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First off I'd like to say this is a serious question and I will be as detailed as possible have troubleshooted to the best of my ability and still can't solve but have narrowed down I believe from other post 1999 nissan maxima of course was opperating fine check engine light was on code says o2 sensor and failed voltomer in alternator other then that dreamy my question. Hearing that 99s are notorious nats issues what does the security light do when it's nats is activated this is my vehicle symptoms I turn key and hear 2 clicks from fuse box , let me be clear no sound from under the hood just the fuse box inside the car near steering wheel first click when key is turn on and dash lights come on second click when key is fully turned which usually engages starter buy mine makes no effort or sound . What I've ruled out, battery is good used 2 different ones fully charged from AutoZone and oreillys ,lights on dash stay bright when key is turned headlights do not Dim, motor is not locked , I can turn crank by hand freely .jumped starter solenoid makes a single click as if it's stuck and sparks but this is only when I try to jump the starter this sound and action do not occur when the key again only clicks are in the fuse box and electrical sounding have had a few no cranks due to weakened battery due to alternator and did require more starting could it be multiple issues like a relay and the starter . I pulled into a store and went to leave and this happened thought is was the battery because it did attempt to crank one last time but when I put the fresh one in all it did is the click is this security the keyfob starter or ignition I thought if the ignition was an issue I could still jump the starter and why when I turn the key does it not do the same thing as when I jump the starter either way everything is charge but its completely unresponsive like a trigger or something kill switch like , only has upgraded cold air intake key unlocks doors security light goes off when key is put in and does not go solid when I turn the key
First off I'd like to say this is a serious question and I will be as detailed as possible have troubleshooted to the best of my ability and still can't solve but have narrowed down I believe from other post 1999 nissan maxima of course was opperating fine check engine light was on code says o2 sensor and failed voltomer in alternator other then that dreamy my question. Hearing that 99s are notorious nats issues what does the security light do when it's nats is activated this is my vehicle symptoms I turn key and hear 2 clicks from fuse box , let me be clear no sound from under the hood just the fuse box inside the car near steering wheel first click when key is turn on and dash lights come on second click when key is fully turned which usually engages starter buy mine makes no effort or sound . What I've ruled out, battery is good used 2 different ones fully charged from AutoZone and oreillys ,lights on dash stay bright when key is turned headlights do not Dim, motor is not locked , I can turn crank by hand freely .jumped starter solenoid makes a single click as if it's stuck and sparks but this is only when I try to jump the starter this sound and action do not occur when the key again only clicks are in the fuse box and electrical sounding have had a few no cranks due to weakened battery due to alternator and did require more starting could it be multiple issues like a relay and the starter . I pulled into a store and went to leave and this happened thought is was the battery because it did attempt to crank one last time but when I put the fresh one in all it did is the click is this security the keyfob starter or ignition I thought if the ignition was an issue I could still jump the starter and why when I turn the key does it not do the same thing as when I jump the starter either way everything is charge but its completely unresponsive like a trigger or something kill switch like , only has upgraded cold air intake key unlocks doors security light goes off when key is put in and does not go solid when I turn the key
Since you do not hear any click from under the hood, it could be that the ignition switch is bad. The clicks you hear from under the dash by the fuse panel is the ignition relay and the accessory relay. These are normal.
If NATS was causing you trouble, the red security led would be on when you had the key in the ignition switch. If NATS is a problem, the starter would still crank the engine. The engine will not start because NATS turns the fuel injectors off.
Dealer Service Guy Recommended not flushing transmission fluid
1996 Maxima GXE. Transmission Flushed at 39k and again at 95k. Car now has 165k miles. No transmission issues that I can detect (no hard shifts or slips).
Called the dealer and asked how much a transmission flush cost. Service guy warned against it for that mileage. Said with that many miles, may loosen up stuff that is actually helping to keep the transmission going. Looking for advice. Should I drain and refill? Should I do a complete flush? Or should I do nothing.
1996 Maxima GXE. Transmission Flushed at 39k and again at 95k. Car now has 165k miles. No transmission issues that I can detect (no hard shifts or slips).
Called the dealer and asked how much a transmission flush cost. Service guy warned against it for that mileage. Said with that many miles, may loosen up stuff that is actually helping to keep the transmission going. Looking for advice. Should I drain and refill? Should I do a complete flush? Or should I do nothing.
With 165k miles and not being changed for 70k miles I support the serviceman in not performing a pressurized flush. I wouldn't risk it. Either do a drain and refill or do this NON-Pressurized flush:
If you decide to just drain it then raise the front end high with the parking brake cables tightened. You'll get 6.5 of the 10 quarts drained out of the AT.
I have a 98 maxima with 180k no check engine light only a knock sensor code. i have to jump start my car after it sits for 2 days i however noticed a fuel pump sound while parked in the garage coming from the evap canister by the diver side rear tire from the pictures i found on the internet the vacuum cut valve 17372-1w200 is some how on while the car is parked i touched it an somehow its staying on. any suggestions.
I have a 98 maxima with 180k no check engine light only a knock sensor code. i have to jump start my car after it sits for 2 days i however noticed a fuel pump sound while parked in the garage coming from the evap canister by the diver side rear tire from the pictures i found on the internet the vacuum cut valve 17372-1w200 is some how on while the car is parked i touched it an somehow its staying on. any suggestions.
The vacuum cut valve does not use any electrical power. This is the vacuum cut valve:
How long had the car been parked when you heard/discovered the sound? If the car had been driven within the last 10 minutes or so, this sound is probably normal as the vacuum in the gas tank is slowly relieved.
