96 se died at stoplight tonite
 

i was headed to my moms house from bike nite at hooters and came up to a light. so i stopped and as soon as i did the car just cut off. so i started it back up and it was idling REALLY low (about 300-400rpms) and so i gave it gas to get the rpms back up and they didnt move. i had it at about 3/4 throttle and they didnt budge. then the car cut off again. i started it up again and ran just fine. i just replaced the spark plugs with iridiums about 2 weeks ago and my starter is going bad. it was almost like the car was choking. anybody have any idea what could have caused this to happen?

EDIT:when i took off from the light one of my friends pulled out behind me and text me and said my car was spitting black smoke out of the exhaust. it was also jerking (like choking) for about the next 2 miles then stopped.

If you can check your plugs check the colors and check for some oil on the plugs to see If you have a leaking valve cover gaskets or if your oil seals have gone bad and thats why you are having a excessive black smoke but that also can come from a bad spark plugs and when was the last time you did a tune-up to your car. Since your going to be at it check the MAF sensor and the throttle body.

i changed the spark plugs a week after i got the car. there was no oil on the old ones when i changed them. my friend said it was only "puffing" out black smoke when it was "choking". could this be a bad maf, dirty tb or fuel filter?

Black smoke out exhaust usually means its running rich from what I've been told.

I'm thinking you might have an injector or two on its way out. Whenever this happens again, specifically when its idling like crap pull the injector harness one at a time to see which one is not causing any hesitation. If the car stumbles upon disconnecting, that cyl is working so plug it back in and move on to the next until you find one that doesnt cause the engine to stumble.

If you find one that doesnt cause any difference it may be the injector or the coil.

it idles fine 95% of the time. it just idles low and cuts off usually right after i get on it, if that can help narrow it down:confused:

Any codes?

Could be an intermittent injector problem, among many other things.

Very similar to what's been going on with my wife's A32 this winter. After pulling codes and verifying, the problem is twofold. First, the MAFS was going out and after that was replaced ($$), it looks like several injectors are malfunctioning. Nothing unexpected for 170K miles with a 14-year old vehicle.

Still, every car is different, so pull the codes. Diagnose accurately before throwing parts at it!

All too true. Burning oil would result in white (or grey looking maybe) but not black.

Black is almost 99% of the time too much fule, not enough air.

You mentioned that this only happens after you have been "getting on it". I assume this means that you had been flooring it a lil' (and who wouldn't these cars are fun to drive)

If you have driving hard and then is happens right after that, it really sounds like you are indeed having injector issues. One (or more) of your injectors are spraying WAY too much gas still. The issues is likely the injector itself, but I have in rare cases seen it be the controller.

Hope this helps :-\

tomorrow im gonna change the starter, replace the fuel filter, clean the tb and iacv, and check out the injectors and see where that puts me

So no codes then, or :gotme: ?

got the codes pulled by one of my buddies at advance and he said it was an ignition code and 2 factory codes. that was before i did the plugs.

Again, do you have codes NOW? That's what's important.

Also, your descriptions don't help at all, we need the actual numerical code numbers.

The ignition code is probably relevant.. but..

You said the starter is going out right? Does it take forever to crank and start up? If you keep on cranking the engine and the cylinders are getting sprayed with fuel it could cause a smoky startup and it would run rough for a little while.

Also our cars are notorious for a ground problem on the starter, alot of guys condemn a starter and a new one won't fix the problem. If the starter cranks but then cuts out, let me know and I'll tell you how to check the grounds.

i still have codes now but dont know what they are. i will get them checked out tomorrow

it will crank fine sometimes and other times take about 4 or 5 seconds of holding the key for it to finally crank. got the battery tested and they said it was good and that it was my starter. i've not noticed any smoke during startup. haven't checked the grounds or anything yet.

