02 R50 Couple O' Issues

[Cephal_]

Hello all, new to the community of several months now. Have been lurking the forum and using the SEARCH feature  for a while now. Have learned a lot and fixed a lot of small issues along the way. However, I'm at my wits end as of this point.
My pathy: 2002 Pathy SE auto 4x4 (manual on floor)
Additional notes -

Has 116,500 miles (have service report for 90,000 miles in factory service manual!-no major notes here)

Has brake controller wired in but have not fully been able to trace this wiring, however it does look well done and trailer plug connection does fully work.

Has the plastic valve covers with non serviceable plug seals

Valve covers are leaking slightly, not a lot and when i changed plugs and boots i didnt notice a huge amount of oil on them but there was oil on the threads, it didnt seem like oil was being burned on the plug itself though.
Power steering was a little low, topped it off.
Seems relatively well taken care of and not very abused honestly.

 

This is what I've done to the vehicle since I purchased it at 115,000 miles:

Limped it home 125+ miles from Houston,Tx to Lake Charles, La. -alternator was bad and we had to keep charging the battery to get about a 30 minute drive time with a 10 minute charge cycle.

Replaced the alternator and battery as well as both belts.
AT THIS TIME: car has developed some sort of starting issue, intermittent cranks, sometimes nothing, sometimes coughs, sometimes starts right up. Often just feels like its "catching" on something
Replaced the fuel filter which appeared to be the stock filter as it had brown fuel come out of it... was running rough, had a very iffy idle and would catch on itself at around 48-55 mph, like there was a misfire.
Replaced the spark plugs and boots (not coils on top) leveled out the idle issue entirely and the lull in 48-55 is non existent any more
Replaced the starter (started right up 3 times and then it failed to crank, starting problem sounded MUCH worse)
For a week car sat, until I crawled under to inspect the work of mechanic friend who helped me day of starter install. He had crossed the grounding wire of the starter unit with the negative lead from the post of the starter, pinching the wire and not allowing the negative cable to be fully seated. AHAH! but not yet, after fixing this and tightening the wires down correctly, the car still wont start properly.
Replaced Bank 2 IVTC position sensor due to P1145 code (car started throwing both 1145 and 1140 after this change)

Replaced Bank 1 IVTC sensor due to 1140 code (car still shows 1145 and 1140 and then showed me 1167/1147/0159/0139 relating to 02 sensors on right and left banks)
Replaced the negative battery cable leading off the block by the exhaust manifold due to corrosion being present in the stock cable (o2 sensor codes went away for a time/1145 and 1140 are still here)
This mostly fixed the starting issue but the issue has grown restless again even after this change.
Found a thread on here about a random exhaust grounding wire...Hmm? lets see, sure enough broken... Replaced it but still no dice.
Checked as many other ground connections as i could fine as well as looked at the wiring schematics to follow different leads in the harness, but all seemed fine.
Changed oil and oil filter, Rotella T6 5w40 with some lucas oil stabilizer and a Mobil 1 M110 filter (same set up I use in my G37) Engine sounds good! But still not starting right.
Asked myself if it was getting fuel so had my fiance turn it to on while i listened and didn't here a damn thing... but i did after we got back from advanced with the new fuel pump..
Changed it as well as a new fuel filter to be safe anyways. Fuel was perfectly fuel colored, pump came on as it should as well. Primed it a few times, and then...still had the intermittent "catch" style start.
But she did start and continue running for as long as i told her too, got in and revved her good once she was warm and she loved it and sounded strong.
Girlfriend and I take it for a 20 or so minute drive and does perfect (even started up perfectly both times for my fiance!) 


So she runs and drives FINE, honestly a lot better than i expected her too, she climbs the hill in our front yard like she wants something bigger, doesnt make any straining noises and pulls strong on the highways and interstate even. The thing is SOLID. . . Aside from the intermittent starting...

Does anyone have any suggestions in threads i can search or new leads i can look into in terms of why this issue is occurring? If there are questions or 'Duh!' stuff I'm missing, PLEASE, let me know.

Hope everyone is doing well during this time, Stay Safe.

Name is Joe, Cephal is my thing. Can find me, the Pathy, and my G37 on Instagram @_j.w456

[Sjackson2]

So what codes are you still getting? Just the 1140 and 1145? Also, try removing and cleaning the cramp position sensors 

[Cephal_]

Yep, just the 1140 and 1145. Will try to tear into the crank position sensors tomorrow and see if it pretties up the issue

[Pathie]

I have the same vehicle as you bud.

 

My unit had 130K when purchased 2 yrs ago, and was in need of full service, but was cared for quite well.

 

I also had an intermittent starting issue, while cranking over it would hesitate for no apparent reason, but never failed to start. I did however have to cycle the key a few times.

I pulled the starter, fully dissembled, cleaned and reassembled. Starter looked fine, brushes etc.

 

Lastly, I pulled the switch behind the key cylinder, and disassembled. The switch had a lot of crap inside from short circuiting. This switch was poorly designed in my opinion.

Cleaned up switch and problem solved. I see others buying new switches, but they are about $30. I had to do the same thing on a window switch.

 

Good luck

[Mr_Reverse]

Looked it up, sensor failure is a common problem. 

Start by checking the power and ground to both sensors and if you have access to a 'scope, check the signal wire on each for a 0-12V square wave. 

The black with white stripe wire is supposed to have battery voltage, the black wire is ground. 

Left Bank signal is orange and right is yellow with green stripe. Check for short to power or ground on the signal wires as well. 

 

5w-40 is a bit heavy for the engine unless it is quite warm, but shouldn't be causing your problem.  Sticking valves, or phasers will cause the codes too, but usually notice a power loss if a problem there. 

[Cephal_]

1 hour ago, Pathie said:

I have the same vehicle as you bud.

 

My unit had 130K when purchased 2 yrs ago, and was in need of full service, but was cared for quite well.

 

I also had an intermittent starting issue, while cranking over it would hesitate for no apparent reason, but never failed to start. I did however have to cycle the key a few times.

I pulled the starter, fully dissembled, cleaned and reassembled. Starter looked fine, brushes etc.

 

Lastly, I pulled the switch behind the key cylinder, and disassembled. The switch had a lot of crap inside from short circuiting. This switch was poorly designed in my opinion.

Cleaned up switch and problem solved. I see others buying new switches, but they are about $30. I had to do the same thing on a window switch.

 

Good luck

Will give this a shot, noticed that the switch for the sunroof is the same way with intermittent engagement. Had a tiburon with the same issue, will give this a shot!

 

1 hour ago, Mr_Reverse said:

Looked it up, sensor failure is a common problem. 

Start by checking the power and ground to both sensors and if you have access to a 'scope, check the signal wire on each for a 0-12V square wave. 

The black with white stripe wire is supposed to have battery voltage, the black wire is ground. 

Left Bank signal is orange and right is yellow with green stripe. Check for short to power or ground on the signal wires as well. 

 

5w-40 is a bit heavy for the engine unless it is quite warm, but shouldn't be causing your problem.  Sticking valves, or phasers will cause the codes too, but usually notice a power loss if a problem there. 

Ill dig around and check the wires, I read the couple of threads about it possibly being the solenoids associated with the sensors. However the thread that everyone refers back to and says "this fixed it" is a dead thread now a days. 

And I know 5w-40 is heavy and designed for diesels but where I live the heat humidity helps to heat soak things rather quick. VQ engines DO NOT like the heat here. It helps everything stay a bit cool, works really well for the climate. And for not having to worry about babying a vehicle tooooo much.