The Vacuum Cut Bypass Valve and the EVAP Canister Vent Control Valve both have an electrical solenoid.
Start with the easy thing. Have a current draw test done on the battery. It may be bad. If the battery checks out OK, then you will have to do a current leakage test where you disconnect a battery cable, connect an ammeter in series with the battery & cable and watch how much current is flowing. Then you pull one fuse at a time and see if the current flow has dropped.
With 165k miles and not being changed for 70k miles I support the serviceman in not performing a pressurized flush. I wouldn't risk it. Either do a drain and refill or do this NON-Pressurized flush:
If you decide to just drain it then raise the front end high with the parking brake cables tightened. You'll get 6.5 of the 10 quarts drained out of the AT.
Thanks jholly: What ATF would you put in there? Recommended is DEXTRON 3 D-MATIC. Is there a particular brand that is better than another for 165k 1996 Maxima?
Thanks jholly: What ATF would you put in there? Recommended is DEXTRON 3 D-MATIC. Is there a particular brand that is better than another for 165k 1996 Maxima?
I use Nissan Matic D ATF. It costs the same as high quality castrol or valvoline Dextron III ATF.
If you're not going to risk doing the non pressurized flush then I recommend doing a drain following another drain 100 miles later. That's because you haven't changed the ATF in 70k miles.
The cleanest route is dropping the AT pan after draining the ATF. There are several components you could clean that are listed in the link I provided earlier. Doing so you'll only need to purchase a felpro AT pan gasket along with the ATF.
Hi guys i have been chasing the dreaded misfire i got ahold of a scanner with live data can anyone help me understand the values. Here are the pictures of the data. Thank you in advance for the help.
Hi,
I have a 1999 Nissan Maxima with 200,000 miles. This is a problem that happened suddenly. When I drive on the highway there is really hot air blowing into the car from the foot pedal area. This is with the auto climate control set to auto and 65 degrees and then switched off. If I switch the climate control on and set it to manual to blow out of the front vents at 65 degrees, the air stops blowing from the bottom but still blows hot from the front vents. Any ideas why this would be happening? I did the self test on the climate control system and all the sensors tested fine. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi,
I have a 1999 Nissan Maxima with 200,000 miles. This is a problem that happened suddenly. When I drive on the highway there is really hot air blowing into the car from the foot pedal area. This is with the auto climate control set to auto and 65 degrees and then switched off. If I switch the climate control on and set it to manual to blow out of the front vents at 65 degrees, the air stops blowing from the bottom but still blows hot from the front vents. Any ideas why this would be happening? I did the self test on the climate control system and all the sensors tested fine. Any help would be appreciated.
There is an electric motor that is used for controlling the air temperature. It is called the Air Mix Door Motor. It may have gone bad. It is a real pain to replace. It is attached to the air duct box directly over the ECU.
In the FSM, there is a troubleshooting procedure to determine if it is the motor or the hvac control panel in the dash.
But maybe it is something more simple like the arm between the motor and the air mix door came off.
If you get down in the passenger foot well and remove the cover over the end of the ECU, you can see the motor and the arm. Turn the ignition switch on and change the temperature setting from hot to cold. If everything is OK, you will see the arm moving.
here is the view of the motor from the driver's side. It's not easy to see:
I have tan leather interior and would like to completely change to black cloth. What would be the estimated price range that I would be looking at to make that happen? Im asking since the veterans here could probably give me a good guestimate. Thanks
I have tan leather interior and would like to completely change to black cloth. What would be the estimated price range that I would be looking at to make that happen? Im asking since the veterans here could probably give me a good guestimate. Thanks
Go to your local yard on a half price day and you should be able to get everything for under $150, dash included.
I have been trouble shooting this issue for a while. Here's a little background. Bought the car not running. After doing some trouble shooting I replaced the starter as it failed the bench test. Still got a crank no start. Check ignition and found the switch to be worn. At that point I was able to start the car with a screw driver in the old switch, was a very hard start though. I replaced both ignition switch and tumbler. Car would start but still a hard start (car would crank for a while before starting). Since I got it started I addressed some oil leaks it had. After replacing both valve cover gaskets and lower oil pan gasket, I started the car on jack stands to verify leak was fixed. Car started but again a consistent hard start. After buttoning everything up and getting it back on the ground it wouldn't start. I pulled codes and got a 0101-cps, 0205-IACV, 0407-ckps (ref), 0605- cyl 2 mis, 0701- multiple cylinder mis, 0806- evap canister purge control valve. From what I gathered the only 2 that could relate to a no start would be the cps or ckps (ref). I tested both per fsm and both sensors as well as wiring were good. I decide to check the ckps (pos) also and found that I was only getting 2.8 volts to the signal wire, fsm says should be 5. I went ahead and tested the sensor per the fsm also and could only get a fluctuation of .12 volts-1.5 volts. Fsm says should fluctuate between 0-5 volts. I don't want to replace the sensor just yet as I don't have the 5 volts to the signal wire. My question is where does the 5 volts come from to the ckps? I have exhausted all my resources and have not found anything after tons of searching.
Last edited by 95nismomax; 02-28-2016 at 09:59 PM.
There is an electric motor that is used for controlling the air temperature. It is called the Air Mix Door Motor. It may have gone bad. It is a real pain to replace. It is attached to the air duct box directly over the ECU.
In the FSM, there is a troubleshooting procedure to determine if it is the motor or the hvac control panel in the dash.
