I have a 1997 xe 4 cyl pickup. Last week It just went dead on me as I had shifted into neutral and was costing in my driveway. It does 2 things now, It will randomly not idle, you might stop at a redlight and it might idle ok for a minute then it just goes dead. Sometimes the rpm will start to fluctuate from 500 to about 800 then it will just die. It cranks right back up, if it does it going down the road when you are coasting you can just let out on the clutch and it will start right back up. It has not given a service engine soon light. Seems to not idle at time worse than others, at times it goes dead on idle almost immediately, and other times it might idle for a minute before it goes dead. The other thing it does is, when you crank it when the engine is cold, you can run it till the temp gauge gets approx, 1/4 of the way and it will act as if it is running out of gas. It only does it this one time and only last about 3 to 4 seconds, then it runs fine down the road, just does that sputtering on the warm up the one time, might be when the computer actually kicks in, not really sure. I have felt some surging at times running about 55 to 60, seems to take that in spells, I think when I feel the surging is the time it will not idle also if I would just clutch it and let it coast. I felt the bottom radiator hose today and it did not seem to be very warm, thought maybe it was not getting warm enough. Put another thermostat in today, but did not change anything. The Egr valve seems to be working ok, Went to a mecanic friend today and he pulled the connectors off the tps sensor and striped the tape off and looked to make sure he saw no pinched or naked wires. He also unplugged to connectors by the intake next to the throttle body and did the same to them. HE said they looked ok also. He even cleaned the butterfly in the throttle body. It was acting up at his house, it might idle a minute before it would quite, and at times it would idle maybe 10 seconds.He also looked at the wires on the air temp sensor, said they looked ok to him also. Oh, we also cut the a/c on and it still would do it at a idle, that did not seem to make any difference. I replace the fuel filter last week also. Hoping someone had the same experience that could lead to some insight. Sorry this is so long. Thanks in advance
are you getting a CEL? is it auto or manual? how many miles? also running to the local parts store Autozone, Napa they should be able to pull any TCs on the scanners to give you a starting point. if you need a repair manual I have one in PDF just let me know.
are you getting a CEL? is it auto or manual? how many miles? also running to the local parts store Autozone, Napa they should be able to pull any TCs on the scanners to give you a starting point. if you need a repair manual I have one in PDF just let me know.
Have a service engine light and it is not coming on. It is a manual transmission, got 97,000 miles on the vehicle. Replaced the pcv valve about 20,000 miles ago. I would really appreciate that pdf manual. Thanks for the reply and the effort of your assistance.
Thanks
check all of your intake gaskets (throttle body,manifold, etc...) my intake manifold gasket poped and i had this same problem... just replace it... only took me 2 hours on my 97 hb..
check all of your intake gaskets (throttle body,manifold, etc...) my intake manifold gasket poped and i had this same problem... just replace it... only took me 2 hours on my 97 hb..
Did take a can of brake cleaner and sprayed around the intake while it was idling, well I was on the inside with the gas pedal to keep it running and friend was doing the spraying outside to see if it change anything. Not sure but if it was intake I think it would not be so irradic, seems like it would be consistent. Again, thanks for the reply though, if we had not done the break cleaner thing already, I would certainly look into it.
Thanks again
Not sure, Don't really think it is flammable, might be though, not positive on that. I was actually sitting in vehicle keeping it running, while my friend was out there spraying around to see if it would make a difference. If it was flammable I guess we dodged the bullet, good thing a plug wire didn't arc a spark.
Not sure, Don't really think it is flammable, might be though, not positive on that. I was actually sitting in vehicle keeping it running, while my friend was out there spraying around to see if it would make a difference. If it was flammable I guess we dodged the bullet, good thing a plug wire didn't arc a spark.
