Have a 1997 Maxima auto with a ton of miles on her. A great car. The check engine light was always on due to an EGR issue, which seemed impossible to fix. She always ran fine, so just ignored. On day on the way to work she just died. Like the card had shut off died. Not sputter or prewarning. I towed her home. SO I figured i would scan the codes. But the check engine light no longer is lit up and turning the screw on the ECM to read the codes produces no flashes. The car turns over, but appears there is no spark at all. I shot some ether into the throttle body, but not even a sputter, I removed, checked and cleaned the crank sensor and the camshaft sensor. But no love. I am fearful the absense of a check engine light means the ECM went bad. Any way to check power to the ecm?

Opinions? Need some guidance.

 

The check engine light bulb is burned out, probably because of being left on for so long.

 

go borrow an OBDII reader and check em that way.

 

I just find the timing suspicious on the absence of a check engine light. It had been on for years and over 200,000 miles. To mysteriously go out when the car decided to die seems too much of a coincidence. I do not know anyone with a code reader. Do autoparts stores rent them? If the ECM was disconnected, would the check engine light still illuminate with the key on? Is there a pin/wire on the ECM I could check to make sure the ECM is getting voltage? I checked the likely suspects of crank and camshaft sensor and both had the correct resistance and seemed fine. Outside of ECM, Crank and camshaft sensor, what else could produce the no spark condition? Before I start throwing parts at it, or buying a code scanner, want to at least be sure voltage is making it to the ECM.

 

Most auto parts stores will rent anything, but you don't have to do that unless you want to. Go in and ask them to read the codes and they will. It is a service they offer.

But California and I think also Maine have made this illegal.

 

Unless I can get them to come to the house, they cant read the codes. It is a long push to the parts store....

 

Wal-Mart has them for $20.00 and you can find them on Amazon for $14.00

 

I'm not sure if you have fixed this yet, but here's another thought to consider on your way to a solution. You mentioned that the SES light no longer comes on. Could it possibly be that you have a bad ground connection somewhere? A bad ground connection, especially to the ECM circuit, would have cleared your codes just like disconnecting the negative battery terminal. If you have a marginal or intermittent connection to the ECM circuit, it could give you the symptoms you're experiencing. Your connections between the battery and starter may be fine, which is why your engine still turns over.

I hope this info is helpful to you in your diagnostics.

Kind Regards,
Lou

 

I had a gremlin that caused the code light to stay on. It was the ground wire off the Mass Airflow Sensor that had a fault somewhere in the harness. Had to run a new wire to the battery for an effective ground.