But maybe it is something more simple like the arm between the motor and the air mix door came off.
If you get down in the passenger foot well and remove the cover over the end of the ECU, you can see the motor and the arm. Turn the ignition switch on and change the temperature setting from hot to cold. If everything is OK, you will see the arm moving.
here is the view of the motor from the driver's side. It's not easy to see:
Thank you for responding,
I am clueless about why this might be happening and I thought this might help my mechanic figure it out but so far he has no ideas. I don't want to leave it with him for 2 days until he has some idea of what he is going to do to diagnose the problem.
In the meanwhile, it was 65 degrees outside yesterday so for the first time this winter I was able to test the air conditioning and it does work. When I set the temp to 65 and switched on climate control, very cool air came out of the front vents. When I switched off climate control, I felt cool air coming from the floor vents. Up until now, when it was cold outside, even if the temp was set to 65, it blew very hot air from the vents. Much hotter than it should have because the inside of the car was already warm.
Would this additional info help with diagnosing what is wrong?
Thanks so much for sharing any ideas you might have on how to resolve this.
I have been trouble shooting this issue for a while. Here's a little background. Bought the car not running. After doing some trouble shooting I replaced the starter as it failed the bench test. Still got a crank no start. Check ignition and found the switch to be worn. At that point I was able to start the car with a screw driver in the old switch, was a very hard start though. I replaced both ignition switch and tumbler. Car would start but still a hard start (car would crank for a while before starting). Since I got it started I addressed some oil leaks it had. After replacing both valve cover gaskets and lower oil pan gasket, I started the car on jack stands to verify leak was fixed. Car started but again a consistent hard start. After buttoning everything up and getting it back on the ground it wouldn't start. I pulled codes and got a 0101-cps, 0205-IACV, 0407-ckps (ref), 0605- cyl 2 mis, 0701- multiple cylinder mis, 0806- evap canister purge control valve. From what I gathered the only 2 that could relate to a no start would be the cps or ckps (ref). I tested both per fsm and both sensors as well as wiring were good. I decide to check the ckps (pos) also and found that I was only getting 2.8 volts to the signal wire, fsm says should be 5. I went ahead and tested the sensor per the fsm also and could only get a fluctuation of .12 volts-1.5 volts. Fsm says should fluctuate between 0-5 volts. I don't want to replace the sensor just yet as I don't have the 5 volts to the signal wire. My question is where does the 5 volts come from to the ckps? I have exhausted all my resources and have not found anything after tons of searching.
If you are following the FSM for troubleshooting, the schematic is on the page before the troubleshooting procedure, specifically page 198. Or are you using the dumb-azz Haynes manual? Here is a link to the Nissan FSM: http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/1995/EC.pdf
The 5 volts you are supposed to get comes from the ECU, pin 49. There is a connector between the ECU and the sensor connector on the valve cover that is not shown on the schematic. It is the one where all the wires go through the firewall. It is a big sucker called the SMJ or Super Multiple Junction. If you do a continuity test with an ohmmeter on this wire from the ECU to the CKPS connector, it should read zero or damn near zero ohms.
Thank you for responding,
I am clueless about why this might be happening and I thought this might help my mechanic figure it out but so far he has no ideas. I don't want to leave it with him for 2 days until he has some idea of what he is going to do to diagnose the problem.
In the meanwhile, it was 65 degrees outside yesterday so for the first time this winter I was able to test the air conditioning and it does work. When I set the temp to 65 and switched on climate control, very cool air came out of the front vents. When I switched off climate control, I felt cool air coming from the floor vents. Up until now, when it was cold outside, even if the temp was set to 65, it blew very hot air from the vents. Much hotter than it should have because the inside of the car was already warm.
Would this additional info help with diagnosing what is wrong?
Thanks so much for sharing any ideas you might have on how to resolve this.
When you switch off the climate control, you are pressing the ECON button, right? If you are pressing the OFF button, slap yourself on the hand.
What you just said in your most recent post doesn't seem to agree with your other post saying that you did not see the arm on the motor move. But if the motor was stuck in the middle of its movement instead of all the way at the end, this could be true. I'm going to assume that this is the case because it makes no sense any other way.
But if you are going to take the car to a mechanic who has no clue as to how to troubleshoot this, you could be making a BIG mistake. Most mechanics charge by the hour to diagnose stuff like this and it takes a long time to figure out how the system works in order to troubleshoot it. See if he will give you a firm price quote on the troubleshooting part. No estimate, no maybe, no about. A firm price. A Nissan dealer would be no more than one hour or less at $100/hour.
If you are following the FSM for troubleshooting, the schematic is on the page before the troubleshooting procedure, specifically page 198. Or are you using the dumb-azz Haynes manual? Here is a link to the Nissan FSM: http://boredmder.com/FSMs/Nissan/Maxima/1995/EC.pdf
The 5 volts you are supposed to get comes from the ECU, pin 49. There is a connector between the ECU and the sensor connector on the valve cover that is not shown on the schematic. It is the one where all the wires go through the firewall. It is a big sucker called the SMJ or Super Multiple Junction. If you do a continuity test with an ohmmeter on this wire from the ECU to the CKPS connector, it should read zero or damn near zero ohms.
Thank you for the response. I am using the fsm. I did a continuity test on the signal wire (white) to pin 49 on the ecu and it was zero. I went ahead and cut the signal wire pin
(49) at the ecu to rule out any voltage drop due to a short somewhere in the harness and still only got 2.8 volts out at the ecu. This leads me to believe the ecu may be bad internally? Is this a good assumption?
