sunovertone Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 So.. I was teaching a friend how to drive a stick. He stalled a bunch, everything ok. Stalled in drive way, now car just cranks and cranks but no fire! I can hear the fuel pump working. No spark from plug with tester. Replaced distributor cap and rotor to no advail! Wondering what it could be, just bought car from used dealership. Worried i ended up with a dud, has a 197000 miles in it. Looks like it had a valve cover leak, but doesnt appear to be leaking now. This car was a replacement for a 1996 jeep cherokee, my friend rolled actually! He is fine, but good bye jeepie, hello nissan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaintbucket Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Is it actually making a cranking sound like it's trying to turn over? When you replaced the cap and rotor, did you check the spark plugs again? Spark plugs and wires is definitely what I would replace before looking at the entire distributor itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Thought that might grab some attention. My friend was driving my beloved 1996 jeep cherokee, and rolled it, and totaled it (but he is total fine thankfully ) just replaced it with a 1999 nissan pathy. I was teaching my friend, (same guy) how to drive a stick. He stalled it alot, and it was fine, but now it stalled in driveway, and will crank all day, no start. battery is fine, starter sounds fine, can hear fuel pump working. Doesn't seem to be getting spark to plug. replaced cap and rotor, nothing. Not sure where to go from here. I really hope it is not a blown head gasket! Just bought car, so not familiar. But the oil doesn't seem milky, and no bubbles in radiator when turning over. also no over heating on gages, but it does seem a bit hot, not shure if that is normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Yeah it cranks like it is going to turn over, but ever actually catches. the spark plug wires actually look pretty new, but looks can be deceptive. We did check for spark after replacing cap and rotor, but still no spark. I am not shure if I am using spark light correctly. Should spark plug stay in the car? I have one that lights up, but the end doesnt sucurely attach to the wire, just sit on the medal inside the sp wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beatup96 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I'm no mechanic and I don't do manual transmissions unless they're on a motorcycle , but I'll throw an idea out there for those who have actual knowledge.... Maybe he fried/buggered the clutch interlock switch ? Not sure exactly how they work , does the starter turn if the switch goes ? Edited July 31, 2014 by Beatup96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 yep, the starter turns, sounds strong. I will google that, see if i get any results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think the moral of this story is; don't let this friend of yours drive your vehicles anymore! Did you try new spark plugs? Although highly unlikely that they would all crap out at once. It does sound like the problem lies with the fuel delivery or failure to ignite at the spark plugs. Check your fuel line and fuel filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Check your engine grounds? Oh, and welcome to the Nippo family! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?/topic/38507-help%2C-crank-no-start-out-of-the-blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 See if there is spark to the dizzy, and that the rotor spins when you crank it. No point in anything else until those are verified... B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 So, you posted 2 threads on exactly the same thing 31 minutes apart? That is a bit impatient, no? Please, do not do this! All it does is split the responses and confuse issues, especially in the future when someone is searching for answers, like "won't start". Thanks. I merged the two threads... B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Ok, sorry wont post like that again. New to forums, in general. But also to this forum, which i am greatful for. Just wanted to add a bit more info as well. Thankyou for all the info, I will check if rotor is spinning when started. I do really like the nissan, drives great when it started. But I do miss the simplicity of the jeep in line six. I am just hopeful it is not a head gasket, but it doesnt seem like it. no oil in radator, no bubbles in radator, runs cool on gage, oil doesnt seem milky. But there is a lot of oil all over bottom of engine, looks like it came from valve cover leak at one point, but no leaks now. Looks loke it may have been fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 No big deal, I cleaned it up and you understand now, it's all good. To start, you need air, fuel, spark (and timing/compression). Air can be assumed, fuel can be tested by spraying into the intake (simple way) but if you don't have spark or T/C, nothing will happen. Spark you check for easily, rotor spinning means the timing belt hasn't broken, and from there we can go into timing and fuel tests... B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Sounds like a bad Crank Angle Sensor. Suddenly not running, no spark, probably no fuel injector pulse... classic. The ECU will have a code if it's the issue but may not trip the CEL. You wouldn't see it anyway since the engine doesn't run. If it sounds fine when cranking it's not the belt. With as much cranking as you've done, you'd notice the banging, thwacking, locking up, and lack of compression. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 have you checked the ignition relays and or fuses yet? how about the coil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 We have checked the codes. the only one it gave us referred to knock censor. I am not sure if knock censor is the same as the crank angle sensor? But didnt get a code for crank angle censor, but i will check again. I have checked the fuses, they look good, but I will check the ignition relays. I am also suspecting the grounds, but I thought if it was the grounds, it would not even crank. I am not sure how to test the coil, I am not very happy with the spark tester I have, it is a light and can not see the actual spark. But the car is about ready to just go to the shop, but i might just try to change the whole distributor first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Call over the friend who rolled your Jeep and ask him to hold the coil wire while you crank the engine over. Unplug the distributor end of the coil wire, set it down next to the intake, and watch for sparks between them while somebody else cranks it over. If you don't see sparks, remove the distributor cap, have your helper crank it again, make sure the rotor spins. I wouldn't worry about the knock code for now, they tend to crop up with other issues and go away once those issues are sorted.. And no, it's not the same as the crank angle sensor. I imagine that a malfunctioning crank angle sensor might not throw a code on a vehicle that doesn't start; the computer would think the engine wasn't turning, not apply spark/injector pulse, and not think anything of it. Don't worry about head gaskets, I'm just going to go ahead and say it isn't that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 It would throw a code if it was failed entirely. The engine doesn't have to run for the ECU to pick up on certain things, 3-4 cranks is usually all it takes. It knows it needs a reference signal from the sensor. It knows the engine is cranking because of the start signal from the starter. With closed loop sensor stuff, yes, the engine needs to be running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Good to know! Disregard my speculation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Any updates? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Sorry no up dates, we have to get the funds, and then we replace the distributor. We will test the fuel system with some starte fluid first, that should tell s if it is getting spark or timming. Just ran out of my timing for the time being. But if we cant get it withth distributor, and egnition relays, then it goes to the shop! Man my mechanic is going to be shocked not to see the old jeep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaintbucket Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Just tell him that you ran out of pockets to empty. I am pretty sure it gotta be the distributor if you're still not getting a spark after replacing the cap and rotor. Have you tried pulling a distributor from a junkyard to test it out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo98 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Just curious...Does the rig have one of those "fuel shut-offs?" Like if you rearend someone it trips the circuit and shuts the fuel delivery off to prevent fire. I didn't do any research on the subject so maybe somebody knows about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo98 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I looked around on the web and it appears they don't have a fuel cut off switch. I'm going with bad distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunovertone Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Cool! Finally got a new distributor! Going to attempt to replace it tonight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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