THEJEFFERATOR

i recently bought a 95 se with 178k...sometimes it runs ok, outta nowhere it starts to break up, sputter while driving, mostly in the off idle to 2800 rpm range. at stops, idle drops to 3-400 rpm, smokes black, gotta put it to the floor to clear it out. sometimes it goes right away, other times i have to power-brake it and hold the r's up to keep it running.

i've done..air and fuel filter, pcv, egr solenoid valve, ks, copper plugs, fuel treat., seafoam, cleaned tb, checked all vac. lines. flushed coolant,

no codes.
i've read the stickies, but nothing sounds quite like my prob.

this is my first maxx, i need your help bad !!

thanks

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

My friend had similar problems... we NEVER got to the bottom of it - and it just went away all of a sudden... I even replaced his MAF for him... the only thing we didn't do was the coils... but he never threw any misfire codes either (or any other codes for that matter) so we were left guessing... the dealer gave up on it too - after 3-4 visits and a bunch of his money.

I'll be interested in what you find out and what others suggest.

THEJEFFERATOR

before the prob. went away, do you remember replacing anything else that i havent, besides the maf. my batt. seems weak but besides that i just don't know. im ruling out coils or injectors for now cause it runs so bad that it couldn't be a single cylinder problem.

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

All I remember is the problem would go away for a while (weeks, months sometimes) after I drove it hard... my friend doesn't really drive it hard - slow acceleration, in-town driving.. I think something is really just clogged up - but I could never figure out what. His stalling was REALLY REALLY intermittent.. sometimes once a week, sometimes at every stop light... it only happened 2-3 times while I was playing with it and trying to fix it.

I replaced his IACV, fuel filter, plugs, cleaned the TB, replaced air filter, ECTS, MAF (used), ran techron through the gas lines, had him switch to premium gas from 89 octane, and nothing seemed to help (at least in a direct correlation). Eventually he switched jobs and ended up commuting on the highway to downtown and that's when the car stopped stalling...

THEJEFFERATOR

sounds exactly like what im experiencing, are you sure he didn't sell it to me ? lol...

i hope somebody has some input here cause it's really dangerous to drive around town and i dont like drivin my son in it !!!!

njmodi

iTrader: (4)

Do you have a 97 Pebble Beige GXE

Actually he still has his - it has been running fine... although he did mention the other day that once in a while it stalls as he shifts into reverse (automagic).... not more troubleshooting!

THEJEFFERATOR

it's doin it right now !!!!!!! i have the scanner plugged in....nothin !!!!

THEJEFFERATOR

BUMP.....this is killin me, i need help..please !!!!!!!!!!

aleveran

Check this thread my Brother http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=400817

NCSUpilot

I had some problems with hesitation and stalling, not quite as extreme as yours. I took it to Nissan and they could never find the problem. I eventualy found the problem. Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. It was a cheap part ($25) and real easy to fix. Might be worth testing to see if it's the problem.

aleveran

Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor throws a code (0908 or 0103). Did you get check engine light with those codes?
Also, Temperature Sensor is in play only when you start a car in a cold.

THEJEFFERATOR

I have read that could be a cause, they get corroded. just flushed my coolant, i dont know what was in there but it wasnt anti freeze !!!

some cars, like caddy's w/ the northstar engine, coolant sensor reads overheating condition and randomly cuts spark to keep the engine cool. not sure if ours do the same. i'll keep it in mind ...thanx

aleveran

While our problem descriptions match there is one test that could tell if we have the same problem and it can also eliminate some of your theories.

Test: While on park put the pedal to the metal for 30-45 sec.
In my case engine keeps 6k rmp for 15-25 sec and then rmp’s begin to drop/jump.

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

on the Engine Coolant Temp, sounds like your car is running uber rich and dying off.. change that.

mbb6

When i "power brake", pressing on the brakes in drive and pressing the gas pedal, the car starts to stutter and intermittently lose power. I am throwing a ks code plus an A/t communication error code. Any one else with these problems.

killcrap

iTrader: (3)

Seems like ur saying it runs okay when the engine is in open loop. the following sensors are used after closed loop.

O2 sensors
EGR Temp Sensors
and some CAT efficiency monitors.
check MAF sensor also.

THEJEFFERATOR

holds rpms fine, but then again..it's runnin ok right now. i'll try again when it starts actin up.

