A little help with this one

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Gerardjg
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The wife called this morning and said her 97 J died pulling out of the drive way, she restarted the car drove a few blocks while slowing down for a light it shut off again . She again restarted and brought it back home. I got home checked all the fuses.checked fuel pump operation and started the car. I drove it about 30 miles highway and street wot to about 85 with no problems. Stopped at auto zone to check for any codes there were none. Less then 2000 miles ago Plugs air cleaner and fuel filter were changed(All OEM), MAF cleaned and BG44ked. There was about 1/8 a tank of gas in the car , I refilled after the test drive.Any thoughts
Modified by Gerardjg at 6:02 AM 5/25/2008


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driverdriver
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Bad gas?

Similiar thing happend to me in a non J30 awhile ago. My mechanic blamed the gasoline, I strayed from normal habit and bought gas at an independent instead of my local Sunoco.

Gerardjg
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That is what I was thinking

Gerardjg
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Worked fine all day today, I will change the fuel filter for precautionary measures

Leuthesius
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Might be that the strainer on the fuel pump is clogged. Sometimes when the tank gets low, all of the crap in the tank gets sucked in. You could possibly have to replace the pump sometime in the future.

Gerardjg
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It happened again today I will replace the pump

Gerardjg
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Replaced the Fuel Pump, fuel filter, Cleaned the tank ( not by choice I dropped the O ring in there and had to siphon out the fuel to get it) Cleaned MAF-Throttle bodies. I used it all week to get to work. No problems The wife used it today to go shopping and says it died waiting at a red light restarted and ran fine the rest of the trip.
Modified by Gerardjg at 6:09 AM 5/25/2008

GerryO
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Were there any signs of contaminated gas in the tank, strainer or fuel filter?

How warm or cold is the engine when it stalls and how old is the thermostat?

How is the idle (smooth or rough), what is the engine rpm speed at idle, and how about the timing? Does the engine die suddenly or does it die slowly. Are there any signs of/sounds indicating a vacuum leak?

Check the connections to the camshaft position sensor?

I know that the engine definitely will idle on four cylinders and possbily even three, so the problem is something that is affecting everything at once.

Does your wife rountinely run the air conditioner and are there now any stored ECM codes?

How old is your battery and have you cleaned the terminals and cable connections?

It sounds like the issues are associated with idling, stopping and starting. A better test than driving the car might be to repeatedly shift from drive to reverse, and vice versa, with the enging at idle, and to sit with your foot on the brake and the transmission in DRIVE with the engine at idle, while also noting the engine temperature.

Gerardjg
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The tank and strainer and filter were clean, we are in Florida so the air is always on, I tried the reverse drive about ten times on a cold engine and again after a 30 mile trip, I could not get it to stall. That was yesterday, this morning I started the car and it started fine after about 2 minutes of running in the garage the idle dropped to about 150 and then came back up to normal. That is the closest I have came to it happening with me in the car, it worked fine after that.

Not sure of thermostat age temps are the same as my 95 JIt only happens on a cold engine (just happened after 50 miles of driving)it dies quickly like you turned off the ignition I am toldBattery is less then 6 months newNo codes just got back from auto zone.

Idle info

Cold start 1100 for about 45 seconds1000 for another minute950 with AC on6-650 with AC offno roughness

While switching between Reverse and drive the idle drops to 650 as the shifter is moved and back to normal once in gear with AC on.No noticeable change with AC off
Modified by Gerardjg at 6:10 AM 5/25/2008

93jdirty'
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That has happend to me a few times and it was the battery not at full charge.

Gerardjg
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Battery test good alternator putting out 14.6 volts, It finally happened to me today I have used it all week for my work commute with no problems, Today I started it and it the idle went to 1000 and then the car just shut off. I restarted the car and drove 30 miles with no problems, I had to take a 20 mile highway trip at lunch time cruise on doing 65 all of a sudden the rpm dropped to about 700 and came right back ok for the rest of the trip. I got off of the highway and at the first light i stopped at the car died. Restarted and the rest of the trip and return was uneventful. When I got home slowed down to pull in the driveway and it died again. I guess i have some trouble shooting ahead of me any ideas would be greatly appreciated
Modified by Gerardjg at 5:55 AM 5/25/2008

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j30t_Dan
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T belt. Mine dies out sometimes when theres load on the engine.

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edgartheace
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It might be your PTU. They tend to cause the car to shut off the car when they start to go bad. When they heat up, car dies, PTU cools down while the car is off then cuts right back on when it cools, only to die again down the road.

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driverdriver
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What's PTU?

GerryO
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Pretty much the same engine...

90-96 Nissan 300zx Power Transistor Unit - PTU



Item# 22020-97E25Regular price: $225.00Your price: $170.00Product DescriptionThe Nissan 300zx Power Transistor Unit controls the spark going to the engine. Most older cars or Jspec engines have the older Power Transistor Unit that was recalled in the US. If you have the older unit with the Aluminum fins it is a very good idea to change it out for this updated unit.
Modified by GerryO at 11:30 PM 5/23/2008

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NASCARLANCE
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I was having a simular problem with mine dying like that. It seemed to me that it would happen most of the time when I was off throttle, like at a red light or while coasting to get into the turn lane. It would not run rough or hesitate, the engine would just slowly die without me even noticing it was happening.My problem was a vacuum line was off. It was the line that ran from the EGRC-solenoid valve (on the middle of the passenger side of the engine) to the air intake duct. It had came out of the bottom of the air duct and if I had not been looking for a vacuum line being off, I would not have ever noticed it. It plugs into the very bottom off the flex elbow on the passenger side of the air intake duct.I put it back in and it hasn't died since. Your problem could be something completely different, but it sounds simular to the problem that I was having. Check your vacuum lines before you spend a lot of money, maybe you'll get lucky.

