(Pt 1) Nissan Dealer & Shop STUMPED for 6 MONTHS?! (Possessed Titan No-Start)

[@zacharystewart1064]

As a Nissan tech I’m genuinely surprised that dealer didn’t figure it out. First thing I check is ohm the cam lines 60ish good 120 definitely a problem. Then I’ll check maf and ignition coil for power will tell if ecm relay good or not quicker then getting to the ipdm. Then powers and grounds. Word to the wise not even “new” oem ecms are good. Had to go through our tech line to parts warranty a bad new ecm. After 4 hours of run around I put my own cash on the line to order another ecm which fixed the issue

[@firstlast---]

I agree 100% this was a pretty straightforward diag. Well it was until people got their hands on it lol

[@JamesAgans]

So what chance does an owner of one of these POS have to fix it? Slim to None.

[@nv1493]

Kudos to the owner, they gave it a lot of effort, went further than most shops. Nothing wrong with a lengthy summary, lots of good background info.

[@SouthMainAuto]

Pretty straight forward diagnosis 👍🏼

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

@@SouthMainAuto and now we have to deal with the "butchery" haha 🤪

[@lvsqcsl]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics You have dealt with it before; and it is interesting.

[@BryonBarros-zu2bk]

Man, that brother in law went above and beyond on his diagnosis. Good for him. Great information given.

[@dustcommander100]

That you can find your way thru 2 bad ECM's and then program the key to the ECM is simply amazing. Simply amazing!

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

A bad replacement part can drive you crazy for sure! Thanks Ivan!

[@nukesploder]

Hey Ivan, not sure if you'll see this. I had an OBD1 car (87 thunderbird turbo coupe), and this whole business of the ECU's and second doubting yourself is the real trouble. You'll check your powers and grounds, get a replacement ecu and think well, I just got a replacement ecu and its still not working so I got to fix something else, only to find out that THAT replacement ECU is bad. 2 years of false diagnosis only to find out that i needed a 3rd ecu was my issue. So glad about your videos! Sorry about the HAUNTED truck!

[@crashoverride328]

Just had a fun one. 2012 Focus Beached Whale for 4 years. Was donated to me. Most of the onboard systems non responsive, no crank no start. Traced it all back to the classic fail point on them. TCM. Plus some corrosion on the HS CAN bus lines. TCM plus an Alternator when I got it running. Alternator can be commanded successfully but no output, even in default strategy mode. Was a fun time diagnosing.

[@rkan2]

Now whats wrong in thr TCM I am interested?? 😅

[@fredautos]

Fun one

[@crashoverride328]

@@rkan2 at the moment they old TCM is DOA. No response, all powers and grounds good but since I don't have a core charge on it I plan on diving deeper. I believe it's usually that the boards are connected internally by friction spikes.

[@marstedt]

Thanks for the info. Can you update this post if you find out more?

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Wow, that Nissan is a wounded warrior caught in shop wars! Lot's of preparation work, even before starting diagnostic. Great job testing the ECM, Ivan! Part 2 is pending on getting a good ECM - can't wait to see how it goes!

[@MichaelMosesHammer]

You're constantly getting better, and better at being a problem solver! As i am a poor old backyard mechanic, I really enjoy your videos!

[@johnz8210]

Nice video. I visited a fairly well known ECM store not far from here. I needed one and was going to pay extra shipping costs , then realized they were 20 miles from me. So I went there. It was a guy in a semi trailer with boxes of used ECMs, and he was painting them flat black and putting decals on them.

[@COBRO98]

Lol wtf

[@johnz8210]

@@COBRO98 Yes, on their website picture there's ecm's on wood - that wood is the steps into the back of the trailer.

[@additudeobx]

Another tool I have used to adjust bent or loose connector pins is by using the sharp tip of a pencil style long sharp Xacto blade tool. The blade can slide under the clip, slight twist of the tool to adjust. The thin sharpness of the blade helps a lot with other pin adjustments.

