OH6PILOT Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 So...Ive posted pics under the Newbie section previously of my Pathy "Romy". Ive rarely had any issues with her since purchasing her, and I drive back and forth halfway across the US due to work, etc. Headed out of Omaha 2 nights ago, started to get a squeal at about 2500 rpm. Turned into a major squeal at 3,000. Figured maybe just a loose belt, and was going to pull off and take a peek at it when the engine suddenly started to run like @!*%. Felt like it just went into crap mode like somebody threw a switch. No gradual decrease, just 100% operation to barely 25%...had the gas all the way to the floor just to get to an offramp and limped it into a gas station so I could do some quick troubleshooting. Figured out ultimately that the squeal was due to the fan clutch seizing up. Strange ass place for that to happen, but, tighter than a new guy in prison. Now, on to the next issue...thought the rough running issue may have been ignition related...however I had literally just replaced everything (plugs, rotor, distrib cap, wires, coil) 3 weeks ago...although they can still fail, so, since everything pointed to ignition, got the local "A-Zone" to order the parts for arrival the next morning, so...got a ride to a hotel and a friend who happened to live in Lincoln carted me around and helped me pick up parts...So, I swap out the coil, dist cap, rotor and even dump an alternator into the mix..just in case. Vrooom! Started right up, sat and idled for a while, then I started to head back west...and as soon as the op temp got up higher, performance went to @!*% again. felt like fuel went full rich. Limped it to the Autozone parking lot, made it just before it died...and back at troubleshooting...went through everything I could think of...even down to pulling off the timing covers and verifying that the timing hadn't skipped. Everything was good. timing was perfect. put everything back together. I even pulled all the plugs, swapped out another dist cap and rotor, and threw it all back together...engine was ice cold. (mind you, Lincoln, NE..all work was in 7deg weather with 15mph wind...cold as hell). Went to start...Vrooom! Started up, revved it up to 4,000rpm a few times...ran smooth as silk... until it warmed up...then Whammo...back to @!*%. So..by this time, nothing left to do because it's already dark and i'm worn out. So, over to a hotel to jump onto the forums. Go through the FSM and try to figure out everything I can, and isolate it to potentially the O2 sensor or the Coolant temp sensor... So back out I go this morning. Nice cold engine, starts up and purrs. I disconnected the O2 sensor connector to isolate it from the ECM, since its freezing cold outside, and once it warms up, we're back to square one...runs like @!*%, degrades then wont run at all. So..before it quit again, and while it was idling, I swapped the connector from the coolant temp sensor onto a new sensor, and voila, the rpm kicked up for a few moments, but it still wouldnt rev, and still ran like @!*%. Took about an additional 3 minutes before it died again. So..back to square one. No choice left but to AAA it to the local Nissan dealer. (My ass already hurts from the thought). Currently sitting in the service dept waiting room for 2 hrs (when promised it would be looked at within an hour). SO, I'm taking bets. Anyone care to wager their best guess as to: A) What is actually wrong with it? How much of an ass-raping this is going to be in $$ Very interested in feedback here guys.. FAST feedback. Thanks! -Sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCWD21 Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 A: Sounds to me like your CHTS(cylinder head temp sensor is causing issues since you say it goes full rich, that little sensor is the brain of what the ECU sees. Without a good sensor it thinks it's like -60 out and caused it to literally flood the engine with fuel causing crappy performance. Usually the sign of a bad sensor is it'll run fine when cold but once it gets up to operating temp it'll do exactly what it's doing to you. B: you can fix it yourself for the cost of a new sensor and a 17 or 19mm wrench (I'm pretty sure it's 19mm) Sent from inside my potato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH6PILOT Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) A: Sounds to me like your CHTS(cylinder head temp sensor is causing issues since you say it goes full rich, that little sensor is the brain of what the ECU sees. Without a good sensor it thinks it's like -60 out and caused it to literally flood the engine with fuel causing crappy performance. Usually the sign of a bad sensor is it'll run fine when cold but once it gets up to operating temp it'll do exactly what it's doing to you. B: you can fix it yourself for the cost of a new sensor and a 17 or 19mm wrench (I'm pretty