Robster4777 Posted May 16, 2023 Share Posted May 16, 2023 I recently had my 1999.5 Pathy quit on me twice at random times. It happened today and afterwards it would crank but not start up. So I had it towed home. I put the code reader on it and had the primary code of P0325-Knock Sensor and a pending code for P0340-Camshaft Sensor. I assume the knock sensor was triggered due to the Cam sensor code? So I took the cap and rotor off the distributor and removed the ignition control module/camshaft sensor and the little silver disk. I cleaned up the disk as it seemed to have some dirt on it within the inner circle. I also cleaned up the ignition module/cam sensor where the silver disk spins through it with electronics cleaner. I put it all back together and it fired right up and seems to run fine. No codes came back up but I haven't driven it anywhere yet. Could it just have been dirt collecting on the little silver disk and module or should I go ahead and replace the ignition module? Also, there seems to be no play in my distributor shaft. Lastly, there were a bunch of little metal fragments laying under the module inside the distributor. No idea where they came from. My Pathy has about 125K miles on it and it is the 3.3 engine. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALPATHY Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 3 hours ago, Robster4777 said: I recently had my 1999.5 Pathy quit on me twice at random times. It happened today and afterwards it would crank but not start up. So I had it towed home. I put the code reader on it and had the primary code of P0325-Knock Sensor and a pending code for P0340-Camshaft Sensor. I assume the knock sensor was triggered due to the Cam sensor code? So I took the cap and rotor off the distributor and removed the ignition control module/camshaft sensor and the little silver disk. I cleaned up the disk as it seemed to have some dirt on it within the inner circle. I also cleaned up the ignition module/cam sensor where the silver disk spins through it with electronics cleaner. I put it all back together and it fired right up and seems to run fine. No codes came back up but I haven't driven it anywhere yet. Could it just have been dirt collecting on the little silver disk and module or should I go ahead and replace the ignition module? Also, there seems to be no play in my distributor shaft. Lastly, there were a bunch of little metal fragments laying under the module inside the distributor. No idea where they came from. My Pathy has about 125K miles on it and it is the 3.3 engine. Thanks! Takes a while (once I had to drive almost 150 miles) before it starts registering codes again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrelcocko Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I recently had my 1999.5 Pathy quit on me twice at random times. It happened today and afterwards it would crank but not start up. So I had it towed home. I put the code reader on it and had the primary code of P0325-Knock Sensor and a pending code for P0340-Camshaft Sensor. I assume the knock sensor was triggered due to the Cam sensor code? So I took the cap and rotor off the distributor and removed the ignition control module/camshaft sensor and the little silver disk. I cleaned up the disk as it seemed to have some dirt on it within the inner circle. I also cleaned up the ignition module/cam sensor where the silver disk spins through it with electronics cleaner. I put it all back together and it fired right up and seems to run fine. No codes came back up but I haven't driven it anywhere yet. Could it just have been dirt collecting on the little silver disk and module or should I go ahead and replace the ignition module? Also, there seems to be no play in my distributor shaft. Lastly, there were a bunch of little metal fragments laying under the module inside the distributor. No idea where they came from. My Pathy has about 125K miles on it and it is the 3.3 engine. Thanks!Did you find any metal shavings on the inside?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrelcocko Posted May 17, 2023 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Did you find any metal shavings on the inside?Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkSorry I didn’t read the rest of your post. Metal shavings Usually means your distributor bearing is going out. Remove the distributor and see if it spins freely. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster4777 Posted May 18, 2023 Author Share Posted May 18, 2023 17 hours ago, Mrelcocko said: Sorry I didn’t read the rest of your post. Metal shavings Usually means your distributor bearing is going out. Remove the distributor and see if it spins freely. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Thank you so much. I am guessing that just replacing the cam sensor/ignition module at this point would be pointless since I have all those metal pieces in there. I will try and pull out the distributor later but looks like I need the whole thing at this point? If I do replace the whole distributor, any suggestions on what to go with? I am leaning towards a new Nissan OEM unit but if anyone knows of a cheaper alternative that is reliable please chime in. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrelcocko Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 Thank you so much. I am guessing that just replacing the cam sensor/ignition module at this point would be pointless since I have all those metal pieces in there. I will try and pull out the distributor later but looks like I need the whole thing at this point? If I do replace the whole distributor, any suggestions on what to go with? I am leaning towards a new Nissan OEM unit but if anyone knows of a cheaper alternative that is reliable please chime in. Thanks again.You can go for a remanufactured from probably AutoZone or Advance Auto. When it comes to electrical you want to go with oem for sure. Cheap aftermarket’s are a waste of money. I bought a cheapo off of eBay for 60$ and it was trash. Couldn’t get it to work from the start. Good luck friend Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster4777 Posted May 19, 2023 Author Share Posted May 19, 2023 2 hours ago, Mrelcocko said: You can go for a remanufactured from probably AutoZone or Advance Auto. When it comes to electrical you want to go with oem for sure. Cheap aftermarket’s are a waste of money. I bought a cheapo off of eBay for 60$ and it was trash. Couldn’t get it to work from the start. Good luck friend Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Wouldn't the remanufactured distributors from Autozone or Advance have aftermarket electronics in them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrelcocko Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 Wouldn't the remanufactured distributors from Autozone or Advance have aftermarket electronics in them? Probably so but they would be a higher quality. I’m talking more about the distributors from eBay that run between 50 to 100$ they are trash. I’m going off my experience from buying one off eBay and it not working and buying one from Advanced that worked perfectly.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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