehicle owner get beat down with issues and save the bad PR from a recall…just my opinion.
Sorry for being long winded.
Hopefully I contributed something useful to the conversation
Tengo ese recall
I have this issue with my a/c with the connector unplugged. But my battery could be shit aswell
Thank you for this video. I have a 2018 Armada, which I bought two years ago obviously used. Previously to me buying this vehicle it had two new batteries and since me buying this vehicle, I have put two new batteries in the vehicle. We just removed this plug last night and my car started right up this morning. I will keep you posted! I was getting tired of my car, not starting and having to jump it. And never know when going somewhere if my car would start back up.
I had the same issue with my wife’s 2018 Amanda. She uses it mostly driving 4 miles ro and from work every day and the battery was requiring to be charged or jump every 3-4weeks. We would charge it and it would run fine for a bit but slowly would become slow to start. Took it to the dealership several times and they constantly said nothing was wrong. We replaced the battery twice and after investigating a bit found this and similar posts and videos saying the smart alternator was the issue. Unplugged it and it’s like a new vehicle. Better throttle response and no start issues after a few months. We still plug it up for long drives or trips just in case but it’s made it so much better.
Appreciate this video. My 2018 Titan SV would randomly have trouble starting and it seemed like always the starter was struggling even though i had a new AGM battery installed. Now after unplugging the grey connector the starter spins fast like it should and starts immediately. The voltage is good also at 14.3 👍
Thank God, I Just came across your video. My 3-year warranty battery in my 2017 Platinum Reserve 4x4 was about a year old. Luckly it was still under warranty. I just unplugged my so-call smart alternator and immediately my voltage upped to 14.22 from a 12.24. Thanks
My first battery lasted two years three months. Died suddenly three months outside the warranty period. There was a recall for an alternator problem but Nissan said the recall did not cause the problem.
Three years on the second battery I am boosting the titan every couple weeks or charging it .
Happy to try your cure
Keep us posted!
did it worked ?
Thank you so much for your video! You solved my issue. I had the transmission fluttering issue as well just yesterday and found your video. Now it is temporally fixed. I found out that that sensor is called a battery current sensor. A lot of newer vehicles have this technology especially vehicles with engines that have stop and go shut off/start option.
Thank you so much for posting this video! I bought a 23 titan a month ago and this has been driving me crazy
So I’ve been fighting this dang battery for a few months. Would take battery out and charge it, then I got a solar trickle charge and kept it on all the time. A few weeks ago my transmission would have a hard slip/hesitation when it would go into overdrive. I was getting ready to take it into a transmission shop. Before I took it there I said screw it and bought a new battery and did what you suggested and BOOM! Transmission is fixed! Great video!
Good to hear!
Did you have transmission looking for gears ? My 2017 Titan is lost unless it’s getting throttle
Excellent video, and I can't wait to get home and see if my truck has that smart plug. I have a 2017 Titan Platinum Reserve. The battery that was in it when I bought it (used 3 years ago...had 58k on it then, and I now have 86k) lasted until back in February this year. The only "modification" I added was train horns, but we wired the pump directly to the battery and put a toggle switch in the dash inside the truck...so we didn't tap into the fuse block at all, so as to eliminate a potential parasitic draw. I had a couple different days that the truck had to be jump-started. I had power, but not enough to crank the starter. Finally after the 2nd jump start, I went ahead and replaced the battery figuring 3 years was about right. I put in a new battery back in February and then last night when I went to move the truck again, it had to be jump started. I took it in to an Auto Zone and someone came out to put their "tester" on it and she said the battery tested "low" but good, the alternator tested good, but I was told it said "bad starter"...which I didn't buy at all. If the starter was bad, the truck wouldn't have started, AND a bad starter isn't going to cause your battery to go dead. This truck often sits in my driveway and only gets used for short trips sometimes...so your video makes sense. I'll try a volt-meter before, and after unplugging that plug and see what the results are. I will re-post after that. I'm really hoping this is my issue!! Thank you!
Hope it works for you!
I put a Die Hard Silver in the wife's 2018 Armada Platinum with 15k miles about 1.5 years ago. My wife drives about 10 minutes to work everyday. I thought it was kind of a hair off in the last week when moving it around. Last night, poof she was almost dead. I jumped it off with my 66 Beetle, found these articles, un hooked the grey wire, and slapped a trickle set up on it. Maybe we should report this to the EPA so Nissan will get their crap together? Imagine the amount of batteries being discarded. Thanks for the video.
Same issue here 2017 nissan titan xd 5.6 I noticed that in the summer time my ac was not working properly due to shortage of power.
