it all started like a month ago. i was driving and all of a it started choking i was giving it gas but it was behaving like when you unplug the maf, for like 5 seconds then it was fine again, id come to a stop and it would stall. i got a map solenoid code, so i went ahead and replaced it, took it out of the shop same thing is hapening but know shows evap code, as i was driving to the dealership my spark plug coil burned and it started to misfire but i didnt know untill i picked up the car after they installed egr, i though it was runing like **** cause of the same issue, so when i picked up the car i got the cyl 3 misfire, replaced the coil, and same thing again, its choking. i took it to onother mechanic he says its a vacuum leak, he can hear that air is leaking out of somewhere. but cant find it. anybody know what this could be?
could it be the maf?? it works good for like 10 min and then it would choke
96 maxima se, 5spd

 

Just because you get a code for something, doesn't mean that something is actually the problem. Fault codes only point you in the right direction. You have to consider all things that run on the same circuit, or have anything to do with each other's operation. You can't fully determine an electronic part is dead without testing it for voltage/resistance, etc. Get the FSM and and a multimeter and diagnose things the right way. Wow, there really seems to be a trend around here!

Also, how do you know the coil pack failed? How did you diagnose this? I ask because they dont "burn."

If your mechanic can hear, but is unable to find a vac leak with traditional methods, he sucks. Get your ecu scanned for fault codes, record, and clear them. Drive for about a week and re scan. See which one's come back and post the actual code(s) next time.

Your're also gunna have to be a little more specific and descriptive about "choking".

 

honestly that def. sounds like a bad MAF to me..when a MAf goes bad its can do all sorts of weird stuff..but the most common thing is a severe loss of power. the reason for that is the inability to add fuel to the incoming air. also might want to check fuel pressure too.

 

 

This is the kind of "help" that gets people excited to go out and buy a new parts and find out it wasn't the problem at all and they wasted money. No point in speculating until the fault codes have been confirmed and the parts/wiring to parts have been tested for continuity, voltage, resistance, etc.

 

dont get me wrong, im not telling him go out and replace it, i merely gave him an area to check.dont get what i said twisted, if i "said" replace your MAF and youll be in good shape again that would be different. the way i look at things is pretty simple.check, check, then recheck to confirm issue of failed component. but ive seen more of these MAF's go bad than you can shake a stick at (especially if they ingested water).

 

ok i checked voltage on the maf at idle i get 1.3 and at 4000 i only get 2.7
i took my friends maf and car ran better so i think maf was the problem, because i read somewhere that at 4 000 voltage should be around 4

 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, guess i was right "again"...no wonder i on nissans for a living...lol

 

sounds like you one of your cylinders arent working same about the same thing happened to me.

 

I have had exactly the same problems with my girlfreind maxima. I have diagnosed my fair share of emission systems issues on toyotas and GMs, but this is driving me nuts. About 2 months ago her car was acting the same way and it set like 5 codes EGR, Knock,O2 left and right bank, perge control valve insuisiant flow. So in the event that these were set out of the blue and the plugs hadnt been changed in 60 or 70 thousand miles I figued that I should replace them and see if any of the code shut off. They didn't but the car ran a little smoother and died less so, I got curious and decided to do the ohm and continuity test on the coil packs and the injectors. so 4 of the coils failed and 3 of the injector were our of the ohm range. so I replaced them and the car ran even smoother. But I was still having the sputtering and dieing issue at random and the wierd surges apon acceleration and sometimes crusing on the highway. The good news was that the egr and the right O2 sensor codes went away and I was left with 3 codes. so I went over the whole evap system test and isolated the issue as the purge control valve and replaced it. That shut the evap code off, and I was only left with the knock and the left bank O2. So I replace the that O2 sensor tonight and the codes are compleatly gone and I drove it like 40 miles. But... the ****ing car still at times stammers and dies, and no codes set or nothing. So I check the voltage to the MAFsensor conector and it is receving 12 volts through the curcit. but with the car runing, and back probing, its going from aproximatly 1.58 volts at idle to only 2.67 volts and from the haynes manual it says that it should register 3.0 volts at when the throtal is aplied. But since I am poor I cant afford the nissan manual so I m not sure what tolorances it can be within before I can deam this the suspect and a bad part. so there is the noval of my battle with this issue so any imput or long term nissan knowlege would be appriciated greatly. And I have read that most of the time you guys say it is the MAF I just did not want to jump to a conclution that would be money unwisely spend. thanks

 

Oh, but they do...



Try to spot the good two out of those six

 

WTF is that a bubble on the 3rd one in???

 

Yep. I like the 4th one - it failed so violently that it cracked the top part of the coil.

 

I notice that nowhere do you say you replaced your knock sensor.
replace it already!

 

Never in my life have I seen anything like that. These arent from an engine that over heated?

 

Nope (my coils are fine as well, and I've pushed my car to the limits many times, including a trip to TN from MD overheating the entire way...the coils aren't all too weak).

Those are from a 350z, the UTEC is a complete and utter PITA to put in those cars, it barely fits (terrible design). A wire was pinched on install, and grounded out to the case of the UTEC (they also don't even have a sheath over the wire bundles, another design flaw).

The UTEC failed, something with the coil drivers because within 15 minutes of replacing the coils with good ones, 3 more burnt up. Replaced the UTEC, problem solved.

Funny thing is the customer drove it 30 miles to the shop with the above coils...running on, at most, 3 cylinders.

 

Wow thats amazing. BTW, what is the UTEC? Man, that is nuts, I have never seen coils actually melted like that.

 

TurboXS UTEC

PnP EMS for the 350z (and WRX, and others). Damn good for the price range, arguably better than the EU (though I would still go with the EU, personally).

It also helps that the US TurboXS office is literally right around the corner, so tech support and replacements isn't a problem...

 

so i got a used maf of a junk yard, its been 4 days now car runs great