RIC4044

how do you know when the coils are bad? What ses code will it show or what are the symptoms? I've read on here about updated coils? What are updated coils and how do you know which ones you're getting? The car hesistated a couple times on the freeway, the ses light flashed several times, didn;t stay on. The ses light came on again a week later, stayed on. Advanced Auto didn't show a code, just an electronic misfire or system ignition failure error? wtf? Plugs were replaced about 35000 miles ago.

jjames

if you got an electronic misfire, or system ignition failure, you should have gotten a code. probably a P1320. w/ coils, the code is P1320, and probably a P0300. If you get a P0301, you know the #1 coil is bad, P0302, the #2 coil is bad, etc. A P0300 means it could be multiple misfires.

go to a different autozone and get it pulled again.

RIC4044

I had the code cleared to see if it would come on again. Is the error code stored in memory? If so, I'll have it pulled again. With the P1320 error, how do you know which coil is bad? Where can you buy the coils, other than the high azz dealership? What plugs to use also next time? Thanks for your feedback and help.

WVmax

Well, I've had trouble for about the past 9 months. My SES has come on numerous times. Every time, it's been the P1320. It's got to be an ignition coil, but which one? About two months ago, my SES threw 2 codes, both P1320. I'm guessing there could be failure in 2 coils. I quit taking it to Nissan b/c it would cost my $80 to find out they couldn't do anything about it. My warranty company has to know exactly which cylinder in which the coil is going bad before they'll replace anything. They won't just go ahead and replace all of them, and I only have about 15,000 miles left on my 100,000 mile warranty. (I've been round and round with them.) I'm going on vacation in a few weeks and I didn't want to risk something happening on the trip. So, I'm biting the bullet and just having all the coils replaced. They probably all have to be replaced at some point, and I tired of messing with it. I'm also replacing the spark plugs while they're down there. I got my coils from Dave B. at South Point Nissan in TX. He gave me a much better deal than I was getting from Tri-State Nissan here in Winchester. Even with shipping, I'm paying $165 less than the local dealership. I'm just tired of dealing with the coil problem.

Ephraim

iTrader: (15)

you engine will run like crap, you will wonder why you lost all your acceleration, it sound like you have a horrible sounding exhaust on your car....

Kruppa

iTrader: (1)

That is what's weird about my problem I'm gettin P1320 with no additional codes to cylinder misfiring, and my car is performing the exact same as always...no weird idle or loss of power etc which is kinda weird...only difference is the engine light is on

Ephraim

iTrader: (15)

well in that case, open your hood and pull of the negative battery wire to clear the CEL. if it comes back on after a while and you are still having no symptoms then the circuit/whatever that throws a CEL could be going bad?? at least that is what i am guessing

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

This is the way it started with my car. The p1320 code came on without any noticeable symptoms. It would come back after being cleared. A week or two later, the car started to run like absolute crap and there was no question that a coil was bad. A couple weeks after that, I had a 2nd coil go bad.

Just replace all 6 of them and be done with it.

RIC4044

yeah, i had the error cleared, came back after 3 days with 2 codes, both 1320. I ordered a couple of coils from dave b, $50 bucks each. I decided to swap out the plugs also, found the 1st plug was really loose. The car was cranking a little rough, would stall a little. With only replaceing the plugs, it starts and runs smoother. I'll start swapping out the coils if the light comes back on, but i didn't buy all 6 cause i figured all 6 wouldn't go bad at the same time. It may have only been that loose plug, I'll see. Two days now and no SES light.

WVmax

That's the way my car started, as well. P1320, but would run fine. Then, one day, the car started, ran rough, and the SES light blinked for the first time ever. It's done that twice. I have no clue which cylinders, so that's why I'm just replacing all of them and be done with it.

Bl_asd

are new coils any good? 1 or 2 of my coils died 3 months ago..sometimes the ses light come on sometimes it clears by itself.. but it's been came on more than before lately... i can still rev my car to 5k rpm..i thought if coils die than i can't rev over 3500rpm?

jjames

do coil problems usually become more evident after the car warms up?

