I had this problem about a month ago while it was raining. It didnt show up till this morning and it was lightly raining.

Anyway after driving for a while the car has spasms like the gas is squirting sporadically into the engine, or its not being ignited consistantly. The spasms arent rythmic or anything. I checked the ECU and it gives me code 33, O2 sensor. I was stranded on the road so i had to take my car to some rednecks, funny thing is they suspected the O2 sensor just by listening to it. It wont do it right away after it sits. It has to run for a while. So right now its sitting there till they can get to it tommarrow. It seems really weird that the O2 sensor would cause my car to jerk so violently. Is it possible that something else could have caused this, or is it for sure the O2. They were also telling me that there are two O2 sensors. If there are ive never known that and which one is the most critical to change. i was assuming the one in the Y-pipe was it. Thanx
OB

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....=1#post3545289

 

car only has 1 o2.
and the o2 is supposed to be replaced every 60-100k

 

I thought so thats the only one i could find. Will it cause the car to operate so badly if its gone bad. I seafoam the hell out of my car regularly so it was covered in soot. But I dont want the dude to change it, tell me the car is ready then 5-10 miles down the road it turns into a bucking broncho again. I have to leave for school today so i need him to fix it in one shot.

 

Lazy Oxygen Sensor-Nissan Maxima


A lazy oxygen sensor may cause a rough idle or surging while driving on 1989-94 Nissan Maxima models. The lazy sensor may induce a lean running condition. Check the sensor with an oscilloscope, not just a DMM. That way you'll be able to see the MIN/MAX voltage, as well as the sensor's switching time between rich/lean, lean/rich. The sensor may look okay on a DMM, even though it's lazy.

Elliot Harvey
Harvey Foreign Car
Lakeland, Florida

Found this nugget on a google search, lets hope he is right.

 

Hmm, I still have the problem, but mine is a newer sensor with only 1k miles. For me the problem seems to be aggravated by the cold and also by being under load situation.

Brian

 

OK, i got it back yesterday and drove about an hour home. about 40 min into the trip it pipped reall quick then didnt do it again till about ten min later, then about another ten min later it did it once more. after that it was fine. but my concern is that it wasnt moist outside. it seems to be idleing real ruff now too. no code on the ecu though. took it out while it was raining and its doing the same thing but its really bad.

 

I would check your coil packs. One or several of them may be the culprit, if not the o2 sensor.

 

OK, When a coil pack has failed doesnt the engines just run rough? coil packs either work or not correct? I thougth of the coil packs but why would they not work in the rain? If it were the coil packs it seems like all of them are doing the same thing at the same time. During idle the exhaust pops and stuff and the rpms go up and down close to choking. Sometimes i will loose all power for about 5 seconds with my foot on the gas and the car is just coasting with no sound then it will kick in again...

someone hand me a gun please.

 

you could have a coil pack that has a tiny crack and you can't see it, or even one that doesn't have a crack and is bad...a bad coil pack will cause your problems, rough idle and bucking bronco.

 

OK im gonna look into that again. hopefully it will keep raining till i fix it.

 

Do maintenance on the things electrical, electronics, connectors, groundings plus test each sensor... read: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/748507/1

 

Also check for corrosion on your injector ends...

 

dude i seem to have the same problem..i drove through a foot of water (thought it was only an inch) and the next day it started to surge and it had really rough idle....im assuming it could be my O2 because at the time i was only running from my y pipe.....but idk

 

I checked the coil packs for cracks, and there were none. I tested them and the front three gave me 5ohms and the back three about 6 or 7 ohms each. I took out all my spark plugs and lo and behold the number one plug (back passengerside) was covered with oil. i looked under my car and the passenger side of the engine had some oil stains. the drivers side was clean. from inspecting the engine and under the car it looks like my valve cover is leaking. could this be the cause of all the surging? if so why would this only manifest itself during the rain?

 

- Only some cracks are visible.
- Coil resistance has nothing to do with shorting to ground. Only testing the insulation resistance with a special gauge, one may be sure. Or just wash and try to add insulation and there will be difference found if there was shorting...
--->Coil packs may still be bad...

- Oil insulates so it does not cause short circuit. The accumulated soot around one plug might cause random shorting on one cylinder spark to gnd.

 

How can i find out if my coils are bad for sure then? I did the procedure in the Chilton. So you think the oil has nothing to do with the prob?

 

... just wash and DRY - try to add insulation and there will be difference found - if there was shorting... TEST: wind self vulganizin rubber tape or any available insulation starting from paper to tennis socks...

The coil is a high voltage 'generator'. If is broken, cut, it can be measured /detected with an ohm meter. If coil winding is cut, then its dead. Dead coils do not produce any high voltage. U know, that which does not exist, cannot leak to ground.

Totally separate issue is the high voltage leak WHEN the COIL IS OK. That is an issue of damaged insulation. Very seldom INSULATION is in such a bad shape that you can measure it with ohm meter.

Chilton has a lot funny crap. Most procedures are valid, but often tell only 1/4 story. That detail which one needs most, is wrong or missing.


Oil insulates - so oil itself does not cause short circuit. Clean it.

 

ok thanks. my dad has that tape so im going to do that. im about to make a 12 hour trip so im trying my best to rectify this before i leave. do you think its worth my time to go to the dealer and get a diagnostic run?

appreciate the help much...

 

oh yeah one more question. When i had my O2 changed i think the mechanic didnt turn the screw on the ecu fully counterclockwise. would this cause anysymptoms?

 

turn it u self, disconnect batt for a minute =ecu reset

go for diag only, on condition of repair later, and watch for u self. after gettin that, decide whattodo, ask work/spare price from another source, internetautomator here.