[@lvsqcsl]

Just goes to show you over the years you have had your channel, Ivan, you have had a lot of good influence. It is difficult to diagnose an issue from a video. GREAT VIDEO!

[@snooketcher]

Had the runaround with flagship one on a Buick. Ecu not available anywhere else. Month and a half back and forth. Each PCM would have a different issue with random components. Finally a new PCM became available and the job got finished. Don’t really blame them, they are just polishing turds! Good work dude!

[@jeremyhanna3852]

Thats were your wrong there not doing proper testing on there used rebuilt ecu's no matter how much junk they take in they should beable to repair them and test and ship good ecu's

[@tecnaman9097]

@@jeremyhanna3852 Precisely!

[@dharley189]

@@jeremyhanna3852Yes I fault them for poor quality control testing BUT they are working with cheap poorly designed pcms that have domino effect failures. I just had back surgery. I still have a 70 yr old back ready to fail at the next vertebra 😢

[@fredautos]

Yo Ivan, back at it! But hey, its a Nissan!

[@sspnugen]

Can’t wait for part 2

[@plowe6751]

23:05 "It should even run the truck on 6 cylinders." -- Oh really? In my mind, crossfire would occur and the engine would not start due to different firing orders. 28:38 I was right!

[@pjfoltz8810]

Ivan, you are the man. You know this stuff so well. My husband and I are subscribed to you.

[@shuriKen469]

push, pull, or drag it to Ivan if you can! good on the owner for attempting to get this back on the road. sucks that the dealer probably just threw around trade-in value numbers instead of doing proper diag with the appropriate repairs. hopefully this gets sorted in the end.

[@jerryking2418]

Great diagnostic.

[@joenmass]

Another excellent learning video.. while i was watching this video I thought to myself... it would be great if on one corner of the screen there could be an image of the pin layout as the pins are being probed. Just a thought. Always looking forward to your videos.

[@nickchannel5364]

Very nice video Ivan. I liked the nighttime setting.

[@artyart31]

Waited until the final results before I watched, so here I am. Got my coffee and muffin ready. I had the other muffin already. Lol

[@frankcarpenetti5776]

This is a awsome video! One of your best I think Ivan. Thanks for all your sharing.

[@cullenmiller8170]

Nice video and diagnosis. Flagship one is more like a Flagstone. You’re sinking like a stone when using them. 🤣

[@johnmccallum8512]

Are there any other refurb shops around?

[@windward2818]

If you don't want to use bulb testers when testing the ECU but want to avoid DMM DC ghost voltage and draw a small load current, you can add a 220 Ohm non-inductive resistive dummy load (I use a TO-247 100W Thick Film power resistor without a heatsink, it has an isolated case if you want to attach it to a small heat sink) to the DMM inputs which will draw 60 mA ( 50 mA and above will remove ghost voltage for 12 V systems) at 13.2 VDC (close to a common sustainer voltage of 13.5 VDC). I do use bulb testers but usually only for bulb loads like external lighting and signaling. I also have low current LED testers which obviously do not have bulbs but draw very little current less than 50 mA. The issue I have with bulb tester, besides the cold filament inrush current, is the fact they don't tell me much. If, for example, I have a DMM with a 100 Ohm +/- 1% Tolerance resistive dummy load when I measure DC volts, let's say 12.0 VDC, I know how much current I am drawing using Ohm's law. In this case 12.0V/100 Ohms = 120 mA. So, with the DMM and dummy load when measuring DC Volts I know the voltage very accurately at a known current, which is useful data. With my DMM I have many different insulated test leads to choose from; back probes, specific pin probes, clamp on, piercing etc. so my focus tool is my DMM and I just adapt other test methods (like dummy loads) to it.

[@gutsngorrrr]

It's a sad day, that the customer does better diagnostics than a maun dealer and many repair shops. Good on the customer for giving it a really good try.

