2KxSEx

Hey, here's the deal. I just recently bought the 99 se max 5 spd. As I was driving home from the dealer the car started hesitating and I heard poping sounds from inside the engine(similar to a balloon poping)as I stepped on the gas to accelerate while going about 75. Also, the check engine light flashed a couple of codes at me, too bad I didn't get a chance to write them down or memorize them. Now 3 weeks later the car still does the same, but I do not get any check engine lights. I went to the dealer, but they couldn't extract any codes from the ecu so the say. This only happens when I accelerate hard and/or from about 4k-on rpms. Other than that, the car runs smooth and I'm getting pretty good gas mileage. Now that I'm filling her up with 93 octane, I hope the mpg will go up. The sales man said that regular gas is fine, but I don't want to believe that. Too bad that I didn't catch this as I was test driving the car. The dealership did detail the engine and everything else under the hood, so I'm thinking maybe they sprayed on the electrical system or something.

I need to go back the the dealship and let them fix this s**t.

Sorry for the long thread.

Peace.

99BLACKMAX

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, IT CAME AND WENT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. IT WAS ONE OF THE COILS OVER THE SPARK PLUGS. I REPLACED THEM ALL AND THA FIXED THE PROBLEM.

2KxSEx

I hope that that's what it is. Did you replace the coils yourself? If so how much did they cost you. Thanks


Peace.

iwannabmw

iTrader: (3)

That sounds like a misfire under load. A faulty coil could certainly lead to that problem. Coils are easy to replace yourself, not sure how much they cost though.

2KxSEx

Ok thanks. Do I have to go to a nissan dealer to buy the coils, or I can pick them up at a local auto parts store?

NickStam

iTrader: (3)

if the car is flashing codes, how could they not pull them? why don't you read the codes yourself?

2KxSEx

The car flashed the codes only once.

99BLACKMAX

go to ajunk yard and get two, one from the front and one off the bsck of the engine. the back are shorter then the front. just swith them with your one at a time until youre runnin smooth. i replaced the myself. all you need is that allen wrench for the cover , a extended 8 mm to remove the coils . its easy....no cost for me, my buddy has a scrap engine off a 98 max. my is a 99 se also..

Keven97SE

The codes can be extracted from the ECU even after they stop flashing. What you need to do is enter into diagnostic mode on the ECU and pull the codes. Find a Nissan service manual to find the procedure. It's fairly simple.

Maxwell

Stop yelling. It's very rude.

mango95se

What is it that you all are talking about when you say "coil"? what does it do and where is it located? Is there a different name for it?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

When you say flashed, was this while you were driving the car??

The Check Engine Light (CEL) works like this;

If it detects a problem that is non-critical, like the knock sensor, then the CEL will light and just stay on.

If it detects a major problem, then it will come on and blink.


The only time it tells you the code is when you extarct it. To extract it, you must go to the ECU, use a flat head scredriver to get the codes and then interpret them from the Nissan FSM.

Now, you have a 99 Maxima. Nissan made a few changes on that baby, put alot of 2000 Maxima stuff in the 99. 95-98 Maximas we can pull our codes. 2000 Maximas can not. You might be in the same boat as the 2000s and you will probably have to go to the dealer.


Come to think of it, maybe that's why Nissan changed the ECU, to force us to go to the dealer. Hmmm.

DW

ejj

iTrader: (5)

99 owners can pull codes out of the ECU. Its the same process as the other 4th gens, only you need to use a small phillips screw driver, and the screw you turn is plastic and very weak.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, that's the thing with 99s. Lots of changes happening from 99 to 2000 for the Maxima. I know I saw a 99 Maxima on this forum that could not get the CEL. Some do and some don't.

DW

2KxSEx

Hey everybody, I played around with the coil packs(swiched them around) and the car doesn't seem to hesitate anymore. The ECU gave me a 0505 code, meaning that there're nothing wrong with the car. We'll see how she runs from now on. If the problem occurs again, I'll use 99Blackmax's advice and get some used coils from the junk yard, cause the new ones cost around 60 bucks.

The coils we're talking about are ignition coils located above each spark plug. These are independent ignition coil packs unlike the more common setup were there's one ignition coil pack that is connected to the spark plugs by way of spark plug wires.

Peace.

FLO_BOY

I just wanted to let you know --

When the CEL flashes, according to my manual, that means that the engine mis-fired (very bad)...I'm glad you discovered the problem and
fixed it, but, keep in mind that if this happens again, your car is
mis-firing and needs to get looked at immediately.

cheers!
FLO_BOY

2KxSEx

Do you think the mis-fire that has occured in my engine caused any damage to it? I sure hope not.

Peace.

FLO_BOY

I dunno

FLO_BOY

krbga

I had the same problem. Had to replace all 6 and was ripped off buy the dealer at the time...$655.00 total ( I think it was $48.00 each) + B.S. Labor...had the cash at the time so I paid out for the peace of mind...The service shop CAN DETERMINE which one(s) need to be replaced...don't buy the B.S. I that I did.

Good Luck... I totally remember the scary sounds....

2KxSEx

Hey krbga, thanks for sharing. The problem IS back I thought I fixed it, but all I did was suppress the problem. I didn't want to do this, but now I will have to drive all the way from NJ to PA to the dealership I bought the car at and let them look at it again. Anyway, they owe me a brake job