I took it in to nissan and I'm surprised that they couldn't figure it out they replaced the fan clutch the fan motor and I still have the same issue finally one day for some reason I turned off my daylight running lights and instantly noticed my voltage reader stabilized I new then I was simply a power issue and this video confirm it. Great video thx
I wish I would’ve known this 5 years ago. I’ve always wondered why my battery voltage would drop so low when I run my ac in the city. It would go down to around 11 sometimes and the air would blow less. I just unplugged that dumb thing and it’s right at 14.4 and isn’t moving. I’m still in the original battery with 67,000 miles but recently I’ve been having weird starting issues where the truck shakes pretty violently trying to start. Doesn’t happen all the time so it’s been hard to get a diagnosis on it. ECU was a concern from other videos but I’m going to swap the battery this weekend and see what happens. Thanks for the video!
Did it work?
@@kylepowers1731 yep
Randomly not starting for my 2019 Armada has been a big problem. Nissan does need to be accountable.
I bought the SUV with 58k miles. According to Car Fax the previous owner had 2 batteries replaced at dealership while under warranty. Now 2019 Armada has approx 80k miles so I’m currently using 3rd battery. It’s been frustrating to nightly trickle charge and carry a jump box around never knowing when it’s not going to start. It’s made me crazy to have a car that I love, yet it’s not reliable.
Thankfully on TH-cam I am finding answers- solutions. When husband gets home we are unplugging smart cable. I will keep you posted and will be a happy camper if it solves it. Thank you !!!
I have a 2017 armada and we have been through numerous batteries and replaced brake switch and some other expensive component to repair BCI malfunction issue. I am STILL having issues with it randomly not starting. Wondering if unplugging the smart cable worked for you?
@@shannaryan7871 @Deborahellingtonthrasher8378 did a repost a month after this post and stated it is running fine. I have a 2018, purchased at 20k miles in 2018, today, I only have 57k miles and I am on my 3rd battery as of July 2023. Had an issue this morning. Went to Nissan and no problem with the battery. The manager wants me to (maybe VVCS, but can't recall) return so they can do a diagnostic for $183 and he mentioned bypassing something. I am sure it is this smartplug. I am not comfortable allowing the dealership to bypass anything, which could potentially void the warranty.
so did it worked ?
2019 Nissan Titan. I had issues with the engine starting up but only seeming to be running on half the cylinders almost. Super rough idle, try to turn the truck off with the starter button and it wouldn’t react, would have to put the truck in gear and choke it out. Would restart fine most of the time. I took it to the dealership on 2 separate occasions, they had it a total of 3 weeks and couldn’t figure anything out. I disconnected this plug and have had no more issues. I think the voltage was dropping so low at start up that it would affect the canbus system.
I have a 2017 titan XD, and it keeps going into limp mode. The transmission goes into some sort of a lockout mode, similar to being in tow mode. I have heard that if the alternator has a bad diode in it, it will create AC current in the system, and that will affect the speed sensor of the transmission, causing it to go into lockout mode and I’m getting ready to test the alternator or disconnect the alternator and see if that eliminates that problem even temporarily. I thought it would be easy but I can see that the alternator is down below the engine and not too accessible. I’ll let you know what I find out and I appreciate everything that you’re doing, all the information you putting out. Thanks.!
I purchased a new 2021 Pro4x and only had it about a month when the truck went into limp mode. After the dealer keeping it for about a week, come to find out it had a bad throttle body sensor. They replaced it and it’s been running great ever since. I now have 48k on the vehicle.
I did however put in a XS power D4800 AGM battery about 6 months later because I am running a aftermarket subwoofer and amplifier and I was just at the dealership for an oil change and they said the cold cranking amperage was low on it.
After reading reviews on AGM batteries, vehicles that don’t come with AGM batteries don’t have the charging capabilities they need to keep them fully charged. So if you run an AGM battery in your vehicle, be prepared to give them a trickle charge every now and then. And this was told to me by one of the technicians at XM Power.
Great insight and thank you! So, my 2019 Titan SV has been having an intermittent slow-to-crank problem. I sometimes observe large voltage (driver display) fluctuations when driving and when I do see this activity almost always the next time I start the engine its a problem. Sometimes starting is absolutely normal but 1 out of 4 or 5 starts are sluggish and twice it failed to crank altogether resulting in needing a jump start (battery tested normal after each). The intermittent nature of it interests me since I tend to think this (mostly) rules out the battery itself and places the problem on a "smart" charging system and its components.
I took the truck to Nissan yesterday who gleefully charged me the full $140 diagnostic fee to tell me the battery was outputting 490 Amps versus its CCA rating of 760 Amps (something autozone or similar could do for free) and blamed it on the battery. This particular battery (AGM) is only 12 months old and if I replace it, as per Nissan's advice, it would be the vehicle's third battery in 35,000 miles.