Thank you for the response. I am using the fsm. I did a continuity test on the signal wire (white) to pin 49 on the ecu and it was zero. I went ahead and cut the signal wire pin (49) at the ecu to rule out any voltage drop due to a short somewhere in the harness and still only got 2.8 volts out at the ecu. This leads me to believe the ecu may be bad internally? Is this a good assumption?
I don't think the ECU is at fault. In my other post I made a mistake about where the the 5 volts originated. The white wire on the ECU pin 49 is the signal that comes from the crankshaft sensor. The ECU is the receiver.
I don't fully understand why you should measure 5 volts on this pin/wire because when the engine is running, this wire should have pulses that measure 2.5 volts. So I can't fully answer your question. I don't know why you would get the camshaft sensor code, both crankshaft sensor codes, the IACV code all at once. That is rather unusual. Since the engine starts, that means the CKPS(POS) is working. The engine will not start without it. A bad CKPS(REF) will cause a long crank before starting.
As a wild guess, add a ground wire from the battery to the engine block and see what happens.
When you switch off the climate control, you are pressing the ECON button, right? If you are pressing the OFF button, slap yourself on the hand.
What you just said in your most recent post doesn't seem to agree with your other post saying that you did not see the arm on the motor move. But if the motor was stuck in the middle of its movement instead of all the way at the end, this could be true. I'm going to assume that this is the case because it makes no sense any other way.
But if you are going to take the car to a mechanic who has no clue as to how to troubleshoot this, you could be making a BIG mistake. Most mechanics charge by the hour to diagnose stuff like this and it takes a long time to figure out how the system works in order to troubleshoot it. See if he will give you a firm price quote on the troubleshooting part. No estimate, no maybe, no about. A firm price. A Nissan dealer would be no more than one hour or less at $100/hour.
Thanks DennisMik for your following up. As I last posted, I thought my a/c was working and that is good, but I think now I have the opposite problem. I have no heat! Even when I set the temp to 85 degrees (the max) it only blows cold. And when I did the diagnostic test on the sensors I got code 26. It blinks "26" and then "-26". I think I understand that this is the air door mixer. Would this mean that it was stuck on hot for a while and is now stuck on cold? What would I have to replace to rectify this problem? Another explanation I saw seemed to say this is a circuit issue. Does this mean the part is ok but I have to change a fuse?
And why would I switch to econ and not shut the system off with the off button? That is what I have been doing for 10+ years.
Thanks for your continuing help and education. As you can see, I am not any sort of mechanic, just trying to figure out what is wrong with my car that is otherwise working well. I'm kind of attached to it but must resolve this issue if I want to keep it. And thank you for the tip on the mechanic. I just don't know any trustworthy dealers here.. Till now my local mechanic did a really good job on all the maintenance stuff.
Thanks DennisMik for your following up. As I last posted, I thought my a/c was working and that is good, but I think now I have the opposite problem. I have no heat! Even when I set the temp to 85 degrees (the max) it only blows cold. And when I did the diagnostic test on the sensors I got code 26. It blinks "26" and then "-26". I think I understand that this is the air door mixer. Would this mean that it was stuck on hot for a while and is now stuck on cold? What would I have to replace to rectify this problem? Another explanation I saw seemed to say this is a circuit issue. Does this mean the part is ok but I have to change a fuse?
And why would I switch to econ and not shut the system off with the off button? That is what I have been doing for 10+ years.
Thanks for your continuing help and education. As you can see, I am not any sort of mechanic, just trying to figure out what is wrong with my car that is otherwise working well. I'm kind of attached to it but must resolve this issue if I want to keep it. And thank you for the tip on the mechanic. I just don't know any trustworthy dealers here.. Till now my local mechanic did a really good job on all the maintenance stuff.
Error code 26 is helpful because it points you in the direction of the problem. As you probably read in the manual, 26 is the PBR sensor. The PBR is a variable resistor known as a potentiometer in the electronics world. It is used as volume controls in radios, TV and many other things that need you to adjust something. The bad news about this PBR is that it is inside the air mix door motor and not a separate part that you can replace.
So this error code 26 confirms the fact that you did not see the arm move when you crawled into the footwell. It also confirms that you need to replace the air mix door motor.
You need to remove the ECU to get access to the air mix door motor in order to replace it. It is a difficult task in itself, even though it looks easy. I have tried and failed. Someone just recently posted that the trick is that the ECU uses some kind of slide or locking bracket, but it eluded me.
Why don't I like the OFF position? It is mostly because of summertime when you are using the a/c. Among other things, OFF position closes the air intake. This stops air flowing in the main ducts. The a/c evaporator coil is wet with condensation and with no air flow to dry it, it will start to acquire a musty, funky smell from the dirt that settles on it from the air that blows through it. If you replace your air mix door motor, you will swear that you will never do that again. But if you have to clean the a/c evaporator coil, you will be saying that you would much rather change the air mix door motor.
Here is a photo of an air mix door motor that has been opened up. The PBR is in the left half of the motor. It is the thing in the center of the bottom edge with the white gear wheel on it. The problem with this motor is in the other half of the motor. That white half gear has some copper contact fingers on it. Copper is an orange color. These contact fingers are green from corrosion and are no longer making contact. These contact fingers are for the PBR. The PBR is perfectly fine. I bet that this is the same as yours.
