QuestionHello,
Thank you for your previous feedback. I decided to finally get my car towed by Pep Boys and they have been working on it for the past 2 weeks. However, they do not seem to know what they're doing. First, they claimed the problem was the starter and they replaced that with a new one ($350). Of course, as I knew, the car still did not start. Then they charged the battery, of course that did not do anything. Now they are claiming that it's the distributor, but I have told them over and over again that it can't be the distributor because I JUST put a new one in. Just recently they said they misdiagnosed it and it's NOT the distibutor and it was just a minor error and the car should be running today. However, when I go there today, the car was running, but it stalled down the street once again. Now, again they're saying it's the distributor. I don't really want to spend over $400 on it to find out that's not it since I just put a new one in... Could it possibly be the distributor or do they really not know what they're talking about? Could it be some electrical problem that's screwing up the diagnosis (relay switch?)
P.S. They checked everything else in the car and they said it was fine, i.e. the fuel pressure was good. I will have to ask them about the ignition module tomorrow.
Any more advice would be great. Thanks!
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
Hello,
I have a 1997 Nissan Altima with 102k miles on it. In the beginning of January, I drove it from New Hampshire to Georgia, resulting in some tough miles put onto it, however it was fine. But about two weeks ago, one morning my car just did not start. I would turn the key and you could hear the car chugging but the start would not register. Within a few days, I had gotten the spark plugs replaced. The car was running fine once again, but I noticed the RPM's on idle were abnormally high. Two days following the replacement of the spark plugs, the car started stalling in random spots. At first it was just at traffic lights, but after a few more days it was stalling every 10-15 minutes even on the highway (when I had to slow down at certain points). Sometimes it would start up again within 30 seconds, sometimes I had to let it sit for hours. I brought it to a repair shop and they replaced the fuel injector, but the car was still stalling and not starting correctly. Finally, I replaced the distributor with a new one on my own. I noticed some oil dripping when I took off the old one but I didn't take it that seriously (should I have?) This was about 2 days ago when I replaced the distributor. Once again, the car worked absolutely fine for about a day and then started stalling again! It has nothing to do with the temperature or the weather because I have tried it in all conditions and it stalls no matter what. Now it has gotten so bad that the car is no longer starting, nevermind stalling. I have it sitting in a vacant parking lot right now, trying to figure out what to do. If I try to start it many times in a row, the chugging gets slower and slower, often resulting in it completely dying and just making a quiet clicking noise. I have no idea what to do, especially since my budget is limited. I have read some of the other problems and answers but it seems that everyone had a different story and therefore a different solution. I thought the new distributor would have fixed it but apparently not. Should I remove the new distributor and try to clean out the oil that I saw? How might I replace this "seal" that was previously mentioned in other solutions? What else could be wrong with it?! (*new sparkplugs, fuel injector, AND distributor)... Does it just need a tune-up?
Thank you so much. (Sorry for the long story, I just figured the more information the better.)
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Tony,
I would leave the new distributor alone since you have averted a problem with the seal in the future. Now, for the problem at hand I would be looking at two things. The first is the fuel pressure. Once a car gets this old the relays start doing strange things. I think the relay for the fuel pump is defective and not making connection and that is killing the car. Check the pressure. If there is no fuel pressure you know the relay is going out. Other things that can cause the problem are the ignition module that runs the coil. If you have pressure get a Haynes manual and check the module per instructions. You will need a volt/ohm meter. The book is under $20 and so is the volt/ohm meter. Also, since yours is a 1997 it has on board diagnostics II (OBDII) and if you can get to Autozone or Checker you can get them to do a diagnostics for free. Email me back if you need more. Oh, they rent fuel pressure gauges so you will not have to purchase one.
AnswerTony,
It could be the distributor if the one that was installed was defective. Also, the ignitor or fuel pump or fuel pump relay could be defective. Have them check the fuel pressure first and have them check the output of the coil while it is running and when it dies.
