All power lost, including engine, power brakes, and power steering while driving on city streets. Cause is an electrical connector on wiring harness intermittently causing an open circuit on a power wire. In particular, the faulty connector is e104 on the hec (the back of the fuse panel in driver side compartment). Failure occurs more often in hot weather. Failure has occurred twice while driving, and dozens of times when parked. Jiggling the connector often restores power. Also, a similar power wire open circuit occurs on another connector on the same hec that causes all lighting to the instrument panel and most interior lighting to fail. Failure has occured at night while driving on city streets, preventing the driver from seeing how fast they are traveling.
1996 Nissan Sentra electrical problems
11 complaints (8% of all complaints for this car).
- owner complaints
- 11
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Wiring: fuses and circuit breakers2
- Alternator/generator/regulator2
- Wiring: interior/under dash1
- Wiring1
- Ignition: module1
- Ignition1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Nissan Sentra electrical problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 1996 Nissan Sentra owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Cpsp: my car, a 1996 nissan sentra, lost all power while driving. No power steering, no power brakes, engine turned off. This has happened twice while driving, and numerous times when I go to start up the car and nothing happens. *bf the consumer stated the failure was due to a faulty intermittent circuit. Updated 10/16/2017
Electrical problem, the distributor has malfunctioned 4 times since my ownership of this vehicle. Car fails to start, with it being in the firing system this presents a fire hazard.
My 1996 nissan sentra has a defective odometer. My unit is being repaired at my expense. My complaint is that cars with faulty odometers are both a safety hazard and a consumer fraud problem.
There was a short circuit in tail lights. Consumer started to smell smoke and noticed dashboard lights and taillights had stopped working.
The complete dash light goes out -- sometimes blinking on and off... Mostly off. This is very dangerous at night for the driver, especially because it is such a distraction with the blinking light, temporarily distoring vision. It has almost the same effect as a strobe light! Nissan mechanics said nissan is fully aware of this problem but unwilling to pay for fix. Totally unfair and unsafe for consumer. Please make nissan accountable -- issue recall immediately. It may save a life (or more).
Check engine light keeps coming on. Took vehicle to dealer for repairs. Parts had to be ordered. Has happened 4 times before. The control unit was replaced.ak
While driving the car died, put in park and tried to start, car would not turn over, the entire distributor had to be replaced, when the car was towed, the part was ordered from nissan. *ak
While driving an electrical short in the wiring caused the vehicle to catch on fire. Cause unknown. Please provide any details.
Alternator failed two weeks after purchase.
Questions about the 1996 Nissan Sentra electrical
Does the 1996 Nissan Sentra have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 11 complaints about the electrical of the 1996 Nissan Sentra, 8% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1996 Nissan Sentra electrical problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Nissan Sentra electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Nissan Sentra have the most electrical problems?
The Nissan Sentra model years with the most electrical complaints are 2019 (65 complaints), 2002 (54 complaints) and 2010 (50 complaints).
Other 1996 Nissan Sentra problems
Airbags 53Visibility 15Transmission 11Brakes 10Acceleration 9Engine 9Lights 7Tires 6Fuel system 5Suspension 5Body 4Seat belts 4Seats 3Wheels 3Steering 2
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