NissanPerson

The water temp sensor will do crazy stuff like that. I was having problems with sputtering, dying, dropping to idle under acceleration...hasn't done it in a while but I changed EVERYTHING too. Talked to a mechanic friend and he said he'd check the water temp sensor off the top of his head. So, I replaced it and my car still did weird things...but I'd give that a try ESPECIALLY since you're getting the code showing up. Now when I drive mine when the tranny shifts it feels like the thing just BOGS down like mad. Engine revs up but when it shifts to the next gear I swear it's going to sputter and die. Can a tranny somehow kill an engine by bogging it down? I'm sure it could but has anybody ever had/heard of that problem?

I had/have a problem somewhat like this...at certain points when you push it down engine drops to idle...replaced fuel filter, throttle position sensor, mass airflow, fuel pump, etc. etc...still does it occasinally. So, all I can say, good luck. Then there is some water temp sensor, a heater that does something with the air coming into the engine, and something else you may want to check out too. These weren't the problem on mine either. Personally, I think it's ghosts.

Even with the stock ones they'll rub if you have a couple people (300 pounds) and hit a moderate bump on a road. I get it all the time...awful sound.

Yeah, my '92 has a bad plug wire that I know of (I'm too lazy to fix it) and it runs like crap at idle. I've seen it spark with the hood up...should probably get a new wire...eh... As far as octane. I use 10% ethanol which is 90 octane...it's actually 0.03 cheaper than regular gas. I notice under hard acceleration I don't get valves rattling either, which comforts me. Anyway, I wouldn't pay extra for it. Anyway, I'd check the plug wires...other than that it could be anything...my '88 is still acting up...I've put everything new in I could think of. Under acceleration she just pisses out and decides to drop to idle. I put a TPS in, MAF in, O2 sensor, fuel pump, fuel filter, water temp sensor thingy....a couple other things I don't remember right now. Checked the vacuum hoses, they were fine...injectors were fine....So, I just drive it every once in a while and cuss and swear at it. Gotta love cars when they act up. I'm about ready to trash it though. If I do I'll let you guys know of any parts worth anything.

Well, 2 of our pathys have the same problem. One is horrible the other isn't so bad. Put about 60grand on one tranny with this problem and have about 30 on the other and it will probably go for quite some time. I figure run 'em til they die because it costs too much to fix. Neither of them have gotten any worse so I figure it can't be a horrible deal. As long as they go forward there's always neutral and letting your date for the night push you out of the parking spot.

Is this the problem with the blinker switch/headlight thingy? My car had headlight problems (put the brights on and sometimes they'd work, sometimes one would work, etc.) and I just replaced the whole blinker switch unit thingy. It cost about $90 and was very easy to put in. Don't know if this is it but I believe there is also a link somewhere and you can clean and bend the little contact prong things inside the thing and that may fix it as well (also a lot chaper). Anyway, good luck!

Alright, two more ideas! (adds to list of 10,001 other things it could be ) Anyway, that seems like a logical idea as well (the TBI heater thingy). It is warm out now (relatively) and maybe that could be why it isn't acting up. It's supposed to get cold again this weekend so I'll be sure to run it then and see what happens. Thanks guys.

The horn, at least on my 88, is behind the bumper right below the passenger headlight. I have this same problem. Well, all 3 of our Pathys do (as do a lot of cars of my friends). Usually once it's below about 10F they don't work. Or they kind of do the "beep.....be....be.....pppp....beee....ppppp..." I took the steering wheel apart a couple winters ago and cleaned the connections behind the bumper...it seemed to help a bit but it still did it. I just learned to live with it. The last time I used my horn was when I had a green light to go and a car blatantly turned left in front of me...I honked and I got the finger. I wanted to follow the lady and ask her why I got the finger when she ran the red light (red "protected" turn light)...of course I then realized that someone that dumb would have some answer that would make no sense at all but she'd think she was right. Can't argue with morons. Anyway, I believe it's caused because the metal or something must be contracting like crazy and when you press it it doesn't make good contact. You could maybe try bending some things here or there and it might help. I don't remember what it looks like under the steering cover though. Good luck and hope you get it figured out.

Weird thing today. Couldn't get the car started. Early last November I had this same problem. It'd turn over but not start. I put a new ignition coil in and it was fine last fall. So, today, I went and bought a new ignition coil (they're only $25) even though the other was only about 5,000 miles old. Anyway, I plopped that in, thing started up fine after that. Then I took it out and drove it around (I messed with the MAF too) and couldn't get it to stall. It ran just fine. Of course, it was about 30 today (warmer than before) so i don't know if that had anything to do with it. I have an appt. with a mechanic (really good mechanic) on Monday but I figure I'll keep driving it to the store and such (since it isn't too far away if it decided to act up) and see if maybe, somehow, the ignition coil was defective or something and that's what was causing it. I highly doubt it, but...eh, weirder things have happened. I was trying to think of any horrible things I had done to people that could bring this "wrath" upon me. I mean, I only beat up 8 kids and stole their Christmas presents. Don't think that's too horrible. Stupid cars.

