Hi all, Im new to the .ORG, been reading threads now for a while. I own a 92 maxima auto, with the DOHC motor. recently i have done alot of tune up work to it..I got ngk spark plugs, new 02 sensor, oil, toyota filter (was told its good because of the VTC issue?) new air filter. The engine idles just about perfect....every GREAT once in a while it will hickup, For some reason, randomly...my car just dies...usually only while im idling or slowing down to an stop/idle.....then i put it in park and it fires right up and idles fine and sounds fine.....and sometimes when im giving it gas...and slowly give it more gas it will start "humping" as i saw someone post...it goes, stops, goes stops, goes stops....kinda wierd, but i think humping describes it good...but when i take foot off gas, or floow it, it stops humping...anyone got any ideas? Oh ya...i was told it could of been a bad ground or electrical connection so i went and bought a wire brush and electric parts cleaner and went away for at least 2 hours cleaning every connection i could find....any help would be appreciated...car runs fine...just dies randomly and humps...

 

Have the exact same problem on my 1992SE, It used to happen like once every few miles but I replaced the coil packs with used coil packs from my parts car... I solved the constant stalling but I still get it happening sometimes at WOT so it still may be a coil pack problem.. sorry... not much help... just letting you know there are others out there

 

ive tested the coil packs and they all read .8....

 

could be your MAF dying

 

thats what ive read....i heard if you tap it when it idles funny...and it changes it alot, then its your maf.....but it idles fine just about all the time
.....is there any other way to see if its my maf? problems occur cold or warm, ive checked connections, they are cleaned and aren't corroded at all
...ive tried tapping it from cold start until it warmed up...id tap it 2x every 30 secs or so...and nothing ever happened....the idle in my auto at cold goes up to 1500rpms and stays there for 10secs then drops down to 1100rpms....is this normal?

 

to test a MAF that way itd first of all have to be idling poorly. If you arent having the problems AT THAT MOMENT the test is useless... since your problem is intermittent so far, if you wanna test the MAF my advice would be to wait until the problem gets worse, as it sounds too minor right now. But your problems sound like the start of a dying MAF (if its the MAF it will get more consistent and worse soon enough). but it could be lots of things i guess.. and make sure the MAF connector is clean and tight

it sounds sort of minor so far, so maybe its a minor problem like the Throttle Body needing cleaning.. try that if you havent already (dunno since you seem to have already tried lots of tune up stuff). If its a more major problem like the MAF it will get worse soon enough and give you more clues to wrok with

 

the last few days it has died on me while driving it, but not accelerating...at least once a day but no more than 2x in a day..i cleaned out the throttle body a couple months ago when i got the car..has 120k on it...bought it from an old lady who no longer needed it..everything is in good condition it seems....i guess im going to have to wait and hope it idles funny...and get my *** out and pop the hood....until then unless anyone else has any suggestions, im all ears. Thanks

 

anyone else?

 

have you checked for a vaccum leak?

 

how would i check for a vacuum leak, and where?

 

with carb cleaner, use the tube nozzle and just slowly spray around the intake and see if the idle jumps up at any one spot.
if it does then that area has a vaccum leak.

 

on the plastic intake box and tube that connects to the intake manifold?
or on the rubber hoses all over the engine?

 

I had a very similar problem and I think it is actually two different things going on. My dying problem was 100% solved by changing the engine control relay and the ignition coil relay. The ignition coil relay was actually loose on the inside and die every time I took a quick right turn. These relays are green and on either side of the engine compartment.
My 92 se still bucks a little while accelerating or cruising on the highway but never dies. That one I haven't totally figured out yet.

 

gonna check out those relays and see how bad they look...thanks...and btw how much you pay for new relays?

 

eighteen bucks each. Actually you can get by with one as they are the same. Change one out and try it. If that makes no difference put the one you took out in the other spot.

 

Well...i looked at both of the relays....connections on both sides look like new, relays look in realy good condition...shook them and they didnt rattle or anything....i checked resistance again on all 6 coild packs...and front 3 injectors...coil packs all were 0.8-0.9ohms, 3 injectors were all 11.5-11.6..not sure on the back 3...anyone else wanna take a guess at my problem....or assure me its my air flow sensor slowly dieing....thanks for all the help

 

I'm wondering if my remaining problem and yours is MAF or EGR. Do you get an engine light on? I do not.

 

no never have, i know my egr works tho

 

so i take it a couple people have this problem and it is still unsolved?

 

i had that problem, and i took my car to the mechanic and got it back today... the guy said he replaced the distributor and it drives fine now..

 

My first car of the three still has some kind of irregular bucking either on light accelleration or it will act on the highway like you took you foot off the gas. Doesn't do it all the time. So yeah, unresolved.

 

my VG auto does the same, i took it to the mechanic and they replaced my distributor and coil packs and it still dies.

i seem to have noticed a pattern on the way my VG stalls.. usually it dies when it fully warms up, then i started again, then it bucks a lot, then dies.. then i'd have to wait a few minutes in the middle of the road with emergency blinkers on to wait for it to catch its breath before i can start it again... and then i'll get some bucking and choking, but i'd usually be able to drive it for 8km before it dies again.. then i'll have to give it another rest before i can start again and crawl back home/to school.

 

maybe your problem lies with the egr valve...had a car do exactly the same thing, and it was hard to restart, had to wait a few minutes...it turned out a hose was ripped going to the egr...fixed the hose and it ran fine....could also be a combo of that and maybe maf on yours, if it is in deed the maf on mine maybe? who knows...if its not one things its another