[@petermccoll469]

Very impressive, not many look for pins that won't make a good connection.

[@billmalec]

Flagship seems more like a dinghy.

[@brucecampbell3062]

Happy Halloween 🎃 from Canada 🇨🇦 😊

[@v12alpine]

I knew the V6 ECM was going to scan because the check engine light came on immediately instead of a long delay.

[@NoName-yr1jv]

Well done Ivan 👍

[@mos8541]

they wrote a NOVEL...

[@chadgardee1496]

It’s so satisfying when you can fix a car nobody can fix huh especially when the dealer can’t do it I have fixed so many cars that dealers and shops couldn’t fix nobody wants too invest in diagnostics 🤦🏻‍♂️ but they will invest in swap tonics 🤦🏻‍♂️ some shops got it backwards I swear damn great video Ivan

[@dharley189]

I know the scenario. Was in this 14 yrs at dealer and 36 as shop owner. Dealer doesn’t pay you to think. They pay you to guess and swap using SWAG method. (Scientific Wild A$$ Guess). I got a lot of satisfaction fixing those the dealer gave up on. Probably didn’t get paid what they did for guessing though 🙁

[@moose3971]

I had the exact same issue with the exact same truck lol. I do mean the same truck. Would have been cool if the 6 cylinder computer would have started it lol. I need to make me up some of those test lights. So handy. Truck is still running great too!

[@ehsnils]

It would have been a really fun surprise if it started and actually ran on all 8 cylinders. However it would have been interesting to see codes after the crank attempt. It could have at least revealed some other possible issues. The TCM that sometimes was available seems to me to be a bit of an issue, but we'll see later.

[@plowe6751]

13:18 Previous tech spread pins. 23:49 Encouraging hoarding of PCMs. 25:12 Data-driven diagnosis.

[@NotHarry-er3wg]

Another amazing job Ivan! Its unreal what can be done when someone takes pride in themselves and in what they do. I don't now whom i like to watch more you or Eric from south main auto... Hmm Let me think. ///// Eric for the win! only because he has other actors on his show, and boy, they are entertaining. You are as well! Agreed the more information you have for us the better as it makes us ALL better techs. Some of the other techs will just not put in the time for the customer. If its not in the book as a billable job, they are not interested,

[@goodtimejohnny8972]

I feel like USA is the new Cuba. Parts are hard to find for older vehicles. New quality parts are even harder to find. In part 2 Ivan will have to install a Holley sniper ignition system to make the truck run again.😂

[@kathrynw3]

It absolutely amazes me that in this day and age, a factory dealer can't fix their own products, which begs the question, Why even buy a new car when after a certain amount of time it will become unfixable even by the "factory-trained mechanics"?

[@russellhltn1396]

I wonder why the TCM is still off-line. I'm just a bit leery about the CANBUS test as there's no "load" on the wires when their being measured. Ideally, you want the same amount of load the ECM puts on the line to make sure there isn't a high resistance connection somewhere. Plus, it would be nice to establish continuity between the ECM's data connection and the ODBII connector. All that traffic might be from another module that's on this side of the break/high resistance connection.

[@brap5829]

One guy actually told me point blank that how to repair a car is find the cheapest thing it could be and replace that, if that doesn't fix it then replace the next thing on the list (by cost), replace that and keep going

[@scottpatterson-es4re]

Sweet, been waiting for a new video

[@AntonBabiy]

If these ecms failures are common I'd imagine people have already root caused the internal failure? Interesting what actually fails inside cause as long as its not one of the locked and programmed chips, it can for sure be repaired.

[@haroldhawkins9370]

Nice video Ivan.

[@craiggoodwin9704]

Ivan, I think the main problem is that it is a "Nissan". I really enjoyed following you thru the diagnosis process. Looking forward to Part II. Thanks for Sharing! 🙃🙂 P. S. Any reason you are working in the dark?