Well, put a new TPS in this weekend and no improvement. Ran it in mode IV...I think...the one where the green light stays on at speeds over 12mph. Anyway, got it to act up and the green and red light were doing weird stuff. Checked the speed sensor...I think that's what it's called...on the rear wheel and that's fine...shot in the dark I guess. I'm going to take it to the mechanic this week. Too many possibilities with too little time. At least I narrowed a couple things down for the mechanic. I'll keep ya'll posted on what it is.

Find me the material that loosens and I'm going to replace my muscles with it. That way I won't shiver so much in the subzero temps.

Does it do this all the time? Does it quit once it's "warmed up?" Any other symptoms and it'd probably give people a better idea in order to help you. Otherwise, there's a thread somewhere around here where it gives a process to find error codes your tranny and computer know about. I think it may be in that long list in the garage section at the top. Cause I know at first my tranny (on any of our 'finders) doesn't shift into OD (lockup) until the engine and tranny are hot. In the winter this sometimes takes a few miles. Otherwise, if you provide a little more info other people may be able to narrow it down a bit. Good luck!

Thanks guys. Those are two more things I'll take a look at. Some of them just sound too annoying for me to want to do. I can do almost anything, it's just a matter of if I want to "pi** and moan" about it. I had a mechanic friend list off "could be a bad gas cap, ice clogging something, fuel pressure, fuel pump, water temp sensor, etc. etc." And, most of that stuff I don't want to mess with in an enclosed heated garage as it involves gas fumes. Could be a bad situtation. At any rate, it wouldn't hurt or be too bad, I don't think, to put a new TPS in and I'm also going to put a new water temp. sensor. After that, I think I'll just let the mechanic start checking stuff next week as there seem to be about a million things it could be. Thanks guys, i'll let ya'll know what it is...if it ever is solved!

One of my computer nut friends told me about Firefox. Started using it and really like it. Well, except that some sites don't work right because they are programmed for IE since IE is the "standard."

Fuel filter (BUZZER NOISE). Put a new one in, easy task. Still died. Now it did it when the engine hadn't warmed up. So, I'm thinking TPS for the next shot. After that, mechanic. Haha. Now, when taking off from a stop sign it's just hesitate and die. So, seems like TPS. GOTTA BE! SERIOUSLY! IT HAS TO BE!!! Thanks for all your help everyone. I'll keep you posted...probably get it put in this weekend as it got very windy and the temp. is dropping.

We're supposed to have highs of -5F for a couple of days. Nothing compared to last year where for a week our HIGHS didn't get above like -25F. Lows of -35 to -40F. My car shot oil out of the engine one of those mornings...right past the seals. Big 'ol puddle on the ground. It sucks too, cause everything breaks in the cold. Then it's so cold you can't fix it. Plugging in my Pathy every night this week. Only way to go. The part I love best about the cold is the 11-13 MPG. OH YEAH! Gotta have an Optima battery...they start in anything. The thing I like most about getting in a cold car is sitting in the seat. It's like you're wrapped in a giant ice cube. I cringe every time right before I sit down. Gloves are a must...otherwise the wheel is like holding onto a piece of frozen beef...your hands go numb after about 15 seconds. What else...hmmm...Anyway, that's about it I guess. OH! When you get snow on your shoes and the heater heats it enough to melt but then it freezes a bit and your foot slips all over the gas pedal. Now that's fun!

Thanks MZ. I just got a fuel filter and I'll be putting it in soon (only $14!). I did all that work within about 5,000 miles so I don't think I messed anything up...or it would've been going crazy before this. I took the oxygen sensor harness off (I don't know if it's technically called an O2 sensor on these things...) and couldn't get it to act up. But, it doesn't always act up...so it may have just been chance that it didn't act up. So, I'm starting with the fuel filter...checked all the vacuum stuff and it looks good....as far as visual inspection. But no error codes until after I unhooked the O2 thingy. Then I got the 33 to flash, which it obviously should since I disconnected it. Other than that no error codes. Anyway, I'll let you know what happens after I change it and drive it for a while. (crosses fingers) hopefully that'll cure it.