Honestly, helping without knowing what the codes are Is just a guessing game. I can tell you that you might have a starter problem If you have to hold on your key for a couple of seconds and hear some cranks than you have a starter issue maybe a relay or a igntion problem,but If you really want to find If it's your starter try giving It a good whack than try starting the car up,if it starts up immediatly without any hesitation or any delays or choking than It's your starter. The black smoke can be because of the late starting and all the fuel that is being put out into the cylinder causing a rich mixture or It's because the fuel injectors are going bad. I would try to also add in the MAF part because of the cutting off when your giving the gas. If you really want some help get the codes decoded.

go get it scanned again.. write down the codes.. go back to www.maxima.org, and come back to this thread, list the codes on here so that we can help you out a little... like the rest of us say.. we can't sit here and guess what code you got... please numbers of any sort. thanks. lol :D

ok got the codes pulled today and got:
P1320
P0325
P1400

KS is irrelevant, the ignition signal code could very well just be from disconnecting a coil while the engine's running, or it could be indicative of a coil issue.

Stalling when stopped could be the EGR sticking open as well, now that we see there's an EGR code.

So did you end up checking the injectors? For spray pattern and resistance?

If the stalling is reproducible at all, I'd also disconnect the EGR vacuum line for testing.

i didnt have a chance to check the injectors today so i will end up doing that tomorrow.
how would i fix the EGR problem or would i have to get another one?

That would depend exactly on what's wrong with it, really.

i was gonna do everything today but its raining. so a new EGR, KS, and CPS would fix the problem?

have u tried changing the fuel pressure regulator? maybe u can do that since its fairly ez to access and change

i havent tried changing the regulator yet. i bought a fuel filter though but havent had a chance to install it do to the weather

They might fix the problem or they may not, read post 19! we need you to "troubleshoot" prior to just tossin' money around on stuff you havent even checked. The best thing you can do is actually check the injectors and coil as told by most of us many posts up (self included) If you havent done this how can you focus on just changing all these parts?

Make some time or get a rain coat (lol) and just unplug on injector at a time and check for no effects after unplugging. You can also get a multimeter and check the resistance of the injector by setting the multimeter to 20 ohm and then touching the injectors neg and pos pins with the red and black leads from the multimeter. I believe resistance should be 11-14 ohms someone correct me if wrong.

Do yourself a favor and do this prior to spending any further troubleshooting time or replacing unnecessary parts that might leave your car in the same condition.

ok so i replaced the starter, fuel filter, and EGR valve and it idles alot smoother now and hasnt cut off or anything. i can tell a difference in performance too with the new filter. checked the injectors and tested the coils and they are both good.

EDIT: i also cleaned the MAF sensor

ok so the stalling came back....AGAIN!!! i relaced the knock sensor last week and its still doing it. i also cleaned the tb. i cleared the codes and got the absolute pressuer and intake temp sensors, which i was expecting since i unplugged them when i put my intake on. i'm so lost now and dont know what to do:(

It sounds like a failing MAF sensor. :gotme:

but that should cause a CEL code right:confused:

Not always.

Did you ever try pulling the injectors one at a time, like mentioned several times above?

im havin the same problem, i was just idling low and then it would jump up. now im cuttin off if i stop too quickly or something, almost like im not pushing in on the clutch (but i am). think i need to bleed the master cylider? or do you guys think its the injectors

...why would you bleed the master? Which master?

Have you cleaned the IACV yet, or ever? That's the first thing I would do. That and make sure the idle is set properly.

clutch cylinder

how do i make sure idle is set properly?

Well, what is your idle at?

Again, ever cleaned the IACV? You'll need to reset the idle after a cleaning anyway.

yeah i did.


would a bad MAF make the car smoke and jerk?

i idle at about 700-500. and it drops below that and jumps up sometimes, now its cuttin off on me if i stop too quick. im going to clean it today, how do i reset the idle?

1. make sure the engine is at normal operating temp
2. with car off, disconnect TPS
3. start car and rev a few times. Let the car idle.
4. adjust IACV black plastic screw to fine tune rpms. Alternatively, if rpms are way off, use the throttle plate screw first and then the IACV black screw.
5. Turn car off and reconnect TPS
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/readarticle.php?article_id=95

10 bucks says its your MAF.

Indeed. Except you should never have to touch the adjustment screw on the TB.

thats what i'm thinking too