New guy here, with a few questions in regards as to why the Max won't start.

So, in a nutshell.........the old lady drove it the other day, got home fine, parked it, shut it off and the next day I wasn't able to start it. First off, I noticed that I didn't hear the fuel pump prime up when turning the key to "on".

So, after going through troubleshooting the fuel pump, I determined that it wasn't getting power. So I moved to the fuel pump relay. Jumped the relay, and sure enough......I heard the pump kick on. Tried to start it with no avail. Replaced the relay this morning, fuel pump primes as it should but it still won't start. Checked all fuses, Checked pressure to the fuel rails and fuel is being pushed to the rails. Sprayed starting fluid into the intake and it fires somewhat, so I am getting spark.

So.....yeah, thats where I am lost. I checked the crank sensor and its readings are within range, and no fuses are blown.

Basically, I am thinking that the injectors aren't firing properly.........or at all. The fuse is fine, but wondering what would make this happen. I find it funny that multiple electronic components would go out at the same time.

Could the MAF have something to do with it? However I have no idea why everything would be fine then all of a sudden it would go out with the fuel pump relay.

Your thoughts?

 

Forgive me for asking the obvious, but was your SES light on when it was running?

 

It wasn't when I was driving it a few days ago. The old lady can't remember if it was when she parked it as she was the last one to drive it.

It is on when I try and start the car, but I think that is normal.

 

Bingo- that is normal.

Reason I ask is cause I've been recently working through a problem I at first assumed might be something kinda simple-maybe fuel related-but it's turned out to be a dead ECM and probably a dead IACV or TPS. But my first indicator that it was computer-related was the fact that the SES light didn't come on at all.

Anyway. Got a buddy with a code reader? That'd be my first move if I were you, since it sounds like you don't yet know for sure if the light was/wasn't on.

 

Heading to Napa to pick one up right now. Will keep updating, as i have to get this fixed before tomorrow as i have to drive to NC and can't take the only running vehicle and leave the old lady here without one.

 

Ah, just noticed you're in Nashville. I'm in Knox-vegas. My friends would kill me if they knew I used that term

 

Update:

Just pulled codes on the car and it came back with P0335, which according to the haynes manual.........is the Camshaft Position Sensor.

So I am guessing that it needs replacing outright. Which I find weird, because I checked it earlier and it came up within the range described in the Haynes manual.

Wondering it there is something else to it............

 

So I noticed you guys are both from Tennessee lol me too... were getting together on a local forum for a meet /BBQ / figured I get a few of the maxima guys to join http://www.topbb.com/sportscarfrenzy...portscarfrenzy
Check it out

 

Correction:

It is the Crankshaft position sensor that is related to the code, not the camshaft position sensor.

Went under the car to check it out and realized the the wired were all severed about 1/4 inch from the connection. Which makes it near impossible to repair.

I gave it a whirl anyways, and tried to disassemble the connector and solder the severed wired to the connections with no avail. I used too much solder. So now the option is to hit the salvage yards tomorrow and see if I can rip that connector out of a salvage vehicle.

Uggghhhh........

And so it goes.......

 

And now you know why you don't let "them" drive your car

She ran over something big lol.

 

Congrats on almost perfect troubleshooting and posting it here, very useful to know that faulty crankshaft position sensor makes ECU to block injectors and not the spark. Makes sense if you think about it now. BTW, I'd just replace the sensor, it's not terribly expensive. Soldering wires so that they'd work under vibration for years to come takes special skills. If you don't really have experience doing this I'd buy new sensor as if one of your solder joints fail you'd be strangled somewhere on the road. I call these kind of problems 'towing offense'. Your call of course.

 

Thanks. All it took was a manual and a little bit of 18C creative thinking..........

