Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

oh snap! i think i've been running on 5 cylinders!!! i must have low expectations of the VE after owning a VG for so long.

after continued stalling problems, jeff92se was kindly helping me troubleshoot, when:

i took the plugs out, noted that the far bank, driver's side plug was dirty as hell. i put new plugs in, replaced coils and drove it around the block. same old crap.
got back, kept the engine running and started pulling coil plugs. lo and behold - the coil with the dirty plug makes no difference whether its plugged in or not! the idle doesnt drop, race, or change in any way when the coil plug is pulled.
so its not the plug, ignition coil... its that cylinder specific - where should i look to next?
i'm so happy to have finally narrowed it down.
and if it is only running on 5 cyl. ... man cant wait till 6!
yes!
T

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

may be the fuel injector - does anyone know the proper method to test the ignition coil harness to determine whether its getting the correct voltage?

lalo

well, not correct voltage but atleat knowing if its getting spark.

Remove the spakplug and with the plug wire attached have some one crank the engine, place the spark plug close to a place in the car that has ground (-). You should see a blue spark jump from the spark plug to the ground. that way you would know if your problem is electrical or fuel related.

Check the resistance on the injector to see if its bad, since you think only one is bad try swaping it out with one that you knwo is working. so if the cylinder that is down started working with the new injector your tried, and a working cylinder goes down with the injector you think is bad than you would know for sure that the injector was bad. im no expert though

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

the injector can be tested by ohming it out.
or you can also swap the coil with the adjacent cylinder to see if the problem moves.

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

lalo, thanks, i tried that out - it had quite a powerful spark that shot out of the side of the plug or whichever part was closest to the ground metal. when it wasnt near a ground, i couldnt see any spark occuring at the gap.
brian i just finished removing the injector and it measured at 11.7 ohms, i think... can it be broken and ohm out correctly still?
tom

lalo

Well, if you have spark then most likely you have a fuel issue. but again im no expert. Internet automart has replaced several injectors, I have not.

Im thinkig its proly cloged or somthing, What I would sugest would be to try that injector in a diff cylinder, but that would require alot of work and if some one can provide you with a diff way of testing it I would save my Idea for a last resort

Internetautomart also sell injectors

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

what troubles me is that it ohms right. if it ohm'd wrong, i'd buy a new one and be done with it. but this car is putting me in the hole like crazy. i wonder how often an injector clogs, stops working, but remains electronically sound. visually it looks ok. a little bit of deposit around the edge of the nozzle, nothing on the screen that i can see or near the spigots, lol, or whatever they're called.
it was a major pita to take the manifold off. i dont want to do it twice in two days
tom

NismoChi

iTrader: (4)

If the injector clogs, or even stops working. The plug should be clean as hell, not the other way around. I suggest you do a compression test on that cylinder and compare it to the other cylinders.

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

thats right - the gas would be a solvent.... thanks.
maybe i got occasional detonation at certain points - since the electrical seemed to be working. it kind of petered out... i dont think it was just a dead stop.
what would the compression test tell me? valves/piston damage? ****!

NismoChi

iTrader: (4)

Either head gasket, valves or rings could cause a dead cylinder. Good luck.

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

whew! yea good luck to me indeed
i just remembered... strangly - when the car would become jerky while driving, tachometer all over, the Power switch on the A/T would throw codes... but i cant read it while driving - and i couldnt make it happen stopped. i did the A/T test while parked and warm and it gave me 5,5 - all clear.
maybe i should have the codes pulled at autozone or something. so tomorrow i guess i'll be buying a compression meter, i think they are 20-30 dollars, for the simple ones.
ok thats enough tools for now. need some more cash to push this along. thank you for your advice nismo chi,

DaWifey's90

iTrader: (3)

and by the same token, since the plug is dirty, can't we conclude that no solvent/gas is getting to it?

were the other injectors ohm'd as well?

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

did you move the coil to a different cylinder?
yes it can ohm out correctly and still not be functioning correctly.
if it ohms correct you may be able to get away with having someplace clean it.

you could also have a bad plug

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

no, i should go ohm them too. i'll be back in a bit if anything comes up. i found a replacement that ohms at 11.3, not too bad. i brushed the screen with some fuel injector cleaner then with some gas. looks ok. i tried moving the coils around since i have 9 that ohm correctly and they all seem good.
what i'm going to do is swap a front injector for the rear so if it is a bad injector - i wont have to go taking the manifold off again. that would be a real pain. once i get the injector in, the manifold on and see where i stand - the next step will be the compression test.
t

eventnick

iTrader: (1)

Man what are the odds of this, i have the same thing going on, with a few differences.... Mine did it intermittenly, like it used to be 6 cylinders all the time, and every now and then the 6th would flip off, which i thought was a transmission problem for a brief while, but now, the cylinder is always off, with the exception of the first 30 seconds or so after startup. I replaced my plug, cause it looked kinda dirty, and tested it against the manifold, lots o spark. Also, i i didnt do a compression test, but when the plug was out, it seemed like quite a bit of pressure was coming out of there, i got a nice gassy blast to the face. But once the plug was back in the engine, same problem no change , i was going to do a set of wires on saturday but im suspicious of the fuel injector over there, cause the car has 150+k m's. In my dads old nissan the injectors all randomly died around 78k. After i check the wires, on sat, im going to be interested in a new injector.

Internetautomar, how much for an injector? Have any used ones?

Thanks,

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

no used ones,
New ones run org members like $90 each shipped, but I will need to know the color dot on the injector connector.

eventnick

iTrader: (1)

dangit, i knew they were circa 100, im going to try to price some used ones, i just cant afford a new injector right now, if i cant find one, ill hit you up though
thanks

Minty91GXE

iTrader: (3)

i threw a used one i pulled at the junkyard today cleaned it, swapped a rear to front (so i wouldnt have to pull manifold if junk injector didnt work) and the number 5 cylinder returned. i would be happy but now that i've got all 6 cylinders back i'm realizing there is a more serious problem. on a positive note - i dont hesitate or stall any more and that's good.
new thread coming while i'm on my last