Hi, everyone. This is my first post. I searched the forum pretty thoroughly to find out how to check the ignition coils on a 1993 Mxima SE. This is the DOHC engine. I have located the "Ignition Coil" under the hood and removed the black cover. Underneath are three coils, but am unable to remove the colored caps above them. I need to check them for visible cracks as I likely need to replace my coils. I understand there are three front and three rear coils; does anyone know where the other three are located?

Thank you for any help you can give,Tom in NJ

Please take a picture of what you took out or took apart. It sounds more like you took apart the ignition module (flat black plastic thing).

There are 3 coil packs easily accessible in the front. The coil packs are directly attached to each spark plug. The 3 in the rear are a little more difficult because they are mounted in the silver upper intake plenum. The fronts have one 10mm bolt and the rears have 2, IIRC. Once you remove the bolts and release the electrical connection, you just pull up on the entire black assembly and it the rubber releases from the spark plug.

If you look at my picture, there are three right above the red "V6 3000" emblem and the other three are in the silver plenum, just below my chrome strut tower brace.



Usually cracks occur on the front coil packs and are visible in the black plastic and the cracks will run up and down.

I will warn you that a lot of problems with coil packs cannot be determined by looking at them or even testing them. They will fail UNDER LOAD, which means they test fine, but when you put a load on them (like at full acceleration) they will fail. This happened to me. One of my rear ones was bad. It looked new, tested fine and my car kept stalling under heavy acceleration.

::not meaning to thread jack but...::

When you say stalling...do you mean like complete engine shut down or just lack of power??

Because @ full acceleration, mine sort-of dies as if its lacking fuel...its still goes but there is a sever drop in power, it might sputter in a out and then it kicks back in as if I just floored it.

::Again...sorry...lol::

Thank you for your reply!Where are some reliable places to buy Ignition Coils for these 1993 Maxima SE cars (DOHC engines)? I've seen ones on eBay where they visually check pulled coils from various Maximas and rate them in "good" condition. Then there is Nissan itself which quoted me $700 for all six to be replaced with brand new ones. Is there an after-market brand I can buy at an auto store or web site brand new?

Thank you again, and I apologize if these questions have been answered here before.

-Tom i NJ

Several days ago, my car would not start at all. I took my Mom's car to work (thankfully she was home at the time and didn't need her car). My Dad later came home and was able to start my car after two attempts. He said it seemed to be starving for gas. Now it starts OK with a little bit of hesitation. The car shudders at stops, so I put it in neutral (automatic transmission). Lately, it is awful accelerating at lower speeds (0 to 25) but once moving, it still flies! I've been very easy on it lately.

It also has had bad emissions the past year or so, as it has not been burning all of the fuel cleanly, most likely due to the bad coils. I will also be replacing my spark plugs again.

Thanks,Tom

PBfrEAk_240sx wrote:::not meaning to thread jack but...::

When you say stalling...do you mean like complete engine shut down or just lack of power??

Because @ full acceleration, mine sort-of dies as if its lacking fuel...its still goes but there is a sever drop in power, it might sputter in a out and then it kicks back in as if I just floored it.

::Again...sorry...lol::

Two other things to check are the MAF (mass airflow sensor) and the PCV valve (positive crankcase ventilation valve). The shuddering at stoplights sounds like it could be the PCV. The other problems sound like a MAF.

Thank you! Is the MAF (mass airflow sensor) also called the Air Mass Sensor? I found a Bosch air mass sensor for $492 just now. The PCV valve is only like $14.

I still think I need a new set of front coils and am considering buying a single front coil to locate the bad coil by process of elimination. These front coils are upwards of $100 a piece for new aftermarket. I seem to only be finding Front Right and Front Left but no Front Center (I need 3 coils for the front). Sorry, I'm just a learning about these particular parts.

-Tom

zerothread/219453

Check the faq as well. I posted a how to on checking ignition coils. You could check them under full load (full throttle stall) [be really careful].

Yes, the MAF is the mass air sensor. $492 is really spendy. You can buy the sensor without the housing from the dealership for around $250. You will need a security bit to remove it, but that is definitely the cheaper route to go. Just make sure you don't touch the element.

If you aren't sure about some of these parts, like the MAF sensor, you might want to try picking up a used one cheap to see if that is the problem. Almost $500 is very steep, probably 1/5 or 1/4 the value of your entire car.

On you can usually find one for under $50 shipped. They are all the same on 3rd gens, 89-94 regardless of engine. Yes, it will be used, but the cost is so much less, it's worth a try, at least to me.

I would also recommend checking for ECU codes, but one of the crappy things about OBD1 cars is they don't seem to want to throw codes very often. Of all the problems I have had over the years, I can only remember one code for the coolant temp sensor.

As for the coil packs, I can't recall anyone ever having a problem with ones bought from a parts store like NAPA, Autozone, etc. I would just start calling around and finding the best deal.

CHRIS, PLEASE DON'T LINK TO COMPETING FORUMS.

PBfrEAk_240sx wrote:::not meaning to thread jack but...::

When you say stalling...do you mean like complete engine shut down or just lack of power??

Because @ full acceleration, mine sort-of dies as if its lacking fuel...its still goes but there is a sever drop in power, it might sputter in a out and then it kicks back in as if I just floored it.

::Again...sorry...lol::

That sounds pretty much like what mine did. Sometimes it would kind of "buck" or shake, then the tack would drop down to zero and sometimes jump right back up. Kind of crazy.

There was a huge thread on several years ago about this (bucking and stalling on a VE engine). It seems like in almost all cases it was faulty coil packs.

The crappy thing about it is that new coil packs are so expensive, it is hard for most people to justify buying them.

TomRoach wrote:Thank you! Is the MAF (mass airflow sensor) also called the Air Mass Sensor? I found a Bosch air mass sensor for $492 just now. The PCV valve is only like $14.

I still think I need a new set of front coils and am considering buying a single front coil to locate the bad coil by process of elimination. These front coils are upwards of $100 a piece for new aftermarket. I seem to only be finding Front Right and Front Left but no Front Center (I need 3 coils for the front). Sorry, I'm just a learning about these particular parts.

-Tom

If you've got a failing coil, you may see that the spark plug for that cylinder looks different from the others. The tip of a misfiring plug is going to be more sooty and oily than a happy spark plug, which should be a light gray color.

FINALLY!!! haha...see I've been called crazy by some of my mechanically inclined family because my car didn't do it all the time...so they all thought I was just nuts...

but yea thats exactly what it does...so its the coil packs ehh??

Now I do have the VG not the VE but I would assume the same problem probably occured in both engines or would it be a different problem in the VG?

As far as it being worth it...I love my car and I'm seriously considering a turbo so if I go that route I will get it fixed...

Thank you SO much for your input.

Oh you wouldn't happen to know if that thread was archived do you? or a link to it?