I'll try to make this short. I took my car to Pep Boys for a tune-up. The next day it started riding really rough. I took it back and they told me my problem had nothing to do with the tune-up. They said maybe my throttle body needed to be cleaned, they cleaned it, but I still had the same problem. I took it back and they did a diagnostic (after they said they checked the spark plugs and they are fine) and that a code was coming up as a fuel injection code, but they couldn't test each injector, I would need to take it somewhere else. After being frustrated, I did research and learned that they used the cheapest spark plugs (Bosch-$1.99) and that is more than likely the problem. I bought NGK plugs and my husband and I put them on the car over the weekend, same problem and the engine light came on. Thanks to this site I learned how to see what the codes are and basically there is a cylinder 6 misfire, a knock sensor, ignition signal circut and an engine coolant temperature making the engine light come on. Would anyone know that if by fixing the cylinder 6 misfire, that would make the other things not show up because they all seem like it's stemming from the misfire based on the definitions. Also, do I check each one because I don't know which one cylinder 6 is? Not as short as I wanted this to be. Sorry and thanks for the help!

 

I don't know what the ignition thing is, but I'm sure the misfire could set off the KS, and is most likely the rough running problem. Fix that, clear the codes and see if they come back (note that the KS will not set off the CEL so you should check the codes even if the light isn't on). Oh yeah, and if you haven't already realized this, you should never take your car to pep boys. Just find a good REAL mechanic around and it will probably not cost much more and much less in the long run.

 

Live and learn.

Never take your car to a chain store. I take my maxima to a trusted mechanic. Pep boys and autozone cant even give the right parts at the counter let alone install them.

I would dispute the charges with the regional manager after providing receipts on furthur repairs to the vehicle after the pep boys mantenance work. Receipts should basically hint that the work needed to be redone or wasnt done correctly.

 

lesson learned, do your own tune-ups

And any veteran here will tell you Bosch plugs arent the best nor chepest, you can get NGK BKR5E-11, which are recommeneded, for 1.69 from the same place. And when they tune it up, it should consist of changing those plugs, and/or cleaning the throttle body.

Get out your owners manual, it has all the cylinders and their respective #.

Go grab a piece of tubing, so you can put it on top of each injector when the car is running, and decide whether the injector is working or not, you'll hear a ticking sound, and also, may be an old dirty fuel filter.

The engine coolant temp sensor is less than 30 dollars and easy to fix, take off the intake air tubing and it's a small piece with a wire to it on an aluminum piece connected to the coolant hose.

 

The cylinder six fuel injector is easily visible. It is the one that is on the far right. (There are 3 up front, then 3 under the intake manifold).

The engine coolant temp. sensor can be accessed after removing the airbox. Check a Haynes manual for reference.

I would fix those 2 problems first. Most likely the KS is just a ghost code. I am not sure about the ignition circuit code, but maybe that will go away too.

 

99 ignition coils are known to go bad. 1 of them went bad at 32,000 on my 99. They will run you about $80 at the dealer. KS are $120 but can be had for $100 on ebay. GL and DIY this time

 

Pep Boys sucks. Lat time my cousin took his car there he ended up with a blown gasket, went in for an oil change. Funny thing is the day before I was checking out the car to make sure everything was OK. OIL was inside the radiator, inside the coolant reservoir. Two engines later, I do all his maintenance.

 

define "Tune Up" how can a novice such as myself do my own tune up.

what all does it entail

 

plugs, clean TB/iac, fuel filter, air filter, oil, pcv valve, coolant, tranny fluid. What else?

 

Get a Haynes Manual and read chapter 1

 

oil filter? ;p

 

Read the stickies and read the manual.

I would suggest you find another mechanic or another maxima enthiusiast on this board who knows how to do it and let him show you how its done :P

Proph

 

Tune-ups never include cleaning the throttle body because it hardly ever needs cleaned.