My question is this, if the battery voltage is dropping every so often due to charge deactivation, as appears to be the case with mine, why doesn't the smart charging system detect that condition and wouldn't a depleting battery force the charging system on all of the time? Might this indicate a fault within the systems ability to detect or act upon a low voltage.
Thanks again for putting this out!
That's a good question. I don't know exactly what factors the vehicle uses to control this system. Like most stop-start systems, I doubt it is programmed to work with anything but a fresh battery.
I have the same issue. Makes the wife really anxious when the truck is slow to crank with 20k miles on it lol. It is intermittent also. Also tired of the crash system warnings popping up.
Great video. My 2018 XD 5.6 had a battery replaced under warranty earlier this year. I'm having issues again. Truck barely cranked over Sunday morning. Consensus seems to be that Nissan flooded batteries are garbage. I'm cutting my losses and installing an X2 AGM on my dime and unhooking the grey smart alternator cable.
That's the route I took and haven't regretted it yet
My wife’s 2018 Armada had been doing this I just tried this and hope it works. Should I be concerned about it having too much voltage? I have seen where they say it could have too much voltage.
I have been monitoring the voltage on my Titan and, for AGM batteries, anything over 14.5 or 14.6 can be detrimental to the life of those batteries, I haven't noticed any any voltage that approaches for 14.6, mostly 14.3 to 14.5 so I think it should be fine, but will keep monitoring.
Not disputing your findings, but my concern is the video only proves there is a charging system regulator, what the video doesn't address is whether or not there is serial canbus data present. Most certainly, everything visually seen through the voltmeter makes sense in a conventional sense, what isn't discussed is the constant higher voltages effect on all the control modules running constantly at a voltage they may not have been designed to handle without a duty cycle. The new models use electric pumps in the transmission, which may now be providing a higher than designed pressure, among other systems. The battery can certainly handle the higher voltage without cooking, but the other systems longevity is now in question.
Definitely something to consider, but my opinion would be that the alternator stays charging at high output if you're on the interstate all day long, only disengaging at idle or low load scenario around town to save MPGs or whatever their reason is. If it can handle constant voltage on the interstate for undetermined amount of time, I doubt constant engagement will be a problem.
Time will tell, I'm hoping to find out more about exactly how the system works to find any potential problems within.
Oddly, mine fluctuates at highway speeds, same as in town driving, on/off so I'm thinking different years have been modified, if the module is addressable and is also programmable, Nissan may have made corrections, without taking a a few years apart we won't know.
I was just thinking the same thing. Downstream effects.
Same issue with a 2022 Frontier. Vehicle was undercharging the battery and eventually killed it at 26,000 miles. I put a new battery in and unplugged the load sensor per this video and the battery is performing and charging like it should. The only downside are the two codes that get stored in the computer but they don’t appear to trigger the engine light.
Thanks. I will give this a try and see if I get any performance improvemen😢s.
Any improvements?
Just replaced my battery on my 2018 Titan under warranty with another oem Nissan battery on August 30, 2023. Went to start my truck today and was locked out of it. Battery was completely dead and the doors won't even unlock. Drove to work fine three days ago and had to drive the wife's car the other days. So after two days of sitting the battery completely drained. This has been a constant issue since I've owned the truck. It also had the issue with the harness pinched and caused it to stall while driving on the highway the first year I had the truck.
Check your battery terminals, they are often hard to tell if they're on too loose
Wow! This is news to me. I’m driving my third Titan, a 2019 Pro-4X. I’ve never had it stutter like your example in the video. But, I’ve had four batteries in four years. It’s starting to drag upon starting, again, and the local dealership told me the battery terminal was loose. They wanted to charge me $80 to tighten it! Of course, when I got home and tried to tighten it, that wasn’t the case. I couldn’t locate a loose bolt anywhere. None of my other trucks had this problem. Maybe because they were SV models and didn’t have as much stuff on them?
Thank you for this video. I have a 2023 Frontier Pro 4x with now 5500 miles and have been babying this Renault lead acid battery since day 1 with a trickle charger, almost nightly. I thought maybe the dealership rapid charged the battery from dead before I drove it off the lot. It's always showing between 71-75% charge when first hooking up the trickle. Also have been looking at trying to install an Odyssey group 27, or group 31 "if it will fit". Would have been a $500 mistake if that smart plug was connected as I'm sure a group 31 is going to need 14-14.5 almost constantly.
And with Auto Start/Stop, you're really asking to abuse the battery on top of it not being charged in the first place.