I didn't plan on soldering the wires straight to the sensor. I am guessing that the sensor itself is fine since the wires were hacked off on the "pigtail" or wiring harness side of the sensor. Hence causing the sensor not to send the proper signal to the ECU. I was speaking of having to cut off a new wiring harness connection from a scrap yard, then solder the wires (with much longer leads) from the new connector to the existing wires that run into the wiring harness, and then adding some shrink tube on top of that, then tape and more tape.........and then securing the wiring harness back into place.

IMHO, it sounds solid.

Your thoughts?

 

I'm slightly confused as I checked courtesyparts and sensor doesn't have pigtail - connector is part of it:
There are 2 of such sensors and none has pigtail.

If pigtail is a consequence of tearing connector part out of the sensor I'd definitely replace it.

 

I think I am confusing you by my lack of terminology. I am not speaking of the pigtail coming straight off of the sensor, but the wiring that connects the female connection, to the male portion of the sensor itself. The wire then runs back up to the wiring harness in the engine bay near the fuel rail.

Clear things up a bit?

 

I see, in that case you don't really have a choice but to follow your plan, sensor most likely survived. Instead of soldering I'd just weave the corresponding wires together, isolate them and tighten up the slack so wires wouldn't have much play from the car movement. They're made of the same metal so no chemical corrosion would develop. In my very limited experience solder makes the joint stiff and it visibly degrades over few years. Woven (if it's the right word) wire joints still looked the same as they did on day one.

 

I use metal wire crimps then solder and heat shrink them and they're done! I buy them @ radioshack or any other electronics hobbyist store and they look like tiny small metal barrels or butt splices without the plastic on them they're bare! The manufacture use this method but most don't solder them in nor heatshrink them in!

 

I didn't use those, as i was in a hurry. I managed to get a new female connection from the scrapyard, then after that rebuilt the connection because it wouldn't fit exactly onto the old crankshaft position sensor. Then wove the wires together and soldered them and added shrink tubing and a good deal of tape. Then secured the wiring harness back into place, and bingo.

Problem solved.

Thanks for all of the help guys.

 

Hey gents, Have another issue with the Max. I am out of town right now and the old lady is driving the maxima. After fixing the wiring, she is driving the max around and it seems to be sputtering and what not. She said that it won't die, but it sounds like it is going to.

She also told me that the check engine light came on today as well.

I had her plug the code reader in and it came up with P0301.

I don't have my haynes manual with me and I saw online that it was, "cylinder 1 misfire".

That would make sense as to why it is sputtering.

Is it possible that the ECU is still acting kinda funny? I did disconnect the battery for about an hour during the previous repair, and disconnect many of the sensors to include the camshaft position sensor and the crankshaft position sensor (which is what wiring harness portion I had to replace).

Im lost.

 

If thats the code you got an its sputtering then check the coil clip to make sure it is fully engaged and then swap that coil to another cylinder and see if the CEL switches to another cylinder. If it does then you have a bad coil. Dont cheap out on a coil or you will just buy it twice

 

Ok, I am wondering where this load of problems came from. As the car seemed to be running fine a week ago. Total bummer, I am out of town right now and the old lady is at home with the kid. I will see if she can get up to the mechanics tomorrow and have him check it.

Do you think there is an immediate danger if she drives the car? Could something else potentially fail if so? Could it randomly die and she be stranded?

Thanks

 

If it is just the coil then no. It just stutters because its not running on all 6. An easier way to tell if it is bad is to simply unplug the coil clip from the coil itself and see if it stutters worse. If nothing changes and you have unplugged the harness coil clip from the coil itself then you obviously have a bad coil. It would be like unplugging a good coil and making the stuttering worse you see what Im saying?

 

I do, however I can't have her do that right now as she is somewhat clueless. I am out of town and can't mess with it. I am going to try and have her take it in to a buddy on Friday.

Think by chance its maybe the ECU trying to relearn the engine parameters?

 

No, it's just a coil on cylinder #1 which need to be replaced. It's in rear bank, closer to firewall:


This is not urgent, even though it doesn't feel like it. It often even goes away and then comes back. You're lucky, you got cylinder # in the code itself.

 

I see the problem.