Error code 26 is helpful because it points you in the direction of the problem. As you probably read in the manual, 26 is the PBR sensor. The PBR is a variable resistor known as a potentiometer in the electronics world. It is used as volume controls in radios, TV and many other things that need you to adjust something. The bad news about this PBR is that it is inside the air mix door motor and not a separate part that you can replace.
So this error code 26 confirms the fact that you did not see the arm move when you crawled into the footwell. It also confirms that you need to replace the air mix door motor.
You need to remove the ECU to get access to the air mix door motor in order to replace it. It is a difficult task in itself, even though it looks easy. I have tried and failed. Someone just recently posted that the trick is that the ECU uses some kind of slide or locking bracket, but it eluded me.
Why don't I like the OFF position? It is mostly because of summertime when you are using the a/c. Among other things, OFF position closes the air intake. This stops air flowing in the main ducts. The a/c evaporator coil is wet with condensation and with no air flow to dry it, it will start to acquire a musty, funky smell from the dirt that settles on it from the air that blows through it. If you replace your air mix door motor, you will swear that you will never do that again. But if you have to clean the a/c evaporator coil, you will be saying that you would much rather change the air mix door motor.
Here is a photo of an air mix door motor that has been opened up. The PBR is in the left half of the motor. It is the thing in the center of the bottom edge with the white gear wheel on it. The problem with this motor is in the other half of the motor. That white half gear has some copper contact fingers on it. Copper is an orange color. These contact fingers are green from corrosion and are no longer making contact. These contact fingers are for the PBR. The PBR is perfectly fine. I bet that this is the same as yours.
Thank you! Do you have any idea what a dealer would charge to replace the motor? And would that be better than having my mechanic change it?
Also, why does the second blink of the 26 code have a negative sign before it?
And thanks for the tip on econ mode-I never knew. Do you think that is why the contact piece is corroded? I do sometimes notice a musty smell in my car; is there some way to clean the system and now going forward use econ? How would I know if I need to clean the evaporator coil? From my reading up on this, I've also read about the intake air behind the glove compartment that can cause a musty smell from leaves and debris there.
Also, if I need to use econ to keep the coils clean, how do I use my a/c in the summer? If I put it on econ, the a/c won't work!
Thank you for your patience in helping me out!
I don't think the ECU is at fault. In my other post I made a mistake about where the the 5 volts originated. The white wire on the ECU pin 49 is the signal that comes from the crankshaft sensor. The ECU is the receiver.
I don't fully understand why you should measure 5 volts on this pin/wire because when the engine is running, this wire should have pulses that measure 2.5 volts. So I can't fully answer your question. I don't know why you would get the camshaft sensor code, both crankshaft sensor codes, the IACV code all at once. That is rather unusual. Since the engine starts, that means the CKPS(POS) is working. The engine will not start without it. A bad CKPS(REF) will cause a long crank before starting.
As a wild guess, add a ground wire from the battery to the engine block and see what happens.
The car was hard starting but now does not start at all. After testing both ckps and the cam sensor the only one that varied from what the fsm said was good was the ckps (pos). The fsm says when testing the circuit there should be 5 volts to the wire with key in on position. I am only getting 2.8 volts. After testing the ckps (pos) sensor it also failed the bench test. But before replacing I would like to determine why I do not get the 5 volts from the ecu. Even after cutting the wire to pin 49 at the ecu I still only get 2.8 volts coming off the ecu. The fsm states that the pulses should fluctuate between 0-5 volts as the flywheel passes the sensor. I understand the ecu gets feedback from the sensor but that's only as it grounds the circuit causing the voltage to drop to 0. The 5 volts has to generate from somewhere and I assumed it was through a resistor that was in the ecu. I also ran a ground wire from the battery to the starter bolt as well as to the ground bolts on the intake manifold and the voltage did not get any better or worse.
Last edited by 95nismomax; 03-02-2016 at 05:34 PM.
The car was hard starting but now does not start at all. After testing both ckps and the cam sensor the only one that varied from what the fsm said was good was the ckps (pos). The fsm says when testing the circuit there should be 5 volts to the wire with key in on position. I am only getting 2.8 volts. After testing the ckps (pos) sensor it also failed the bench test. But before replacing I would like to determine why I do not get the 5 volts from the ecu. Even after cutting the wire to pin 49 at the ecu I still only get 2.8 volts coming off the ecu. The fsm states that the pulses should fluctuate between 0-5 volts as the flywheel passes the sensor. I understand the ecu gets feedback from the sensor but that's only as it grounds the circuit causing the voltage to drop to 0. The 5 volts has to generate from somewhere and I assumed it was through a resistor that was in the ecu. I also ran a ground wire from the battery to the starter bolt as well as to the ground bolts on the intake manifold and the voltage did not get any better or worse.
so after talking to a tech at JWT based on my diagnosis they would recommend having the ecu inspected and repaired. Since they only do repairs if they are upgrading I will try a local ecu repair shop and see what transpires. I will respond with an update when I get it done.
Hi. My 95 maxima is making a very loud tapping kind of noise. It falls under rattling and tapping and seems to be in sync with the engine's rpm. The weird thing is when i first start the car up while engine is cold, you can barely hear it, but the warmer the motor gets, the more pronounced it becomes. I have not experienced any loss in power or performance or even in gas mileage. Can anybody tell me what might be causing this sound? I've been reading the forums for the past 3 weeks and all I've come across were that the rattling sounds would go away after the car was warmed up. Mine is the exact opposite. It's unnoticeable only when the engine is cold.