I'm disconnecting the plug, I'll let you know what happens
I have a 2020 Titan with only 27K miles: Truck operated normally Friday 12/15/23 - tried to leave Sunday 12/17/23 and truck is completely dead. Attempted to jump start but my device indicated "vehicle system fault" and would not let me proceed. Also attempted to charge the battery but my charger gave the same error code. Battery is completely dead even though it is only 5 months old after being replaced by the Nissan dealer. Towed truck to dealer - They charged battery and ran tests that all came back as "Good Battery". I will most likely be stranded again in the near future.
Nissan batteries are trash
Bought brand new 2023 Titan Xd less than two months ago. Dealer gave me new battery at purchase due to truck sitting on lot for 2 years. Battery was completely dead this morning. Nothing turned on and had to manually unlock my truck. Tried to do battery warranty replacement but sadly battery had 768 crank amps which is well above the nissan warranty threshold so they wouldn't replace the battery.
The dealership that installed it should offer the replacement. Seems like an odd scenario. Check loose battery connections, common for sudden no voltage scenarios.
I have a 2008 Armada with a lot of miles, some years it got driven a lot, some years not so much, but regardless how much I drive it, I get 2 years out of a battery, lead acid or AGM. I had a cheap $59 walmart battery last 2 years and a $159 AGM last 2 years. Lead acid batteries require a saturation charge around 14.4 volts, also they need a periodic equalization charge around 14.6. Periodic overcharging will desulfate the weak cells. Constant undercharging will cause the weakest cell to sulfate and eventually fail. How much fuel does it have to save to offset the cost and inconvenience of having to buy a battery every 2 years?
My 2018 is having slow starts. It’s the original battery and 46k miles. With the truck off my battery voltage is 12.1
I guess I need to replace it..? Should I unplug that grey plug too?
Yes to both!
I have a 2018 Titan SV and have had a few instances where the truck doesn’t want to start. I put 900 CCA deep cycle battery and it reads good. I will try this and see if it helps. If not maybe my starter is faulty.
I know this sounds stupid, but tighten your battery terminals. They are deceptively picky about being secured well
Hey, I noticed you had warning lights on your dashboard. Are any of them from disconnecting the plug you showed in the video?
Thank you, vektor.
Nope! They're all related to me having the door open and seatbelt off while filming
Thank you sir!!
Having the same issue with my Mitsubishi outlander. My 1st batt almost died after 1yr and 6mos so I had it replaced. But still the charging sucks. I'll try to do this, hopefully I'll get a better charge 😂🙏
wonder if this works on my juke 🤔
i know ti has the same annoying smart alternator that basically almost stalls the car if i'm at idle and try to do something as unthinkable as roll down a window.
While I'm not positive, I would imagine it has the same system. Unfortunately if you're experiencing those symptoms your battery probably already needs replaced.
So recently the battery on mine just died while at idle at the light im going to but in a new battery and try this. Thank you
I have a 2020 Titan SV. Bought in 2021 with 1400 miles. Had to replace the original battery in 2022 at around 25,000 miles. Replaced with Nissan OEM battery under warranty. Now, 18 months later at 53,000 miles, truck starting to have those sluggish starts. Also, the crash detection/parking sensor system randomly disabled the other day while driving down the road on a clear day. Possibly a voltage drop? I’m going to give this a try and see if it improves.
Let me know! Modern cars are very picky with their electronics
Battery last about 4 years. And I replaced with AGM, since then I have experience when voltage is low, window roll slower. And it’s been 3 year, I realize AC cooling harder when vehicle stop in a light after highway. (Because voltage is higher when I stop) I will unplug it and see if it get fixed
My 2017 king cab S 4x4 is still on the factory batttery at 46k miles. It’s usually only driven on long trips so maybe that’s why my battery is still in good shape.
Hi Chris and thanks for the video! Can you give an update on how your truck has been running since you did this mod. Did u have to plug it back in due to issue, did you have any error codes coming up due to it not being plugged in? Let us know and again, thanks so much!!!
The truck has been running great! No issues at all. There is one code that comes up when you scan the truck with the plug disconnected. It doesn't throw a check engine light and resets itself if you plug it back in. I'd still recommend it!
Hey what are the potential long term consequences for unplugging this. Im having shifting issues. So i unplugged and it immediatly felt better! Jist worried i might cause more problems or void warranty. Thanks!
This is how vehicles operated for a long time, so there are no significant issues. Some say constantly overcharging AGM batteries can shorten their lifespan, seems as though the "smart charging" system was already doing that.
There is a code thrown when the plug is disconnected, but it doesn't trigger a check engine light. It automatically resets itself if you plug it back in, so may want to do that if you take it in for warranty work.
