Engine trouble :(

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Ive been having trouble with my engine recently:indiff:
For a while now Ive noticed while I'm in gear and the car is reving mid to higher rpm, as soon as i put my foot on the clutch the revs drop and drop below the normal idling rpm(around 300rpm) and then rise again and then idles normally at around 600rpm. This didn't bother me much but last week while i was driving and put my foot on the clutch to coast to the traffic lights and the engine cut out! I only noticed because the steering felt heavy and then i noticed all the dashboard lights on. I turned the key and the engine started instantly so that was good. Its happened to me 4 times this week. Im guessing the revs just fall too low before rising again and the engine just stalls
It also feels a bit down on power and when i floor it, the engine just makes noise but doesn't do much pulling lol! and when its idling and i do a quick tap on the accelerator, the engine shudders and the rpm doesn't rise.
Hope its not a terminal problem:guilty:

Anyone know what might be going on?
 
well, almosts sounds like two different things at once. The bad idling sounds almost like cylinder miss-firing, may need a tune-up,,,,the steering heavy feeling is your powers shutting down and your powersteering shutting off, sounds like a bad ground cable to me...might want to clean you battery posts too...
 
yea i know for sure the heavy steering is because the engine isnt running but how else could i find out if the engines misfiring? I put some bosch super 4 spark plugs in the car about a month ago, their meant to help prevent misfiring, not that the car had a misfiring problem before.....
But then again, the problem might not even be misfiring.
 
The steering feeling heavy is because the engine has cut out - the power steering pump works off the engine.

Sounds like you might have blocked/dirty injectors or there might be an issue with the engine management. I don't think it's a terminal or even expensive problem. Take it to a garage (stating the obvious) - they'll tell you straight off.

What do you drive?
 
First of all what sort of car and engine is it? Injected, carb?

It could be many different things, hopefully not serious, like, have you checked your intake manifold for leaks? All the symptoms you have listed can be caused by intake leaks. Have you ignition checked timing?

Go through all your wiring plugs and make sure they are connected properly, clean you MAF sensor (be careful with it, that if it has one). Clean/replace your air filter while your at it. If its carburetted make sure the choke is not becoming stuck. Check any error codes on the ECU (if it has one). Is the spark plugs you fitted gapped correctly?


If you still have problems you can get your injectors flow tested (if it has any), or maybe just try injector cleaner first, it could be so many things, its hard to pin point any paticular thing with out checking it personally.
 
Does it idle rough when you first start it as well? Have you checked the throttle body and seen if it's clean and clear?
 
Nah the car starts fine and idles real smooth, its when im driving when the problem arises
I have a Nissan Almera, it has fuel injection not a carb. The engines done about 87,000 miles.
 
I think the best advice is what Viper said - getting the fuel/ignition systems diagnosed at a garage would be a good idea
 
What engine is in there? Is it an SR20? I have a feeling it might be an IACV issue or a MAF issue (notorious Nissan problem)... but it sounds more like your IACV is clogged. The only way to fix that would be to clean out the throttle and its vacuum lines. That's a b*tch of a job, and I don't recommend removing the throttle assembly unless you're fairly sure of how to put it back.

Though if it idles okay at other times, it could be a MAF problem. Basically, you clean the MAF with electrical contact cleaner and a Q-tip... veeeeeeeery carefully.

If it's not those two, then the problem is likely fuel or electronic, and you'll need to take it to a garage to have it checked.
 
In Nissans I have worked with IAC valve often is the cause of the idle problems due to being dirty and clogged but from my personal experience hasn't caused any major power loss, that why I'm more inclined towards a MAF problem. It could be either or a combination of both or something else completely like a vacuum leak etc.

Like I said check the engine over for leaks, blockages, wiring and everything obvious. If your not confident going any futher then or you are stumped you can take it to a Nissan dealer and they can connect the Nissan Consult to it and check fault codes.

If you have a workshop manual it does give you expected voltages and resistance over many of the plugs and terminals, as well as the fault codes and procedure if you can self fault check by LED's on the ECU.


Like Niky said be careful with the MAF sensor as the wire is delicate, and you may need replacement gaskets of you want to clean the IAC valve.
 
Replacement gasket? Oops. Missed that one when I did it... :nervous: ...but at least the original seemed like it was still in good shape.

But at over 87,000 miles, it would be a good idea to get one.
 
niky
Replacement gasket? Oops. Missed that one when I did it... :nervous: ...but at least the original seemed like it was still in good shape.


Yeah, the gasket usually is in pretty good shape, but a replacement gasket is something he may need if cleaning the IAC and AAC valves.
 
We had a similar problem on our Volvo. Valve cleaning sorted it right out.
 
Slick Rick
Ive been having trouble with my engine recently:indiff:
For a while now Ive noticed while I'm in gear and the car is reving mid to higher rpm, as soon as i put my foot on the clutch the revs drop and drop below the normal idling rpm(around 300rpm) and then rise again and then idles normally at around 600rpm. This didn't bother me much but last week while i was driving and put my foot on the clutch to coast to the traffic lights and the engine cut out! I only noticed because the steering felt heavy and then i noticed all the dashboard lights on. I turned the key and the engine started instantly so that was good. Its happened to me 4 times this week. Im guessing the revs just fall too low before rising again and the engine just stalls
It also feels a bit down on power and when i floor it, the engine just makes noise but doesn't do much pulling lol! and when its idling and i do a quick tap on the accelerator, the engine shudders and the rpm doesn't rise.
Hope its not a terminal problem:guilty:

Anyone know what might be going on?

clarify that it revs but doesnt pull?
 