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

Just replace all 6, the original coils were a flawed design and WILL go bad. If you can only rev to 5k, then you have serious problems. Maybe a MAF failure. Even with a bad coil, you should still be able to rev to the redline.

With bad coil(s), you will get misfires, pinging, knocking, etc. The best way to describe it is if you were to remove a coil or two, the engine would run like crap because it would be running on 4 or 5 cylinders.

With a bad coil, the symptoms can be the same or worse. Best case scenario is that the coil is totally dead and sends no spark. Worst case, it sends spark, but sends it late. Basically, severely retarding the spark. When I had bad coils, I think it got so bad that it was causing detonation because the spark was arriving at the next compression stroke. If you're getting detonation/pinging, the check engine light will blink.

Bottom line, quit hasseling with it and just replace all 6.

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

The new design will have grey dots on the top of them. Nissan claims that this is the end all be all of coils and should never go bad.

jjames

my coils have the grey dot, have never been replaced, and are going bad.

jjames

part number?

2KBluePearlMax

Well, I can relate to this. My SES came on one day so I checked it with the obd reader and it threw a p1320. It ran alright for a few days and then it started to run like absolute ****. Checked it again and it threw a p1320 and a p0304 which should mean cylinder 4 misfire. I ordered a updated coil with the grey dot for 50 bucks and replaced it in the cylinder 4 coil. it ran fine for a few days again, and then it started to do the same thing. It runs on 5 cylinders and it threw the exact same codes. So now I don't know what to do. I am going to replace all the plugs to see if that does anything. Just to reassure is cylinder 4 located on the firewall side on the far left. Just making sure I didn't replace the wrong one. It's weird because sometimes my car runs fine and then at times it sounds like its having a heart attack. This problem definetely is driving me crazy and needs to be fixed. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas feel free to clue me in.

jjames

i thought cylinder 4 was the front middle. (not the firewall side.

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

Check the stickies. This is a well-known fact. I'm not going to go out to my car and pull out a coil. You can't buy the old part number anymore anyways.

jjames

yeah, i tried that. no luck. no luck on search either. i just thought if someone had them replaced recently, they might have the part number.

(apparently not THAT well known)

the reason i want the part number is so i can cross-ref it w/ my coils. mine have the grey dot. just making sure mine aren't replacements.

seemymaxima

foobeca this happers to happen on more 2000 modles then 2001 is this true

Kruppa

iTrader: (1)

I don't understand why people say to just go and get all 6 coils for a total of around $250. There is absolutely no point in getting more than you need. Your engine will eventually die, but that doesn't mean that you "might as well" go buy a new one even though nothing has happened to it yet. Most people on this website bargain for $5 cheaper on Stillen kits or whatever else, so I don't see where this "might as well buy all 6" is coming from and spending lots of unecessary money. The Nissan dealers also try to tell you that they all go bad one after another, but my friend's 00 Max had the P1320 code and he replaced the one that had a darker spark plug and the light went out a few days later and it hasn't come back on in a year.

Lrsn1

I've been having problems with Max, my problem started with poor acceleration at high speeds on the interstate only. It seemed at the time that the trans was the problem. I already had a problem like this and the dealer changed the solenoids in the trans. Well the dealer didn't find anything with the trans and told me they could run their high priced diagnostics or wait until the real problem surfaced. I chose the latter. Anyways here I am one month later and I have a p1320. My wife was told by the fine folks at Autozone that was the only code. I pulled the remaining 4 old coils and tried to determine which was bad with a digital multi meter and an o-scope to find all checked the same. I put them back in and went to another Autozone and sure enough I had a p1320 and a P0306, it turns out the fine fellow at the first Autozone must have been sick on the day they taught scrolling codes. Point of my story is really a question. Is there a true way to tell which is bad. Resistance doesn't seem to work. Oh and which cylinider is #6, I would like to be sure before I pull my hair out.

