Hi ,
I own a 1996 Maxima . Since the past couple of months it stalls and chokes and at stop lights when it idles it sometimes die. The idle does not go up and down every minute , just when it's about to die it goes below 500 rpm goes back up to 700/900 rpm and after some high and lows it dies. I turn the key and it's on in an instant , so it is not the ECU.
I know what you all will say that there is a ton of other threads with the same issue but I do not think so.
The full problem is:
Sometimes when idling the revs go below 500 and then it dies.
When I am in traffic driving in town or on the highway when the symptoms appear the car misfires and jerks.
Until here it sounds like other threads but when this happens to me it smells like gas in the car real bad for 5 to 10 seconds after.

I cleaned the TB changed the air filter and for a month now in every full tank I put Lucas injector cleaner. Still the same issue.

BTW the symptoms appeared after I changed from crappy oil to synthetic Mobil 1 and I drove to Niagara and back to Toronto then the problems started , I have no idea if that has anything to do with that. Also after 2000 K I had to put in half a quart of oil in the car. It did not happen after.
I did not race to Niagara or go over 130 km/h so I did not force the engine.

I would appreciate any suggestions or fixes that should/could solve the problem.
Thank you.

 

i dont think this has anything to do with gremlins.

 

 

Coolant temp sensor maybe.

 

Clean your iacv and maf sensor then report back

 

I've cleaned the MAF when I cleaned the TB. I did not clean or open the IACV though. I'm thinking of taking of the TB and opening it piece by piece. Hope I can put it back together

 

I think it's your IACV and FPR because the problem occurs even when the car is not idling.

DW

 

My 97 had similar symptoms even after I had cleaned out the MAF. I had even tested the resistance of the MAF and they all fell within spec.

How I figured out it was the MAF though it appeared to be good: My car was bucking and jerking like it had done the night before (The car would have this symptom on/off so I cleaned the MAF to no avail. This happened months after cleaning the MAF so I know that I did not damage the MAF) While the vehicle was running and idling roughly: I unplugged the MAF. The rough idle went away immediately! (Though you shouldn't drive like this... I was able to take the small roads back home driving very slowly). I ordered a replacement MAF from the junkyard and problem was solved for me.

 

I thought it was the MAF too, you might be right but when this happens to my car and I unplug the MAF the car dies in seconds even if I accelerate.

 

I will have to take a look at the IACV to be sure it's not dirty or defective.
I have unplugged the IACV and set the car to idle at 1000 rpm but when I connected back the IACV the idle came back to 700 rpm, so I think the IACV is working or better put functioning .
I was thinking it could be the fuel pump but I was not sure. FPR could make sense because when this issue happens inside the car it smells like gas.
At first I thought it was one of the coils or an injector.

 

thats your maf sensor, i had the same problem changed the maf and never had the problem again.

 

I got a quote from the Nissan dealer for a MAF for my car. They want 500 CAD for it )

 

PM me I can send you one.

 

New symptom.
When the car begins to stall, and I rev it to keep it alive , black thick smoke comes out the back.
Any ideas?
I have changed the coolant temp sensor , cleaned the MAF and TB again , changed the alternator and battery.

 

Sounds more fuel related.

 

you can change the maf sensor a million times when its bad its bad.The maf sensor is whats causing your car to choke and feel like its giong to shut off .It tells the computer how much air tomix with fuel.THATS YOUR PROBLEM MAF.

 

Sorry i meant clean

 

It has nothing to do with fuel.
I 've been putting 94 in it since I got it.
Next I will change the PCV and the connecting tube as well as the MAF.
I have to shop around thru some junkyards

 

Thats not what I was referring to.
By fuel related I mean that it sounds like its getting too much fuel, not the wrong octane. Like as mentioned the MAF isnt telling the ecu the proper air volume to mix with the fuel so its just dumping in more.

 

same here. i had the same problem w/ no cel. changed maf and all is well.

 

It's either the MAF or the FPR. They both cost about the same, so replace one, if it doesn't fix, replace the other. Remember, OEM used or new for the MAF, but with the FPR, doesn't matter. Autozone, Pepboys, Advance auto etc. Whatever.

DW

 

Last week I went to the junkyard and got two MAF s one from a 97 and one from a 98 I think.
Changed my old one and guess what happened ALL THE GREMLINS WENT AWAY .
It's been a week now since I've been driving the car and no more cut offs at the light no more sputtering on the highway no more fuel smell in the car after the engine dies or sputters.
Basically you guys were right , the MAF was dead/dieing and when it "passed out" it flooded the engine because the computer did not know how much fuel to "spray" in the engine.
I think I'll have to change my spark plugs to because I was driving like that for some moths now and with the engine flooding itself every day I do not think they are in good condition now.
Admin you can close this thread now if you want.
Thanks a lot to all the guys that had an input on this thread , hope I can return the favor one day.

 

MAF changed problem went away

 

Took me a while I know.

 

There are (at least) two ways MAFs cause problems. First, they get dirty, which will usually affect overall performance, idling, etc. Cleaning will fix that. Second is the intermittent kind, where the idle will suddenly drop and it feels like you just hit something head on. That is usually one of the contacts inside the MAF that has broken, and movement or vibration will cause it to break the circuit from time to time. That's when you either need to re-solder the contacts or get another one. If the contact is broken but it's still touching, it will act like it's good most of the time and unplugging it will make it much worse, so it's easy to think the MAF isn't the problem.

And when you change your plugs, make sure you put in NGKs. I had the idle drop problem a while ago and switching to NGKs fixed it.

 

I know , I already have the spark plugs , just need to put them in.