guys

i have battery, airbag, parking brake lights lit up in my I30. these lights were flickering a day before. what could be the issue? when i start with jump cable, car starts but engine won't revv up. could it be alternator? i believe my alternator was replaced 2 or 3 years ago. bad coils?

thank you.

Have you had a chance to pull codes? Could be the alternator or the battery. Could be that and a multitude of others I'm afraid.

thanks for reply.

had battery checked by both walmrt and kragen. both said battery is bad.

after putting new battery, brake and battery lights are still on. mechanic says alternator is not good.

just ordered a new hitachi N-13639 from ebay. hopefully that is OE fit and gets rid of these issues.

this car is taking me for a ride

Yeah, it happens. I had the alternator and battery go out in my 2k2 Maxima and the battery has been replaced in both my G's already.

am first owner of 98 i30. my OE battery replaced in 06/07. OE alternator replaced i guess in 2009. now both battery and alt failed at same time.

car still jumps at idle and at low speeds, which is another issue. mileage too has gone down. i suspect coils. i don't have all 6 matching coils.

i hope i can get drive this for another year or two without any other issues.

If you've already replaced both the alternator and battery, then you likely have an ignition, emissions, or sensor problem. Is the check engine light on at all? If so have you had the codes read on it?

I doubt you have a coil problem, because it's not necessary to have all the coil packs match. I just replaced one of my OEM ones with an aftermarket one, with absolutely no issues. So unless you have a code saying "Cylinder #X Misfire" or similar, then you can rule that out.

I'd say next things i'd consider would be the MAF(Mass Air Flow Sensor) or one of the Catalytic Converters being bad, both of which would cause the symptoms you're describing. You should still get a code for either of these, but it's possible you won't either. These two things would be the most likely things I would have checked out.

The car will definitely last you a long time, but it's also a 13 year old car, so it may need some maintenance. My 2000 I30 has 150k miles on it and still runs great, but i've had to spend some money here and there on it to keep it going. These cars will last forever though if you treat them right. Let us know if you have any other questions!

thanks A33.

it has SES light on. i suspect that came in because i turned on the car without plugging in the harness to 2 coils. i'm going to check on all the symptoms you mentioned.

yes, this car has been awesome till few years ago. has 150K miles on it. used to avg me 26-29 on highway. it is very sluggish these days. i had this mechanic guy do a good fuel system clean at his shop with bg44k. before that i put in bg44k, techron, seafoam and what not in gas tank. i intend to keep it but my wife insists we better junk this and get a prius

will get back to this thread once i put alternator and check on the codes.

thanks guys

Yes, pull the codes and let us know. That would be quite helpful.

got new alt installed. no check engine light. new codes but this guy says bad knock sensor code is stored somewhere. he said there are leaks in rear and front. didn't get what he meant. he said the part only costs about $10 which stops the leak. he said that could be fixed when he does tranny service.

he said my car never had tranny service done since i purchased it. maybe i had tranny fluid flush but he said gasket is still old. am thinking about getting tranny service done right away to replace with new gasket, clean pan, refill fluid.

engine or something still "jumps" when i stop at signal. i head a "thud" sound from bottom. am suspecting tranny now.

once i get tranny service, i need to think about taking this car for a long drive. maybe 150 miles roundtrip to see if that restores some mileage.

I don't know how many miles it has on it, but some people don't recommend doing a fluid flush or change beyond a certain extent, because sometimes it can do more harm than good. Does it shift weird at all? Things like the transmission slipping, being slow to go into gear, or shifting hard can be indicators that the transmission may have some issues.

Does the "jump" your describing feel more like it's trying to stall when you come to a stop, or does it feel like something is moving around? If it's trying to stall, it sounds like you may still have a sensor or ignition issue somewhere. You may still have a failing coil pack, even without it throwing a code. I had been having "jumps" occasionally too, but they weren't serious so I just ignored them. Eventually my coil pack did finally fail though, so I imagine those were just some warning signs beforehand.

