98 max Gxe lost power on the interstate and would not turn over. We thought it was a fuel pump malfunction. The fuel pump was changed and still no start. Checked for power going to fuel pump and we have none. The fuel pump does work as we fed a wire from the battery to it to test before taking out the newly installed one. None of the fuses are blown. We think we found the fuel pump relay (no quality info on its actual location) We did have (until today) a bit of a faulty ignition and thought that may be the culprit. Changed that part to no avail. Some sites say the car has a fuel pump control module and others say that it does not. I am so confused and at a loss. What now? Any suggestions?

 

Do you have any unusual lights lit on the dashboard?

 

The check engine light is on. The code that comes up is o2 sensor bank 2. That's it.

 

I thought that your alarm disabled the pump.
For what it's worth, now you know how to drive it to a repair shop. Cheaper than towing.

 

Check the fuel fuse in the fuse box under the steering. Its a blue 15 fuse. There is also fuel pump relay on the driver side which is covered by a plastic cover and its covered by the abs computer. If replacing the fuse does not work then try the fuel pump relay. Also make sure the wire that connect to the fuel pump in the fuel tank, the one that has a orange and black connector and connects to the fuel pump assembly unit, make sure its not bad, or you might as well replace it to rule that out.

 

Maxima 97 might be on to something.
Sequence of events:

Old pump failed

Causing fuse to blow.

Pump replaced.

No power due to blown fuse.

 

Not all years of the 4th gen have a fuel pump control module. 1995 through 1997 do, while the 98 and 99 do not.

The way Nissan designed the fuel pump circuit can make people think the fuel pump doesn't work.

When you first turn the ignition key to the ON position, the fuel pump will run for about 2 seconds to pressurize the system and then shut off. When you turn the key to the START position and the engine cranks, pulses from the crankshaft sensor for the flywheel tell the ECU to turn the fuel pump on again. As long as the ECU keeps getting pulses from the crankshaft sensor, the fuel pump will run.

This means that if the engine isn't running, the fuel pump isn't pumping. It's a safety thing.

In order to test this out, you can connect a test light to the black/yellow stripe wire that powers the fuel pump. You can do this at either the gas tank or the fuel pump relay. The gas tank is easier to get to, but you will probably destroy the water proof connection in the gas tank connector.

The fuel pump relay is behind the driver side kick panel. There are 2 relays there, maybe. If you have ABS brakes, there is an ABS control unit box in front of them. The other relay is for the sunroof, so if there is no sunroof, no 2nd relay. Both relays look the same so look for a black/yellow stripe wire that is for the fuel pump.

So connect your test light to the black/yellow stripe wire and crank the engine. The light should be on. If not, you may have a bad crankshaft sensor. This is what I think you will discover.

 

Thank you. I just ordered both Crank and Cam sensor. Once we bypassed the relay and the pump primed up, we still have no start.
I had something similar to this happen to my Mercedes. It would turn over, but would start after it had been driven for a while and turned off. So, to avoid anything like that and leaving my teen stranded once again we are being proactive. Plus it seems like good preventative maintenance.
We have changed maf sensor, knock sensor (that was fun), throttle body position sensor, cleaned the throttle body, the injector coils and plugs. I know the O2 sensors need changing. Is there anything else that you would suggest?

 

You have (or will have) replaced probably all the things that commonly keep the car from starting. I wouldn't bother with the O2 sensors right now as they will not disable the car, so save your money until the check engine light comes on.

One thing you might consider going is cleaning the MAF sensor. Get a spray can of cleaner for this.

Check the radiator cooling fans from time to time to make sure they are working. Turn on the a/c (this makes the fans run even with a cold engine) and see that the fans are running. Both fans should be running, never ever just one fan. Then with the engine shut off, see if you can wiggle the fan blades. A good fan motor has no wiggle. Wiggle means the bearings are wearing out.

 

Funny you would mention the radiator fans. The a/c cooling fan bearing seized up in August just after the radiator sprung a leak. So, both of those have been changed. Thank you so much for your help!!!

 

So, we changed the crank and cam sensors. Still the same will turn over, but no start. I did get a new code out of it P0180 for the fuel temp sensor. What the heck? I'm so tired of dealing with this. Suggestions please... I'm at the end of my rope. i have looked for its location and see its on the sending unit housing. Is this correct?

 

Some other things that I've seen fix a crank, but no start condition...

Transmission bell housing needs an additional ground or two, or your starter solenoid is dead (replace starter), bad Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR)

 

have you verified that you're getting spark at the spark plugs? this will also allow you to ascertain whether plugs are saturated with gas. did you check ALL fuses already? i'd verify that you don't have any other fuses blown (both driver kick panel fuses and under hood fuses) that may be causing the no-start. does it make a difference if you depress gas pedal (thereby opening throttle body) while you're cranking to try to start it; how about with a little shot of starting fluid?

 

Don't worry about that code. You probably forgot to plug in one of the two wires that plus into fuel pump sending unit and the code popped up.

 

Yes the fuel temp sensor is on the fuel tank sending unit. I don't know why this code would pop up on you, unless it is a wiring problem like Maxima 97 SE said. But also, the ECU will toss in a code that is false from time to time. Since the P0190 code does not prevent the car from starting, ignore it for now.

We need to back up a bit and start troubleshooting this as if it is a brand new problem and figure out what we need to focus on. And let's go back to basics. An engine needs 3 things to start, air, fuel and spark. So what is missing?

Air is probably OK. You said that you replaced the MAF, so that is probably not the problem.

Fuel is not ruled out yet. The fuel pump itself has been ruled out. But the FPR is an unknown as are the injectors in terms of working. When you try to start the engine, do you smell the gas coming out of the exhaust? To see if the injector is getting the signal to work, connect a test light to the wire that is not red. When you crank the engine, you should be able to see the light flicker. Another thing you can try is to get a can of start fluid and spray it into the air flow as you crank the engine, like into the throttle body. If the engine tries to start, then we have a fuel problem.

Spark is not ruled out. Have you pulled a coil pack and spark plug and cranked the engine to see if it is sparking? If you haven't, please do this and let us know. Don't forget to ground the base of the spark plug when you do this.