stikky_p

Im located in canada.. Medicine Hat Alberta to be exact..

A reman distributer is $550... cap and rotor is $65 total.. I'm gonna try the cap and rotor first then move to the distributer.. Hopefully maybe the cap is shorted or arcing.. If i'm on the wrong road please let me know..

Ok so it happened again this morning. I put a voltage tester on it while it was turning over and there was VERY LITTLE spark if any. It read "NO SIGNAL" for a bit then 4k cranking on some.. seems to be a very low voltage problem.. what to do next???

Ok so i replaced the plugs.. They were black so i'm assuming its because it was running rich.. Dry fouling is what they call it i guess. Seems to run good and havent had the no start issue yet. I tested the plug wires resistance and got nothing under 6000-7000 so the readings seem to be ok. I know once a wire goes below reading 6000 its pooched.. Nothing was quite that low.. even the shorter wires.. No ecu codes come up and the computer has nothing stored. The thing that bothers me is my test in between.. I tested the voltage through the spark plug wire.. I got a snapon spark plug voltage tester that hooks up to the battery positive and negitive.. then another hooks up to the plug wire and reads out voltage of spark.. It was reading 4000 to maybe 6000 volts each wire... Thats on the low end of the tester so im wondering if this is normal? Someone told me that the volts should be 8000 low to 12000 high.. not sure whats correct..

Ok so it did it again this morning. I took another vehicle to work and left it at home. Havent managed to get back there. Why would the time of day have anything o do with this? It always happens after sitting for 12 hours or more and always in the morning.. Its hard to diagnose because when it does it i'm always on my way to work or busy so i cant spend time checking fuel pump and spark.. Whats a guy to do?

UPDATE: I tried the switching keys approach but that did not work either. It seems like it only happens in the morning when its 5-10 degrees or so. Doesnt happen all day or night until morning or after it has sat for an extended period. After the failed attempt to start it will start about 1/2 hour after the first try. I thought it may be a security issue but who knows. Any help would be great...

Im not thinking its the ignition. The seat was damp a bit and water on the door cil but not soak. It would need to travel a long way to get to the ignition..

Im not sure yet. Haven't dug that deep. When i go home tonight i'll check into the spark and fuel. Im going to try my other key first. Some people have said that the programmed keys might be causing the issue. I'll try my spare and see if it works.

Hey guys... Well i purchased a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder for the upcoming winter and have owned it for about 4 months. Recently I accidently left my window down and a bit of rain got in the vehicle. Ever since then i've had a strange issue. I'll go out to my vehicle and try to start it. Light and everything work with the radio and starter turns fine. No lack of starting power however it will not fire up. I left it for about 5 or 6 hours and came back.. Started up fine.. Then 3 days later it happened again. Leaving my stranded before work.. What could this problem be? Someone told me that it could be my Security/Alarm system. How would i fix this issue or check to see if it is the culprit? If not what other issue's are common?

ok now i have another issue that might bring us closer.. when the vehicle is warm and idling.. it idles at about 1000rpm.. now just sitting there in revs slowly up and down.. up to about 1300 then back to 1000 then 3 or 5 seconds later it revs up again then down.. its never a routine thing etiher.. could be gone for 10 seconds then back... im going to look into a vacuum issue this weekend but not sure if a can of carb cleaner or ether will totally do the trick.. any help?

would that cause the constant hesitation at about 2000 rpm??

anyone??? im kinda stuck lol... I ran out and tryed to start it again but battery was dead.. im guessing it wasnt fully charged.. charging it up now but vehicle seemed to run awesome but with a backfire.. fuel is low should i add in some injector cleaner?? maybe a fuel additive to clean??

OK OK WOAH!!!!! I think i have a breakthrough.. I went out to mess around with the unit.. charged the battery because i mistakingly left the inside light on.. DOAH... then started it... started great with it boosted.. took the booster off and all was good as normal.. let it warm up and decided to test it and IT WORKED!... there was no more stumble.. however when i drove it around the back alley i noticed it was lacking in power.. and when i reved the engine up it would backfire.. but only when the idle was coming back down.. i would rev it to like 3000rpm and on the way down at about 1500 or so it would backfire and spit a little black smoke out.. not a ton.. barley noticable.. DOES THIS HELP?? i also noticed i was little low on fuel and coolant.. not severly but rather low..

i think as soon as it warms up here im going to check the timing asap.. i hope thats what it is or else im adding another equasion to the puzzle... could a malfunctioning EGR valve be the cause?

mines the 4cyl.. not v6.. i could probably guestimate but if the dizzy is out then im right messed up...