Nissan Repair: Nissan Stalls on hot and humid weather, nissan sentra, air control valve

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

Hope you can help, or at least give some suggestion. I live in montreal, canada where in summer, it could get very hot and humid. My Nissan Sentra SE 2.0L 2001 stalls when the temperature is very hot and humid. I mean i could be driving, and then all of a sudden, the engine would shuts down for no appearent reason. I notcied that this occurs when i am stopped at a stop sign or at a red light, and when i geared up to roll again. I had the alternator changed, and also the MAF changed. This occurs only in summer times, never during the winter. I also notice that my rpm is good when i am at red light, at about 800-900 rpm.

Any suggestions would be really appreciated as i am now very scared to drive during summer times.

Thank you,
Cheers,
Chris

ANSWER: CHris,

It sounds like the ignition is getting wet.  I would look at the coil, wires and plugs to make sure nothing is getting wet.  WD 40 lightly sprayed on the wires, engine off, and see if the problem goes away.  If it does replace the wires.  If it is not ignition you might look at the fuel pump relay or the ignition circuit itself.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello,

Thanks for the prompt response. Just want to clarify something, when you say ignition is getting wet. This only occurs when it's really hot and humid. And i also changed the alternator because one of the mechanic said that it was over charging at 15v he said, when it is supposed to be at 12v...

I aslo had someone said it mught be related to the IACV... What do you think??

Thank you once again,
Cheers,
Chris

ANSWER: Chris,

I could be wrong.  But, the idle air control valve wil lcause the car to idle poor and sometimes die.  But, it would do it all the time and not just when the weather is humid.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Alright, thanks again for the suggestion. I will go check it out this weekend because as a matter of fact, my coil has never been changed and this is the original coil from 2001. How often do you need to change them???

Answer
Chris,

The coil is not life limited.  What I am saying is that if there is a crack in the coil tower or a cracked plug wire it could cause an easy path to ground when it is damp outside.  The alternator is suppoed to put out from a little under 12 volts to 14.2 volts.  Anything over 14.2 volts and you risk burning up components on the vehicle.  So, changing the alternator was a good thing.