Does this effect AGM batteries? I've read that it is recommended to use the smart charge for AGM batteries because if not they may explode.
Agm batteries don't explode, although some traditional wet lead acid batteries do. AGM batteries can have their lifespan degraded by constant overcharging, but usually at voltages higher than what our alternator puts out. Given the amount of failures these trucks have with the smart alternator system connected, I can't imagine todd leaving it unplugged could possibly shorten the life anymore. From what I see and from my own experience, this is allowing a much longer lifespan for our batteries, AGM included
2017 nissan titan - I’m driving and the radio goes black battery voltage jumps up to 18 and there’s this ticketing noise that last from 10-20 second, it’s been doing it now for few days straight , it use to only do it sometimes, the stereo was in truck when I got it , no other electrical items have been added since , I did have to replace battery once few months ago , just trying to figure if it’s the alternator or battery
If you're still using your factory battery connections, try this first. Pull the cables off of the battery and reinstall them and ensure there is no corrosion and that they are tight. I had some similar issues to what you were saying due to a poor negative connection on the battery that I thought was good, but after cleaning and tightening the terminal all the problems resolved.
Juke 2011 here. New AGM battery won't charge over 12.2v. Mechanic says nothing is wrong with the charging system but I bet they can't say to disconnect the "Smart" alternator. Just did it. I'll let you if I can keep a charge on my battery.
AGM batteries are sensitive to overcharging and can be ruined quickly. Hopefully unplugging the grey cable will fix the problem, if not, the battery may be ruined
Any other problems from removing this plug?
Nope!
My 2021 Titan SV battery just dropped out on our first cold overnight, 10/16/24. I'll be installing a new $ 275.00 battery today. Thank You Nissan for the poorly designed "Smart Charging System".
Nissan needs to be held responsible for the incorrect settings on this system...
This isn't Rocket Science, nor is it hard to fix. Just set the SCS parameters to keep the battery voltage where it needs to be for a standard service life... Leaving customers stranded is not good business.
I'm going to try it mine's doing the same thing I've got a 2018 Nissan Titan pro 4X
What was the stutter issue you showed in the very beginning? My old Titan did that and the dealer told me nothing was wrong. Ended up trading it in anyway so never pursued it. Just curious.
That was a low voltage issue caused by an undercharged battery, basically put the transmission into a limp mode. Just needed a new battery.
@@4KMotoring that’s crazy. My dealership had no idea even after I recorded it and sent them a video.
Disclosure, yep same here 2019 Titan on my second battery Nissan said had to do with a variable valve timing and did a reprogram but also said battery was bad in replaced it. Only had 40,000 mi
Other that warranty is there a risk to this? If one unplugs this does it then operate like a normal battery and alternator? Does it put extra strain not meant to be handled on the alternator or anything?
No warranty issues here, just plug it back in before taking it to the dealership.
As far as I can tell, no objective risks here. More drain on alternator, so fractionally lower fuel economy. Battery voltage remains constant (some say constant high voltage that may shorten the life of AGM batteries).
Shortened battery life is better than no battery life. Can the car handle a different upgrade battery when I do have to change it next time, is there a better battery in this situation I’m still on a 2021 factory Nissan battery.
Any AGM will outperform the factory battery. I personally went with an Optima Yellow Top, but ProjectFarm has a good TH-cam video comparing AGM batteries
I tried this on my Ford Transit custom and the alternator was pushing out 14.8 volts consistently my concern is that that voltage will be too hot for some of the wiring over a long period and also with the battery charge properly ?
14.8 may be too high for some batteries. AGM batteries often die quickly when exposed to voltage that high.
Just unplugged mine today after my battery dying with no warning. It was an AC Delco that was only 38 months old. Thanks for the detailed content. Side note. Just noticed your 2018? Titan has the coolant overflow tank on the RH center of the radiator. My 2017 tank is located left of the radiator. Was this moved to deal with a known issue possibly?
Is yours an XD or standard Titan? The XD engine bay was reconfigured to accommodate the Cummins Diesel option
@@4KMotoringAh. Yeah, mine is a '17 gasser. Didn't realize you were working on a diesel. Thanks for making quality content.
XD uses a bigger cooling system. XDs are designed to tow and do work. Lots of differences between a XD and non XD Titan.
SOS!!!
Just picked up a 2019 with the 5.6 and experiencing a similar issue. Under light acceleration, the truck has anything but a smooth rpm. It bucks and has troubles to accelerate but not when asked for a heavier response. Swapped the battrry for new and no solutions. Didnt have this experience when test driving. Only when i got about 2 hrs into the drive home did it start to do this. Any assistance is welcome.