sure it's 19mm) Sent from inside my potato Can't isolate WHERE the CHTS is located?? Dont have any reference data that talks about it, even after looking through the FSM... Edited December 16, 2016 by OH6PILOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCWD21 Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) It's the sensor where the yellow connector is in the picture. Just follow your upper radiator hose and you'll see it. The sensor with 1 wire is for your temp gauge in your cluster. The one behind it is the CHTS. It shouldn't cost more than $20 or $30 most places. Becareful with the connector as they get brittle with age and don't lose the metal spring clip that holds it to the sensor. Sent from inside my potato Edited December 16, 2016 by RCWD21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH6PILOT Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the reply. That is actually the Coolant Temp Sensor, and I already replaced that one, as mentioned, but THANKS A BUNCH for your speedy reply. That's one more reason I really enjoy this site! So... After standing side by side with mechanics at Sid Dillon Nissan (who were also scratching their heads...these guys were awesome and their service was excellent. Very stoked at how they worked with me standing side by side with them troubleshooting the problem) we isolated the problem to the following conditions: When cold, runs great. As it becomes progressively warmer, performance goes to @!*% out...but correspondingly, the ignition starts to go haywire, and if too much gas is applied, you get backfires... So, the conclusion is the distributor assembly, which has a position sensor which has gone to @!*%. Of course, no one in this city has one, so a complete assembly is on its way to be here by 10am...in the middle of an ice storm... Now..is that the 100% guarantee as to the problem?. I guess we'll see. Let me know your thoughts. I enjoy hearing everyone's perspective!! Edited December 17, 2016 by OH6PILOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Yep, sounds like the usual signs of the position sensor in the dizzy crapping out. From what I've read (haven't had one fail yet) they'll do exactly what you're saying, run fine cold only to flake out when the engine warms up. Hopefully install goes quick and you don't have to spend too much time in the ice storm. Mark the rotor position before you pull the old one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Sounds like the dizzy. A faulty dizzy will do that and the camshaft position sensor goes out of wack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 I really should start frequenting this forum more.. Instead of replacing the entire distributor there is an optic part inside of it underneath a metal disc with 6 big holes and 360 little ones. That's the eyeball for the cam position sensor. Most Nissan's with distributors use the same part. But I was going to say it's either that or your ignition coil. Sometimes when they get hot they don't work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH6PILOT Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 (edited) UPDATE**** Didn't get a chance to update this thread due to travel and the holidays... Turns out it was the ONLY ignition component that I didn't replace. The Distributor. The assembly was just fine, but the sensor on the assembly would apparently work fine while cold, but when it got warm, it went bat@!*% and started to send erratic signals to the ECU, which interrupted the pulse signal to the coil, causing intermittent operation of the coil, and intermittent spark to the plugs... Isolated the issue, then got the part on order, since the dealership didnt even have one on hand. Autozone got me one the next morning, and the dealership installed it, verified timing, and I was out the door. Total cost for the Distributor fro Autozone: $280, total cost from the dealer for the Troubleshooting and installation/timing: $191 I was floored. The dealership was awesome. Haven't EVER walked out of a dealership with less than a $700 bill for ANY vehicle before. Kept the old distributor, disassembling it so i can understand the entire assembly operation, and figure out why it went crazy when warm. I'll fill you all in with that later. Anyway, got it installed, and drove back to Phoenix with no issues. Since the replacement, however, I've gotten a solid 17-19 mpg and LOTS more power. Edited January 1, 2017 by OH6PILOT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 It will likely be that the bearing is failing on the distributor. It will be okay cold, but when hot it will not spin freely or cause vibrations that will make the sensor not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Good to hear the dizzy fixed it! Keep us posted on what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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