I let the car idle for a long time messin with my friend's and my system. I look on the dash and my check engine light
comes on. I pop the hood and check everything and everything
looks normal. I drove the car and everything felt normal.
Why is this light on. Is there some senser that is trigger
when the car idles for a long amount of time.All you
Max Tec pros Holla back.

Maxi-milliyon

 

mine just came on too. i had the car running for about 30mins. did a short drive, now its on. whats up???

 

okay man you are talking to the king of check engine lights. the first time i tripped mine i was trying to make my own intake, i took apart the intake down to sensor and cranked it up. boom the light comes on and stays on for months. one day it goes away on its own. the second time i had a Autometer 5" tach installed by a pro import shop. the tach tripped the light and it was on for like a month. the code was something like heat air vent valve open ?? and once again it went away on its own. as long as your car is running fine i wouldnt worry about it. the dealer was charging 60.00 bucks just to hook it to the machine. on top of the that i heard they cant reset it like regular ecus it just has to go off on its own. i have also read that you can disconnect the battery and that would work but i never tried that method.

 

Locate the plastic cover inboard of the gas pedal and pull it off. That is the computer. Locate the screw inside the computer which has a small standard type head. Now turn your ignition to the "on" position but do NOT start the car. Turn the screw clockwise till it stops and hold it there for at least two seconds. Then turn it back counter c/w to where it was at. Now look at the check engine light. Count the number of long blinks then the number of short blinks. Write them down until all are retrieved. Turn off car, put cover back on, login to this site and tell us what you got. Not all codes are to be ignored. You could find yourself stranded because the stoopid car won,t start.

 

thanks Dch95, I did what you said and the check engine light
went off, but I didn't understand what you ment about counting the clicks or the number time. Does it make a sound or does it light up a curtin number of time. Please explain. Can i do this now the check engine light is off. If there was a real problem would the check engine light stay on or would it go off and the problem still be there. Holla

Maxi-milliyon, God Bless

 

It,s the number of blinks that the "check engine" flashes at you that you are supposed to count. For instance long blinks are when the light slowly flashes at you and the short blinks are when the light flashes quickly. I know that sounds backwards but that is the best way I can put it. You can do the check again because the code should be there as long as you did it the way described. Doing so will let you know if there is a problem. Try again and see what happens.

 

The Check Engine Light is evidence that something is wrong. That
"something" may be any number of things, some major and some minor. It
might be nothing more than a loose fuel filler cap. The Engine Control
Module (the computer) detected a problem and turned on the Check Engine
Light. At the same time it stored one or more Diagnostic Trouble Codes.
Get someone to do a DTC readout for you. This is not a big deal, does not
require specialized "dealer only" test equipment, and should take less than
an hour. When you know the stored DTCs, you will have a fair idea of what
repairs are needed.

If you like to do your own "wrenching" you can do the DTC readout for
yourself. Go to your public library and borrow a Chilton's or Haynes
manual for your vehicle. It contains detailed instructions and a table
which "translates" the numerical codes into words. No special tools are
required.

You will also find instructions to do a DTC readout and reset
the Check Engine light at Steve Cutchen's excellent MaxFAQs page:
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/

The DTC "translations" are found at:
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/engcodes1.gif
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/engcodes2.gif

 

check engine codes at Maximadriver.com
click Tech. click ECU/MIL error codes.. :P

 

Thanks dch95,Daniel B. Martin, and Chebosto,
I checked the problem and it came up as 3 long blinks
and the 4 short blinks which equals 0304 I guess. I checked
Chbosto's on board Diagnostic chart. Which row of numbers
do you use. If you use the Consult. GST 2 list the problem is a cyl 4 misfire. If you use the ECM 1 list the problem is
the Knock sensor.How do we know which list to use. Is this a major problem, how bad, what to do,Did this happen to anyone else, someone Maxima tech specialist on line HOLLA please! The more info the better. P.S. explain real simple, I'm new to this!