If your truck is exhibiting this behavior only when it's hot, it's probably time to flush your transmission fluid. A lot of similar issues get solved by this relatively inexpensive fix
I've disconnected the grey plug on mine. I doubt the fuel savings will be more than a new battery. The other mod I've done is install a catch can.
What brand catch can did you go with?
Question did this fix that issue you had before with the whole bouncing RPM at low speeds?
I didn't try this before I replaced my battery, replacing the battery fixed the balancing issue so simply unplugging the cable may buy you some time. Ultimately, the fixes to replace the battery and unplug the cable
Looks like the older Titans/Armadas were affected. Any issues w the 2023/24s?
I've heard this is not as much of an issue with the 23+ trucks, but have not been able to test this myself. Watch your voltage screen to see how it's acting.
I was wondering that also as I have not had an issue with my 2023 Platinum
The big issue with the VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROL is the current sensor is located near the battery along the negative battery cable. If you add electrical accessories to your vehicle, be sure to ground them to a suitable body ground such as the frame or engine block area. Attaching accessories directly to the battery terminal bypasses the current sensor and the sensor is unaware of the additional drainage and doesn’t compensate for this.
does this fix also apply to 2021 armada models?
Yes!
So do you still have the smart alternator cable unplugged and has there been any change or findings since you did this.
It has remained unplugged without as much as a hiccup. The truck has been running flawlessly
@@4KMotoring did you notice a difference in fuel efficiency?
@@corihernandez9226 none whatsoever. The XD never got great mileage, putting the KO2s on didn't help at all. Can't say I've noticed any difference with the smart alternator plug disconnected
So, I have the same truck it's a 2017. I bought it in 22. Last night I got to the race track, I was their for six hours. Went to start my truck later in the evening, and it just clicked. So I got a jump from a atv and I was on my way.
So this morning I checked the battery with my tester and it said it was bad.
I did this a couple years ago on my 2015 armada. Only problem is the P1551 code. I don’t like having the check engine light on in case something else throws a code and I don’t know about it because the light is already on.
Interesting, it doesn't throw a code on the Titan platform
@@4KMotoring
It did fix the charging problem though. I’ve read that you can cut one wire from the alternator to the ecm that sends the signal to reduce the charge but I have no idea which wire it is.
This works. Look at the charging section in the FSM and it will show which plug in the IPDM and which #wire to cut. Mine was the ALT-C, (alternator control)@@cnoodle7650
I unplugged it. Then I took it apart and removed the steel piece which conducts from terminal, I was then able to plug in, however still disable it. I was worried about contamination.
Not a bad plan, I sealed mine in plastic, but contamination was definitely a concern
In my 18 Titan I just had a weird starting event after stopping quick at a gas station. Came back out and pushed the Start button and it tried to start (it was partially firing) but never got close to idle speed and died. Then on 2nd Start button press it did the same thing but did try to stay running at very low rpm for a couple seconds before dying. I then waited a few seconds and pressed the Start button again and it started like there was never a problem.
STRANGE electrical issue that I wonder if is related here.
I am going to watch my voltmeter for a span here to see anything weird.
That's exactly what most of our trucks do when the battery starts dying, how old is yours?
@@4KMotoring I've had the truck since 2019, have 67K miles, and have not changed the battery. I live in SC.
WOW! I've been struggling with my 2016 Titan with the RPM flutter for 1.5 years. I just unplugged this and it's about 90% gone! The truck drives soooo much better now! Do you think upgrading the battery could fix the remaining slight flutter?
These trucks are sensitive to voltage fluctuations, if eliminating the alternator base fluctuation has helped, and your battery is more than 2 years old, I would say a battery replacement is probably warranted
But they also have some transmission related flutter from the torque converter. If you haven't replaced the transmission fluid that should also be one of your next steps
@@4KMotoring battery is 3.5yrs old. And I agree it could be torque converter, but the trans fluid has never been changed, currently 140k miles. I was told that if I changed it now, I'd certainly be asking for trouble.
@@lagsautosales6088 that sounds like a cop out answer. If you're only experiencing a slight fluttering (not as bad as the limp mode flutter), it may be a cheaper fix
@@4KMotoring the trans shop and the Nissan dealer told me that if I were to change the fluid, it would most likely ruin the transmission. BTW thanks so much for answering! And I'm ordering the Optima battery now!
I have a 2017 used Nissan Titan s b that I bought with 108,000, mi. The car will randomly not start and say that it has a dead battery. I take the key out of the fob unlock the door manually because the power locks will not work at all. I cannot even open the doors manually from the inside the other doors. I unplugged the smart charger. We'll see if this helps. I appreciate anybody that posts helpful videos. Thanks for the idea. I unplugged the great thing.
