JamesRich Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 When I got my pathy I gave it the works, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, T belt, and O2 sensor. This was around a year and a half ago and around 5k miles. She alway ran great and started right up. Last week I stopped at the post office and when I got back in it would turn over just not start. After around a minute of cranking it started and would die at idle. Started it again and got it rolling and then it ran fine. Left work to go home it ran fine most of the way then lost all power and the tach was jumping for a couple of seconds then ran fine again. It did this a couple of times. I started it the next day and it cranked over for around 20 seconds then started and ran normal. I thought it was fuel related but with the tach jumping it would have to be ignition. I know they have problems with the distributors so I took it apart to check the optical sensor and everything in there looked new. No shaving, no slack in the shaft, not even dusty in there. Intermittent problems are a real bitch to find and I'm worried it leaves me on the road, or 5 miles back in the woods! Anyone recognize this problem from having it on there pathy? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Check your coil wire. Mine was rubbing against the A/C bracket and rubbed through. It would intermittently cause no start/stalling/wHierd tach issues when the bare spot was close enough to metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NissanNismoZ Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Hmmm..Try and note the different driving conditions compared to when it does it, and when it runs perfect.. 1.)Fuel pump, fuel pump relay (sticking?) 2.)When it keeps turning over and over, does it smell like fuel? Also, try and check for spark..if you have a multimeter, check and see that there is little to VERY LOW resistance in your spark plug wires.. 3.)Other than that im thinking a bad ground may be at fault.. 4.)Have you checked your ignition coil? 5.)Tach jumping..you mean the tach going haywire or just jumping normally when its starting? 6.)Could always check the plug to the dizzy and the coil.. 7.) If the contacts are dirty, clean the contacts on the inside of the dizzy cap and rotor, it may help as well! Hope this gets us closer to something! I figure these would be the easiest to check before getting into it too seriously unless its just your rotor button sticking.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Check your coil wire. Mine was rubbing against the A/C bracket and rubbed through. It would intermittently cause no start/stalling/wHierd tach issues when the bare spot was close enough to metal. I think you might have got it! I had looked at the coil wire where it touches the A/C bracket but it looked good. I just went cut a piece of fuel line to slit and put around the coil wire, and cut the S#!T out of my trigger finger in the process because I was in a hurry and just used my pocket knife. Figures because I'm about to leave to go sight in my hunting rifle for this season, should make it more interesting. After isolating the wire with the piece of hose it started right up like it normally does. I'll take it to work a few days next week and hope for the best. Hmmm..Try and note the different driving conditions compared to when it does it, and when it runs perfect.. 1.)Fuel pump, fuel pump relay (sticking?) 2.)When it keeps turning over and over, does it smell like fuel? Also, try and check for spark..if you have a multimeter, check and see that there is little to VERY LOW resistance in your spark plug wires.. 3.)Other than that im thinking a bad ground may be at fault.. 4.)Have you checked your ignition coil? 5.)Tach jumping..you mean the tach going haywire or just jumping normally when its starting? 6.)Could always check the plug to the dizzy and the coil.. 7.) If the contacts are dirty, clean the contacts on the inside of the dizzy cap and rotor, it may help as well! Hope this gets us closer to something! I figure these would be the easiest to check before getting into it too seriously unless its just your rotor button sticking.. The tach didn't jump when I was cranking it over it just jumped when it shut down running down the highway at 60. It was jumping back and forth from 0 to 5k. The inside of the cap and the rotor still look new as there are very little miles on them. Hopefully it was just the coil wire rubbing, I will see. Thanks guys! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Check the fusible links at the battery if you haven't already. I actually just had one fail the other day. My gauges were dead, no power to windows or stereo, etc. It did it intermittently while driving then was back to being fine, a few minutes later after I parked everything died. Still cranked over and fired but there are a few different fusible links that go to different things. Quick and easy check. When the CAS goes bad it's usually instantaneous and they don't ever work again. They just fail. Also, the tach is wired to the coil transistor via a white wire so it could very well be coil related. I see you already did some fixin.' A rubbing coil wire in my Pathfinder last year did all kinds of cool stuff, and only at night at the right angle could you see it grounding out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I'd get a known good distributor and swap it out. I believe something very similar, I can't remember the exact symptoms but bad stutter and no fire seem familiar!, happened on my truck, and it turned out to be a bad optical sensor in the distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 I thought is was good after isolating the coil wire but before I left for the shooting range I tried it again and it wouldn't start. When I got back from the range it cranked over a little longer than normal and then started so I went to town and filled the tank. It ran great accept for wanting to cut out at 5K when I ran the hell out of it. Thanks for all the suggestions I will start checking it this afternoon. It would have to start screwing up right before hunting season too! We had a blast (and I mean a real blast) at the shooting range though. Check out the new toy, 50 BMG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 That is a bad ass gun mang! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 Thanks man, it's fun as hell to shoot too. It doesn't really kick but pushes you back about 6 to 8 inches and blows so much gas back from the muzzle brake that If I had a hat on it would have blown it off! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I thought is was good after isolating the coil wire but before I left for the shooting range I tried it again and it wouldn't start. When I got back from the range it cranked over a little longer than normal and then started so I went to town and filled the tank. It ran great accept for wanting to cut out at 5K when I ran the hell out of it. Thanks for all the suggestions I will start checking it this afternoon. It would have to start screwing up right before hunting season too! We had a blast (and I mean a real blast) at the shooting range though. Check out the new toy, 50 BMG! Can't help you with the truck issue, but nice toy!! Unfortunately, I can't have one here in Kali, the terrorirorists might get a hold of it and end the world!! Can't tell what make it is (not intimately familiar) but I'll bet it has a Walther barrel? What do you have it sighted in at?? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 It's a Vulcan, not the best (I really want an AR50) but still sends 1/2" rounds down range. We sighted it at 200 yards. Mostly just playing with it on this run because 50s are against the rules at our range so we were hurrying just so everyone could get a few shots before anyone else got there. A buddy is building up his berms at his range so we can get it sighted in better and check accuracy. I'm not sure who made the barrel, they don't even state it on there web site. This one was a used gun so I don't have any paper work with it. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Well it looks like my problem was just crappy gas. I tanked it up Sunday, then left early for work Tuesday so I could ride around and it only died out once. Did the same thing Wednesday and it never died but still had the hesitation around 5k. Changed the fuel filter (which I had just changed around 5k ago) Wednesday afternoon and it seems to be running like it used to. I should have known my dependable little pathy wasn't being bad, it just had a little indigestion. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krmiller07 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Nice 'POP' gun ya got there James! Try putting a can of Seafoam in your gas and within a few miles you won't know it's running unless you look at the tach! Works that good : ) Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Crappy gas, eh? That used to mean water. Care to speculate what made the gas crappy and how to avoid filling stations with crappy gas? I take it that cut on the finger didn't slow down the shooting practice after all. Did you manage to sight the rifle? And do you actually take that thing hunting? I am trying to imagine crawling up and down the Coastal Mountains or the Rockies with a gun that big...... Even moving through the bush in Eastern Canada or upstate New York would be a task and a half with that piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Nice 'POP' gun ya got there James! Try putting a can of Seafoam in your gas and within a few miles you won't know it's running unless you look at the tach! Works that good : ) Keith I've used seafoam before, and the truck already would run that smooth, That's why I was upset about the way it was running. Totally out of it's character. Crappy gas, eh? That used to mean water. Care to speculate what made the gas crappy and how to avoid filling stations with crappy gas? I take it that cut on the finger didn't slow down the shooting practice after all. Did you manage to sight the rifle? And do you actually take that thing hunting? I am trying to imagine crawling up and down the Coastal Mountains or the Rockies with a gun that big...... Even moving through the bush in Eastern Canada or upstate New York would be a task and a half with that piece. We were going to our hunting camp to put up some corn feeders and my brother wanted me to pull a trailer to bring a box blind to put up later so he offered to put me some gas. He had money on a walmart card so we filled it up with murphy gas. I had problems with murphy gas in my old chevy and apparently the pathy doesn't like it either. So I guess my advice would be stay away from walmart gas! No the cut finger didn't slow me down. The hunting rifle I had to sight in was a 45-70 for primitive season, the 50 is just a play toy. I got the 45-70 hitting good up to 200 yards so it's ready. I wouldn't want to carry that 50 in the woods anyway. Notice in the picture I'm leaning to one side to avoid falling over, that thing is HEAVY! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 ... No the cut finger didn't slow me down. The hunting rifle I had to sight in was a 45-70 for primitive season, the 50 is just a play toy. I got the 45-70 hitting good up to 200 yards so it's ready. I wouldn't want to carry that 50 in the woods anyway. Notice in the picture I'm leaning to one side to avoid falling over, that thing is HEAVY! James Isn't the 45-70 best at close range, in heavy brush, etc? 200 yards is decent. You can hunt with a 45-70 along side muzzle loaders and flintlocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 Isn't the 45-70 best at close range, in heavy brush, etc? 200 yards is decent. You can hunt with a 45-70 along side muzzle loaders and flintlocks? Yes the 45-70 drops like a rock after around 150 yards but if you know your drops it's a pretty accurate rock. I was using an Iphone program to work out drops. I tried for the 300 yard gong but couldn't tell where I was hitting. I had to come up 51 clicks on my scope so that was pushing it. I was only playing at this point I wouldn't try for a deer at that range with the 45-70. Several states around here changed the primitive rules to allow for certain types of single shot action 45-70 to be used in place of muzzle loaders. I got an H&R crack barrel. It's a quicker follow up shot but the part I like the most is if I shoot it I can still wait till I get home to clean it instead of having to start taking it apart at camp. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 I was wrong again! It wasn't crappy fuel, that was just a coincidence. On the first day of a 5 day hunting trip it rained on us half the day. Truck started fine but was farting all the way back to the camp. Next day if I shut it off and tried to start it again in a few minutes it would not start, once it was running it ran good though. The last time it took over three hours before it would start. Next morning I fired it up and drove home an hour and a half with no problems. Once at home I shut it off for 5 minutes and it wouldn't start. Checked codes, crank angle sensor. Plugged in a spare distributor and it would spark like crazy when I turned it. I wasn't ready to convert it to the newer style distributor and chance heading back in the woods so I took the sensor out of the spare distributor and put it in the distributor on the truck. Truck ran great so I went back hunting and didn't have any other problems, accept alusive deer! Does anyone sell this sensor yet? I remember years back nissan was famous for this problem with the sentras, and you had to buy a complete distributor. I would like a spare sensor to keep in the truck so next time I could change it on the spot, it's easy enough. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 About $150 on rockauto... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Damn at that price I guess I'll just grab a few more out the pick a part. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Always carry a spare distributor assembly with you. The crank angle sensors seem to be iffy sometimes on the 2 door pathfinders. Me and Mr510 just had a chat about that a few days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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