THEJEFFERATOR

if your powerbraking in drive, the trans might be trying to shift , try diong it in 1st gear . what rpm is it happening at ?

killerVQ30DE

Ahh no its not.. its always in operation
It tells the ECU if the car is running to hot or cold, out of the safe operating range.

It won't always throw the code until it fails, it will just supply crap readings.. will tell the car its overheating so it starts killing the revs...

THEJEFFERATOR

i guess i'll give that a shot since its cheap. where is it at, in the side of the block somewhere?

NCSUpilot

It's on the engine block/radiator hose, pretty close to the transmission dipstick. If your looking down on the engine, look to the right side of the block. There are two Engine coolant temp. sensors. One feeds the ECU and the other reflects on the temp gauge.

tomandre

My 97 did similar thing. Replaced MAF, knock sensor, fuel filter, PCV valve, cleaned throttle body. After shelling out a lot of money, dealer diagnosed it as a short in the EGI harness. They claim the whole harness has to be replaced because the shorted cable is shielded, so it can't be spliced.

They want $3,000 to fix it. $2,000 just for the part. And, they have a TSB out on harness failures, so this is probably a regular problem. So, am I going to spend $3,000 to replace a poorly engineered part??? No way.

Sayonara Nissan!!!

THEJEFFERATOR

did they happen to mention which wire? even if you couldn't splice it, why couldn't you replace just that one or more wires ?

tomandre

They didn't say. But, what you ask makes sense. I've had this car since new, and when it was less than a year old, there was a short in the wires to the MAF. The same dealer replaced them end-to-end, from the PCM to the MAF. I just called the dealer, asking if they could do the same thing with this recent shorted wire.

I was beginning to feel stupid not asking this question in the first place, until the "Service Coordinator" told me he had no idea whether it would work, and would have to check with a technician. I'm no mechanic, and would have thought these guys would know more than me. Live and learn.

maxima_kenny96

iTrader: (10)

I didnt read any of this, so I will elave u with what i think it is, Fuel pump and spark plugs, timing may be screwed?

THEJEFFERATOR

sounds to me like they don't know and gave you that scenerio knowing you wouln't go for a $3,000 repair. if you ever do find something, please let me know....thanks

never feel stupid, always ask.....knowledge is power

tomandre

Update, but no solution....

As much as I felt like dumping this car, my heart was just not into buying a new one. My max has 84K miles. Should have a lot more life. It ought to be broken in, not broken at this point.

Brought it to a mechanic and spent a lot of time describing the problems. Same mechanic replaced the MAF and KS. But, last time, they couldn't replicate the problem. It is totally unpredictable. So I left it with them for about a week now. Finally he's seeing the problem. Talked to him today, and he said "your car is making me crazy". That makes two of us.

Anyway. He has been driving it, and drove it home with the scope on it. When it started "acting up", he noticed the computer was basically telling the fuel injectors to crank up the fuel delivery. He said it normally would call for fuel at that level if the MAF was sensing a lot of air coming through, and on hard acceleration. Problem is, the car was idling and the engine was hot. Anyway that confirms my feeling that it was running really rich when it was misbehaving. Of course, it was more than a feeling. The exhaust smell was really acrid.

Still don't have a solution. He said the MAF seemed to be working OK. Suggested maybe the ECM is flaky, though he said this happens only rarely. He thought if he could find a good ECM and swap it just to test, that might isolate the problem. Or maybe clear the ECM and reprogram. Also said that the o2 sensors were cycling OK, but voltage was slightly low.

The saga continues. Would like to get it working and get a few more years out of it. I just don't want to spend 3 grand on it and STILL have the same problems...

vortechpower

iTrader: (1)

my max is running like butt hole right now! Im so tired of it I dont even care to tell you all about it

95MaxTampa

My 95 Max is having the exact same problem. I come to a stop, it stalls. It starts up fine. I continue on, but then next stop it stalls.

95MaxTampa

p.s. - I got a code for the knock sensor. Would a dead/faulty k.s. cause this problem?

4thgenx42

I would check the CAT. It sounds like it might be clogged or an O2 gone bad....

s0ber

iTrader: (7)

have you checked the engine coolant temperature sensor?? That could cause it to run extremely rich that your car shuts off...

gen1

Had the same problem with my '84, but did not have the luxury of an ECU with any self-diagnosis smarts.

