I have a 2001 Nissan Altima (automatic) and I have been having an intermittent electrical problem. When the car is idling or I am almost stopped the electrical system will just shut off randomly. It will occasionally also fail to start. Usually I can wait, try to shift and then it will start. Once I had to disengage and reengage the battery to get it to start.
I took it to mechanics (not a dealership) I trust who could not reproduce the problem, and couldn’t find a direct reason for it. Since it was due for a tune up they did that, and cleaned all of the conacts in the process. For about 4 weeks the problem went away, but now it is back. Any ideas?
I first recommend that you clean the battery connections using a battery brush. Even if the connections look ok, this will eliminate them as the trouble. The next place to check is the main fuse panel under the hood. Try tapping around on it while monitoring the power to see if you can make it fail. The other are to also check is the ignition switch. Try tapping on it with things turned on.