[@caseypowell9030]

I'm impressed ivan

[@EEmpire505]

Lol, those crickets are loud!

[@Ben-says-you-are-AWESOME]

Thus far that doesn't appear to be a very difficult diagnosis. Nice to have another ECU to confirm the communication issue is with the customers units. Will there be a surprise in part 2?!

[@jws3925]

Burning midnight oil, Ivan? You should re-introduce yourself to your wife!

[@RussellBooth1977]

They're not as dumb as the old analogue computers such as the Bosch L-Jetronic ECUs which will run a 4,6 or 8 cylinder engine no problems. Holden ran their then 30 year old 6 cylinder engine in Australia with one of them in 1984 & it was very simple only requiring an ignition pulse signal from the ignition coil & a tachometric relay to power up the fuel pump. It was the same setup BMW used in the 1970's & Opel probably did in the same shape of car (Opel Rekord) in Europe when I was born in 1977 & 7 years before Holden fitted it into the Holden VK Commodore in Australia. They'll run just about any engine back then !

[@glenharper3136]

Thanks for the video Ivan.

[@davidwalk9045]

The dealership didn't want to look at.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Then why hold it for 6 WEEKS?!

[@calholli]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics They were probably hoping he would just trade it in and buy something else.. They were trying to wait him out and see if he would fold.

[@dougyoung3896]

Halloween special !

[@danamcintyre3565]

I purchased a computer from a place in Homestead FL they do plug and play deals, the first one I received didn't work so i sent it back with the problems i was having and the second one is just fine and by sending my computer i now have a life time warranty Computer Resources I think is the name !

[@atticstattic]

_All Computer Resources_

[@danamcintyre3565]

@atticstattic I couldn't remember there name, thanks.

[@rudimaier3679]

The thought of firing a v6 with a v8 ecu surprises me a little 😉

[@1990smitch]

Had me ready for part 2 dangit

[@mikechiodetti4482]

Hopefully part 2 will get this vehicle running.

[@hmallett]

I think one thing that probably makes a difference is the customer recording what they tried and what the results were. At least then you know what has been touched already.

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

Wait, they brought it right past South Main auto to Ivan instead! Pretty straight forward diagnosis. ;)

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Eric doesn't take out-of-staters... Especially butchered beached whales! 😆🐳

[@JamesAgans]

Anybody else notice that this Nissan truck was pulled to Ivan with a Ford pickup? Lololol

[@SeanBZA]

Big difference cranking with a good ECU, it was trying to inject fuel and fire plugs. First ECU definitely bad, and second as well. TRhe only difference between 6 and 8 cylinder ECU is the programming flashed on them, the actual drivers for the extra cylinders will be there, as it is cheaper for Nissan to make the ECU in bulk, and simply flash it on the way to the assembly line for the vehicle, as they have to in any case flash in the VIN, and an extra 10 seconds of flashing the latest firmware is already there, so making it generic is no extra time at all. Just different option bits set in the ECU, telling it which maps to use, and number of cylinders and timing to expect.

[@tomtke7351]

your 'nad' endowment is generous.

[@lawrencehalpin6611]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@andreichichak5242]

I would have been amazed if it ran on 6 cylinders. The firing order is wrong, other than cylinder 1, as is the injection order. The cam sensor wheel SHOULD have the wrong pattern to sync, unless it is very simple and just indicates the phase. On the other hand, the ECM may have the same hardware, including the traces to the extra pins, just the wrong firmware.

[@jimmyt4324]

Main reason people struggle with diagnosis is that critical thinking has gone by the wayside in education. It has been replaced with rote memorization. If you dont know how something works you cannot fix it if the answer isnt in the book. Service manuals will usually get you in the neighborhood but if the answer isnt in the manual knowing how a system works is 100% necessary to pinpoint a problem. I have tried numerous times to explain issues and what was tried to a service writer. They smile and are polite and then you see the service ticket and all it says is "Customer states car wont start".

