The MAF Harness on my 92 is the plug on the right hand side of the maf it connects to the square portion right near the top. Careful it uses a spring jesus clip to hold it on. I call them jesus clips cause they always fall of leaving you wondeering, jesus where'd that go. BTW I found this deals only with the bucking/loss of power often associated with the stalling.

 

'spring jesus clip'. Oh my God, that is funny! I've used a slightly more R-rated phrase for that same clip!
Thanks for the great response and please cross your fingers for my Max!

 

I recently read that monster thread from last year where dozens of guys reported the problem and only a couple were able to fix it. Unbelievable. I commend your loyalty to the maxima since you have done more to attempt to fix it than anyone else, without success.

Mine still does it and I seem be the only one or one of the few who can pinpoint the time of the problem occurence. Please, anyone with good knowledge of car's mechanics (I'm looking at matt, mr. gone etc.) try to think what the car "physically" does during this period. If it does it (sometimes it won't), it is ALWAYS within the first 20 minutes of driving, i.e. when it's cold. It happens on two occasions during these warming up minutes. First, while cruising, it'll start jerking and the rpm needle would start bouncing back and forth, while the speed goes down. I am usually able to let go of gas pedal for a second or two, then accelerate again without problems. Sometimes, the car would just die, steering would block, all dash lights would come on, I'd pull over, restart it, and drive again without problems. Then secondly, and this is where I think we could nail the problem, it happens after the initial highway ride, when I come to the first stop. When I go to work, I have to drive about 10 miles on the highway before entering the city area. On the first or second stop, when I pause for a little and then start driving again, the problem frequently occurs. THIS is where I'd like someone to help. What exactly HAPPENS after the car runs out of the driveway for about 10 miles at 60-80mph, then comes to the first stop? And how can this be connected to our particular stalling problem? I'd think it has to do with air, but I'll let you guys take it from here.

 

My symptoms are very similar, but it being warmed up/cold/etc. doesn't seem to affect when it will act its funky way. It pretty much does it whenever I drive it. When it stalls while I am driving, I'm used to simply pushing in the clutch, turning the car completely off for 2 to 3 seconds while coasting and restarting. Then I engage the clutch and continue at the same speed I was going before the stall.

 

As I posted awhile back, two things went up on my SE silumtaneously. The local mechanic did a diag. & said it was the MAF . I replaced MAF with a used one but stalling didn't go away. Took SE to Dealer and he said it was Ignition Coil. Replaced Coils with used one and problem went away.
P.S. Put old MAF back in and the stalling reappeared. In my case replacing the MAF AND Coils worked. GO FIGURE?

 

I was detemined about a year ago to solve the problem and spent much time analyzing the issues. Too me the Bucking was the result of the car going into limp home mode from some glitch or lack of sensor information.
Limp home mode is programmed into our computers to make the car still drivable in the event of the ECCS or a major sensor failing. Limp home mode allows the car to drive almost normally as long as the RPMS do not go over 2k RPM. Next time you get the bucking notice the engine switchs back on as soon as you cross the 2k mark. And if you drive with a light foot the automatic will let you drive at 60mph and still do under 2k. The stalling while related I believe is a separate issue that shows up as the problem progresses. for me the Playing with the maf connector solves ithe bucking problem for months at a time. Drives me nuts that a fuel additive diminishes the stalling problem for me, not all aditives but redline and techtron both do it, but progard with techtron does not.
I recently met a mechanic whose partner had a 92 he gave up and sold it.

 

rhard, you are a genius! I just got through fiddling with the mafs connector on my max and took it for a ride. It was 95% perfect. Only 2 VERY short stumbles in 4th gear over 3k RPM. Also, I let it idle for 10 minutes without a stall or stumble in the idle. Prior to the 'fiddle', it ALWAYs stumbled upon idle. Let's pray with a little more fiddling it will work 100%. Holy crap, good work rhard...

 

I'll have to check mine a little more thoroughly. I hope that works for me, too.

Hey Ekote, where in Washington are you?

 

The real question is how do we get new contacts and the tool to remove them from the shell we could crimp new ones on and probably eliminate it all together.

Does anyone have any contacts with nissan parts guys!

 

If you have a pep boys near you try the redline gas addittive It makes my stalling go away. I think the additive probably makes the gas atomize better or raises its volitility,masking the the real problem but its a bandaid that works for now.