Northern or Southern Minnesota? I'm in the state either West or Northwest of you. Depending on your Minnesota location. I change my fluids regularly and when it's below 20 degrees the car feels a lot different. Power steering, brakes, tranny, everything is slow. This weekend it was lows of like -10 here (not that cold but cold enough for me) and I started my '92 Pathy and let it warm up for about 5-10 minutes. Then, got in, put it in neutral (normally rolls back) and got nothing...so I put it in reverse and backed up and then took off. Tranny shifts really hard until it gets warmed up and you can feel everything is stiff as a board. It does it with any car. The only way to prevent it is to keep your cars garaged. That's why I run synthetic 5W-30 in my Pathy, too. There are all kinds of opinions on synth/regular oil but when "relatively warm" can be -10 for a high sometimes I'm going with what is thinner. And, if people don't believe me, take a jelly jar and put synthetic 5w-30 in one and regular 5w-30 in the other. Then, set them outside overnight on a cold night. When you wake up to get your paper, turn them upside down and see which one actually moves. Synthetic, every time. I figure that extra couple seconds could save on my engine over time. My buddy has a Camry (manual) and his clutch does the same thing. So, don't worry about it, but I would change the fluids at some point. Couldn't hurt. Stay warm...wait, I sure hope you don't cheer for the Purple Chokers. Lions should've won.

Yeah, I'm waiting til it warms up this weekend (highs in the 20's!) and then I'm going to stick a new filter in (because it's close to needing one anyway) and if that doesn't do the trick then I'll try the TPS or something. I think aftermarket the TPS is like $50. Well, thanks Precise. I was just thinking if the filter was clogged you'd think it'd do it all the time. SERIOUSLY! CARS SHOULD MAKE MORE SENSE. Once I figure out what it is (if ever) I'll be sure to post the fix so other people can resolve their issues in the future.

Well, I checked some things out and still can't find the problem. I ran the error codes and got that all was well. Then, I did that mode five or whatever allows you to check "real-time" and supposedly checks the mass airflow sensor. Got the car to act up yesterday but no codes. It's about 0 degrees today with windchill of -40 and it's starting to get on my nerves. Haha. Anyway, it ran fine for a couple of days and then started being a jerk again a few days ago. I've kind of narrowed down how to make the symptoms occur though. If I'm driving about 25 mph (haven't tried it faster because I'm afraid it'll die somewhere) and I punch it down it kind of sputters and the idle drops to nothing. Then, if I let up and push it down again it may take off just fine or it may sputter some more. Before I replace the throttle position sensor for lack of a better idea, is this a symptom the TPS may cause? It doesn't do it every time, just when it feels like it. Also, it seems like it may have something to do with being warmed up. That led me to try the oxygen sensor type thingy today. I was going through troubleshooting ideas in the manual and it said to disconnect the harness and if the problem didn't happen replace the sensor. So, I disconnected it, drove around for about 45 minutes...near my house...and couldn't get it to do it. Then, I plugged the harness back in and couldn't get it to do it either. Finally, it sputtered a bit but not bad, under acceleration as usual, but I couldn't get it to do it again. Then, I checked the error codes at the end and it flasshed 33, which is the sensor I disconnected, so I'm sure that means nothing. Anyway, you guys think it may be the TPS with these symptoms? Someone have a different/better idea? I called the local Nissan place and they said fuel pump. I suppose anything is possible with no error codes.

Thanks 88. You're a stud.

Luckily, I made it here today. Anyway, it was about -5F this morning and when I was trying to enter the freeway I punched it down, as usual, and the engine went to idle speed. Car was nearly floored, engine at idle speed. It kept doing this and luckily there was a HP clocking people or something and he followed me off the interstate at about 40mph...he checked to see if things were ok and I took town to college today. Anyway, I have replaced the plugs, distributor, rotor, ignition coil thingy (the black thing where the main plug wire comes from), new timing belt, water pump, etc. etc. So, the only thing I can think of is some sensor that's causing it to flood or some other crazy thing. Just wondering if anybody has any ideas on this. I searched the forums but did not find anything that seemed relevent. Thanks! Oh, it's an 88 with the V6. If that helps.

Taking them off isn't bad...all you need is a nice air compressor and an impact wrench...and a sledge hammer...and lots of oil/WD-40 type stuff. Actually in most cases mine haven't been that bad to get off. A little light pounding and they usually come free. If that doesn't work hire a demolitions expert to blow them off. Of course, I have heard of people who say even the brake shops had trouble getting them off. So, I guess it depends on how lucky you are too.

There are a million other posts on this. I've put, oh man, at least 50,000 on my pathy with this same problem. It's possible to live through but you have to not get yourself in a life or death reverse-needed situation. It will cost money, more than likely flush and filter won't do any good. So, it's up to you to decide if you'd rather wait til the whole tranny falls out or get it fixed now. Personally, I'd rather hold onto my money and have a slight inconvenience. It works sometimes, just not all the time. Usually doesn't work when I'm cranky and don't want to sit and dink with D,R,P,R,D,R,D,R,D,R until it finally decides to go in. Anyway, good luck with it and let us know what exactly was wrong if you go all the way.

I found the easiest way to get the front bumper off is to have some idiot run a stop sign and just broadside him. Hey, it worked for me.