 

I went to the dealership today. Told them to run a diagnostic, and test the coil-packs. they said all was good. They said that the only thing that they saw that could cause the problem was my air intake comes right behind my headlight. i have the E36 projectors so they dont fit OEM perfect. they said that water may be getting through to the filter and causing the MAF to act up? what do you think?

 

The serviceman has been watching too much tsunami videos... Do not go there anymore. Or do you drive hood off?

If in the car history somebody once splashed cooling liquid ovet the engine compartment, the water evaporated but its ingredient Glycol did not. The dried microscopic Clygol residue bits suck now water from air on humid days, dry again on dry days. If/As these bist are inside connectors, the cause shortages.

Anyway: go through groundings, connectors. Clean, add contact grease to connector contacts under the hood, ECU relay etc. Clean ECU/TCU contacts. Add some gnd wires. TPS will act weird time to time if worn... Look at my website how. Now my car is purring... http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/748507/1

 

You are right. You know your stuff. The first time i had this problem i had just tried to get all the air out my cooling system. The process got a little sloppy.Then i left right away on an hour and a half long trip. So as the car heated up it pushed all the extra coolant out but my coolant bottle was moved when i got my cold air intake and it sometimes moved around because it didnt have a proper place to sit. It splashed coolant around the front of the engine during that trip. What connectors should i look for near the front of the engine that might have gotten coolant on them that would cause this?

 

I think quick fix is to wash engine compartment liberally with water. Give -sigh- compressed (=oily) air to conenctor "back" sides which hide the droplets. Most of the connectors innards have rubber O-rings and stay dry, but will oxidize.

Yu have to watch inside u horse stable, u know better which place got best Glycol wash... Worst 'harm' is done in sensor connectors which use very low voltage signals and thus are inflicted with small condensation or dirt.

If TPS gets water on it, it will go in (on throttle assy axle). Cannot get away moisture but by drilling a hole and flooding it with CRC ,WD40 or smtg like that.

The connector clean/contact grease stuff is easy, DIY. Time consuming is to find/reach all. Do it on all relays also. Very minuscle drop on each contcat on the area u see scratches =contact point. And clean ECU contacts.

After this, the car changes absolutely, no silly hesitations, works like new dream. No wonder, as just about all is computer controlled. Dig in uself, serviceman think lowly of this cleanup stuff.

 

Thanks man. You are a genius. This was my first inclination, the coolant. Im bout to go wash the engine then get on the road. ill take the time to clean each connection when i get to school. ill let you know how it goes. thank you very much.

What do you think about using engine degreaser and the high pressure wash at the car wash?

 

From that kind answers one gets arrogant! Luckily the fall comes always too soon... Anyway, thanks for compliment. But this forum is full of geniuses, each shining from his/her own angle.

The connector job is quite time consuming, I would say minimum 16hours? if thoroughly done. Do the most important first: battery minus cable to chassis, ECU/TCU connectors etc...

I've always used hi press wash to keep places tidy, have one, degreaser is ok, but if the soot enters into connectors... Now after digging in to this floating computer center for last year an half, I've decided not to use it. But in your case maybe would, just keep clear of TPS, MAF etc. The problem is, if you try not to harm the delicatess, nothing much left to shoot at... like in Iraq.

 

First of all i would like to thank Wiking for sharing his knowledge.

Anyway, I had the dealership check out my car before i left to see if they could find the cause of the bucking. To no avail. So i cleaned some connectors i though might have a hand in it then left praying that it wouldnt rain. But to my surprise when i reached Greenville Tenn my car started to buck, but it wasnt raining. i looked in the hood and saw that my overflow tank was draining and the fan was blowing it on my engine. so i emptied it and washed the stuff off with water. worked for about 10 min. then it started to buck again. I was under he hood on the side of the road with no lights and no traffic on 81. It was the most deserted place in the world. Any way i managed to limp to a hotel.

Next day i clean some more connections. then start off to the nearest dealership. It started to buck so hard the back of my body kit ripped off and sat on my muffler melting it. AND it was UPHILL 90% of the 12 miles! I get there and of course they dont know what it is so im in the lot checking stuff. Got code 12 and 34. so i dissconnect my maf, Behold the bucking stopped! The dealership doesnt have the maf but it was $450 anyway. I went to O'Rielly's and they have it for $125, but it was in Knoxville, about 60 miles away. Didnt want to wait so i set out in safemode. RPM's cant exceed 2 grand. so im doing like 45mph. then it started raining. I almost got hit by every truck on the road even with my lights and hazards on. My car was running super rich so black smoke was pouring out. 2 years later i got to O'Rielly's, and it is up the steepest hill i have everseen. Like the ones in San Francisco. Try getting up one in safemode, in the rain, with a car full of luggage. not fun. So i get the part in and get a hose to dump the coolant straight to the ground. the car was clogged from burning so rich, so i Seafoamed the snot out of it. The locals were amazed. i mean there were people slowing down to see what was wrong. So i jumped on the highway before they called the authorities on me.

Happy to say after the foam cleared out in a cloud of smoke the car ran great, and it rained the whole way back.
It took me about 30 hours to get from maryland to alabama. Pissed about my kit but at least i havnt painted yet.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/403512/7

DONT LET COOLANT GET ON YOUR ENGINE!!

For those who gave suggestions thanx for the help!

 

First of all i would like to thank all people here for sharing their knowledge.

There's smtg wrong with u cooling system as it is cooking. MAF does not cause that. Air bubbles in? Have you bleeded the system as stickies tell? ...or by driving for an hour the bleed valve bleeding a little.