What I'm pointing at is what it blocking the passage to the knock sensor. I've noticed that most maximas don't have that there.. What is it and does the car necessarily NEED it?
so after talking to a tech at JWT based on my diagnosis they would recommend having the ecu inspected and repaired. Since they only do repairs if they are upgrading I will try a local ecu repair shop and see what transpires. I will respond with an update when I get it done.
So after taking the ecu to a home pc repair shop since thats all I could find locally it was fine. Put it back in and it started but was chugging. Remembered I removed the fuel pump fuse due to the engine being flooded. Installed the fuse and it runs. I did replace the crankshaft position sensor ( pos ) since it tested bad. For all I know that's what fixed it. Now that it's running I have 3 codes 0205 (idle speed), 0303 (heated o2) , 0503 (heated o2). Now since I wasn't getting an o2 code before, can I assume that those codes are due to the engine flooding? Just seems odd that both would go at the same time?
Last edited by 95nismomax; 03-22-2016 at 02:54 PM.
My problem is that water from the radiator is going into the reservoir but not returning to the radiator and over time the car will then overheat. I check the radiator every day and top it off from the reservoir and the amount I put in from it is the same that came out, as long as I do it every day. If I let it go, over time it will overheat with the reservoir being full.
In december the water pump went and was replaced, and thought that would fix it and yes the pump was bad. I have checked all the hoses and they look good. Replaced radiator cap twice, still have the issue. It's driving me insane. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I will go crawling to Dennis Mik on all fours if I can't figure this out today, as I have a trip tomorrow, car will make it, but don't want to be watching the temp gauge for hundreds of miles.
My problem is that water from the radiator is going into the reservoir but not returning to the radiator and over time the car will then overheat. I check the radiator every day and top it off from the reservoir and the amount I put in from it is the same that came out, as long as I do it every day. If I let it go, over time it will overheat with the reservoir being full.
In december the water pump went and was replaced, and thought that would fix it and yes the pump was bad. I have checked all the hoses and they look good. Replaced radiator cap twice, still have the issue. It's driving me insane. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I will go crawling to Dennis Mik on all fours if I can't figure this out today, as I have a trip tomorrow, car will make it, but don't want to be watching the temp gauge for hundreds of miles.
You have to understand something in order to figure out why it isn't working. Let's start with theory of operation on the overflow system.
It is there because of pollution laws. So much for that point. Moving on.
It relies on thermal expansion and contraction to work. When the engine runs, it gets hot. The coolant does likewise and expands and creates pressure in the cooling system. The radiator cap allows extra pressure to escape, which in a full cooling system means the coolant itself will escape. The coolant escaping the radiator is channeled into the overflow tank.
When you shut the engine off, it cools. The liquid coolant also cools and contracts. This contraction creates a negative pressure (vacuum) in the cooling system and the radiator cap allows the engine to suck the coolant out of the overflow tank, re-filling the radiator.
As stated above, the radiator cap is important to this process. It is perhaps more complex than you realized. It has 2 "valves" in it. One to let excess pressure out and one to let pressure in.
What can be going wrong with this process? I can't answer this with a definite statement because I don't have enough information. So all I can do is ask a bunch of questions, interspersed with comments and as you research this stuff, hopefully you will find the problem.
Since you have replaced the radiator cap, it is probably safe to rule that out.
Since the cooling coolant creates a slight vacuum in the engine and sucks the juice from the overflow tank, any kind of a leak that allows air to get in (which is easier to suck in than coolant), short-circuits this process. So is there some kind of leak that has not been detected? It could even be the hose between the overflow tank and the radiator. Are the ends of this hose a tight fit? Could this hose have a pin hole in it?
But I get the nagging suspicion that you either have a leak or an overheating problem. Or both. If neither of these conditions exist, you would not have the situation where the car does overheat from the coolant level being too low.
When the coolant expands, it expands the same amount every time as long as the temperature is the same every time. If you did not have the overflow tank, air would be sucked into the radiator. The next time you ran the engine, the coolant expands the same amount and this pushes out the air that was sucked in the previous time. No coolant should come out. Cars were built without overflow tanks until it was decided that antifreeze was bad for the environment in the 1970's or 80's. Your father or grandfather didn't have to add more coolant every couple of days. They drove the car until a hose broke, the radiator leaked, the thermostat went bad or the water pump leaked, just like today.
You have some time consuming troubleshooting to do. Since you are going on a trip tomorrow, you probably don't have time. If everything except this overflow tank situation is OK, you can drive the car for as long as you want. You may want to take a couple of gallon milk bottles full of water with you.
Things to try.
Get an OBD code reader that can report engine temperature. Engine temperature in city driving constantly cycles up and down between 180º and 200º F. On the highway, it will probably go higher, especially if you are going uphill and making the engine work harder. If your thermostat is screwing up, these temperature numbers will be different
Get a cooling system pressure checker and test the cooling system for leaks. You can rent them from most auto parts stores. You attach it to the radiator filler neck in place of the radiator cap and pump it up until the pressure gauge reads 30 or 40 pounds, which is double the pressure that the radiator cap is supposed to maintain. The you walk away and wait. After several hours (preferably more) you go and check. The gauge should be exactly the same. If not, there is a leak.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Check these things out and hopefully you will find the problem.
My problem is that water from the radiator is going into the reservoir but not returning to the radiator and over time the car will then overheat. I check the radiator every day and top it off from the reservoir and the amount I put in from it is the same that came out, as long as I do it every day. If I let it go, over time it will overheat with the reservoir being full.
