This has happened several times in my 92 SE. It will be running fine one day then the following day when I crank the car it will run with a constant miss. You can hear it in the exhaust, feel it when driving. Some times it will go away as I drive, other times it will not. It does not happen enough to really bother me yet, but I would like to figure it out before it really does start to bother me. Even when it is missing, the idle is steady and I have good oil pressure. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

when was the last time you had a full tune up? i had that issue myself and i did a complete tune up and i havent had the issue since.

 

what do you consider a full tune up? The only thing on the VE I would really consider a tune up part are the spark plugs, and those probably have about 5k miles on them. I put the engine in earlier this year. I had a coil problem causing total intermittent power loss but I fixed that by replacing the coils with some used coils.

This problem is that this problem is so random, I cannot replicate it on purpose. One day it pulls nice and strong, then the next it may run like it has a miss.

 

A couple months ago I replaced the rear injectors and KS and put in new plugs, all new vacuum hoses, etc. on my newest VE. It ran smooth as butter until two weeks ago. I went to go pick up lunch from work and it was missing as soon as I started it up. It annoyingly lasted for a solid week and lost a good deal of power, then one day just went away and has ran smooth as butter ever since.

My other black VE has always had a slight miss (it has low compression in one cylinder) since I've had it but it still pulls nice and strong

My blue VE (that I've dumped $3k+ into) has had a miss at startup for a minute or two the past couple times I've started it up, but I cant drive it enough to get a good feel for that car because as soon as it gets up to operating temp it bogs/hesitates so bad I can barely drive it

 

Just sounds like an injector failing to me.

 

Mine sounds like what your newest one was doing. It's down on power and sounds like a boxer engine when it is running. I started it twice in the last hour and it's still doing the same thing.

What is the best way to trouble shoot the injectors? I have a multi meter and I also have noid lights, but I doubt the noid lights will show anything if its a mechanical failure. Luckily I have plenty of injectors since the VE and VQ30 uses the same injectors, so I think I have three sets of those.

 

The injectors should ohm out around 10-14. You can just unplug the coil pack to one cylinder at a time to narrow it down, if the idle doesn't change something on that cylinder is the problem (probably the injector but it could be a bad coil pack)

 

my original VE has/had the exact same behavior pattern - im ruling it as an injector since A) moving the spark plugs around and B) moving the coils around did nothing, and the problem remained at cylinder #1 at all times. Plus when i cranked it around with the plugs out, a gush of fuel shot out of cylinder #1 - check that out on your car and see if it does the same thing

my 2nd VE has a slight miss at idle but its very sporadic, once you drive and get on it, it pulls smooth - havent investigated this car further yet

 

I've found that Japanese engines don't like Platinum spark plugs... NGK V power seems to be the best I've found. I've seen intermitant missing resolved with swapping out the plugs.
As mentioned above, there are a couple things you can do to narrow down what cylinder is effected, but it doesn't help if the problem goes away while your testing.

 

I'll try to isolate the cylinder if I can replicate the problem when trouble shooting it.

Let me know if you figure out anything.


I am running copper NGK's.

 

It could be these other mysterious things, but I really think its just an injector.

 

Hopefully it will still be missing by the weekend when I have time to look at it. I'll check some of the suggestions.

 

What is this about platinum tipped plugs? IIRC the VE specifically calls for NGK platinums only?

 

since 1996 over 80% of the cars produced for the US use platinum plugs or iridium plugs.
Japanese cars in general are very fussy about the plug you use if you want it to run right.
Read your owners manual and use what it calls for.

 

I think you are probably right. I trouble shot a little bit tonight. I unplugged coils while the car was running until I found the one that did not make the car run different while unplugged. So I found out the cylinder giving me the problem is, either 3 or 4 which ever one is in the middle closest to the radiator. So I replaced the coil on that cylinder...no change. So I got out the multi meter and checked the resistance on each of the front injectors. The first one was 11.5 ohm, the middle one was 0 ohm, and the one on the end was 11.5 ohm. So it looks like the middle injector is trash. Does a test of 0 show that the injector is stuck open or closed? I tried to take the injector out and managed to strip one of the screws. So as soon as I find my bolt out kit I hope to have it out. Any good advice on changing this injector while the rail is in the car? I have never changed injectors while the rail is in the car. I know to lubricate the o-rings but past that any advice is welcome.

 

Not sure if that is stuck open or closed, but either way it's trash and should be an easy fix since it's on the front. Looks like you've found your problem!

 

yeah, it should not be too bad if I can get this stripped out screw out. I tried it again this morning with no luck. So I sprayed it with some PB blaster just for the heck of it. I'll try it again later. I know I can get it off if I take the manifold out but I am trying to avoid that.

 

They have done this in an attempt to prolong the service intervals... Recomended by OEM or not, If I find them in a car I service with missing problems, they are the first thing to get replaced. This includes Mazdas, Nissan, Subarus, and even Ford.

 

actually it was done for emissions more so than extended life. Plugs can be trashed in 1/2 their "recommended" service interval because most don't get the concept that their short drives constitute severe duty when it comes to maintenance intervals.
stick with what the OE recommends and you will have a car that runs right all the time, seen to many people try to be cheap/stupid and had issues until I convinced them to put in the right plugs. you know what happened then? the car ran right

 

So that's why the fuel rail you gave me was missing a screw. The injector took car of it, right?

 

yes that is the reason, and yes it took care of the problem.


Thanks for the suggestions everyone, the dead injector was causing my problem.

 

So it ran good for a few days...then today it started doing funny stuff again. When driving home this afternoon, I noticed it was back firing when I left off of the gas. When I would accelerate from a stop it would stumble off the line and for the first few seconds in first then accelerate fine. While at a stop the idle would hunt between 500 and 1000 rpms. When I turned the car off and tried to start it back up it did not want to catch, it would just crank and crank until it finally caught. So I got back home and pulled out the injector that I replaced. The bottom/small o-ring was torn. Would that cause the problems I am describing?

So I replaced the injector with another injector. The replacement injectors I have been using have come from my 98 4th gen. It was my understanding these injectors are the same...is this the case? They do not look exactly the same, the body looks a little bit different but they appear to be the same height and width. What is the best way to install the injectors while the rail is still in the car? I have been lubing the o-rings then pusing the injector down as far as it will go with my hand. Then from there i am putting the injector cover/lock/whatever it's called on top of the injector and then tightening the screws at an even pace.

Once I replaced the injector again the car fired right up, but the idle still fluctuates between 700-900 rpm, so I am worried its just going to happen again. Do I need to go get my injectors off my extra VE rail? Any input is welcome.

 

92-99 DOHC maxima injectors are all the same. the only difference you may see is the location of the fuel inlet moving further down on the injector on the Newest replacement ones. IIRC all the factory installed ones had the screen about the middle of the injector.

 

okay, so the injectors I am using are fine. So any good advice on installing them, to not pinch the small o-ring?

 

patience and lots of lube

 

started backfiring again last night....lame I guess I will pop it out and try another one tonight.