**Understanding Car Electrical Systems and Troubleshooting**

When it comes to car electrical systems, there are many things that can go wrong. In this article, we will explore some common issues that can cause a car to shut down or not start properly.

One of the most common problems is an issue with the ignition switch. The ignition switch is responsible for sending power to the relay, which then sends power to the 12-volt system. However, if the five-volt supply is not being sent correctly, it can cause a range of problems. For example, if the battery says it's good but needs to be recharged, it may indicate an issue with the electrical system.

In this case, we were analyzing a Nissan Rogue that had been experiencing problems. The car would start up fine, but then shut down again after a few minutes. We took the car apart and discovered that the ignition switch was the culprit. Replacing the electrical parts of the ignition switch resolved the issue, but it highlighted the importance of addressing simple problems first.

Another common problem is with the rear suspension. When there are issues with the rear shocks or control arm bushings, it can cause the entire vehicle to shake. This can be a serious safety issue and should be addressed as soon as possible. In this case, the owner had been experiencing shaking when driving at high speeds, and we recommended fixing the rear suspension problem first.

When it comes to battery maintenance, it's essential to address any issues promptly. Even if the battery says it's good, it may still need to be recharged or replaced. In this case, the battery was three years old and had 640 cold cranking amps, but we decided to take it for a test drive to see how it performed.

As we drove the car, we noticed that it started up easily, but the acceleration was slow due to the CVT transmission. The CVT transmission is designed to optimize fuel efficiency, but it can also cause issues with performance and handling. In this case, the Nissan Rogue had a CVT transmission, which is different from traditional automatic transmissions.

After driving the car for a short while, we pulled over and checked the brakes and ABS system. To our relief, everything was working properly, including the brakes and anti-lock braking system. However, the takeoff from a standstill was slow and sounded like a motorboat, indicating that there may be an issue with the transmission.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, car electrical systems can be complex and prone to issues. It's essential to address problems promptly and thoroughly, starting with simple repairs like replacing the ignition switch or fixing rear suspension issues. Additionally, regular maintenance of critical components like batteries and transmissions is crucial to prevent breakdowns. By following these tips and being proactive about maintenance, you can help extend the life of your vehicle and avoid costly repairs down the road.

**Recommendations**

If you're in the market for a new car, consider purchasing a brand-new model from manufacturers like Toyota or Honda, which offer better quality and reliability compared to used cars. However, if budget is a concern, buying a used car can be a cost-effective option. In this case, the Nissan Rogue was purchased at an affordable price with low mileage, making it a decent purchase for someone on a tight budget.

