condor42 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hi everyone: I have a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder (which I love it) and is in a great shape, after dealing with some funky issues (the car stalled without apparent reason) and I started to work on it little by little (manual here and help over there) finally before I commit the crime to deal with the ECU I was able to reach an Electrical mechanic who read the codes using ODB1 and turns out that the problem was caused by a Camshaft sensor (inside of the distributor), now he told me to replace the entire ignition distributor, my question is therefore the following: Can someone savvy explain me why do I have to replace the entire Ignition distributor and not the camshaft sensor? Thank You for your prompt response. Btw this forum is awesome, I am learning a lot just reading the posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carwilef7 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 OK - Mine is slightly newer, but apparently the cam sensor is integral to the construction of the distributor and not available separately. That said, you might be able to score a distributor cheap from a junkyard and try to extract the sensor, but it probably would make more sense just to replace the bad distributor with the junkyard one. Less work, since you'd have to pull the old one anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 If you take the cap and rotor off, you can see the lower cover that is held on with a screw, remove that and you can see the disc that the sensor reads and where the sensor is mounted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrano1992 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I was able to reach an Electrical mechanic who read the codes using ODB1 and turns out that the problem was caused by a Camshaft sensor (inside of the distributor), now he told me to replace the entire ignition distributor, my question is therefore the following: Can someone savvy explain me why do I have to replace the entire Ignition distributor and not the camshaft sensor? Camshaft Position Sensor is integrated into a distributor. You can't buy it as a separate spare part... Make sure that your problem is exactly in a camshaft sensor (not in a sensor harness). Camshaft sensor malfunction occurs only in rare cases, most of "Code 11" problems related to faulty/damaged wiring and bad grounding circuits... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
condor42 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thanks a lot for all the responses concerning the question I posted related to the Ignition Distributor as well as the camshaft position sensor, you guys are helping me a lot, now I have two more questions (ha): 1) I looked online for Ignition Distributor and they are more or less 3 or 4 brands available for 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, those are made by Hitachi (Bosh), A1 Cardone and other brand made in the USA (which exactly I don't remember right now), the question is which brand did you guys recommend and also which seller would you guys also recommend for getting parts? The second question is related to bad wiring (posted by Terrano1992), now I am curious on how to know where exactly the bad wiring and bad grounding circuits can be detected, so I can ask the Mechanic specific questions concerning electrical issues. Thanks again all of you. Learning a lot of all your posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 It can take some digging into the harness to figure out if there is bad wiring, start at the wire coming out of the sensor and work your way back. It should have a connector at some point not to far from the sensor, that would be the first place I would check as the pins in the connector can corrode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrano1992 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 The second question is related to bad wiring (posted by Terrano1992), now I am curious on how to know where exactly the bad wiring and bad grounding circuits can be detected 1994-95 FSM (Factory Service Manual) describes full procedure for "code 11" troubleshooting. Look at pages EF&EC-80..82. You can find this FSM in the internet (links was posted somewhere at this forum, try to search). Or, if you want - PM your e-mail address to me, I will send a copy of EC.pdf to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrano1992 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 they are more or less 3 or 4 brands available for 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, those are made by Hitachi (Bosh), A1 Cardone and other brand made in the USA You can select any brand, but Hitachi and Bosch are "Genuine Nissan" part manufacturers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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