# '02 GXE is Narcoleptic



## StillWatersRunDeep (Mar 14, 2011)

2002 Sentra GXE 1.8L

I'm not sure if this is an issue with the engine or some other component(s), so I'm posting it here.

I don't know how else to explain it...it doesn't happen every day, and might not happen at all for 3 months, only to be plagued with it all day, every day, for an entire week. 

Basically, when my engine is running, my car just starts going 'crazy' (watching the tachometer, it starts going all over the place) and sometimes will 'fall asleep' (0 RPM). Sometimes it wakes back up, other times it will cut off.

When I my car is 'asleep,' I will still have power steering and power brakes - my car will still have power. If it cuts off, I'll lose those things, as you might expect.

Here's a video to help demonstrate what I'm talking about:





Additionally, when my car shuts off from this, it doesn't always want to start back up. As I'm cranking my car, my tachometer will be at 0, and stay at 0. Suddenly, it will start to move a little bit like it WANTS to start up. If I start pumping my gas pedal, my car will turn on.

There is no way to reproduce this. There doesn't seem to be any sort of magical condition (that I can control or rely on) that determines whether or not this starts happening. It happens whether I have a full tank of gas or an empty one, whether it's 90 degrees outside or 30.

The ONE consistency is that it has never given me any trouble in the morning, when I first start it up for the day.

As a result, the mechanics I've taken my car to have not been able to figure out what's wrong, simply because they weren't able to reproduce it and see it for themselves.

I'm hoping someone might recognize this issue and has a possible solution that doesn't involve a lot of money.


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## knight634 (Feb 20, 2011)

Is it throwing an SES light? Or the obvious are your battery terminals ok? sounds your car is either grounding out or you have a bad important chip, going bad.... Try to take it to an electrical specialist (Mechanic)


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## StillWatersRunDeep (Mar 14, 2011)

I have no lights on the dash unless my car shuts off, but then it's just the normal lights that come on as if your key was in the Acc or On position.

Terminals looked _alright_ the last time I checked. Not bad enough to be causing any problems.

Any idea what what kind of important chip would be going bad? I have a feeling I'll have a very hard time finding something like an electrical specialist in my area.


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