babell

For six months my car has been lurching and bucking, unpredictably, after it warms up. On occasion, if it's acting up at a stop sign, it'll die. It restarts easily. The dealer took my money for wires and plugs, but it made no difference. A new fuel filter was nice to have, but it didn't change things. The car was on its last legs when someone recommended a neighborhood mechanic. Fortunately, the car acted up when he was testing it, and that made him curious and determined to fix it. He kept the car for two weeks to mull the problem, swapping our different parts to see if that fixed it. He finally found a junkyear MAF, put it in, and the problem was solved.

So for anyone who's had a similar problem, consider the MAF.

abunai

Suprising the dealer didn't find the problem. A code should have been stored in the computer memory. MAF meters are always a problem. Sometimes work, sometimes don't. You can try the old "tap it with a screwdriver" test. When you hit it and the engine runs rough, it's ready to die.

mdunford

I have similiar problem. Garage replaced MAF. It ran fine for approx.
80 miles then stalled, lurched, died again. Garage replaced MAF for
the second time. Same evening it died on me, continues to do so
unpredictably. I am ready to give up on it but garage say they think
a used MAF may do the trick, something about reconditioned/new ones
being unreliable...they're not charging me for extra fooling around
so I guess I'll grit my teeth and give it one last shot. How come these
engines aren't designed to make fault diagnosis a more exact science
instead of (from reading this forum) something slightly better than
guesswork?

babell

Given my experience with the local dealer--and there's only one within 60 miles--it's not surprising at all that he didn't find the problem. They're OK at reading instruments, but not very good diagnosticians in the more general sense. Also, having the opportunity to talk directly with the small-shop mechanic can be a great advantage in aiding the diagnosis.

Gjohnson

iTrader: (1)

I just fixed my bucking and stalling by replacing two ignition coils. Running great right now, hopefully it will continue.

abunai

Don't forget these cars are over 10 years old. Remember home computers 10 years ago???? They would freeze, crash, misplace info, work/no work, but when it ran good it was good. Same with the car 's system. Good thing with these cars is that with some knowledge and some understanding of how the system works, most people can still repair it. With some of the newer cars you'll need special equipment just to see if it's working right.
Rebuilt MAF meters have been known to be bad. From the one's that I've seen, most are non-turbo units converted to be used on these cars. Most of them don't even look the same. It's kind of a hit and miss thing with rebuilt MAF meters.

Tall

Similar thing here. Got a rebuild MAF from Schuck's and garage changed it and no change. It only stalls and lurches when it is good and warm (talking like 30 minutes of drive time, or let it sit and heat soak then restart it). It is also starting very hard, worse when it's warm. The other day it would not start at all, but I let it cool of for 15 minutes, but then it started back up. ARGH! The 89-91 engines do not have coils - correct?

mdunford

I hope you're right.. my feeling right
now is my 1991 Maxima is getting more and
more like Stephen King's "From a Buick 8" where
no one has any clue what makes it tick
or how to get it to behave in any
reasonable way... my garage's logic
is swap in a part, things improve,
hey it's fixed. (This seems par for
the course from the posts here.) Are
even the 1991 or earlier models so
well understood by majority of
mechanics, I wonder....

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Most mechanics today can't diagnosis problems w/o the computor telling them what to do. But unfortunately, computor fault code diagnostics can only read so much. Sometimes it takes good old fashioned detective work and common sense. A skill lacking in many modern mechanics. Intermittent electrical sensor problems are one of the hardest to find/fix because they rarely happen enough to duplicate for the mechanic and it rarely shows up on the computor's fault codes. But the car still runs like crap. Vacuum leaks, weak 02 sensors, dirty sensors(and sensor connections) can cause havoc on a car's running and a mechanic trying to find the problem.

DARHAW-MAX

DARHAW-MAX

In your case, if you have a '89-91, you have the VG motor which does not have direct ignition (6 individual coils). You have a standard rotor, distributor, single ignition coil combination. When was the last time you changed the rotor, distributor, plugs, and/or checked your spark plug wires? From your description, it seems as if your problem may be related to one or more of those components.

jkmay01

iTrader: (3)

make sure that the MAF that they are using has the same amount of contact pins some have 4 ans some have five!! I replaced mine and a parts store tried to sell me a reconditioned one with four pins instead of five!! Check on that also!!! along with the wire harness leading to the MAF if it is corroded anywhere the power supply with stop resulting in a stall. Just some things to throw around!!

Tall

Just talked to the shop and they think they have it licked. They changed the rotor and cleaned up the plate that it sits on. There was a white powdery substance on the plate that they think was interfering with the photocell. Looks like it's fixed. They just cut the rotor off. When testing it they said the computer threw a CAS code, and that is how they tracked it down. We'll see whether it's fixed or not tonight.