On doing a regular maintainence I noticed that all of the plugs were indicating lean burn conditions (white deposits on electrode - the first time in 21 years). I had previously checked out the injectors, but they all were AOK. The problem turned out to be valve adjustment. Everything was set way TOO TIGHT. Once proper clearance was achieved no more stalling problems.

Of course your engines have hydraulic lifters, which means that nobody thinks of looking at that, because they self-adjust - at least until they wear out. I've had American iron with hydraulic lifters fail at 50K miles.

What the h3ll take one valve cover off and check the valve clearance - it'll only cost you some time.

-bob

tomandre

I'm told, no it won't. I had my KS replaced with no change in the idle/stall problem. My understanding is if the KS is working properly, it will retard the timing if it detects knock. And if it isn't working, it just keeps the timing retarded so as not to damage the engine. The performance may suffer, but it shouldn't cause stalls. That's what I've been told anyway.

Once my KS was changed, the engine seemed a bit more responsive (that is, when it wasn't going psycho as it does without warning) and my gas mileage improved. But the idle/stalling problem continues...

tomandre

Does it stall consistently and predictably? Like every time, or when its hot? When mine fails, the engine is almost always hot. But, it doesn't always fail when it is hot -- which makes it hard to diagnose. Sometimes, it works perfectly. It seems to behave for a while when you've worked on it, then fails again. One time, I cleaned the throttle body, and didn't have a problem for a week. Thought I had it licked and then wham -- same crap all over.

I'd say if you pretty much know when it will flake out, you might have a different problem.

Some suggestions on the forum suggest checking/cleaning the idle air control valve (IACV). The mechanic cleaned mine and swapped a sensor in it. Worked fine for a few hours, and then it flipped out again.

Other suggestions you'll find on the forum are cleaning the throttle body. That's pretty easy to do. Mine was rather crudded up. It didn't solve my problem, but probably a good thing to do in the long run.

As mentioned in earlier posts, coolant temp sensor, oxygent sensors are possible problems. Mechanic said he didn't think my coolant temp sensor was a problem. He also said O2 sensor readings looked OK, but that doesn't always mean they are fine. Problem is, there are three o2 sensors on the 97 max and all different part numbers. Courtesy Nissan sells these online for around $115 EACH. Then there's installation cost. I hate to start replacing parts, not knowing whether they are bad or not. I don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and still have a car that runs like crap. As I said in an earlier post, the Nissan dealer wanted me to replace the EGI harness -- for $2,800 bucks. So, it's with another mechanic. I want a second opinion before I shell out that kind of money.

JUDE

iTrader: (7)

Alright, try this...

I bought my parents an 89 Caddy off of ebay. the car experienced a lot of hesitation, sputtering and sometimes stalled. THe previous owner had said that he had taken it to dealers and no one could figure it out.
This caddy owner of the web, sent me an email about it and told me what to do to fix it. I still don't understand how it fixed the problem, but darn it, it did. All I had to do was purchase a battery wire from pep boys and run it from one of the alternator bolts, to one of the strut bolts and the problem went away instantly. If you've tried everything else, why not give that a try.
BTW, this is something that even caddy mechanics didn't know about.

javi1210

im on the same boat sort of
my wife's car starts hits 1100 rpms and dies, we changed the cat and it ran great for a week then it did the same thing, changed the fuel pump relay and worked for a day and then crapped out.
i took it to another mechanic and he said it has to do with the stock alarm or remote started or some crap to take it to nissan he could not figure it out.
i also replace the MAF and when i hooked it up to an OBD2 it says knock sensor...
what the heck is up with these cars

also i cant create create new threads...... whats up with that

AGRECORDS

if you havent allready... try cleaning the throttle body (butterfly plate)
and changing the fuel filter... clean injectors.. it worked for me!

95MaxTampa

I just had an induction service and fuel filter change. It runs much better, however, it is still having the stall problem at stops. It is not consistant, but more random. Some days it may not stall, another day it will stall 2 - 6 times. Took it back to the mechanic today. He had driven it several times...of course it didn't stall for him. He said the fuel pressure checked out okay. No codes. I'm not sure what to do now. Because it's so random, there is nothing to pinpoint.

tomandre

Does it run really rich when it's acting up? You'll know by the exhaust smell. If so, could be same as mine where the computer is telling the injectors to pour on the gas. Don't have a solution yet. BUt if I do, I'll post it. If you find the answer first, would appreciate hearing about it.