[@COBRO98]

That's because service writers don't understand a word of it in most cases, they don't hire previous mechanics as service writers. You also should understand that your own testing means virtually nothing when you bring it to someone else, they still have to go through and verify everything themselves from step 1. People touching their own vehicles creates more of a problem 9/10 times, in this video Ivan found spread out pins, I'll give you 1 guess how that happened.

[@lcjnsb]

Love your content, but am turned off by multiple parts, I never seem to see the part 2 of your videos. Keep up the great videos

[@arthurmchugh5184]

Seeing all this drama makes me love my 83 Porsche even more!!!!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@adamtrombino106]

I noticed that the TCM was offline with the off the shelf ecm. I didn't think it would start for exactly why Ivan said, cam/crank correlation. But I would've tried too, just for giggles. Since so many hands were in this thing, I can't help but wonder how many man made problems Ivan will find even after he gets good com and serial data...

[@MrTonyPiscatelle]

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder what do the dealer monkeys actually fix ?

[@russellhltn1396]

If they're like some dealers, they're forced to follow the factory troubleshooting tree. But that doesn't always work.

[@johneddys2351]

#1 Dealers are generally forced to follow pre determined repair procedures. #2 Dealers usually only care about warranty work on newer cars or basic maintenance on semi current cars #3 Dealers generally suck and don't attract or reward good technicians.

[@2nickles647]

​@@russellhltn1396I agree sir. Forced

[@MrTonyPiscatelle]

@@russellhltn1396 And neither do they most of the time. So they are just parts swappers not technicians

[@CartersDiagnostics]

Not all Dealer Techs are Monkey's 😂 Some are just old and ugly😅 Bad apples can fall from many different trees

[@baxrok2.]

Thanks Ivan!

[@dharley189]

I’ve seen and experienced plenty of poor “reman” pcm stories. If manufacturers aren’t going to supply electronics then they should release the design info to see if someone will build new units so good vehicles don’t get crushed. Just my thoughts.

[@brassmule]

I just changed the oil filter housing on a friend's 2012 Chrysler 300 with the 3.6L engine. Reminds me a bit of this but not really? It runs and drives great, but the check engine light popped on about 3 months ago. You can't access the ECU to get the CEL codes. But you can communicate with (nearly) every other module, except SRS. None of the modules have a code set for No Comms with ECU, either. I am not really sure what to make of it exactly.

[@mikecalvin1402]

Fine work🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@glennbellman1100]

I had a nissan armada come in the shop. It would sometimes not start. Problem was the instrument cluster which has part of the security system in it.

[@askotroberg7929]

Thats called Nats system

[@GeneG-wk2mz]

You the night mechanic now

[@mattbrown5511]

More planned obsolescence for us to have to buy a new vehicle. After 10 years, after production year, I hope you saved some money for a new vehicle purchase.

[@Autotech213]

Even though it was at the dealership for 6 weeks and they found nothing atleast they admitted they don’t know what’s wrong and didn’t start throwing parts at it and hand him 4K bill for an unfixed truck. Too bad more aren’t like that.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

It should take them 2 DAYS to admit that... Not 6 WEEKS! 😂

[@KasparrTV]

Had a 2010 Suzuki Equator that was a no start no comm, found TCM to be shorted out bring the whole network down.

[@wimphilipsen2651]

Never ask brothers in law to fix your car. Your sister should have warned you.

[@keysautorepair6038]

Good old flagship have had one success with this company and one compete failure with them that took 4 months to get my money back and they charged me twice lied to my bank stole my money not once but twice.

[@brap5829]

❤😂😂 aftermarket parts replacement on steroids is what happens relentlessly and then u don't know what's wrong because you just put in a bunch of new stuff

[@daveerrington5166]

Flagship has burned me twice. Uggh

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

I swear the last 5 cars that were brought to me the owners said "I replaced the ECM from Flagship 1"...😂😂😂

[@m.x.6521]

Modern day Frankenstein

[@Shododaan]

And now I'm worried that I need a backup ECU. I have a 2005 Titan 4x2 Crew LE that from time to time won't register the VIN with my Autel MX808BT.

