Hi,

For the past couple of weeks or so my Emission system warning light on my 91 Maxima GXE comes on intermittently. When it's on I get rough engine running, particularly on idle. Then it goes out and the engine runs fine. But tonite it came on and stayed on for 10 minutes or so.

What does this likely indicate? How much will it cost to have fixed? Are there any DIY easy fixes I can do or try? Thanks for the help.

 

I know o2 sensor lights come on intermittently, might be worth checking codes on the ecu. But a bad o2 doesn't usually cause a bad running engine.

 

Emission light?

 

look in the stickies and pull the codes

 

What is this emmision light of which you speak, sir?

 

It's the warning light that looks like an oilcan with a plus sign. Looking it up in the users manual it says check emission system.

What codes am I supposed to pull? What is an ECU? (Emissions Control Unit? ) how do I check it? (all newbie questions, I'm no mechanic. Do I need to bring it to a dealer, or can my regular mechanic fix it?

 

My 93GXE doesn't have an oilcan with a plus sign. It has an oil can, which indicates low oil pressure or oil level (not good), and it has an engine with CHECK written across it indicating a potential emissions problem. This one you would need to pull the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) codes. It sounds like you don't have the experience to do this but the codes could clarify if you have a problem with a sensor, etc. I'd suggest you read the stickies to see if you can do it yourself. If not, hello dealer.

 

ECU is Engine Control Unit.
take a picture of your dash pleas as I don't recall the symbol you are talking about.

 

 

That's the oh S H I T light. if it stays on you need a motor or an oil pressure switch.

 

Check your oil level 1st.
Check the oil pressure sensor (back side of engine to left of oil filter) connection next. Do this when cold or wear gloves so you don't burn yourself on the exhaust manifold. Sometimes the oil pressure sensor (switch) gets covered in oil and the electrical signal to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit per Robert Bosch) or ECM (Engine Control Module per Nissan) isn't strong and could affect the ECU. Make sure the connection is tight and clean. From there, it's replace the switch and then on to other more difficult things. I would not drive with the light on unless I knew that the switch was disconnected...otherwise it's motor rebuild time.

 

its the one next to the airbag light!

 

That is your check engine dude....


Use the repair sticky to access the codes...

 

How do I check the codes? Do I need a computer interface, or is there an easy way to check them? Thanks.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=311138

^^^^^^^^
Code info

Location of ecu..


Behind this panel on the passenger side


http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=396706

Use the above autozone repair link to learn how to access the codes...

 

Worse case scenario is you have a failing oil pump and you are losing oil pressure. This may be why the it is running bad because the engine is loosing lubrication and is on its way to locking up. Or something is causing your motor to run bad and it is idling low or almost dieing out causing the oil light to come on. And where in the world did you come to the conclusion that the light was for emissions?

 

Not his problem. Hes got a CEL.

~Alex

 

oops sorry i thought the posts with oil light were his. dude get glasses! an oil can with a plus sign? wtf lol

maybe his cluster is different?

 

The icon for the check engine is very hard to read, and I apologize for the confusion. In my manual it says it is for check emission system. Thanks for the post with pictures, that's what my mechanic impaired brain needs. I'll pull off the panel and test it out.

The problem is that it's quite intermittent, and the last few days hasn't come on, so is it correct to assume that I should wait to check the codes for when the check engine light is consistently coming on? Or does it make sense to check the ECU now, even though the light hasn't come on for a number of days?

Thanks for all the help--I really appreciate it.

 

It should store the codes even when the light turns off.

 

My check engine light is on. Can someone point me in the direction of the correct scanner or cable that I can get. Its a '94 vg30e auto, is it OBD 2? Are the connectors generic for all obd 2 cars?

 

Check out post #19

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=128490

 

the 3rd gen is not OBDII
Nissan started going OBDII in 95 (depends on model)
there is a a cable and software that can be bought to read some third gens (VE powered ones for sure). it is typically found by doing a search for "Consult".
I can't help much more than that because I've never had a VG max.
I've used the snap-on scanner to scan my non-obdII B13, my VEs, a 95 altima, and a 96 I30 (last 2 are OBDII)

http://www.plmsdevelopments.com/consult_if.shtml
it should work, no one here has tested it AFAIK

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NISSA...QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissa...QQcmdZViewItem
both obdI

 

I thought the cable could be had for less but damn. So I can retrieve the codes without the cable, great! Thanks for your help guys.

 

My check engine comes on sometimes and the engine runs rough. Then the cel goes away and the engine runs fine. The ecu shows code 55 as if everything is fine. Weird. Btw, does anyone know how I got my cel to only come on when I pressed the gas lol?

 

a $25 mod will answer that question.
it's donating and searching. the EXACT problem was covered within the last 6months or so

 

Thanks, what should I search for.

 

CEL on gas press maybe?
I know that it was covered with the question phrased almost identically to yours.

 

Ha oil light... Oh no!

 

Had my mechanic take a look at it and he said I need a new injector. $140 for the injector and $100 for labor. I saw injectors online for $130 so I'm thinking it's a good deal. What do you guys think?

 

if you are doing 1 do all 6. the labor is identical, but the parts cost obviously multiplies by 6.
but if you do all 6 now, it will be roughly the same as doing 3 one at a time.
and you can pay a little less on the injectors if you get them yourself.

 

I met this mechanic through my friend and he is good to us so I wanted to pay him to do it. You are right; if you have all that stuff apart it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace them all. I was going to do it myself but figured $100 for labor isn't bad for this job. I need a bunch of other things done also so I rather save the money to use on that stuff: tires, shocks, axles, etc. I also wanted to ask about remanufactured injectors for future reference, for half the cost of a new injector are they a bad idea?

 

Reman injectors in general are fine.
HOWEVER the design of the maxima injectors give them a very high failure rate after being rebuilt. Some people have had good luck with them, but according to several rebuilders I have talked to they are just impossible to truly rebuild. All that can be done is cleaning and flow testing them (along with an ohming out by some rebuilders).
Most maxima injectors fail ELECTRICALLY which is something a rebuilder can't fix.
in my first VE I used rebuilts for 3 or 5 of the injectors as they failed. In the end I had replaced 7 injectors on 5 cylinders. at least 2 of the injectors I got brand new, because I got tired of swapping out injectors.

 

I read that on other threads also. Thanks.