Maury

iTrader: (1)

hi everyone. my max has 112k on it, and all was fine until today... on the way home from my dad's, i noticed she wanted to stall at an intersection, but she held on. at home, while pulling into my parking space, she stalled twice when i cut the steering wheel all the way to park. any ideas? i have a half tank of gas and my battery shows no signs of weekness (no dashboard warning lights either). thanks for any help.
maury

emax02

iTrader: (1)

Check your MAFS . If you don't know how buy either a Chiltons or Haynes repair manual.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks emax95 for the quick reply. i don't know how... i'll have to pick one of those repair manuals. i used to have a 89 maxima se (back in 1994) and the only problem i had with that car was the mass air flow sensor ... weird.
maury

emax02

iTrader: (1)

You will need a inexpensive volt meter too. Go to radio shack, I think there about $15-20 there.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks

Maury

iTrader: (1)

ok guys - sorry but i hit a dead end (at least for today). after work, i went to 3 auto parts stores within an hour's drive from my house, and no one had the '93-'99 chiltons or haynes! everyone had 89-92... did me no good. my dad used to be a mechaninc & we looked around under the hood on my car. we think we found the mafs, but aren't sure. if it's not too much trouble, can anyone here tell me "is it the small square black box just before the air filter?" i guess what i really want to know is, can my dad and i replace this ourselves? of course i'll have to find the repair manual somewhere, but i may have to order it... i'm so impatient, i just had to ask you guys in the meantime. sorry if i'm being a pain.
thanks for all the help
maury

Sonic

Two questions, where are you located, and secondly, don't you mean AFTER the air filter box? Its a black cylinder that has a black box sitting on top of it with a pink sticker that has UNISIA JECS on it.Check to make sure that the plug in hte back of it is connected.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

hi medicsonic - i'm in northeast pa (an hour north of allentown). looking at the engine from in front of my car, the box to the left of the air filter. thanks- i'll check that right now to see if it worked loose.
maury

Maury

iTrader: (1)

hi guys... i finally found a haynes manual ... i got to autozone 10 minutes before they closed ! anyway, i got the code 0304 from my check engine light, which means knock sensor (you guys knew that already). i did a search on "knock sensor" here, and i get the impression from daniel b that this might not be a serious code... daniel, if you're reading this - i read that you think it may be ok to not replace the KS if we use 91 octane... i always use 93 & i just wonder, could a bad KS make my car stall? i can't get my hands on a volt meter until tomorrow, i just want your opinions either way. i'm not 100% sure that it is NOT the mafs - but with no mafs code i assume not. i respect all you guys for your experience and appreciate your help. thanks for everything
maury

emax02

iTrader: (1)

It seems a lot of the 4th gen maximas get the knock sensor MIL code. I think it is just bad programing on nissan's part and there is nothing really the matter with your knock sensor. Also if it was your knock sensor, stalling whould not be a problem.

Sonic

I completely agree with EMax. If we were to take a poll right now, I would guess about 20 percent of us would have the 0304 MIL code.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys... then that would lead me to ask- could it be my mafs without it showing a code?
i'm heading to church in a few minutes and then directly to radio shack for a volt meter. i suspect i'll still test the mafs first.
thanks
maury

Sonic

It could be.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks medicsonic. i got my voltmeter & tested my mafs per the haynes manual ... the mafs passed the tests. i then partially tested the o2 sensor - i backprobed the o2 connector that sits right at the top of the engine, and that passed too. i live on a farily steep hill, and could not jack the car up & get under there to access the o2 sensors themselves, so i realize that test is not complete. i also noticed now that the car never has a hard time starting and never stalls until late in the day (after at least a few hours of driving have been logged). once it starts stalling, it stalls very often, until the next day after it's parked for 10 hours or so. i'll keep doing searches on "stalling" but if my new info leads anyone to add more to my ongoing dilemma, or if it raises any more questions - please chime in... you're help is very much appreciated. i will gladly go to the dealer if it's necessary, but i hate to go if it's not.
thank you all very much
maury

emax02

iTrader: (1)

I still think it's your MAFS . Reason I say that is because, it rarely shows up as a MIL & the symptoms describe it to a "T". My I30 use to run fine for about a 45 minutes and then the RPM's whould start going crazy and the car whould stall. I noticed that it tested out fine when I tested it, that was because it was working fine, the key is to test it when the car is acting strange and stalling.

I bought a MAFS from www.car-parts.com , it was off of a 98 max and was $55. BTW 95-98 MAFS are compatible.

BTW, although o2 sensors do have a role with how your car runs, I don't think they can make your car stall and usually a MIL code will come up.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks emax! yeah, i had a feeling the mafs issue wasn't over
i called a trusted garage (who's worked on my wife's old bmw and my car in the past) and he agrees with you - he thinks i should try cleaning the mafs and throttle body as well. i'm releived that we can get a used mafs from carpart.com, but how do you really know the mileage on the part? isn't there a chance they may sell you a mafs with horrible mileage? i don't know ... maybe it's still better than $275 for a new one.
maury

FLmax

My car is having similar symptoms and the dealer can't find anything wrong while the car was with them. What does car-part call the MAF sensor as because I am looking for one also?
Thanks.

Sonic

They are called Mass Air Flow Sensors in EVERY car that has one.

SuDZ

Just one other thing to check also - Your fuel filter. That can cause stalling and rough idling etc. While your nuder the hood or what not might be a good idea just to swap it out. It is like a 15 minute job.

SuDZ

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks suzd - i had my local garage replace my fuel filter about 2000 miles ago... do you still think it should be changed again? i just sprayed throttle body cleaner in the TB; scrubbed the gook with an old toothbrush like my mechanic suggested, and started her back up. it was a hard start, but after a minute she idled normal. this time, i finally got the check engine light to come on... i took her around town but getting on the gas too much (felt like 2nd or 3rd gear- i have an automatic) she bucks bad and goes no faster. is this a sure symptom of the mafs now - with the rpm's being governed at 2400 like i read while searching other posts here about this problem? unless anyone talks me out of it i'm ordering a mafs. thanks for all the help & suggestions. you're all great to help me like this. i hope someday i can return the favor.
maury

Nismo98

iTrader: (7)

It has to be the MAF. My car has been doing that for about 2 months now. I went to the dealer and the told me it would be about $450 for new one. So I said f**k it, and bought extended warranty. It was $1000 for 3 years, and it covers a lot of sh*t. Once again it has to be your MAF. Good luck.

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks! yeah, i ordered one last night at a local natn'l auto. they say it may be in as soon as noon today, so we'll see! anyone here know if it's ok to drive my car another 15 miles on a bad mafs - the car is goverened at like 2400 rpms - if i keep it slow can i drive it?
thanks
maury

Daniel B. Martin

Yes, it is safe to drive another 15 miles. The factory service manual refers to this 2400 rpm limit as "fail-safe mode".

Maury

iTrader: (1)

thanks daniel b and everyone else ... hopefully this time tomorrow i'll be back in action.
have a great day
maury