I don't think a thud would be an indicator of imminent transmission failure, unless it has some of the symptoms I listed above. It's quite possible you could have a bad motor or transmission mount though, or possibly a failing suspension component.

thanks A33.

my car has 150k miles on it. do you think its not safe to do transmission service now? am hoping that this service would extend tranny life. don't want it fail on me in next few months i'm seeing this knock or thud only when i am idling or at low speeds. i'm seeing this only recently. i could tell this is different from other knocking i had for quite a while. after fuel injection service i don't get that knocking or hesitation anymore. this is new.

three front coils (small ones) are all same make. they all show nissan logo and part number next to it. costed quite a bit. maybe $80 a piece.

i feel like i should take this to a dealer. but am sure they'd rip like $1000 or more for diagnostics or whatever.

talked to a local auto shop who specializes in japanese cars. that guy says i30 only requires tranny oil change ($69) and there is no gasket or pan to clean!! is that true?? how come my other mechanic said it requires new gasket etc. this is so contradicting! i remember having that fluid replaced 3 or 4 years ago.

It appears as if it does not have a gasket from a quick search, so I would say the specialist knows what he's talking about. I personally use a foreign auto mechanic for my car, just because he specializes in imports and has a better general knowledge of them. I would say if you serviced your transmission within the past 3-4 years, then it would be perfectly safe to go ahead and do it again. I was only mentioning that if you didn't of any prior history of it being done.

I'd drop the car off with the local specialist you mentioned and see if he can diagnose it. I don't think the dealer would charge you a ridiculous amount to just diagnose it though, because diagnostic has nothing to do with the actual repair. I would say they might charge you around $100-200 to do a diagnosis, then inform you of what repairs need to be done. It's up to you at that point if you would like for them to continue or not.

Is the knock/thud consistent while the car is idling or a low speed, or does it repeat at all? Or does it just do it once and go away for a bit?

it is happening all the time at idle and low speed. its not going away. recurs every say 10s or so. i can time it next time.

reg gasket , i talked to dealer as well and he also said there is no gasket etc to replace. just drain old one, replace with new and put new "crush washer" or something. is that right name for part? don't know why my earlier mech said he has to replace gasket etc. reg leak, maybe he was talking about this leak at washer? if there is any such leak would i see the oil in my driveway? but someone did say that its a bit low in tranny fluid..like half quart or something ( i been taking this car to too many mechs lately)

I'm not sure on the noise without actually hearing it of course, but it really sounds like it may be a motor mount or something suspension related. It might even be a wheel bearing, but those are my only guesses there.

The "crush" washer is just a washer that goes around the drain plug, which you probably can pick up at a local auto parts store. You should see the fluid leaking onto the ground, but it may be such a small leak that it only loses fluid under pressure while driving. I'd try changing the fluid and washer, then just keep an eye on the fluid level for a while afterward.

I also would recommend finding a good mechanic that you can trust and stick with them, because i've done that myself in the past and it gets really confusing when you have work done by multiple people.

am going to see these new guys in few days. if they are good, i'll stick to them. will update this thread with what they find.

thank you.

seems to be coils. it happens consistently at low speeds.40mph. don't see at high speeds. i have 4 newer coils (replaced in 2009). other 2 in back aren't new. maybe they are going bad or already bad.

also my RPM meter acts weird. as soon as i stop giving gas it drops from 2000 to 1000.

Both mechanics are correct, depending on what tranny service you want. If he will just do a drain-and-refill, then it's just the crush washer on the drain plug (same as oil drain plug washer) that needs to be replaced. If your car has over 80K miles and no history of tranny flush, then no decent shop will flush it due to liability issue. It will be safer to just do a multiple drain-and-refill.

In all the cars I have, I do a pan drop to clean the magnets and replace filter, if necessary, on the 3rd year. As always, make sure you have the correct fluid level before initiating a drain and add fluid matching the amount drained. A new gasket is required before installing the pan (and crush washer for the drain plug). Per Nissan/Infiniti, the pan bolts are one-time use but other owners, including me, have re-used them without any problem. You can apply Loctite as needed. After the pan drop, I do multiple drain and refill - run engine for @ 100 seconds and then immediately drain. Perform this least 3 times (including the pan drop drain). I used to repeat this every 2 years thereafter but found it unnecessary. So instead of a pan drop, now I just do multiple drain and refill every 2 years. In fact, all the fluids in the cars are changed every 2 years. All 5 cars have original engine, transmission, coils and injectors.

