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Limp mode?

170074 Views 25 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  cmane419
Last Friday I drove across town to pick up the wife and kids to head to the cottage. Car worked fine through 20 minutes of moderate traffic in 70F temps. I stopped and turned off the car for like 5 minutes to get them loaded, then started out again. I stalled the car backing out (way to go dad :banghead:), which is unusual, but I thought that it was just me. It starts right back up and I head out on the road. The car revs a little and then just bucks and jerks like it can't rev anymore than about 2000rpm. I can barely accelerate. I notice that when I push the clutch in and let it idle, the RPM's are around 1100 (not the normal 600-700 like when it is warm). There was no SES light at all. I drove for a couple of miles until I found a safe spot to turn off and stop. I noticed a very rich smell from the exhaust before I shut it down. I let it set a minute or two, and then restarted it. It has been fine ever since (about 300 miles so far). Does this sound like limp mode?

Anyone want to take a guess at a possible cause?
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If you do have a bad MAF replace it with an AM600.
The J0000 MAFs are weak and have been nothing but problems with the 3rd gens.
You can find the AM600 MAF on 01-03 Infiniti 3.5s.
I've had an AM600 in my car for years and it's been bulletproof.
Will there be any code stored if the SES light is not on?
Yes, the ECM will store a code even without the SES light on.
What MAFs do the 05 and up altimas use because they don't seem to have as much problems.
The 05+ have different MAFs that are not interchangeable with the 02-04 MAFs.
If I remember correctly you can use the AM600 on the 2.5, as well.
^^ Thanks for adding more detail.

I guess I'm lucky that my very early production '02 had an AM600 from the factory.
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