so i have had my 4th gen now for 2 days. and i already have a problem. it runs great and its awesome, but in the mornings when i go to start it, the engine turns over, but it wont start unless i give it a bit of gas. then after that, it starts right up every time no problem! what could be wrong. please help. im already stressing out about this, im hoping its just a simple fix. any imput would be great. THANX.

-todd

 

Clean your throttle body.

 

how many miles are on the car? Has it ever had a tune up>?

Look in the 4th gen HowTo Thread. Check out hte Maintanence/60k Service. You probily need to do most of those things

 

He's right on the money

 

ill try cleaning the throttle body, but if it was dirty, wouldnt it always start up bad??? it only does it when its cold.

it has 103K, just bought it from a dealer in burbank. it has everything new done to it and the engine looks brand new. but i'll try cleaning the throttle body and if that doesnt fix it, anyone have any other idea of what might be wrong? thanks again for the help.

-todd

 

Ive got to say that Ive got the same problem... I just got a tune up this tuesday and I still have this problem... I have to push the gas In the mornings just like you... The remote start I have doesnt start the car all of the time... Your not alone kid... Im sending her back to the machanic soon... I thought that tune up would help... I have about 74,000 miles on her... Ill keep you posted If i find out anything...one

 

yeah let me know if you find out anything. thanx.

 

hey guys i had the same problem too please check your coolant temperature sensor most probably its corroded it sells for like $25 bucks at the dealer when the car is cold the cts sensor sends a wrong signal to the ecu and the ecu sends more gas to try to start the car thats where the trouble is i just cleaned mine and put it back in and no problems after that please keep me posted as how it turned out thanks and good luck

 

where exactly is the coolant temp sensor located?

i cleaned out the throttle body this afternoon. and when i started it, it started right up. then again its not all that cold out. i guess i will find out in the morning and let you know. if that doesnt fix it, then i will try replacing the coolant temp sensor.

thanks for the help.

-todd

 

To the right of the engine (ie. driver's side) is a coolant pipe with two screwed in sensors. The ECTS is one of them. And yes, it is possible for these to go bad (without CEL) but more likely, the throttle body clean did the trick. I recommend cleaning it every other year.

 

I had the exact same problem when it first started to get cold, so I cleaned the throttle body and haven't had a problem since

 

awesome. im really hoping it is as simple as that. what would i do without everyone on the forum. thanks to everyone! =)

 

went out to start it this morning and it started right up! i guess it was just as simple as cleaning the throttle body. thanks a lot for all the help!

-todd

 

hey i have had this problem for months!I changed my collant sensor but it stil has the same problem.Please tell me how to clean my throttle body?????

 

Check this out Throttle Cleaning There's your instructions...

 

yeah i used those instructions, very handy i must say. only took me about 30 mins. i didnt even have to take off everything that tells you to take off!

 

can u tell me what u took off and how u did it?

 

I think it's easiest to just unbolt the 4 screws holding the TB to the intake manifold. You can then tilt the TB enough to get you hand to wipe the inside of the throttle valve with a cloth saturated with TB cleaner. No need to unhook coolant lines and what not. You just have to disconnect the throttle/cruise control cables and maybe the intake piping to TB.

 

if you do it by taking off the air filter, just be sure that you put the clamp (the one that connects the air filter tube to the throttle body) exactly how it was before. i had accidently reversed mine, and it made the throttle stick. it wasnt very cool. =)

 

ok did the throttle body thing,well actually it was spotless inside,no dirt or nothing,so im back to square one.I still have the same problem,i need to give it a little gas to get it to start in the morning then im good for the day.What could it be?

 

are you absolutely sure it was clean in there??? BECAUSE i thought the same thing at first. not only until i opened up the throttle butterfly could i really see how much junk had collected around it. did you open the throttle and clean behind it?

 

Yeah, the manifold side of the throttle butterfly valve should be sooty/grimy. No way it should be spotless. If you are looking into the throttle body from the intake side, you really have to open the valve and clean as much of the manifold side as possible. Not saying there should be gobs of stuff but if your rag doesn't look filthy by the time you're done, you probably didn't do it properly. Oh, and that grime likes to say on surfaces unless you use liberal amounts of throttle body cleaner.

 

dont you think it couls also be the TPS?

 

Only in winter? Doubtful. You can even disconnect the TPS (as in to reset base idle) and the car should startup fine.

 

True the TPS idea doesnt sound correct...

 

trust me; it is either your water temp sensor or your cold idle adjustment screw that just needs to be turned, so as to raise the cars RPM's. for the scew alls you got to do is turn it to raise the RPM's. For the temp sensor, it is easy 1,2,3 to replace.
water temp sensor=$30 from nissan

 

What about the crankshaft position sensor. I've heard a weak signal from this could cause starting problem...

 

Yes that's true. But you'd get hard starting problems all the time and not just winter. More than likely, you'd also throw a CEL.

The problem with the ECTS (when it is the problem) is the spitting out of bad readings which causes the problem although I've had mine light the CEL before I replaced it. I think this is far less likely than a dirty TB.

Gollany24 is totally right. If the TB clean does not work, you should check your base idle. It is possible for the TB butterfly valve to be shut closed allowing no air at idle when it should be open a sliver to allow air to maintain base idle rpm. The ECU will always try to correct the rpm into the proper range but you could still get hard starts, mainly in winter. Essentially, a dirty TB does the same thing... blocks the idle air flow through the TB. You should check base idle (TPS disconnected, car warmed) and adjust the throttle plate set screw and then fine tune with the IACV set screw so that idle rpm is in the proper range. There is an arm attached to the throttle body butterfly valve which rests on the TB set screw to leave it open very slightly to allow air in for idle maintenance. When I got rid of hard starts in the winter a couple of years ago, I think both contributed. My TB was filthy and my throttle plate screw wasn't even contacting the arm connected to the tb butterfly valve, ie. valve was shut completely at idle. With TPS disconnected (following procedure to set base idle), instead of idling, the engine stalled out everytime because the base idle rpm was really really low (probably nil)--no air was getting through the TB to maintain the idle rpm and no ECU signal to correct idle (since TPS disconnected). Failing a good result, go ahead an replace the ECTS. I think I got mine for a little over $20 at JRNissan. It is a shame the search is disabled because this has been discussed the past two winters.

Again, this thread is about hard starts in the cold/winter--specifically the kind that is ameliorated/cured with the application of the gas pedal during starts.

 

can someone tell me how to raise my cold idle adjustment screw?is that just raising my idle?

 

It is not the "cold" idle that you are adjusting. The car automatically will increase your initial cold start idle speed until the car warms (provided ECTS is functioning). You want to adjust your base idle.

TO RESET BASE IDLE RPM
(1)with car fully warmed to normal temp, turn off car, disconnect TPS (brown connector on throttle body). Also, make sure A/C or defog are NOT on.
(2)restart car and rev it to around 3k a few times and let the rpms fall down to idle. This idle speed is your base idle rpm. If the car will not idle but stalls, the set idle is too low.
(3)adjust the throttle plate screw (ie. loosen the retaining nut, then screw in or out) so that the rpm is close to the factory specified range (different for manual vs. auto). Retighten the retaining nut. Fine tune the rpm with the IACV set screw (black plastic screw). The throttle plate screw determines how open the TB butterfly valve is at rest.
(4)Turn off car. REconnect the TPS. You are done...

 

How to reset base idle