So from above, your other mechanics is also correct. I suggest you do a pan drop and you will be surprised how much gunk has accumulated on the pan and magnets. Your filter will probably be dirty and need replacement. Please note that the mounting bolts for the filter have different lengths and one of them actually has a nut.

Nissan Matic-D is the recommended ATF but Dexron III (obsolete) or the newer Dexron VI will do the job. If using Dexron III, better add a bottle of Lubegard (Red) ATF Protectant.

As for the Knock Sensor, resistance should be @ 550K ohm. It usually failed-open. I have done KS replacement in the 97 and 99 I30 and the latter is harder to replace.

Thanks loystock.

One of the mechs said transmission fluid is still pinkish red so i might have done tranny service few years ago (don't have paperwork, but maybe i could call the shop and see if they still have it in their computer). but he said levels are a bit low and he asked me to put like a half-quart or so of tranny fluid while engine is running.

reg knock-sensor, did you mean that if it is failed part, it is open? replacing that is no fun. i could replace it by sliding my palm under that intake and usually end up with a minor bruise.

EDIT
----

called the AAA auto repair shop that did services on my car. i got transmission service (fluid flush and replace) at 90xxx miles in 2006. do you suggest i get fluid replaced again? or can i buy some good transmission fluid (at autozone) and refill upto the mark on that gauge? i don't suspect transmission. has to be my stupid coils. am going to replace coils 1 and 5 (3 is good. 2,4,6 too are good ones. paid over $80 a piece in 2009)

thanks folks.

with engine running, parking brake engaged and transmission in drive, i opened the hood and i could see whole intake shake (not gentle vibration) every 2 or 3 s. does that tell its bad coil(s)?

i'm getting some new coils. when i put the spark plugs, i applied dielectric grease around the thread (not at top) and slipped them in. do i have to put anything to coils as well?

thanks all

happy thanksgiving folks!

i replaced the 2 old coils and now i don't have that hesitation or shaking of throttle body. just when i thought all my problems are solved, i got SES light in the evening. i hooked up my obd 2 reader (Actron CP9125) and I got these:

6 codes

P1320, 0325, 1444, 1320 pending, 0325, 0325 pending, 1444 pending

in that order

and 4 MIL codes: catalyst, evap, O2 sensor, EGR

and 4 ready: misfire, fuel, comp, O2 Htr

this is freaking me out!! does it mean i was driving the car with faulty coils since last 2 years and that messed up the whole thing?!?! Dont know what "MIL" and "Ready" categories mean by that OBD reader. but they all sound like pretty serious issues.

I had 1320 and 0325 to start with wayback in 2009. thats when this whole thing started. i had no ses light since i took care of coils, spark plugs since. now with SES light on (no other lights are ON) i got all these at one time. its as if these bad coils or shaking (or hesitation) was stopping the SES light from coming on. interesting that the original 2 codes are repeated.

does it mean i should be ready to shell out a few grands or better start looking for another car?

when i dropped in new coils i forgot to hook up the harness plug back on top of rear coils (its not the coil but the the one that is right on top of rear coil). was driving around with that open. i just noticed that and plugged it back. will see if it goes away by itself.

my SES is back ON. this time with only 2 codes: P1320 and P1320 pending.

reg MIL and ready, old codes are still there:

and 4 MIL codes: catalyst, evap, O2 sensor, EGR

and 4 ready: misfire, fuel, comp, O2 Htr

does it mean that above components have already failed or are not working at optimal level.

thanks folks.

P1320 is more like a generic ignition system problem. It could be that you still have one or more coils that are performing below spec. Check/clean your ignition-related connectors. From my experience with Nissan/Infiniti, the condenser (capacitor) seldom fails. It's also possible that the problem may be due to failing/dirty crankshaft sensor. It can also be caused by poor grounding. Cleaning the main engine harness ground points is cheap and easy. For the 98 I30, just follow the main harness and near Cylinder 2 (front pax side) and adjacent to the intake plenum, you will find 2 ground wires bolted to the engine frame. Remove the ground leads and clean them, including the frame then apply dielectric grease. If problem persisted, perform power balance test. Shops have more sensitive equipment but you can do a basic test by disconnecting one coil-plug at a time and observing the engine behavior. A good cylinder, when disabled, will cause the engine to have rough idle. A bad cylinder will have less effect when disabled.