[@knowone6214]

any bets on Flagship 1 failure??.....LOL...friggin Computers and Idiots at the shops.....amazing

[@BrianWetzel]

"Brother-n-Law" 😉wink 😉 wink 😂😂😂 Always the Brother n law .... Never the Brother 😭😭😭

[@rhkips]

In another 10 years, the number of LS-swapped Nissans is gonna be insane. Frontier? PutaLSinit. Sentra? PutaLSinit. Leaf? PutaLSinit...

[@keysautorepair6038]

Ivan can you recommend a cheap oscilloscope for diy people by chance thanks.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

See Amazon Store :) I would get a 2-channel Pico!

[@keysautorepair6038]

@ Thanks Ivan !!!!

[@calholli]

I wouldn't get the cheap (2xxx series) 2channel pico, it's only 8bit resolution and most of them only have 8k memory. The best 4 channel for the pric3 is R^gol-DHO804. They are small enough to still be "portable" and run on a simple USB-C plug. But it's a full on bench scope and packed full of all the best features; 12bit vertical resolution, 25M deep memory (vs 250M in the 40xx series 4channel pico- which Ivan uses; expensive). Fantastic for the price (four hunded).. The only thing better (for the money) is the 4 channel Pico Ivan uses.

[@calholli]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics I wouldn't get the cheap (2xxx series) 2channel pico, it's only 8bit resolution and most of them only have 8k memory. The best 4 channel for the pric3 is R^gol-DHO804. They are small enough to still be "portable" and run on a simple USB-C plug. But it's a full on bench scope and packed full of all the best features; 12bit vertical resolution, 25M deep memory (vs 250M in the 40xx series 4channel pico- which Ivan uses; expensive). Fantastic for the price (four hunded).. The only thing better (for the money) is the 4 channel Pico Ivan uses.

[@calholli]

I wouldn't get the cheap (2xxx series) 2channel pico, it's only 8bit resolution and most of them only have 8k memory. The best 4 channel for the pric3 is R^gol-DHO804. They are small enough to still be "portable" and run on a simple USB-C plug. But it's a full on bench scope and packed full of all the best features; 12bit vertical resolution, 25M deep memory (vs 250M in the 40xx series 4channel pico- which Ivan uses; expensive). Fantastic for the price (four hunded).. The only thing better (for the money) is the 4 channel Pico Ivan uses.

[@brucecampbell3062]

Ringing? Sounds like frogs 😅. Lucky you

[@Nakkilauta]

This made me wonder if you could put the v8 software into that v6 ecu and would it work. But probably v6 ecu is missing drivers for those 2 extra cylinders.

[@Flowtester1]

Nissan under the shade tree. Start calling Ivan the shade tree mechanic.

[@richardcranium5839]

curious the original issue was a limp mode. always go from the beginning. what causes limp mode? work from there. it seems to be the same scenerio. customer tries then other shop then dealer and then ivan. too many fingers making too many other problems. does make for fun watching though!!!!!

[@SubmarineSquid]

When are we going to see you fly your powered paraglider?

[@Gman-apr53]

Sherlock Holmes deduced, "Electricity is the high priest of false security".

[@greystone83]

Flagship! gets mentioned again

[@davidzelkowski9948]

It's most likely the cam signal.

[@DaveyHo69]

>IVAN!!!< Ever dealt with old style (not Chinese) MSD 6A ignition box? Mine lost spark, no spark when shorting magnetic trigger wires together... This on 600 HP 401 AMX....

[@zbigniewrichard8291]

How much time does it take (on average) to document yourself about a new car model you never worked on before?

[@askotroberg7929]

That like mine Nissan z350 all dead no electrocity any where.ignition out.no power..went for parts