97 Maxima SE. The check engine light was on (Service engine soon is what it says) and the mechanic said he would fix it. I just spoke to him and he said it is fixed. I asked what the problem was and he said one of the cylinders was misfiring because of moisture or something. I thought this sounded fishy because the car drove fine. Wouldnt a cylinder misfire make it drive or sound different? Does a misfire even trigger the CEL? Also, when I look at the car and the CEL is off, is there anyway I can check to make sure that he didn't just turn off the light somehow and that there really isn't any ECU reported problems?

Thanks!

 

I did a search and found that the ECU does infact indicate misfire (wow, searches are so neat!). Now I want to know how/if I can double check to see if that was the problem. Wouldn't I be able to notice a misfire, that caused the light to come on, while I was driving it? It accelerated and drove VERY smoothly.

Thanks!

 

bump

 

come on someone, let me know what you think!

 

If you pull the ECU diag. codes, you should be able to figure out if something was wrong with the car.

The procedure to do this can be found here:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

Hope this helps.

 

i had a cylinder 3 misfire, when u diagnose the CEL, it tells u what cylinder is causing the problem. I dont know how to fix it but i know it leaves like a lot of black oil in the cylinder which DOES make it very moist. I know the sound doesnt change but the performance does.

 

if it felt fine it mightve been something like mine. i had a MULTIPLE CYLINDER MISFIRE code from my light. car felt fine. so i figured, ill reset the light and see what happens. i mean, hey, if somethings really wrong the computer will tell me again. the ecu isnt stupid.
the light hasnt come back on.
the car runs smooth as anything, except the only thing is that itll bog a little as soon as i shift sometimes into 5th i think.

why are so many people having misfire codes pop up lately?

 

I've seen on other threads that either the spark plug or ignition coil could cause the cylinder to mis-fire. You can try moving the ignition coil/spark plug to another cylinder and see if the mis-fire follows the coil/plug.

It would probably be good to check the condition of the coil and plug before moving them.

 

good idea. but if you have a multiple cylinder code like me, and NO codes thrown for a specific cylinder. then its kind of a wild goose chase. well, not that bad, but itll take a lot more work.
i wish my comp threw a code for a cylinder #. this multiple crap sucked so i reset that bish.

 

The mechanic said the misfire was caused by moisture. Does anyone know WHY moisture might be in there to begin with? I don't know much about these things. Anyone who wants to pass on the knowledge is more than welcome to.

 

The issue is most likely one or more coil packs are bad. Moisture exacerbates the problem as it affects the internal resistance of the coil packs, usually in a negative fashion. You are looking at $60 to $70 minimum per coil pack through a discount Nissan dealer.

Coil pack issues are VERY finicky. Sometimes the light comes on, sometimes it doesn't. You should get 2 codes telling you it's a misfire and which cylinder the misfire occurs. I have yet to get any code but a misfire code.


I've replaced two on my 99 and still have occasional misfirings, though the CEL doesn't trigger a DTC code anymore. I'll be replacing the remaining 4 in the near future.

This is especially prevalent on late 98 to 2000 Maximas.


It doesn't sound like your mechanic fixed the problem.

 

Coil packs huh? You're right, it doesn't sound like he fixed the problem, or else he would say he replaced the coil packs. Anyway to check and see if any of them are bad myself? NY state has a 30 day lemon law where the car is under warranty through the seller, so i need to act on this ASAP.

 

kind of like my codes. nothing but misfire. no specific location. so is it worth replacing he coils anyway? i reset and no reoccurance. i'm happy with this..