Gerardjg
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I will be checking everything sometime over this weekend on and off, I have 2 Js so if I don't find any thing obvious I will swap PTUs, Could it be the Timeing belt as stated above??? The car just hit a hundred and I Am planning a change this summer when the wife is off, I opened the covers and it looks brand new but will still do the change over her summer vacation.

So Far today Ohmed Injectors and coil packs all within rangePulled plugs They all had a slight carbon build up so I will replace them probably from the BG intake cleaner I used last week

Gerardjg
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The saga continues

Swapped PTUs from my other J same problemthe rest of what I did yesterday

Using Multimeter and FSM all below checked ok Fuel Pump control module (Pump was 1st item I replaced)Idle Air control valve-(also cleaned)throttle position sensorECCS RelayFuel Pump Relay (both relays a bi_ch to get to)Injectorscoil packsO2 sensorsKnock Sensor

also checked all vacuum hoses for leakscleaned all groundsreplaced plugs with PFR5G11

We used the car last night started fine the first stop sign we came to it diedrestarted at the next red light it died, restarted drove 40 miles highway and street no problems.

The ECM Connector on this car has no mount bolt the shaft is sheared off in the box it was held tight with 2 tie wraps wondered what the tie wraps were for when I removed the trim. - that is how I put it back together I could not get the stud to come out using vice grips. with car idling I smacked the box and connector with no issues.

I am going to get a BG fuel injector cleaning next


Gerardjg
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First start this morning Idle hunted up and down and lots of white smoke for about 30 seconds then everything back to normal. I had to run a bunch of errands 4 different stores highway and street no issues at all??

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metaverse3
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Check the MAF.. Especially the grounding points...

Gerardjg
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Running out of things to check, still stalling when I come to a stop but after the first time it happens for that trip it runs great bumper to bumper with no issues. Shut it off restart and the first or second light it dies again restart and it runs great for miles. This weekend I will change the IACV if that is not it I guess it is dealership time.

I am still not ruling out bad gas when this all began I was topping the tank off everyday 2-3 gallons hoping to mix good with bad. I did some research and it seems the best thing is to let the tank run as low as you can, refill add some fuel dryer and change the filter. I am at about 1/4 of a tank now so tomorrows commute I will gas up on the way home and change the filter again.

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driverdriver
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Are you getting a lot of water vapour (white smoke that eventually dissipates) while your car runs? You think you may have (a lot of) condensation in the tank?

Gerardjg
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driverdriver wrote:Are you getting a lot of water vapour (white smoke that eventually dissipates) while your car runs? You think you may have (a lot of) condensation in the tank?
Just when I first start it until it warms up (BTW did you get my email)

Gerardjg
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I cleaned the egr tubes which were clogged and did the BG fuel rail flush, also ran the prior tank of gas down till the light came on and refilled. Problem seems be be gone 4 days now with heavy usage and the car is running better.


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NASCARLANCE
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Are you still running good?I'm glad you got problem sorted out if so.

Gerardjg
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NASCARLANCE wrote:Are you still running good?I'm glad you got problem sorted out if so.
Well I have been using it as a daily driver since my last post about 8 dayseverything was running beautiful until today. I started the car at work and it stalled. restarted drove about 3 miles waiting for a light it stalled again. Restarted her drove about 10 miles on the interstate at 70 ish and another 10 in bumper to bumper with no issues at all.

GerryO
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Hi,

Did you ever identify the source(s) of your stalling problem?

The manual lists the following diagnostic procedures for:

#43 - Engine Stalls when Turning#44 - Engine Stalls when Engine is Hot#45 - Engine Stalls when Engine is Cold#46 - Engine Stalls when Stepping on Accelerator Momentarily#47 - Engine Stalls after Decelerating#48 - Engine Stalls when Accelerating or Cruising#49 - Engine Stalls when Electrical Load is Heavy

I suppose you could check them all and haven't read them all to see what/how much they have in common, equipment wise.

Good luck.


Gerardjg
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I think I did some of the procedures twice In the last 7 days about 400 miles it only happened once. The last 3 days it ran beautiful. When it happens It is right after starting after it sits 4 or more hours and or coming to a stop at about 1-3mph.

Other things tried, I swapped fuel pumps, ignition control module, Fuel pump control module and resistor. It is good having 2 Js but the problem stayed with the 97.I replaced the fuel pump relay and IACV with a new OEM because I had one. everything else I have done is posted above. I may just do all the injectors in August when I do the timing belt. Maybe one is sticking or failing

f-dss
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Any update on this? I am having the exact same symptoms and with a smog check coming up I need to get on this. Thanks

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kbflip02
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f-dss wrote:Any update on this? I am having the exact same symptoms and with a smog check coming up I need to get on this. Thanks
pull the codes off the ECU first(it says how to check them on a sticky)and then post topic for what the problem code is...


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