RIC4044

Ok guys, 5 days later and a 500 mile round trip to Atlanta, still no SES light. Like I said, I replaced the plugs, noticed the 1st one was not tight, problem appears to be solved. My car has almost 150,000 miles, this is my 3rd set of plugs and the problem appears to be solved. I still have the 2 coils (1 for the front and 1 for the rear side) that I ordered from Dave B for 50 bucks each; I think I'll just hold on to them. I still have the original coils installed, and my car is 00 model. I agree with Kruppa, if there's a way to avoid changing all 6, then why waste the extra money. I'm not being cheap, but I do most of the maintenance on my car and I can't see where spending the extra $ makes sense. I was planning to just reset the code and start swapping coils if the light had come back on, but my issue appears to be resolved..

2KBluePearlMax

Lrsn1 I believe you are in the same boat as me. I got a p1320 and a P0304 which is a cylinder 4 misfire. Since you got a P0306 your coil for cylinder 6 is probably bad. I replaced all of my plugs and I just ordered the one coil to replace the bad one. So I'll see if replacing just the one for cylinder 4 works. The cylinder order for the 2000 maximas is:
1 3 5
2 4 6

So if you take the nissan 3000 plate off it's your far right coil. There are three coils located here on top of the block and the other three are located behind the block on the firewall side. The front three are a little bit shorter than the back three so if you get a new coil make sure it's the right one. They are really easy to replace. Take off one 10mm bolt pull out the coil and unclip it. They run about 50 bucks a peice. Hope this might help someone.

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

I believe so, I think some of the 2001 models may have the updated coils.

Lrsn1

Well guys I seem to be chasing compound problems. I changed the #6 coil and the #3 coil which makes 4 of 6 new.Plus I changed the plugs. My car still has problems. No more jerking and sputtering but I still have an acceleration problem. To the floor the RPMs and acceleration are ok until 4000 then you can feel the engine lose power and acceleration does not increase all the way up to 6000 and then bangs into gear. I'm lost. Then the SES light comes back on and now o2 sensor bank 1 reads as "slow to respond". When in park and I rev the engine I can hear knock or ping like bad fuel, I don't think it's bad fuel because the problem has been with me for a month and I rarely buy fuel from the same place. Does anyone have any idea or heard of such a thing? I really don't want to go to the dealer. Has anyone seen a thread that might help? This car only has 63k I'm worried what will happen by 100k.

Weimar Ben

iTrader: (5)

Replace the bad O2 sensor.

There are 3 things that go wrong a lot on the 5th/5.5 gens:

O2 sensors
Coils
MAF

I don't know if you have a 5th gen or a 5.5gen, but there's a TSB for O2 sensors for the 5.5gen. The 5.5gen MAF's are weaker than the 00-01 MAF's. O2 sensors tend to be worse with the 5.5gen as well.

sky jumper

there should've been a recall to replace all these crappy coils.

Lrsn1

The O2 sensor does not bother me. I kept getting the same thing about a year ago and I ignored it and it went away. At the time it did not affect my performance. I don't think its affecting the performance now. I wonder if the MAF isn't going bad. I swear as I stand over the engine and rev it up I can hear a very distinct sound of air being sucked in. It doesn't seem to be coming from the intake area it sounds like it's coming from the firewall side of the engine. I guess it's off to the stealership.

WVmax

The reason I went ahead the other day and had all my coils replaced was because I was getting the "run around" for about the past year. I've been pulling the P1320 code many times, without knowing which coil it is. (I'm not carsmart, so I can't figure it out myself.) I even pulled 2 P1320 codes at the same time, leading me to think two coils were going bad. I only have 15,000 miles left on my warranty and my warrany company will only replace my coil if they know exactly which one it is. Well, I'm just tired of Nissan saying they don't know which coil it is, so they can tell my warranty company to replace it. I've been round and round with the warranty company and Nissan and have gotten no where. My car sputtered twice during this time with the SES light flashing. I didn't want to take a chance of it breaking down on me. So, now I have brand new coils, spark plugs, and I replaced my MAF (which DID go bad) a few months back. I guess I've been through "the big 3" problems with the 2000s. So far (knock on wood) no probs with the o2 sensors.