Maxi-milliyon, God Bless

 

All OBD-2 compliant engines have four-digit Diagnostic Trouble Codes, with the first digit always being 0 or 1. Your reading is DTC 0304. Consult is the name of the dealer-only electronic tester, so you should ignore those numbers. Your DTC 0304 corresponds to Knock Sensor. The '99 Maxima factory service manual lists these possible causes for DTC 0304...
- Harness or connectors (the knock sensor circuit is open or shorted)
- Knock Sensor


Here is some information about the Knock Sensor, taken from the '99 Maxima factory service manual.

1) Raise the hood. View the engine from the driver's fender. Look into
the deep valley between the cylinder banks and below the intake manifold.
Identify the KS as a black item fastened to the block by a single vertical
bolt. A wire harness wrapped in black leads toward you, out of the valley.
That is the KS sub-harness.

2) Follow the KS sub-harness to it's nearest connector. This is connector F121.
It is located near the upper right-hand corner of the valve
cover of the forward cylinder bank, as viewed from the
front of the car.

3) Disconnect F121. You have to do a "press the latch and wiggle and
pull" to disconnect it. F121 has only two pins; if you see more than two
pins, you have the wrong connector. Use a digital ohmmeter capable of
measuring more than 10 Megohms. You want to measure the pins of F121, not
the sockets of the matching connector. Measure the resistance between a
good ground (such as the battery negative terminal) and pin #2 of connector
F121. On my car this is the highest of the two pins, the one closest to
the front of the car. The factory spec is 500 - 620 Kohms.

The manual says you have to remove the intake manifold to replace the KS. However, I think that a person with good dexterity and a 10mm ratcheting box wrench could replace the KS without disturbing the manifold.

 

Yo Daniel B., yesterday I went back and check the computer
about two more times. After the first code 0304 came up which i told you about, the car then did 0505 which is I think no problem code. Did I reset the whole computer and the problem is still there? Why would it change codes? What is going on? How much does the Knock Sensor cost to install at the dealer? Do I still need it? Holla Back. Yo Daniel thanks for all the info.

Maxi-million, God Bless

 

Diagnostic Trouble Code 0505 means there are no stored DTCs. The Engine Control Module was reset. Most likely you did this, inadvertently, when doing the DTC readout. No harm has been done.

I have no idea how much this will cost. This is a question for your dealer. If DTC 0304 does not come back, you do not need it.

 

Hey Daniel B. Martin thanks for the info. Hopefully if the light doesn't come back on.I just found out that the Max also hold two codes if two problems is found.I'm going to check the car again.DBM thanks again. If your ever in
NYC, lets do lunch.

Maxi-Milliyon, God Bless

 

Could happen! I have family in Queens and visit there once a year.

 

I came home from school this afternoon and at 20,625 miles, the engine light came on. I was wondering if this is like an indicator for tune up time? Up to this day, I had to no problems with the car at all. Any suggestions?

 

The Check Engine Light is evidence that something is wrong. That
"something" may be any number of things, some major and some minor. It
might be nothing more than a loose fuel filler cap. The Engine Control
Module (the computer) detected a problem and turned on the Check Engine
Light. At the same time it stored one or more Diagnostic Trouble Codes.
Get someone to do a DTC readout for you. This is not a big deal, does not
require specialized "dealer only" test equipment, and should take less than
an hour. When you know the stored DTCs, you will have a fair idea of what
repairs are needed.

If you like to do your own "wrenching" you can do the DTC readout for
yourself. Go to your public library and borrow a Chilton's or Haynes
manual for your vehicle. It contains detailed instructions and a table
which "translates" the numerical codes into words. No special tools are
required.

You will also find instructions to do a DTC readout and reset
the Check Engine light at Steve Cutchen's excellent MaxFAQs page:
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/

The DTC "translations" are found at:
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/engcodes1.gif
http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/engcodes2.gif

 

Read the first post that I did concerning how to find out what the code is and how to get it. Then get back with us.

 

I took the car to the dealership today and they couldn't find out what the problem was. They said that sometimes the computer just gets confused and the light comes on. Well, at least they didn't charge me anything for the check.