Brendan Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hello everyone, Recently my 98 Pathfinder has been having some issues. When I go to start it up cold, the car will fire right up and go to 1000 rpm, then sputter and die. When I would crank the car after this it wont start, and It smells like fuel (for sure flooded). I could get it going again by pulling the fuel pump relay, starting the truck up on residual fuel, then quickly putting the relay back in to keep it running. I brought it to the dealer and they said it was the fuel pump relay, so they changed it and the truck ran well for a few days. The problem started happening again a few weeks later. This time I figured it was the fuel pump so I changed it out with a new OEM denso one. This still has not fixed the issue. As well, the old trick of pulling the fuel pump relay doesn't work anymore. As well, when it does get going, the car idles fairly well but sometimes the car shakes a little and the idle goes a bit off. The trucks performance has also started diminishing, I will give it gas and it takes a long time before it starts reacting. There is also no check engine light and no codes. I'm using a cheapy HF OBDII scanner. So far I have done: -Changed fuel pump as stated before -Checked fuel pressure at the pump and at the injectors, all normal -checked all fuses, in the engine bay and in the car -Swapped out fuel pump relay with working ones -Changed the cap and rotor -Changed spark plug wires -Spark plugs are fairly new <15000 miles, still look good and gapped correctly I will be changing the fuel filter in a few days, but i doubt that's the issue since the fuel pressure is good. I will also try checking the timing. I am thinking now maybe it could be the distributor? Maybe the spark isnt strong enough on cold starts? I had another thought it might be the temp sensor, but I am not sure. I dont know why it isnt showing any codes, how can I reset the ECU? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 So I started the truck up this morning by having the gas pedal to the floor. The truck started right up to 1000 rpm when I let go and stayed there till it warmed up. I think its an air/intake issue now. Maybe the mix is wrong when the car is cold? I will try the following: -Clean the throttle body -Clean the MAF -Adjust the throttle cable -Clean IACV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Careful when cleaning that MAF. I ruined mine by trying to do that, but of course I think the thing was bad to start with and might have been on its last legs. If you do need a new MAF, do the Maxima trick where you pay only $50 as opposed to $300. It's posted elsewhere on this forum, and worked out real well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgallant Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Hi, The distributor usually goes the other way, works fine cold and fails once the engine warms up. Sort of a typical electronics thing. Check your air filter too just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Are you looking at fuel pressure while the engine is running? I would have done the fuel filter as one of the first things. Also check for a clogged cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Careful when cleaning that MAF. I ruined mine by trying to do that, but of course I think the thing was bad to start with and might have been on its last legs. If you do need a new MAF, do the Maxima trick where you pay only $50 as opposed to $300. It's posted elsewhere on this forum, and worked out real well for me. Thanks, will that work on a 98 though? I see you have an 01. I will definitely look into it though. Hi, The distributor usually goes the other way, works fine cold and fails once the engine warms up. Sort of a typical electronics thing. Check your air filter too just to be sure. Ok cool so I guess the distributor is out then. The air filter is clean I checked it. Are you looking at fuel pressure while the engine is running? I would have done the fuel filter as one of the first things. Also check for a clogged cat. The fuel pressure was checked while the car was running. For the cat, im guessing i just rev the car and have someone check how much pressure there is at the tailpipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgallant Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 A cat clogged enough to have that effect should toss a code. But a quick check is to get the truck running (at night) and up to operating temp and take a look underneath, they tend to glow a bit when they are completely clogged. Do you still have the smell of gas under the hood ? I am wondering if your evap canister could cause the same problem if it totally disintegrated, but once again you should get a code. The lack of code is a little baffling, almost anything major I can think of should toss a code, unless once the truck starts the code clears but it should not, you could tray checking the code right after a failed start and see if anything is there, just in case. Do a visual of your engine compartment, make sure you don't have any damaged wires, either from wear or rodent damage,rats and mice will crawl in there and chew stuff, trust me I know. The other thing is to download your Factory manual and follow through the trouble shooting steps, it all assumes you have their computerized stuff but it does have sections on testing without. It will help to narrow down the problem. It is possible you have an issue with the throttle body sensor, it can be checked with a multi meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmons Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Sounds like throttle body sensor to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Ok so did a few things today: -Changed the fuel filter -Cleaned the MAF with contact cleaner and qtip -Fully cleaned throttle body -Adjusted throttle cable The above made no difference to the starting issue. Still starts up and dies. The gas pedal to the floor when starting still starts it up every time. When its started though, the car seems a bit more responsive than before. This could be to the cleaned TB or the tightened cable though. The clogged cats is pretty much ruled out, the car runs well when its started. Does anyone else have any ideas? The idle is still a bit lumpy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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