You can check the condition of the Ignition Coil. Refer to the link below, starting on page EC-329 for more info:

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/i30/1998_I30/ec.pdf

thanks loystock. i suspect the new coils. the other 4 are bought from kragen at $80 a piece. these are from ebay. they resent another set which are supposed to be hanshins. will see if these go away with those coils.

will try what you said and get back to thread.

hi all:

finally my engine jerking, pinging problems are gone. solution? factory coils. it is interesting why nissan had to put such stringent specs on these coils. if i put non OE coils, response seems to be good but it turns on "ignition signal primary" code rightaway. anyways, with original nissan coils there is no pinging at low or high speeds.

two other concern areas:

1. fuel efficiency: significant drop. its averaging 20-22mpg. since there is change of coils, would resetting or clearing computer make it adjust fuel injection? am hoping to see 25mpg for mixed highway and city driving. i have read someones post saying their mileage shot up to 29mpg after a long road trip. could it be bad O2 sensors? a mechanic was saying don't touch anything unless your SES light comes up and shows what is wrong.

2. i haven't done coolant flush on this one since i bought it in 98. been replacing coolant though. i hear quite a bit of noise while i drive (could it be fans at radiator?). i know for sure i didn't have any such noise earlier and it used to be very quiet while driving.

or should i just accept the fact its an old car and use it for another few years. its got 154K miles on it now.

thanks folks.

I'm glad your main problem has been fixed. For some reason, the VQ engine doesn't seem to like non-OEM coils. But others in the forum have used them without any problem. So it must be a matter of build quality from the vendor.

For the fuel mileage issue, make sure you check/clean the entire air intake - check replace air filter; clean the MAF sensor (CRC MAF Sensor cleaner will do); and the Throttle Body (use carb cleaner and spray on a rag but NEVER directly into the TB or butterfly valve). Also check the exhaust for leak, especially around the fittings. As suggested earlier, clean the main engine harness ground points.

It's really up to you to do a coolant flush or just drain the radiator and refill. And if you haven't serviced the engine drain plug, don't bother given the age of your car. You don't want to have a leak from that side.

You have to clarify what type of noise you're having - whining, ticking, etc. Do you have noise only with the AC on? You can use a mechanic's stethoscope to identify the problem (do not use on moving part).

hi loystock

i replaced air filter recently. cleaned MAF sensor 2 years ago when this whole pinging etc started. a mech cleaned bit of throttle body by spraying something onto a cloth and wiping inside the TB..past that flap. he said a more thorough cleaning is needed later. not sure if i could attempt this..dont want to mess up anything. maybe i'll consider that mech again.

i see that maintenance manual says 'replace coolant' every 50k miles or so. is draining radiator same as coolant flush. noise is continuous..not ticking. like some heavy fan. was wondering if that fan near radiator is on because coolant is not keeping it cool or something. will see if this happens even at idle. then i could take a video or something and post it somewhere.

thanks again.

Clean the MAF sensor again. I do mine every 2 years. Although it's not recommended by Nissan/Infiniti to clean the TB, you can safely do it provided you don't spray the cleaner directly into the TB or butterfly valve as the cleaner can seep into the sensors around the TB. Just like what your mechanic did, spray on the rag and then clean the TB housing and the the butterfly valve. Please note that in newer cars that has "drive-by-wire" like in the 03Q and 06M, such cleaning can damage the TB and related sensor, resulting in Idle Speed problem, requiring TB replacement (@ $500).

With engine off, check the cooling fan blades and housing for crack.

Loystock

Didn't clean MAF but I been noticing that mileage on pure highway isn't bad. but on city driving its very poor. steering wheel shakes at > 70mph. i didn't notice any cracks at the front. will see if i can take a video of noise, shaking i'm talking about.

thanks