Unfortunately, the only scan tool I have access to is at Autozone, and they said without the CEL/SES light, there's no code for them to read. Thanks, though.

Jack

 

Jsmith, where are you located, if you are close to Philly I will go and check your car for free......

 

Meeting strangers off the internet

 

Without the OBD scan tool with live feed. , you are fixing blindly.

 

Nice one......lmao

 

I have one....

 

I appreciate the offer, Lontar1, but I'm in Richmond, Virginia.

(Neat trick, though, luring people with your free OBD scans... )

Thanks!

 

Ill be in Richmond on Nov 21 to work on a friends car for a few hours, then drive down to Florida, if you still have the issue then, let me know and Ill check it out.

 

That's awesome. I'll let you know, and thanks for the offer. That's why I love the .ORG and her members!

Jack

 

Take some pictures !!

 

Of what, George?

 

Your cars

 

Oh, sure thing, but mine is a daily driver, two kids, 255k+ miles, not a show stopper.

 

That's the job of the Maxima, it's your 4 DOOR SPORTS CAR.

 

sounds like the alternator

 

The op (jsmith24) checked voltage back in post # 39 and has 14.3 volts. The alternator is OK.

I have to join forces with those that suspect the MAF.

 

I would also check the alternator, i have had my max 2003 stall on me too while pulling out and barely made it home, replaced in under warranty and its all good now...CEL never came on nor the battery sign, and when i returned it pepboys says no problem with it..it did have a lot of oil on from a leaking valve cover gasket..seems to have been an intermittent issue with alternator. 1000 miles and no problems now..

 

When your MAF starts going out, you won't throw codes. Mine sure did not until my car basically could not run anymore. I think I said that same thing in another post.

But how I diagnosed my MAF problem was unplug it. You are not at the point where I was, but basically my car had a really rough idle, the RPM would drop, car almost die, rev back up, and repeat. I unplugged the sensor and it smoothed out, plugged it back in and the rough idle came back.

Or you can get a fancy scan tool to read what your MAF is sending out. It was years ago but I think I looked at the air fuel ratio. I remember getting occasional crazy readings which would make my car die, every time it popped up.

But yeah, good luck.

 

Thanks, Leo. My idle is smooth, though I suspect at least on of my plugs needs to be replaced since I get a miss every now and then. Replacing the plugs is on my list, but I've never known a bad plug to cause full shutdown, so I came here. I'm going to try to get the MAF swapped out today. We'll see what happens!

Jack

 

The crankshaft or cam sensor i forget which one ,cuts off fuel pump when it's below spec .

It seems that a gst should be the first thing you need to buy before you start throwing parts at her...if you don't have a fortune to splurge with.

 

Mine has also 250k+ miles, and it is a daily driver.........

 

I hate to show my ignorance once again, but what's a "gst"?

 

About to bite the bullet, got a MAF specific question: I see I can get the entire assembly for about $350, or just the sensor itself for just at $100. Do I HAVE to replace the whole assembly, or can I get only the sensor?

I wouldn't jump on it so quickly, except it's doing it more and more even today.


Thanks again,

Jack

 

Sensor only..... you have the housing already

 

That's what I figured, but Mother Nissan insists that, for some reason, the plastic housing must be replaced also. Oh, btw, local dealer said $529 for the assembly. Dang, I'm in the wrong line of work - I just need to open a Nissan OEM supply shop!

 

Its a generic scan tool .


To remove the your sensor you'll need the security t20 torx allen key.

It wouldn't be a bad idea remove the plastic housing and power wash all the dust particles from inside once you've removed the sensor.

 

One thing that hasn't come up yet which might be worth checking... How many keys do you have on your keychain? Do you have a mega-huge ball of keys or just the one? Just for kicks, if you have a huge keyring, try just the key by itself.

I've seen this on two cars already: Huge heavy keyring bounces around and over the years the tumbler wears out a little bit. Hit a big enough bump or shift a little harder than usual and the engine cuts out momentarily when the switch loses contact.

Just one more thing to check

 

Nestor Hugo - Thanks for the "GST" info. My sensor was just T-20, no security nipple. As for the plastic air box housing - oh yeah, as dirty as the outside of my car may be, whenever I take something apart it gets a thorough cleaning! I can't believe how much actual dirt, not dust was in there, along with huge leaves and three or four yellow-jacket wasps.

Montego Murph - I've always had just the one key. I actually thought about what you said when it first happened and tried to jiggle the key manually in all sorts of ways to see if I could get it to give a false "ignition off" reading, but it was fine.

Okay, well, just took it apart, cleaned the MAF, inner screen, air box, all that jazz, just gotta wait for the sensor to arrive now I guess and drive with the old one as best I can.

Thanks, gents - I'll let you know what happens.

Jack

 

The difference between the 2001 MAF and the 2002-2003 MAF is a 79-cent termistor. I thought this was common knowledge in the 5th Gen forum.

I replaced my MAF sensor at 70K as a precautionary measure, way back when. Someone on the forum who did the research kindly mailed me the thermistor, and I soldered it into a 2001 MAF. Worked like a charm for my last year or two of ownership, and the two years of ownership for the next guy.

 

Oh trust me, you should..

 

Now, I'm not going to complain about my Maxima, because I've got one of the "blessed" ones. I got 240k miles on the original clutch (still worked fine when I replaced it, just being cautious), never had the recurring MAF sensor problems like some folks, or the broken timing chain guide or any of that (KNOCK ON WOOD), but get this - I ordered the new MAF yesterday, and ever since I clicked "Purchase", the car has behaved perfectly.

I may have stumbled onto some magical mechanics...You don't even have to install a part, just order it and *threaten* to install it!

 

even if it now is behaving just consider the new MAF preventative maintenance. if your original lasted you 250k+ miles, your replacement should cover the rest of your ownership

 

Oh, I know. I was just contemplating the irony of it all. I *think* it's irony...

Either way, the part arrives tomorrow and gets swapped out. Just for kicks I'll reset the ECU and do the throttle learning procedure. Can't hurt, so...

Next month - plugs.