**Final Thoughts**

Overall, analyzing a car that dies while driving down the road requires patience and attention to detail. By taking a systematic approach to troubleshooting and addressing issues promptly, you can identify and fix problems before they become major headaches. Remember to always follow safety guidelines when working with electrical systems, and consult professional technicians if you're unsure about any repairs or maintenance tasks.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines all right the nissan rogue it's now nissan's best-selling vehicle i'm not a fan of course they have problems this particular one man's daughter was driving the highway it just stopped running then it got going again and people can't figure out what's wrong well i'm going to figure out what's wrong i'll give a little history personally i don't understand why he would buy a rogue because presently 2021 the list price of the rogue is about 750 bucks cheaper than the list price of an equivalent toyota rav4 it would make no sense to buy one of these but then again you get these things relatively cheap used now i have to say they're relatively safe vehicles inside because her daughter got hit by a hummer she then got the insurance money and paid just a little bit more and got this 2011 rogue sl which was a higher model and it only cost her a couple thousand more was like 12 000 that's used it's a lot less than the original list price 26.5 was what this thing cost originally and it only had about 50 000 miles on it that shows you that the resale values aren't that great but to look on the positive side this thing is 138 000 miles and it just stopped on highway last week so it's run a while for now unfortunately for her this is probably the tip of the iceberg and it's going to start having electric problems up the wazoo or their horrible jacco automatic transmissions which are cvt transmissions this is a cvt transmission it could go out or as we look under the hood you gotta watch their head gaskets they can have problems but at least this is an older model it's 2011. so if you look down here you'll see it has regular fuel injectors and it's not turbocharged which is probably why it's still running pretty good it doesn't have gdi gasoline direct injectors and it doesn't have a turbocharger which is going to wear these things out faster i just did a video the other day with an old 77 nissan pickup truck it had the same size engine 2.4 liter it was still running pretty good these older engines they work a lot better than the newer ones do people buy them because they got a lot of room in them you know you open the door if you didn't just look closely you think it could be like a rav4 it's got the same type of room and a medium sized trunk and really it's a decent looking suv but this one she's driving on the highway traffic slow down she's going 15 20 miles an hour anything just cocked out on her so let's figure out why so first we'll check the battery we'll just hook it up negative the negative positive to positive make sure they're nice and tight in vehicle battery post top post regular battery and the input 640 cold cranking amps put it up to 640 surface charge detected all right turn the headlights on make sure you close the door can't have any circuits open retesting battery testing definitely above 32 degrees fahrenheit today it's good but it needs recharging now he just drove it from dover and it's like 50 miles away it should be enough to charge it up let's do the rest of the tests so we'll start it crank is normal now we'll test it rub the engine from my 50 years experience of working on these things if your battery says it needs to be recharged but it's been driven on a highway for a while and it still says it needs to be recharged but the alternator test is okay that means the batteries just shot i'd replace the battery for sure but we're gonna go through all the rest of my big computer we plug it in right here and we'll check it out diagnosis with auto search it's a new machine so here we go looks like we're at the slot machines are we going to win or not look we've got a winner 2011 nissan rogue so let's diagnose it we'll do a full system diagnosis take a while because it's going through the whole car but you really need that when you get a problem that the car just cocked out as long as you have not disconnected the battery it will retain all the memory of what's happened in the past so we'll be able to get some good information when it's done transmission control module has a problem so let's check that first p1701 so as we can see from my data system when the power supply to the transmission control module is cut off the malfunction is detected and it sets this code so what does that say it didn't get power trip that code if the battery is weak if it goes below a certain parameter exactly what will happen now it's got some other codes too the control module has three codes let's check that out we got low pressure front right low pressure right and ignition circuit open well the tire pressure just nothing to do with it but it's got an ignition circuit open cost and that will definitely kill a car too so it lost ignition signal again if the battery gets below a certain parameter it'll start shutting things off and realize it's not as simple as you might think this looks like a regular ignition switch no it isn't everything's an illusion these days that looks like an ignition switch you put a key in you don't even put a key in it it is a 5 volt reference signal that when you turn it sends information to the computer then the computer looks all around and goes is this right is that right is this red is that right is it in park is it a neutral blah blah blah blah then the computer sends a five volt ground to a computer module then the module sends out power to a relay now the relay takes that five volts and then the relay has a 12 volt power supply then that five volts grounds it and sends 12 volts to the system the system itself works on 12 volts but the system that supplies power to it only works on five volts you lose power that five volts doesn't work right the car will die now there's a zillion things that can go wrong computers wiring even in this case an ignition switch can cause that but since the battery says that it's good but it needs recharging even though it's been recharged replace the battery on a car like this first now let's say it didn't have any codes like that then the first thing i would have done with this i've taken this all apart and replaced the electrical part of the ignition switch but since it says the battery needs to be recharged even though it's been recharged i always fix the simple things first just yesterday one of the viewers emailed me and said my whole body of my vehicle's shaking i had the whole front end done over but i know the rear ends got problems i i don't think it's that you know i put a drive shaft in i had the tires mounts but still when i get to a certain speed the whole vehicle shakes well i told them i said you know you got a problem in your rear suspension fix that first because if those shocks are gone or if the control arm bushings are rotten and it's got too much play that's going to make it shake all over the place and strangely enough when you get rear problems on your car your whole vehicle will shake but if you have front end problems generally it's a steering wheel that starts shaking first but if you got problems at the back the steering wheel generally won't shake but the whole vehicle will sway side to side always fix what you know it's broken first there's so many interactions in cars today don't end up kicking yourself in the head because something is dumb as your battery needs replacing and you don't replace them so we're looking here this battery is you know three years old now it does have 640 cold cranking amps but they never last all that long so let's take this thing for a ride see how it goes now as you can see it starts right up no problems you couldn't hear a little bit of engine noise but all these nissan engines with the timing chains they're a little bit weak so you can hear the timing chain a little but that's normal for these things it's nothing outrageous that's got that wonky cvt transmission bump kind of sounds like a motor boat to me i just don't like the cvt transmissions unless they're toyota or honda and they have those launch gears because when they got those launch gears on them they take off in an actual gear and then they switch to the cvt after first gear is done that's got a nice ride to it you sit up relatively high so you feel safe and being a nissan it's got good handling there's no arguing that it's a comfy car for driving around in so let's see what this thing can do we got it and drive not really brisk acceleration and of course it's a cvt so it doesn't shift gears that's why it went up high and stayed now it's better than the earlier ones but still i'm not really impressed to get out on the open road hey they're nice driving cars i got nothing against them you want to piddle around on these things it's got 138 000 miles on it hey they're not horrible cars of course as i said if you're gonna buy a brand new one heck for 800 bucks more get yourself a rav4 or a honda crv you know they're much better made vehicles but these things used like she got for 12 grand and she's put like 75 000 miles on the thing and it's still running what the heck and there's nobody around now so let's check the brakes abs works good comes to a stop they're still working fine but that take off to me pretty slow kind of like you're waiting and waiting and waiting and then it sounds like you're a little motorboat so now you know a little bit more about the nissan rogue and about analyzing cars that die while you're going down the road and why if you could get one of these cheap enough with low enough mileage it could be a decent car for a while but if you're in a market for a new one you'd be a fool to pay 800 bucks less than a rav4 or a crv and buy one of these new no way but used you could probably save two to three times your money buy one of these things used so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell\n"