Check the battery terminals. It is super easy to not have them tight enough or to have some slight corrosion that keeps the connection from being solid. I would remove the battery terminals, clean them, and re-tighten them to see if you're still having a problem.
I got the premium battery from orielys, got the battery In and now when I go down the road it goes from 14 to about 12.
Same issue with my 2022 pathfinder. I already replaced 2 alternators
😮
I have a 23 Titan. I am on my 3rd battery. The dealership keeps saying they do not find anything wrong. Basically telling me since they can not duplicate the outcome. Im gonna try this and see what happens.
That's wild! What symptoms were you experiencing?
@@4KMotoring My battery would just be dead. The locks wouldn't even work. I'm on my 3rd battery, the first 2 were so bad it wouldn't even take a charge. I just got it back last Thursday after my truck was there a week. Basically the guy said they charged the battery and said their favorite saying. We can't duplicate the problem so it must be ok. Well this past Monday it was dead but I used a battery boost to start and was able to get around.
Buddy unplug the wire
@@moemassy8624 I did. No actual change unfortunately. In the process of Nissan buying back.
Most all of the commenters have 2020 and older trucks. Does this connector “trick” also apply to a brand new 2024? Does a 2024 even need to be concerned with this?
From my understanding, Nissan switched to AGM batteries in the newer trucks that seem to handle the voltage swings better. Though, I think the reason the older truck owners are more vocal is because their trucks have had more time to show symptoms. I'm not sure if the smart alternator algorithm was tweaked in the 2020+ trucks, but I would imagine unplugging the cable is still a good idea
Does unplugging its cause any codes or dash lights to come on?
No dash lights at all. The truck does recognize when they gray plug is disconnected but to my knowledge doesn't store any codes for it. I would recommend plugging it back in if you need to go to the dealership for any sort of warranty work. Make sure you keep it watertight if you unplug it to ensure it does not corrode or short.
Awesome, thank you for responding. I've had a intermittent problem with starting. 2018 titan, It would turnover extremely rough, sometimes would start others it would fail to start and would Starr normal the next try. The times when it would start after turning over rough it would go onto a limp mode exactly like you featured in the video. Been into dealership 5-6 times, they've replaced battery and cam position sensor and it still did it.
Long story short, had another issue with the engine and started to knock pretty bad. Dealership replaced the engine, 2 weeks(approx 900miles) after new engine and it started rough again.
@@gilby6389 That's terrible, sounds almost lemon law like. To rule out any sort of battery issues, keep it on a tender to stay topped up. Unfortunately the limp mode can be triggered by many things, voltage being just one of them. Good luck and let us know if you find any solutions!
Thank you !!! I have a 2019 Armada that I love, yet it is not reliable and won’t start at random. How can I haul friends around on “girl days” and take elderly parents places. It’s been frustrating beyond. It has 80k miles on it and I bought it with 58k miles. According to car fax , the dealership had replaced 2 batteries for the previous owner while it was still under warranty. So I am on battery 3 and will definitely go unplug the cable. You have saved lots of frustration! Thank you again and I’ll keep you posted.
Interesting. I've had my 2018 P4X since April of 18, between 0-40k miles I had 2 or maybe 3 times where it would start funny. Start & immediately bog low rpm, electronics going wild. Once I'd turn it off, give it 10s or so, and start again, it was fine. Around 45k miles, I could tell that the battery was getting weak, no real funny business, but it just sounded strained at times. I've had shit luck with OEM batteries in the past from multiple mfgrs. I chalked it up to being an OEM Nissan battery, and went and got a new AGM Platinum something or other from Autozone/Advanced. Just about to hit 50k on it. No issues at all since the battery change, though a much shorter period to notice such a thing. I'm just now hearing about this plug. I may disconnect mine as I dont really understand the point anyway. With a 3" lift and E rated 35s, and a 5.6 V8 pulling a 6000lb vehicle, I can't say fuel economy is great (though not any worse than any other like vehicle regardless of maker) Dumb alternators have been working great for decades....Guess I'll try this and see what dumb can do for me! Hey sometimes dumb works out! Cheers.
I've had a few minor electrical gremlins over the 7+ years I've had my '17 Titan which include having 2 batteries replaced under warranty. Currently I'm dealing with start button issues where I need to hold the fob to the start button to make it work. Remote start and also lock and unlock from fob work but button on the door handle and don't. So the proximity function of the remote isn't working or isn't being recognized by the truck. Any thoughts? anyone else out there had and solved this issue?
I've had kind of similar issues in the past related to the battery terminals, for whatever reason these trucks have super sensitive battery terminals that need to be very tight, they can be deceptively loose causing intermittent connections and related issues
still running good ?