The only part of the fuel system a normal tuneup will touch is the fuel filter and putting some injector cleaner in the tank. If you opt for a full fuel system cleaning, they will attach a fuel system cleaner to your fuel rail and clean the injectors that way with a concentrated cleaner.

 

Just read the HowTo's for 60K Tune Up.



Diagnostic Trouble Code 0201 indicates a problem with the ignition coil and power transistor. The ignition signal from the Engine Control Module is sent to and amplified by the power transistor. The power transistor turns on and off the ignition coil primary circuit. This on-off operation induces the proper high voltage in the coil secondary circuit.

The malfunction is detected when the ignition signal in the primary circuit is not entered during engine cranking or running.

The items to check include
- Harness or connectors (the ignition primary circuit is open or shorted.)
- Power transistor unit built into ignition coil
- Condenser
- Crankshaft Position Sensor (REF)
- Crankshaft Position Sensor (REF) circuit

A misfire on any individual cylinder should set a code, and a problem with the CPS should also set a code.

I would have expected to see DTC 0201 along with one of the following DTCs.
0407 - Crankshaft Position Sensor (REF)
0608 - Cylinder 1 misfire
0607 - Cylinder 2 misfire
0606 - Cylinder 3 misfire
0605 - Cylinder 4 misfire
0604 - Cylinder 5 misfire
0603 - Cylinder 6 misfire

You didn't get one of these "companion" DTCs, and that is puzzling. Maybe one of them will show up in the next few days.


0603 0604 0605 0606 0607 0608
If one cylinder is misfiring the problem is spark or fuel. A misfire due to a spark problem usually results in a Service Engine Soon light and one of these Diagnostic Trouble Codes:
0608 - Cylinder 1 misfire
0607 - Cylinder 2 misfire
0606 - Cylinder 3 misfire
0605 - Cylinder 4 misfire
0604 - Cylinder 5 misfire
0603 - Cylinder 6 misfire

There are two tests the home mechanic can make, the sound test and the resistance test.

Sound test...
This test is performed with the engine idling. Use a mechanic's
stethoscope or a length of rubber vacuum hose, and listen to each injector.
All injectors should sound alike. If you find one which makes a different
sound (or no sound at all) you have found a problem.

Resistance test...
This test is performed with the engine off. Use an ohmmeter to measure the
resistance of each injector. This does not require removing the injectors.
I don't know the correct resistance value for the injectors on your model,
but they are typically a low number such as 16 ohms. The important thing
is they should all be equal. If you find one injector with substantially
higher resistance than the others, it is bad. If you find one with zero
ohms (short circuit) that is truly unfortunate, because the injector is bad
and it may also have damaged the Engine Control Module (the computer)
because of excessive current drain.

Measuring the resistance of the front bank of cylinders is easy because the
injectors are in plain view. Disconnect the injector electrical connector
for cylinder #2, measure the resistance, reconnect the connector. Repeat
for the cylinders #4 and #6.

Measuring the resistance of the rear bank of cylinders is almost as easy,
but it is difficult to reach the injectors. The resistance may be measured
at a conveniently located electrical connector. Notice the largest,
thickest electrical harness at the top of the engine. This is the Engine
Control Harness and it is shaped like a U, with the open top of the U at the
driver's side of the car. The U has two corners. Look at the corner
nearest the passenger seat. Just inside that corner you will find an 8-pin
electrical connector. This is connector F131. Disconnect this
connector. Now look at the male part, the connector half with the pins
exposed. They are arranged in two rows of four pins.
The pins are numbered 1 - 4 (top row) and 5 - 8 (bottom row).
Measure the resistance of:
- injector #1 between pins 1 and 2.
- injector #3 between pins 1 and 6.
- injector #5 between pins 1 and 5.
Be sure to measure the PINS, not the female receptacles.

The dealer's shop is equipped with high-tech diagnostic instruments. These are wonderful devices but they are expensive and the dealer has to recover his cost by charging you for diagnostic time. Sometimes the home mechanic can do legitimate diagnostic work with nothing more than a ohmmeter and a rubber tube.