I do not know if this has any relevance, Went out of town over thanksgiving to my brothers in Texas, had left my truck to let a guy I know repaint the hood (had some clearcoat coming off) and fix a little rust on the bottom of the passenger side door. The day I picked the truck up, 5 days later is the first night the truck went dead on me. I just figured it was coincidental. I think he took the hood off and painted it in the booth. Just trying to check every possibility, anyone think of anything that might have happened getting the hood painted. Guy is really a good guy that does excellent work. Just wondered if this might lead to some insight.
Thanks
well if it rained and the truck was outside, i doubt it but some connectors may have gotten wet. were you able to find out if there are any TCs?
The service engine soon light is not coming on, so I don't guess there are any codes. Came back tonight and the little truck ran pretty good. Pulled up in the driveway and thought I would just let it sit and idle and see how long it would take to start acting up. Probably sat there about 2 minutes, then it was just like you hit the switch, just shut down. Guess I will have to wait till things progress and it acts up more. Without the service engine soon light coming on guess it is hard to tell which way to start from. I replaced the thermostat yesterday thinking it was running cooler than it used to. The gauge was not coming up as far. Put a stant, the dealer was closed, same temp thermostat but the gauge is running about halfway now used not to get quite that high. Just want to say thanks to everyone for taking the time and sharing what you guys know.
Nope, have not checked the fuel pressure yet. Thought about that but I am thinking if it was fuel pressure it would show up running 60 or so and accelerating. The friend of mine that is a mechanic talked to a tech at the nissan dealership today, he told him he would go with the air regulator assembly, I ordered one today, should be in Thursday. It was 140.00 bucks, I hope that fixes it. The Nissan guy said it is not a common problem but he has replaced them before and if I was not getting a sevice engine soon light he would suspect that. I will let you know if that fixes it for future reference.
Thanks
Nope, have not checked the fuel pressure yet. Thought about that but I am thinking if it was fuel pressure it would show up running 60 or so and accelerating. The friend of mine that is a mechanic talked to a tech at the nissan dealership today, he told him he would go with the air regulator assembly, I ordered one today, should be in Thursday. It was 140.00 bucks, I hope that fixes it. The Nissan guy said it is not a common problem but he has replaced them before and if I was not getting a sevice engine soon light he would suspect that. I will let you know if that fixes it for future reference.
Thanks
Well quit a bit has been offered to check but I still think you should check for codes that may be stored. Even though the service light is not on you may have something stored that could help. First I would check codes and write them down. Clear the codes and go drive around untill the fault returns. Recheck the codes and if any that would be the best starting point.
However, since the service light is not coming on (asuming the bulb is good?) I will aim towards things that might be missed by sensors.
First is the IAC valve wich is probably what you have on order (air regulator). These can cause your symptoms without any codes. Second thing I would check is if any wires may have been damaged during the body work. I have seen many electrical problems resulting from a fresh coat of paint at a grounding location. The paint can prevent electrical conduction. Also check closely for any cuts in the wires located near the repaires, this happens sometimes with out the bodyman knowing it.
For now I will wait to see how things go with the part you have ordored. But please do check for codes, it is a free service at some majore parts stores. It is hard for them to sell you a part if they don't know what you need!
As for the use of brake cleaner to check for leakes. Yes most brake cleaners are flammable, though it usually takes a flame or extream heat to ignite them. They like many chemicals vary from one product to the next and it is best to follow the lable warnings. I personaly like to use carb or intake cleaner, these are safe for the catalyst system. Either way the big risk is getting it on the exhaust manifold, it happened to me once, but I always work with an extinguisher nearby and keep one behind my seat as well.
__________________ It's much easier to travel through a maze when you have a map!
Spat
Former Nissan Tech
14yrs ASE all but AT it's a bitXX!
New career - HandyMan/Electrician - Freedom at last!!
86.5 Nissan HB D21 234K Miles
94 Nissan Altima GXE ? Miles
97 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8L 132K Miles
64 Chrysler 300-K 2-door Convertible 63K Miles
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