In december the water pump went and was replaced, and thought that would fix it and yes the pump was bad. I have checked all the hoses and they look good. Replaced radiator cap twice, still have the issue. It's driving me insane. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I will go crawling to Dennis Mik on all fours if I can't figure this out today, as I have a trip tomorrow, car will make it, but don't want to be watching the temp gauge for hundreds of miles.
I had a similar issue on my truck. Although not a maxima, but all coolant systems are the same. My problem ended up being a sealing issue with the radiator cap. Even though I replaced it 2 times with new ones. The issue was someone replaced the radiator with an aftermarket one and due to what I saw as maybe a manufacturing difference the cap would not seal properly. I took the cap off and bent the tabs up a little at a time until there was a sufficient seal and that fixed the problem. Not saying this is your issue but like said above the cap is probably the most important link in the proper function of the coolant overflow system.
Thanks for both of your responses, lucky for me I got my days confused (which happens more than I like these days) and I have today to fix it as the trip is Saturday. Here is what I'm going to do. Buy another radiator cap at the junkyard, nissan cap to replace the aftermarket one I have on now. Recheck all hoses including the overflow hose, then put the pressure tester on. Was hoping to not have to do that and was hoping It was something simple.
I took the plenum off the other day to replace the gasket it sat on and check the hoses under there from the rear vc gasket job and found a small hose with a leak and replaced that and thought I had it fixed.
Should the hoses be hard with pressure the next day after it has sat? Seems like a long time to stay hard and they are not hard by morning.
I could hear pressure escaping with the last after market cap I had on and bought this new cap. Can't hurt to put a nissan cap back on. Will report back later and thxs guys.
You have to understand something in order to figure out why it isn't working. Let's start with theory of operation on the overflow system.
It is there because of pollution laws. So much for that point. Moving on.
It relies on thermal expansion and contraction to work. When the engine runs, it gets hot. The coolant does likewise and expands and creates pressure in the cooling system. The radiator cap allows extra pressure to escape, which in a full cooling system means the coolant itself will escape. The coolant escaping the radiator is channeled into the overflow tank.
When you shut the engine off, it cools. The liquid coolant also cools and contracts. This contraction creates a negative pressure (vacuum) in the cooling system and the radiator cap allows the engine to suck the coolant out of the overflow tank, re-filling the radiator.
As stated above, the radiator cap is important to this process. It is perhaps more complex than you realized. It has 2 "valves" in it. One to let excess pressure out and one to let pressure in.
What can be going wrong with this process? I can't answer this with a definite statement because I don't have enough information. So all I can do is ask a bunch of questions, interspersed with comments and as you research this stuff, hopefully you will find the problem.
Since you have replaced the radiator cap, it is probably safe to rule that out.
Since the cooling coolant creates a slight vacuum in the engine and sucks the juice from the overflow tank, any kind of a leak that allows air to get in (which is easier to suck in than coolant), short-circuits this process. So is there some kind of leak that has not been detected? It could even be the hose between the overflow tank and the radiator. Are the ends of this hose a tight fit? Could this hose have a pin hole in it?
But I get the nagging suspicion that you either have a leak or an overheating problem. Or both. If neither of these conditions exist, you would not have the situation where the car does overheat from the coolant level being too low.
When the coolant expands, it expands the same amount every time as long as the temperature is the same every time. If you did not have the overflow tank, air would be sucked into the radiator. The next time you ran the engine, the coolant expands the same amount and this pushes out the air that was sucked in the previous time. No coolant should come out. Cars were built without overflow tanks until it was decided that antifreeze was bad for the environment in the 1970's or 80's. Your father or grandfather didn't have to add more coolant every couple of days. They drove the car until a hose broke, the radiator leaked, the thermostat went bad or the water pump leaked, just like today.
You have some time consuming troubleshooting to do. Since you are going on a trip tomorrow, you probably don't have time. If everything except this overflow tank situation is OK, you can drive the car for as long as you want. You may want to take a couple of gallon milk bottles full of water with you.
Things to try.
Get an OBD code reader that can report engine temperature. Engine temperature in city driving constantly cycles up and down between 180º and 200º F. On the highway, it will probably go higher, especially if you are going uphill and making the engine work harder. If your thermostat is screwing up, these temperature numbers will be different
Get a cooling system pressure checker and test the cooling system for leaks. You can rent them from most auto parts stores. You attach it to the radiator filler neck in place of the radiator cap and pump it up until the pressure gauge reads 30 or 40 pounds, which is double the pressure that the radiator cap is supposed to maintain. The you walk away and wait. After several hours (preferably more) you go and check. The gauge should be exactly the same. If not, there is a leak.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Check these things out and hopefully you will find the problem.
UPDATE: FIXED
Here is what happened, I went and got a pressure tool from Advanced Auto and when I got it home I checked what I thought was the problem and that was the radiator cap. Tested it and it failed to hold pressure, so I was miffed as that was the second cap I bought brand new so I checked the other "new" cap and it also failed but it failed because it wouldn't release after 20 Psi and I stopped as it should release at 14 Psi (Pg LC-9 97 Fsm).
I almost got stupid and not test the radiator, But re-read Denis Mik's comment and decided to be extra thorough and tested the water system and at 20 Psi a leak happened, long story short, it was coming out from the lower radiator hose connection to the motor ( mistakenly referred to as upper radiator hose by Advanced/ LRH-Pg LC15, Fg 5, 97 Fsm ).
It all makes sense now, 2 straight bad caps and a leak, that only starts at upper end of pressure limit (23PSI, LC09,97 Fsm) on a hose I replaced a short time ago (3 months ago) but reused the factory clamp, the culprit.