To Test Ignition Coils:
With the ignition off, disconnect the electrical connector from the ignition coil. Connect the positive (+) probe of an ohmmeter to terminal no. 1 and the negative (-) probe to terminal no. 2 of the coil connector - the meter should indicate infinite resistance. Reverse the meter leads ( negative probe to terminal no. 1 and positive probe to terminal no.2) - the continuity should be indicated, but not zero ohms. If the results are not as specified, replace the coil.
Connect an ohmmeter between the secondary terminal ( the one that the spark plug connects to) and terminal no. 1 - the meter should indicate infinite resistance. If not, replace the coil.
Note - Ohm meter to test coils is not the most reliable way. Some peoples’ coils tested perfectly, but they still misfired.


Fix the Coil problems and the Knock Sensor code might go away.


0103
OBD-2 Diagnostic Trouble Codes are always four digits. Your DTC "13" is actually "0103", and it points to the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. The factory service manual says this DTC is set when the ECTS signal has an excessively high or low voltage. It suggests testing the ECTS and also the associated electric connector and wiring harness.

On the 4th Generation Maxima engine the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor is located in the water outlet tube close to the engine end of the upper radiator hose. There are two sensors in that area. The one nearest the hose is for the dashboard temperature gauge. The ECTS, the one you're interested in, is right next to the the gauge sending unit. There is a good picture of these sensors in the Haynes manual on page 3-7.

With the engine cold, disconnect the ECTS and measure its resistance. Reconnect the ECTS, start the engine, run it until fully warmed up. Stop the engine, and repeat the resistance measurement. The "warm" reading should be a much lower value than the "cold" reading.

The specs for the ECTS are:
Engine coolant temperature 68F, ECTS resistance 2.1 - 2.9 Kohms
Engine coolant temperature 194F, ECTS resistance 0.24 - 0.26 Kohms
(Roughly a factor of ten difference.)

 

Damn kevlo - thats a thorough response...

 

We checked the 6th cylinder and it has tape around it, the other ones have rubber. Would that be a problem?

 

could be...maybe there was an issue before? how fresh does the tape look?
since it's in a readily accessible area, maybe Pep Boys f'ed something up and
are now trying to cover their tracks?

In any case, I had to replace an injector when my car was mis-firing...
Also, I've changed my coolant temp. sensor, which is notorious for affecting
the engine...

good luck!
FLO_BOY

 

The tape looks pretty fresh to me. What else should I check before buying another injector. How much is an injector?

Thanks

 

rubber gaskets for the injectors can be bought for under 5 dolalrs www.thepartsbin.com

 

That's a good question...at the time, I took the car to the dealer to replace...
ofcourse, I NEVER do that anymore...

So, I'm unsure as to how to test or check...what you might want to do, if you are VERY mechanically-inclined is swap the injector from one cylinder to the other and see if the mis-fire code changes cylinders too.

Alternatively, try the "swap" with the coil packs as well and see if the coil pack is the issue...This one is MUCH easier to do (mechanically speaking)...also, I think that the coil pack issue is far more common.

good luck!
FLO_BOY

 

As I started reading this thread I started thinking to myself, "I bet they pulled the coil pack and it fell apart, not totally uncommon, and they tried to put it back together to last long enough to get you out of the shop". And then I saw this post from you. As far as I've read from others who have had them fall apart when removing them, replacing them is the only way to fix them and is most likely your problem. When it fell apart, either they're as stupid as they really are and thought tape would fix it, or they didn't want you saying they were responsible for replacing it since THEY were pulling the coil out.

I stopped using pep boys some time ago after having a brake job on an old car and having the rear drum lock up on the way home. When I took it back to have them fix it, I started talking to one of the mechanics hanging out at the counter. He said that it was nice working there to be able to have a place to work in his car but he wouldn't even trust anyone else in the place to fill his windshield washer fluid for him. Either he was warning me or a really stupid employee but he definitely let me know what kind of talent works at pep boys.