I was able to isolate environmental and time factors on mine also, I have to say at first my problem had the same issues as yours. It always seemed to be about 3/4 of the way warmed up worse under damp humid conditions. Always ran fine when first started and the system was not closed loop yet. Bad news is it progresses and becomes more frequent, good news is it always instantly restarts. When it happens and its like turning the key off watch the tach as soon as you get under 2k rpm its normal. If you leave your foot on the gas it will be like turning the key off and on as it passes the 2k mark. This is why I always thought it was the computer going in and out of limp home mode. Not that the computer is the problem but thats what its told to do without the proper sensor information to function.

 

used set of coils fixed my problem i also replaced the maf with a junkyard one but that was because it had gone completely bad if you guys have replaced all that stuff and still no luck i would replace the ecu with a used one if that dont work id sell the car

 

I live in Issaquah. How bout you?

 

hey gang,

I am revisiting this issue with my 92se maxima. I posted once before and heard about the maf and coils. it is nice to see guys getting info for everybody to come to a decision. lots of cars/ trucks have cps issues.

I dont even drive it much anymore. that is why there is no major concern but now my mom needs to use the car and I gotta fix it.

I have the same thing, within the first 20 mins of use, on the hway starts bucking and usually will come back if i let off the gas. stalls sometimes just like someone else said. when I read that persons story (not sure of name but long story on first page) it was exactly what happens to me.

 

Well, how short the honeymoon has been. After what I thought was an epiphany with rhard's 'bend the MAFS' prongs' trick, it promptly reverted back to its bucking POS self. Does anyone happen to live near Issaquah/Seattle WA and have a 92SE that would be willing to meet up and let me swap out their coils and MAFS to see if that is the problem? I hate to buy all that crap and install it only to find out that it's not the problem. I spose I could buy that stuff from an auto store, install it and, if it doesn't work, return it. Do you think I would be able to return that stuff? Thanks all.

 

Yeah. Let me get my spare maf and we can meet up sometime. I live in Bellevue. We can do some tests too. I'll grab my extra maf tomorrow from my parent's place.(aka storage unit haha)

I got b-ball Thursday at 8:30pm. But I'd be available for until about 8:15.

Jeff

 

VERY nice of you to offer. Thursday is fine with me. What time would you want to get together? Should I head into Bellevue to your place? Feel free to email me at garridofamily@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Terry

 

Well I need to eat so if you want to come over @ about 6:00pm that would be good. I'll hit your email for specifics.

 

How'd it work out??

 

Hehe. Hey bud. Thanks again for taking your time to help me out.
Welllll, the problem cropped up again, but only twice (believe it or not, THAT'S an improvement). And it wasn't nearly as jerky, which leads me to believe that perhaps my MAFS connector needs to be better secured. But really, it drove like a dream through a variety of speeds and gears on the way home. I'm gonna pop that clip on it and maybe even some electrical tape if need be and test it out. Will keep you updated.
Damned Yankees!

 

I just went out and put the clip on it and then started it. Within a couple of minutes of it when I let it sit to idle, it bogged down and then back to idling normally. Ahhh well.

 

Try cleaning ALL your grounds. Battery/chassis/manifold. You might have to dig into the maf harness and ground it there but wait on that. One tang on the maf was bent ever so slightly also. Might want to try to straighten them all out.

 

Maybe the TPS? I dont think it would be the CPS, and we could always try another ECU, hmmmmm.

 

If your gonna replace the maf consider the rebuilt by cardone I bought mine from autozone but the cardone website offered and 18 month warranty. when mine died a year later autozone wouldn't take it back but I called cardone and told them there web site said 18 months and they honored it.

 

MrGone and Ekote live in the same town? Jeff must be close, too. I feel so isolated out here! I have the only VE (92-94 SE) car in my entire town. I haven't seen another one.

I replaced my MAF and cleaned the connectors. It still stalls out occasionally. I am leaning toward the coil packs now.

 

Any luck Ekote?

 

Haven't had a chance to touch it. My cat of 15 years is dying-gonna have to put her to sleep today or tomorrow. She can't move her back legs anymore. Life sucks when your favorite pet has to go...

At any rate, thanks for checking up on my Max. Will keep you posted...

 

When I posted this issue back in May, I never dreamed how many people would post their similar issues and other that would post their suggestions on the problem. After all the testing and new parts I dropped into this car, it turns out to be the first thing I eliminated as being the issue turned out to be the cause. IGNITION COIL. Not all of them, just one. I have to admit, purchasing over $1000 of original parts to have a $75 part fix the car, stings a little. But I am glad to have my car back. The first ignition coil I pulled, I noticed a long hair line crack along the length of the case.

