harveysp

first let me note i posted this in the general discussion section as well as i was looking to get all the help i could get.

Alright here is problem that has me stumped but hopefully someone will have an idea. please help me out b/c i know it would probably cost a ton to have a mechanic figure this out.

Below you will find a long-winded description of the problem as well as a brief summary of the problem at the end, as well as what i have done to troubleshoot the problem.

My maxima (`93 SE, auto 63K miles) started two weeks ago (when it was raining) to start to have problems accellarating, and even stalling every few miles.
If the car stalled i needed only to pull to the side of the road, put it in park and restart it, and it would act fine for a few more miles. I had recenlty gotten gas at a new place so i put fuel injector cleaner in and it ran fine for that tank of gas(about a week), i assumed it was just bad gas from the new station.
When i filled up again and ran about 50 miles the next day the car was fine. After sitting for 4 days (and a rain storm on monday) when i went to drive it again (thursday) it started hiccuping and stalling again. Once again dry gas helped alleviate the problem.
I figured out the problem was somehow linked to the car getting wet this sunday after running fine for a 100 mile trip (after dry gas additions), and then washing the car at a u-wash it place it started acting crappy again.

SUMMARY OF PROBLEM:

car hiccups, stalls intermittantly. Once stalled car will restart ok and run fine for a few miles.

problem is linked to car getting wet.

Dry gas solves the problem.

NO check engine light codes displayed.

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE DONE TO TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM:

I have jacked the car up and checked out the gas tank, fuel line, and tube from gas tank fill port to tank, all appear free from rust, holes.
I also believe i can't have a actual hole in the tank or lines b/c the car isn't leaking fuel and it still maintains pressure, evident by the strong hissing when i remove the gas cap.
I ran the electronic control module self diagnotic to see if i had any check engine light codes stored but it did not.

One would think it could be the fuel pump going but why would it be linked to water and why would dry gas solve the problem?


any suggestions on how to troubleshoot or fix this problem would be a great help.


Steve Harvey '93 SE

abunai

Try and remove the fuel filter and drain the gas out of it next time. If water is getting into the system you should have some in the filter. Just a few drops will cause all kinds of problems. If the dry gas helps you could have water in the tank.
Have you checked the distributor cap and rotor??? Try spraying them with WD40 inside and out. You can test to see if your wires are bad by spraying a very lite mist of water on them, with a spray bottle, with the engine running. If it starts to miss, your wires are leaking. Try not to spray water near the injectors or sensors. You can do the wet the hand and touch the wires test, but it kind of hurts!!!

«§»Craig B«§»

iTrader: (5)

I was thinking of distributor stuff too but he has a 93SE so he has a VE engine with direct ignition and no distributor

harveysp

Yeah the car doesn't have a distributor... So i'm not sure what my next step would be.
What has me most confused is that the problem is water related, which makes me think it's a wire or something getting wet. yet why would dry gas solve the problem until it gets wet again? if there was a hole in the fuel system somewhere i wouldn't have any pressure in the fuel system..

abunai

Could still be the wires/coils leaking spark. With the tank having pressure it seems like there is no leak. But could still have water in the tank.
Another thing that it could be is the sock in the tank could be getting clogged. Rubbish in the tank is sucked on to the sock cutting off fuel. After it sits the rubbish drops down and the engine can start again. I would hook up a fuel pressure gauge and when the engine dies check to see if there is pressure.