4x4 thats scared of water..

Hey Guys...been with you now for a couple of months but this is the first post,got loads of info from the forums and now have a drama with my M plate 2.4 mav..got it in summer very cheap due to the fact it wouldnt engage 4x4low..cut the gearbox boot and removed carpet stopping it from engaging ,been superb ever since apart from the fact it uses more fuel than the nasa space shuttle..however since the bad weather i have found the car is terrified of water,and if i drive through a couple or 3 inch deep puddle it cuts out..have to sit and wait or flatten the battery to start it again..gotta be electrical but i thought they were made for puddles....any ideas plz..????
great to be here..

[lacroupade]

If you look at the connectors, the electrics are pretty well protected on these trucks, so I would be looking for damage of some kind or a poor joint (which you can fix with silicone?)....maybe check your earth as well, just in case?

heyup dragnut,
just been reading your post about your maverick, and ive just a question, for my own knowledge, cause i've got a 2.4 but its been at the garage for about a month having the engine sorted out,
what sort of mpg are you getting out of yours?
i think mine before it went in was doing about 20mpg, is that about what you get?
sorry if i sound a bit nosey but just thought id ask,
thanks for your time,
craig

[Terranosaurus]

Originally Posted by dragut

Hey Guys...been with you now for a couple of months but this is the first post,got loads of info from the forums and now have a drama with my M plate 2.4 mav..got it in summer very cheap due to the fact it wouldnt engage 4x4low..cut the gearbox boot and removed carpet stopping it from engaging ,been superb ever since apart from the fact it uses more fuel than the nasa space shuttle..however since the bad weather i have found the car is terrified of water,and if i drive through a couple or 3 inch deep puddle it cuts out..have to sit and wait or flatten the battery to start it again..gotta be electrical but i thought they were made for puddles....any ideas plz..????
great to be here..

Is the nearside inner wing rubber splash shield properly inplace (or there atall?)? Without it water splashed directly onto the distributor everytime you drive though a puddle.

Nissan provided a nice little press stud on rubber boot for whee leads come in/out of the Dizzy - is that there?

If the above are ok would suggest its time for a new set of leads and best to do the plugs, dizzy cap and rotor arm whilst you're at it should help the economy a bit too. The insulation on old leads start to break down and when they get wet there is a path to earth. The dizzy cap it'self has a nice rubber O ring seal so you shouldn't be getting water in there - give this a wipe with some silicon grease or vaseline when you replace it.

If you're still having problems after the above it may be time for a marigold glove over the dizzy, one lead out of each finger/thumb and cable tie round each lead and the dizzy body to seal it - but really you shouldn't need that. In the floods of 2007 I spent ages in water deep enough to imerse the dizzy and it never even spluttered, the standard set up is very good but it needs to be maintained.

Hey guys thx for the replys....going to replace the leads as u said..all the covers are in place as they should be and im going to silicone a couple of major conectors as well...let u know if it helps....been testing it on an old lane near me at Doncaster and the big puddles shut her down....Regards the MPG on this one yes thats about right 20 to the gallon,and for some reason it doesnt matter if im driving steady of giving it a bit..seems to still hit the same milage....been thinking of gassing it but the cost is more than what i paid for the truck :|

[Terranosaurus]

BTW - you really shouldn't be having problems with water if everything is in good order. This is a fairly old video but shows my old petrol mav going through some flood water. The previous day I did it in both directions and then the armco that is visible towards the end was fully submerged. Can't remember precisely what spec the truck was in then but the most it will hav ehad was 30" tyres and a 35mm lift. The body lift came later and I took the bull bar off before that anyway.

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