I just wanted to take a little time re-describe the problem. I should have called this thread “92 max SE with an intermittent cutting out problem” as I said before, there was no indication when this problem would happen. Recently, as it got colder here in the north east, the problem got worse. It was unbearable. I had to change my driving method to minimize the affect of the problem. And one of the posting on this thread stated, “keep the RPMs under 2k” With my car being a manual, it was easy. The higher the gear, the less the effects of the engine cutoff. At the times that the engine was really stubborn, just let up on the gas for a few seconds, then your power is back.

I hope that this thread helps some people with similar issues. Thank you all again.

 

Yeah I have the same stalling problem like 3,000 other people here. You never know when or where it's going to happen. It seems like if I let the car warm up, I have less of a chance of it dying, though after driving for a while, when I come to a stop, the idle will fluctuate but usually not stall. We need to solve this problem so we all can enjoy our Maxs and get on with our lifes!

 

Was it a front coil by any chance?

It seems like all of the ones that develop cracks are in the front. MrGone and I taped my front center one (which was cracked) and it hasn't stalled. I still want to buy a new one, however. I also think that the o2 sensor might have been part of the problem, too.

 

Man I hate that for you dsantos, I try to tell everyone with the stalling problem to check their coils first. I had the same problem back in May too, and like you spent over $1000 trying to fix it. My problem was the front and rear left coils.

 

Hi guys, does anyone have a picture of the VE30DE engine pointing where these sensors are? Like the ECU, crank sensor, etc. so I can see if I can pinpoint my stalling problem. A picture and arrows describing what the arrows are pointing to would be great. I just went down and looked under my hood and starting looking at plugs and there seems to be a million of them!! I'm not mechanically inclined.
Thanks boys, and Happy Holidays
Jeff

 

ECU is inside tge car behind the radio
cam sensor is on Left side of forward cylinder head

 

The last page of my cardomain site, shows the locations of the ignition coils.

 

Hi guy, thanks for the info. I looked at your domain site and saw where the coils are. I will check them tomorrow as iy's dark here now.
Thanks again
Jeff

P.S. What am I looking for on these coils any way?

 

Well mine's reached the undrivable stage. Only time its driveable is when you start it and its cold, as soon as it warms up and the ECCS takes over it stalls every 2 minutes. I did all my coils 6 months ago. Doesn''t run long enough to sell it.

 

Jeff93 -- coils will have cracks running up and down the coils in the plastic.

Rhard -- I can't believe all the trouble you are going through on this. Did you say that you put in a new ECU?

How about your cam sensor?

I also noticed that mine behaved much better when I cleaned the o2 sensor. Have you replaced that?

 

Check your coolant temp sensor. It may be telling the car that it's still cold when it's not.
Thereby richening up the fuel mixture to the point of stall

Just a possibility

 

Again RED92MAXSE AND INTERNETAUTOMAR, thanks for the suggestions. Is the coolant temp sensor expensive? 02 sensor? I replaced my 02 sensor about 2 years ago, could that be gone already? My Max did it to me again this morning, I went out to let it warm up and when I came down to leave about 10-15 minutes later, I hear the idle going up and down. Like above 1k rpms all the way down to almost a stall, then it stalled and couldn't get it to start for a 1/2 hour, then it ran fine. It also seems to do it after the car has been shut off for a couple of hours. I came out from the gym tonight and when it kicked over, I immediately hit the gas because it wanted to stall, so I sat there revving it for a few seconds until it smoothed out. It almost felt like it had built up carbon. I don't know, it's getting annoying. I will check and possibly replace my 02 sensor and coolant temp sensor. Thanks

 

not too terribly expensive IIRC

 

Aargh!!!! This stalling thing is going to push me over the edge!!! I wouldn't mind the stalling thing so much, if it started right back up again. But it doesn't, it takes 10-15 minutes to sometimes a half hour before it will start again!! It just cranks and cranks. I just went down the street to pick up my sandwich and where I have a better chance of it NOT stalling when it's warm, I drove around the block first, and when the temp gauge was almost up to operating temp, I had to stop before making a left turn, it wanted to die, the tach dropped all the way down and I had to gun it and keep it up until it smoothed out and would idle. This is driving me nuts!! My friend the Nissan tech wants to see if the engine will throw out a code, but how could it if the engine light is not on? This problem WILL be fixed this weekend, come hell or high water!!! I will inform all of you when it's fixed, even though different things have fixed this problem for different people.