Hello,
Short background, I have wanted an engine out of a Q since I was in HS to swap into my Frontier I had at the time. Here 9 years later I now have the whole car. The purpose for the car is for Hill Climb racing (a buddy of mine and I have a friendly wager based around a $500 car and I figured what better way to destroy him than with a 4.5L all aluminum V8?) Anyway, the car is rough (I paid $500 for it) but it does run, and seems to drive decently, however it has a very rough idle, and has no power until 4K rpms than it runs like a raped ape. So after alot of searching and finding this site along with q45.org I pulled to codes from the ECU and ohmed out pontential offenders. Both KS's are definitely bad, (yay valley of death) and one injector ohm's out as being open, but isn't throwing a code, and the CEL isn't lit.


I suppose it's also important to mention that it is a 93, that supposedly (according to a page I found somewhere on the interwebs) should have the metal backed timing chain guides(I do know there is no noise from engine that would indicate a failure on that part)
So my questions are:
1. What else should I look at?
2. Should I be worried about the injector since there is no code from the ECU?
3. Is the NICO ECU still available? (I see it mentioned everywhere but haven't found it for sale anywhere.)

Thanks in advance!

If you know that both KS are dead it sounds like you ohm tested them at the connector. Which injector is bad? What is the ohm reading? You probably know that 1, 2, and 8 FI can be replaced without removing the intake? NICO ECU is available from our moderator Wes. You can contact him at [email protected].

Yes, I ohm tested at the connector, one tested at 430 kOhm and the other tested open. Injector number 6 tested open all others where 12.6 +-.1. I should also note that the rought idle smooths out (completely) at 2500 rpm. I will send Wes an e-mail thanks!

Welcome to NICO!

One thing to note is varmints/rodents like to chew up knock sensor wires. When I performed my mid-life refresh a few years ago, I found the KS harness had been eaten for lunch with only one strand of wire still holding.

I've seen KS codes on other Nissans be thrown as "Ghost Codes" that accompany other codes from like O2 sensors. Once the other code is corrected the "Ghost Code" will then disappear.

Do you know if your injectors are Phase II or Phase I?



If you are looking to use your Q as a racer, you might be able to rule out the KS issue like the owner of this Q in this picture did by mounting the KS to the intake plenum.

Note I snapped this pic from a salvage yard Q that was on the way to the crusher. As IBM would say, results may be unpredictable.

Interesting, I assume this would be just a dummy KS at that point and wouldn't really detect a knock? Also I started it up yesterday and the rough idle was gone, maybe the injector came back to life after having some good (non-ethanol) fuel run through it and sitting in it? I have no idea which injectors I have, how can I tell?

The injector pics in this instruction look like Phase 2 to me.. I remember my Phase 1s had a different looking cap and plug.

http://www.q45.org/plenum.html

I haven't had a chance to play with the Injector or KS yet, I have however removed the interior and many luxo bits and have shaved 700lbs from the car without removing AC or the HVAC system/dash and I haven't begun to strip excess sheetmetal yet, with any luck I will be around 2900 lbs race weight!

Another thought, could one just replace the KS with a 550kohm resistor for testing purposes? Or is it a more dynamic sensor than that?

Qclimber, Whether I missed it or not an we see some pics of the beast!

Here it is with my fellow competitors, I'm affraid the poor saps don't stand a chance!

OwnerCS wrote:Welcome to NICO!

One thing to note is varmints/rodents like to chew up knock sensor wires. When I performed my mid-life refresh a few years ago, I found the KS harness had been eaten for lunch with only one strand of wire still holding.

I've seen KS codes on other Nissans be thrown as "Ghost Codes" that accompany other codes from like O2 sensors. Once the other code is corrected the "Ghost Code" will then disappear.

Do you know if your injectors are Phase II or Phase I?



If you are looking to use your Q as a racer, you might be able to rule out the KS issue like the owner of this Q in this picture did by mounting the KS to the intake plenum.

Note I snapped this pic from a salvage yard Q that was on the way to the crusher. As IBM would say, results may be unpredictable.

I too have a code 34. Is the relocation really viable?

Is that a joke?!?

No that relocation is not viable. Get it overwith and do it the right way.