At 87,000 miles, my guess (in support of those above) is that the MAF wires are dirty and giving bad air flow information. It's cleanable (CRC makes a specific cleaner for MAF sensors that is less harsh than brake cleaner, etc.) if you are handy with tools.
 
Agreed,

I had a similar issue with my 525. First with the low idle, which was cured by pulling the idle control valve off the intake manifold and running a bit of solvent through it (xylene).

If you haven't got a haynes, look for a small tennis ball sized device on the intake system with a hose connected downstream of the throttle. Pull it off and clean it.

If a MAF sensor is the same as a MAP sensor, then it's the device which monitors the intake vacuum, it will have a small pipe connected downstream of the throttle.

Other than that it could be anything from mis timing from a faulty pickup to water in the fuel (unlikely).

A service manual for the car will tell you how to check each of the sensors is functioning by putting a multimeter across them.

Good luck!
 
Hey, Kurtis, good to see you back, man!

A MAF sensor actually measures manifold air flow, rather than pressure (or vacuum). Most frequently this is done by a grid of fine corona wires strung across the intake stream inside the sensor. These are heated via electric current and the amount they cool from the intake stream is used to calculate the airflow coming into the engine.

As you can guess, if oil or grime gets on the wires, it thows the calcs out off whack, so on higher mileage cars, they need to be cleaned.
 
Higher mileage or cheaply modified cars. They're a major issue when switching over to cone-type air filters.
 
I had a low/rough idle problem on my last civic. Turned out I had oil leaking into the spark plug holes and bad compression in 3 cylinders.
 
So today im going to try and clean the throttle body and have a look at the MAF sensor. Ive got the Haynes manual and looked at the index but i cant find anything. Is there another name for the MAF sensor?
And how would i go about cleaning it if its dirty?
Thanks for the help
 
Slick Rick
So today im going to try and clean the throttle body and have a look at the MAF sensor. Ive got the Haynes manual and looked at the index but i cant find anything. Is there another name for the MAF sensor?
And how would i go about cleaning it if its dirty?
Thanks for the help


They probably call it by its full name Mass Air Flow sensor, I know for a fact thats what Nissan call it. Its located just where the air leaves the airbox and heads to the intake (it usually is fixed directly to the airbox) It will have a plug going to it.

If your going to pull it off to check, even if it looks clean its best to clean it while your at it anyway.

To clean it remove the MAF sensor and you should see very delicate wires exposed in the air path, what ever you do don't touch them just spray them good with electrical contact cleaner (or carby cleaner, but I guess electrical cleaner would be safer for such an delicate sensor, I always used carb cleaner). Allow it to dry before re-installing it.

Which engine has your Almera got btw?
 
VIPERGTSR01
Its located just where the air leaves the airbox and heads to the intake (it usually is fixed directly to the airbox) It will have a plug going to it.

Which engine has your Almera got btw?

This wouldnt happen to be it then would it??


The engines a GA14DE
 
Slick Rick
This wouldnt happen to be it then would it??


The engines a GA14DE

Yes looks like it, in that little tube behind the mesh should be a couple small wires, they are what you need to clean.

I have worked on GA16DE (GA14DE not sold here) and the filter box and MAF is mounted a bit different.
 
Ah, a GA14DE... lends credence to the possibility of a dirty MAF. Most GAs suffer from that problem (as well as a host of throttle body and valve niggles).

All GA's are basically the same, the reason for the different box mounting is it's a different car. :)
 
niky
All GA's are basically the same, the reason for the different box mounting is it's a different car. :)

Actually they do vary, His car in question is a N15 GA14DE (I think), All N15's I have worked on had either GA16DE or SR20DE which have different airbox's to the GA16.

*EDIT* Checking Nissan FAST there are a few different types of airbox for N15, CD20 GA14 and GA15 are similar, GA16 SR16/18/20 is similar.
 
I took the airbox off and looked down the hole,
Is this the sensor?

It looks extremely delicate so i decided not to touch it. I also had a look at the throttle body and injectors which were squeaky clean so you think that sensor that's causing it?
 
Yeah, that's it. CRC Industries makes a spray cleaner specifically for MAF sensors; a good autoparts store should carry it. Otherwise I'd say you could use carburetor cleaner.

If the injectors look good and it dosn't seem to be an ignition problem, this MAF is where I would look.
 
You can use regular electric contact cleaner, too.

RE: GA, what I mean is: most DE-type GA engines have the same or similar hardware attached to them. The reason the mounting is different is because the chassis is different. But yeah, there are quite a few different trims of GA around. At one time, Nissan was selling them in variable cam, regular fuel injection, electronically controlled carburation, and regular carburated form at the same time.
 
Slick Rick
I took the airbox off and looked down the hole,
Is this the sensor?

Yes they are the delicate wires, you can now see why we advised not to touch. :)

Slick Rick
I also had a look at the throttle body and injectors which were squeaky clean so you think that sensor that's causing it?

Well visually clean injectors don't generally mean they are flowing correctly, but I doubt they would be the problem.

It is likely dirty MAF is causing it, but not certain, thats a good starting point.



niky
RE: GA, what I mean is: most DE-type GA engines have the same or similar hardware attached to them. The reason the mounting is different is because the chassis is different. But yeah, there are quite a few different trims of GA around. At one time, Nissan was selling them in variable cam, regular fuel injection, electronically controlled carburation, and regular carburated form at the same time.

Well I was referring only to one model (N15) in which the chassis is the same and which all the GA's are similar configured (DE), although I havent seen a GA14DE N15 yet except the airbox which is different to the GA16DE.
 
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