Yep, no problems at all
I just got a 20 armada and wanna get myself subs again. Need to install ho alt as well as a bunch of agm or make switch to lithium. Will doing this trick mess my install up? Help the install or if anyone has also done this tell me bout your install. Thanks.
I can't imagine disconnecting the smart alternator plug would make any difference.
Lithium batteries can output a lot of power for a very short time, but the AGM will have a far greater capacity for that
On my 2020 Titan brand new OEM battery lasted 22,000. It was replaced under warranty, but still I was left stranded.
My 2018 started giving me issues before 40k miles with transmission limp modes and slow starts. Crazy that Nissan continues this tech
Exactly the same issue with my 2020 Titan. Replaced battery at 25,000. Now at 53,000, and battery is weak again. I just tried this fix, hopefully it will help my battery charge properly.
I have the same rpm gauge rev issue exactly like your vehicle, along with slow sluggish/weird starts but I’ve also have intermittent cam/crank position dtc’s. Did you have any random dtcs during your trouble shooting? While I was scanning my truck info center informed me the ignition will shut off for power conservation.🤦🏻♂️2017 Titan SV. I’m looking at replacing the battery and disconnecting the “smart voltage regulator”. Thanks for the video!
No joke, a week ago my 2017 Titan Platinum Reserve started doing this then threw me into limp more with a ton of codes and a dreaded P0606 code. Turns out it was a bolt that went to the crankshaft position sensor and it fixed all. So maybe check that, crazy weird thing to me that it'd cause that much chaos but it did.
I certainly never got any codes, but if you're still running your original battery it is absolutely a good idea to replace with a good AGM battery. The tip above about the crankshaft position sensor bolt may be worth exploring if you're experiencing a code as well.
I have a 23 P4X with around 20000 miles. I’m having zero issues and hoping I never have any. I don’t want my battery to go bad so I’m considering unplugging the wire but I read a post where some guy said his transmission screwed up because it was unplugged. Anyone else have issues after unplugging the wire?
There have been several transmission issues noted in these trucks related to various causes, the majority I've heard are from low voltage rather than high voltage.
Make sure you are following Factor instructions to change your transmission fluid every 30-50,000 mi to avoid problems
@@4KMotoring good point
I've got a 2021 Titan S with the gas engine and gone through 2 batteries under warranty already. Unplugged and capped the system and it's quit. Only problem I have now is when I idle for extended periods 10-15 minutes then go to drive the thing goes into cripple mode, have to stop, shut off and restart. Get check engine light and the dealer can't find anything wrong. It's not tied to the PMS plug because it's done it both ways. Kinda dangerous in city driving going into cripple mode and no one can figure out why. Anyone else experienced this?
I would recommend getting a code reader if you don't have one so you can pull whatever code is appearing when you get the CEL. If you don't have one, I would recommend the bluedriver
amzn.to/3uYq2w2
Iam going to disconnect the smart charger cable
This is off topic but am I the only person experiencing the transmission shifting way too quick into 3rd at low rpm’s? Its always done this and it hits 3rd and drops to about 1500 rpm’s leaving me no power and having to stomp on it to downshift to get up a hill
9 speed or 7 speed?
@@4KMotoring 7 speed
Yes , I have the same issue. When you step on it. It shifts fine.
I have same issue. I just drained trans fluid. Looks good. There is. TSB for a TCU update regarding shifting point 2016-2019. $160 if you don’t have warranty
Has anyone had this same issue with the 2019 Nissan Armada?? Battery draining, jump starts, replacing batteries and charging battery??
Same system, the smart charging plug ruins batteries
Not a 2019 Armada, but we have a 2018 that randomly would not have enough juice to turn over the engine. Drive all day and out of nowhere it would be almost dead. Get jumped and badda bing, back up and running.
I’ve read dozens of threads about this issue and just disconnected the smart charging/shunt connection on the negative side about an hour ago. Started the car back up and it is charging at a constant voltage now instead of fluctuating while I am driving.
We had a Costco battery I took back under warranty and have a new one that is about a week old, so this is right on time! Hopefully no more issues!!! 😊
Trying this today 8/7/24 new amg battery
2022 Frontier Pro4X it is on its third battery with in 30 months 37K miles. Battery goes dead without any warning. Nissan says nothing wrong with the truck. You gotta be kidding me! There's no plug on the negative battery terminal to unplug unfortunately.
Electrical gremlins are a PITA to track down. If you have a battery tender, cheap insurance to just keep it plugged in while you're not using it. Going with an AGM battery may help as well
My battery lasted 1yr months