Put NEW clamp on, retested, and all is well, ordered Oem cap, here on Wednesday.
The long national nightmare is over, maybe overstated.
Thanks to Denis Mik and the other guy who mentioned the cap. I also wonder how many parts stores have that lower radiator hose marked as upper radiator hose like advanced does?
UPDATE: FIXED
Here is what happened, I went and got a pressure tool from Advanced Auto and when I got it home I checked what I thought was the problem and that was the radiator cap. Tested it and it failed to hold pressure, so I was miffed as that was the second cap I bought brand new so I checked the other "new" cap and it also failed but it failed because it wouldn't release after 20 Psi and I stopped as it should release at 14 Psi (Pg LC-9 97 Fsm).
I almost got stupid and not test the radiator, But re-read Denis Mik's comment and decided to be extra thorough and tested the water system and at 20 Psi a leak happened, long story short, it was coming out from the lower radiator hose connection to the motor ( mistakenly referred to as upper radiator hose by Advanced/ LRH-Pg LC15, Fg 5, 97 Fsm ).
It all makes sense now, 2 straight bad caps and a leak, that only starts at upper end of pressure limit (23PSI, LC09,97 Fsm) on a hose I replaced a short time ago (3 months ago) but reused the factory clamp, the culprit.
Put NEW clamp on, retested, and all is well, ordered Oem cap, here on Wednesday.
The long national nightmare is over, maybe overstated.
Thanks to DennisMik and the other guy who mentioned the cap. I also wonder how many parts stores have that lower radiator hose marked as upper radiator hose like advanced does?
This is great news! It really surprises me that the 2 radiator caps you bought were bad. But now you can go back to driving without worrying.
I've been driving stick for about a decade now. It's been a completely unconscious behavior for a long time. My recently acquired Maxima is the 3rd manual transmission vehicle I've owned. However it is far and away the most powerful of the three. The last two were old beaters. I am finding that for whatever reason I struggle sometimes to shift smoothly from a full stop and when shifting from 1st into 2nd. I suspect I've mislearned some things having cut my teeth on powerless rustbuckets.
I find that the only way I can ease into first smoothly is to let the clutch in verrry slowly as I'm applying the gas. If I put too much on the gas it growls like I'm trying to make a point to the guy next to me. If I'm really gentle on the gas then its just really slow to get rolling. 1st into 2nd is similar but not as bad. Sometimes I hit them all perfectly but it still requires a great deal of concentration. My very smoothest starts are when I'm making a left turn from a stop. For whatever reason I find I'm able to accelerate very cleanly in those situations.
I have no reason to believe this is a mechanical problem. I had my mechanic inspect the vehicle and they never called any attention to the shifting when they drove it. Also I have paperwork on the clutch rebuild that happened 2y/23k ago. Seems like this is a clear case of user error.
Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong or something about the 5sp MT that takes getting used to?
So after taking the ecu to a home pc repair shop since thats all I could find locally it was fine. Put it back in and it started but was chugging. Remembered I removed the fuel pump fuse due to the engine being flooded. Installed the fuse and it runs. I did replace the crankshaft position sensor ( pos ) since it tested bad. For all I know that's what fixed it. Now that it's running I have 3 codes 0205 (idle speed), 0303 (heated o2) , 0503 (heated o2). Now since I wasn't getting an o2 code before, can I assume that those codes are due to the engine flooding? Just seems odd that both would go at the same time?
ok a little progress. I replaced the negative cable as it was questionable and put a new battery in. Car fired right up first crank. No cel. Took it for a drive to the gas station to put some gas in. Shut the car off filled up got back in and it would just crank. Pulled the fuse as done before let the fuel dissipate put the fuse back in and it started. Cel is now on. Took it home checked the codes and got a 0101, 0205, 0503, and 0607. I tested the camshaft sensor and it's circuit again and it tested fine. Would the IACV cause the car to add to much fuel hence flooding it. Or is it possible I have an underlying issue I'm missing. I swapped the coil pack from cylinder 2 to 6 to rule that out. Should I replace the cam sensor even though it tests fine or am I getting that code from the extended crank due to flooding? I also saw issues with starters but if that was the case wouldn't it have a hard start after sitting over night and not fire up after the first crank?
Last edited by 95nismomax; 03-29-2016 at 03:01 PM.
ok a little progress. I replaced the negative cable as it was questionable and put a new battery in. Car fired right up first crank. No cel. Took it for a drive to the gas station to put some gas in. Shut the car off filled up got back in and it would just crank. Pulled the fuse as done before let the fuel dissipate put the fuse back in and it started. Cel is now on. Took it home checked the codes and got a 0101, 0205, 0503, and 0607. I tested the camshaft sensor and it's circuit again and it tested fine. Would the IACV cause the car to add to much fuel hence flooding it. Or is it possible I have an underlying issue I'm missing. I swapped the coil pack from cylinder 2 to 6 to rule that out. Should I replace the cam sensor even though it tests fine or am I getting that code from the extended crank due to flooding? I also saw issues with starters but if that was the case wouldn't it have a hard start after sitting over night and not fire up after the first crank?
So determined as I am I decided to pull the fuel pump fuse to rule out that fuel was still being introduced after the motor was off. Let the car stall. Waited about 5 minutes put the fuse back in and it did the same thing and wouldn't start. Rolled the car down the driveway popped the clutch and it fired right up. I'm stumped?
01-04-2016, 05:41 PM
