'97 GXE nostart

[El_Oel]

My GF's car died the other day on the highway and now won't start. Cranks over fine, and gets a decent spark at the wires. Pump is putting out decent volume at the output of the filter. No codes except for the knock sensor circuit one. Tried some carb cleaner down the throttle body- no change.

The car would die out intermittently when coming to a stop, but always started right back up again. Then, it died on her son's friend on a 100+ mile road trip. He said it just kept losing power and slowing down 'till it died. Can't get much more info out of the kid fourth hand, and he isn't the brightest bulb to begin with. the car was towed top my house, and here it sits. Any idea where to start to look for the problem. I'd really like my driveway back. El_Oel

[Special7]

Distributor.

[El_Oel]

Originally Posted by Special7

Distributor.

OooooooKAaaaaaayyy.... Could you tell why it would be the dist? It is getting spark. I don't mind replacing it, but would really like know why. I have never dealt with a Nissan before, but have heard of several dizzy issues on them. It doesn't have oil inside the distributor, BTW.

Thanks for the help so far.

[jammer54751]

He's got spark. I'm saying Mass Air Flow. If he had no spark, then distributor. From what I have gathered since being a Nissan owner, is that there are two common problems, the mass air flow or the distributor. (someone else feel free to comment if I'm wrong.)

[runcoolisback]

ya, could be the MAF. just goto a junk yard. I was there the other day and there were a ton of them. :-D I'm sure you'l find one that works. :-D cost you an entire 10 bucks.
however, to see if it is the MAF, follow the instructions on how to test it. I personally forget. or save yourself 50 bucks and spend 50 bucks on someone that knows what they are doing and have them find out what it is then fix it.

[El_Oel]

Originally Posted by runcoolisback

ya, could be the MAF. just goto a junk yard. I was there the other day and there were a ton of them. :-D I'm sure you'l find one that works. :-D cost you an entire 10 bucks.
however, to see if it is the MAF, follow the instructions on how to test it. I personally forget. or save yourself 50 bucks and spend 50 bucks on someone that knows what they are doing and have them find out what it is then fix it.

Here it the thing with that- when scanning this site and others for no-start issues in Altimas, I noticed that even when brought in to a shop, the "shotgun method" was used in fixing them. Fuel pumps, alternators, MAFs, distributors and wires were all thrown at some of these cars to get them to start. Now, factor in the fact that it doesn't run,and we are looking at a $75 tow bill to bring it to "someone that knows what they are doing" so that I can spend $75/hr for them to diagnose it (quite possibly incorrectly), just so I can spend another $75 to have it towed back again.

I will look up the test for the MAF, and if it is faulty, I will buy a NEW one. Other possibilities of things to check or look into are appreciated.

[jserrano]

Just like the guys are saying, it will boil down to a distributor, MAF, fuel pump, FPR, or even an exhaust restriction.

I'm more inclined to think it is either the distributor or MAF. Sometimes a distributor can give you a spark but it may be too weak or intermittent. Put a timing light on all of the ignition wires and see if they flash intermittently, indicating a weak spark. Put a voltmeter on the signal wire of the MAF. It should rise to over 0.9V when cranking and stay around 1.09V while running. Wiggle the MAF harness to see if that voltage drops out, which would indicate a bad MAF. Finally, fuel pressure needs to build up to 34psi and stay there while idling, otherwise either the fuel pump or FPR could be bad.

Good luck.

[El_Oel]

Thanks, jserrano. :thumb:

I knew that it was probably dizzy, MAF or pump, but wasn't sure which way to check further or what procedure to use. I'm leaning heavily towards dizzy or clogged cat, especially after reading This Thread Plenty of parallels there. The possibility of a long trip with intermittant misfires, especially after the earlier stalling issue, lead me to believe that if it is getting a strong enough spark, the cat is probably the issue. I'm reasonably sure I can rule out fuel, as it still won't fire on starting fluid. I'll buy a new set of plugs and wires, and check to see what the old ones look like when I take them out. I'll also dig out the timing light and the V/ohm meter. When the GF getts into town tonight, I'll have her crank the engine over so I can do some of the tests, and also to check to see if I'm getting anything out of the exhaust.

Thanks again for all the help, and I will update this when I find out the cause.