QuestionQUESTION: My 94 Altima died abruptly while driving yesterday. After sitting on the side of the road for 45 minutes and trying to turn it over every so often, it finally started again, and got me most the way home. Then it died again. Now it wont start at all. I changed the cap and rotor, plugs and wires, I can hear the fuel pump working, and when I checked the plugs for spark I got nothing on all 4. I can barely afford to keep gas in this thing, and I was hoping that based on the symptoms someone might be able to tell me exactly what I need to replace, without spending a lot of cash chasing problems that don't exist. The coil and distributor are both pretty coated in oil, and the plug on the coil looks like it may be bad. But which one would cause the engine to just abruptly die... no sputter, no struggle to stay alive, just *poof* done. Thanks for any help you have to offer...
ANSWER: Alan,
It is usually the distributor optics getting coated with oil after the shaft seal fails. That is the triggering mechanism for the coil. Under the distributor cover there is an optical shutter wheel and pickup and receiver, like in most computer mouses. Oil contaminates the works and the car will not run. If it were me I would replace the distributor. You can get a Haynes Manual and a digital volt ohm meter and ohm out the coil to make sure it is good before replacement of the distributor. But, from my experience the distributor is the most common problem.
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QUESTION: Ok, here's the updated situation.
I have replaced the coil, and the harness connector to the coil. I did verify by volt-o that the connector was bad, but it is now getting a full 12 volts.
I have not volt-o'd the harness connector to the distributor itself, as I am uncertain what its exact purpose is... is it a lead to a sensor or does it power the distributor?
Anyways, I also took apart the distributor, and sprayed the disc and optical sensor out with Lectramotive. There was oil inside the dust cover of the distributor, but it was not evident on thepickup sensor or the disc itself. After spraying it out, there is still nothing.
I have now spent every penny I have on what parts I could replace, and am still where I started. I was really hoping you might have a few more things I could try for cheap before I take it to a shop.
How would I check the transistor on this? I ohm'd it checking the 2nd and 3rd terminals, and had resistance with the negative on the 2nd terminal. I am pretty sure this was not the correct way to test it however (i was pretty sure it was the 1st and 2nd terminals that were supposed to register).
I am by no means ignorant, nor technically incompetent. I simply do not know enough about cars to figure this out on my own. But I am definitely intuitive enough to figure out whats being explained to me. ANY help is SOOOO greatly appreciated... even if you think its over my head I can at least try.
I just really need to find a solution to this, I won't be able to afford a mechanic until after Christmas, and in the mean time I am missing out on extra work and new contracts by not being able to drive (I am self employed and in the process of starting my business, so money is non existent. I have been relying on side work to compensate)
What else could it be? The anti theft cuts off the fuel pump, does it not? There is absolutely no spark... and again it didnt sputter or anything, it just very suddenly died and would not restart (it had done this earlier in the day but it restarted about 45 minutes later the first time)
Thanks again for all your help...
ANSWER: Alan,
I would do the basics as you have done. If there is no spark that would mean the distributor is not firing the coil. So, back to what you cleaned. You can take the optical shutter wheel and remove and dry it off and do the same with the pickup and receiver. Reassemble the distributor. Now, it should run. If not, check the ignition relay. If that is good, check the fuel pressure. It could be that the fuel pump or relay is not delivering fuel. You could do a cheap check by spraying carburetor cleaner in the intake hose and reconnect it to the mass airflow sensor. If the car starts you know you have fuel starvation. In this case check the fuel pressure and proper operation of the fuel pump and relay. Email me back if you need more...
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QUESTION: Ok... Got the car running again, it was the distributor and I happened to have a garage that owed me some money for a website, so I got it done for free. However, I have 2 new problems now that didn't exist before he worked on it, and I was wondering if you had any insight on the cause.
First of all, the car seems to run alright, but the engine light is now on and has been on since. I can't get ahold of an OBD1 reader, and was wondering if you knew how to K test it so I can see if its throwing a code for timing.
Second, after I got my car back the transmission clunks HARD when it shifts between first and second gear (AT). The tranny had NO problems before it died, but from the second I drove it out of the shop it has been doing that. It clunks HARD... my buddy said it sounds like a bolts missing or loose but it only does it between first and second, the rest of the gears seem to shift smoothly. Also, the car no longer seems to down shift into the passing gear when I am at highway speed and put the pedal to the floor. It used to scream when I would do that before in comparison to what it does now. Now when I stomp on it, it just slowly creeps up... it seriously takes 15 seconds to get from 60MPH to 75 and it doesn't have enough power for me to feel comfortable passing someone.
Could he have caused anything to go wrong with the tranny by changing the distributor? This has been bothering me since I got it back... I don't see how he could have, but again, it never did that before he touched it. It's obviously something he did, but how do I prove it or argue it?
AnswerAlan,
You will want to know what code is throwing the check engine light first. Follow the instructions to see what it is.
The ECU has a window on one side to view a red LED and a green LED - when checking fault codes, a red flash is worth 10, and a green flash is worth 1. So for example, the code to say that everything is functioning normally would be 5 red flashes and 5 green flashes - the code is 55.
The ECU has 5 modes of operation, for diagnostics codes, it has to be set to mode 3.
1. Make sure the screw next to the viewing window is turned clockwise.
2. Turn the ignition on
3. Both LEDs with flash once, then a pause, then a second time, then a pause, etc. etc. up to 5 times then will repeat the process. After is has flashed 3 times then turn the screw completely anti-clockwise. - this will select mode 3.
4. The LEDs will now flash codes. 55 means that everything is normal. The rest are written below.
5. When finished, turn the screw back to clockwise and the ECU will reset itself automatically.
Don't worry about the '5th cylinder misfire' and '6th cylinder misfire' or anything, the codes are the same for all Nissans.
11 Crank Angle Sensor/Camshaft Position Sensor.
12 Air Flow Meter/Mass Air Flow Sensor.
13 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
14 Vehicle Speed Sensor.
21 Ignition Signal.
22 Fuel Pump.
23 Idle Switch.
24 Throttle Valve Switch.
25 Idle Speed Control Valve.
28 Cooling Fan Circuit.
31 ECM.
32 EGR Function.
33 Heated Oxygen Sensor.
34 Knock Sensor.
35 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor.
36 EGR Control-Back Pressure Transducer.
37 Knock Sensor.
38 Right hand bank Closed Loop (B2).
41 Intake Air Temperature Sensor.
42 Fuel Temperature Sensor.
43 Throttle Position Sensor.
45 Injector Leak.
47 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
51 Injector Circuit.
53 Oxygen Sensor.
54 A/T Control.
55 No Malfunction.
63 No. 6 Cylinder Misfire.
64 No. 5 Cylinder Misfire.
65 No. 4 Cylinder Misfire.
66 No. 3 Cylinder Misfire.
67 No. 2 Cylinder Misfire.
68 No. 1 Cylinder Misfire.
71 Random Misfire.
72 TWC Function right hand bank.
73 TWC Function right hand bank.
76 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank.
77 Rear Heated Oxygen Sensor Circuit.
82 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
84 A/T Diagnosis Communication Line.
85 VTC Solenoid Valve Circuit.
86 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank.
87 Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit.
91 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank.
94 TCC Solenoid Valve.
95 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
98 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
101 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank.
103 Park/Neutral Position Switch Circuit.
105 EGR and EGR Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit.
108 Canister Purge Control Valve Circuit
My bet is what ever is throwing the light is causing the problem with the performance of your car. Also, the clunk between first and second is probably a engine/transmission mount.
