1993 240SX Vert with bone stock engine

I'll be driving in town or cruising down the interstate and poof, the revs drop to "0" and it's off. I'll pull over and it will turn over but won't start. I've replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel injectors, plugs, plug wires, and dizzy and I STILL have this happen. It will start after letting it sit for 10+ min. usually, but last night left me high and dry and I got a ride home from a TN State Trooper. All help appreciated, I can't figure this out.

The hose off the top of the valve cover has a small tear in it.........I wanted to replace it and the guy at the parts place told me not to worry about it right now........LOL! It'd be great if that's why......which hose was torn on yours?

Quote, originally posted by drksolest »

HAHAHAHA THAT WAS SAME AS MINE! i changed it up n' it solved the problem

LMAO!!! I'm gonna go do that then...........and then drive over and smack that guy at the parts store

Thx! I'll let you know if that gets it

I thought IAC personally since I had that issue with my old VW, but we'll see. I replaced the hose and drove it home with no issues.......if this solves it I owe you a beer sometime

Quote, originally posted by drksolest »

let me know!!

Well..........that wasn't it.......we made it home fine, got some stuff done around the house for like half an hour.........go out to the car and turn the key and it won't start. Turns over fine again, but doesn't fire up. Hmmmmmmmm....anyone?

Not all who wander are lost.

FAQ/Write-up: S13 HVAC/climate control and dash switch light bulb replacement.

One Helluva deal: 2 S13 240SX hatches and huge parts cache for $1500

I can hear it priming, but maybe I should pull the line and see if it's spraying.....like I said though, sometimes it runs fine and other times it just dies or won't start for no apparent reason.

I tried IM'ing you about it, but it looks like you aren't signed on. It sounds stupid, but if it won't start, then it's either not getting air, fuel, spark, compression, or timing.

If it normally runs fine, but randomly dies and won't restart, you can pretty safely eliminate compression. I had a KA that liked to jump time and ultimately blew up on me. However, I had to manually reset the timing before it would restart. If the timing hasn't jumped, then you can eliminate that.

If you can pull the fuel rail away from the manifold, you can check for fuel spray when it isn't starting.

Christina brought up an interesting point. It could be your IACV. However, if it is, it should still start right up if you press on the accelerator to let some air go in. Air coming in from behind the MAF will screw with the sensors and might make it die. That's not too hard to check for though.

You might want to check your spark. It's possible you've got a coil that is crapping out.

Personally, my bet would be on fuel or spark. Either it's something simple (dying coil, fuel pump relay, etc.) or there might be some sensor causing the computer to cut the signal to the injectors or the coil.

P.S. Although there aren't a huge number of us, it looks like only the TN people have touched on this thread.

Just by that, it's spark...........it dies instantly and the revs drop extremely quick to 0..........no warning and it's already dead. I was assuming I wasn't getting spark since you hear it prime and can smell gas when it floods and it turns over and over but won't fire..........

I've got a new cap, new dizzy, and new wires already...........I'm guessing coil then.......

Hey Mathew, hope you r doing k... I haven't called cause i lost my phone last weekend (ya again) so call me when u get a chance. (new phone, no numbers)

I'll still get ya one next time I'm in Knoxville or if you are ever in the JC area...........just cus you motivated me to change that damn hose

I just went and got a new coil.............and let me be the first to say "DAMN THAT'S EXPENSIVE" along with all the other little parts that add up fast as hell.......another $100+ out the door.........had I not gotten the car for such a bargain I'd already be in buyer's remorse, but alas.......I love her, everytime I get behind the wheel(and she doesn't shut off) I get excited like I did the first time I ever drove a car that could actually handle fairly decent

Yup, full tank.

If you make it down to Knox, I'd like to drive out and see that vert. Then again, I might be headed toward JC/Boone after a while.

I kinda feel bad for you about the cost. If you were closer, I've got some extra parts I could have slapped on to check it.

I appreciate that! I swapped out the coil and guess what.............a day so far of trouble free driving

Let's see if it holds true! I think she may be better off now If it fully checks out, I'm road tripping to Memphis and back next week maybe to get the 5spd conversion I picked up. If so, maybe I can bring it down to Knoxville and get some help at someone's place doing the swap...........it would be a first for me

Quote, originally posted by EastTN240 »

I appreciate that! I swapped out the coil and guess what.............a day so far of trouble free driving Let's see if it holds true! I think she may be better off now If it fully checks out, I'm road tripping to Memphis and back next week maybe to get the 5spd conversion I picked up. If so, maybe I can bring it down to Knoxville and get some help at someone's place doing the swap...........it would be a first for me

I'm glad to hear it's working thus far. Hopefully that took care of it.

Memphis is one hell of a drive for a S13 5 speed swap unless you got a killer deal. Either way, I'd probably be down for helping out with the swap, depending on when you'd be doing it. Might even be able to use my driveway if I can get a car or two fixed and moving

I'll probably take you up on that bro! BUT.......it crapped out again........and left me stranded AGAIN! Some guy stopped and helped me with it, but he was under the impression it was the coil.......which I replaced yesterday......and still that brings me back to the question of why it's fine when I let it sit.......we have narrowed it down to the coil or anything before the coil on the harness.......could it be a bad ground? If so, pics of where I should check if you have 'em. Thanks for all the help guys/gals, this is just killin me though

I looked all through my service manual and the wiring diagrams. It looks like all the stuff for the ignition system goes through 2 grounds, F10 and F20.

F10 is toward the back of the engine, and it looks like it comes out of the same loom as the EGR and SCV solenoid plugs. FYI, those both are bolted to a vacuum manifold on the back of the head next to the firewall.

F20 is near the injectors. It looks like it comes out of the injector harness loom and bolts to the intake.

For what it's worth, I'd take both those loose and clean them really well. If you feel like digging the ECU out, I can get the pin #'s for everything in the ignition system so you can do a continuity check on the wires.

With as intermittent as the problem is, I'd lean toward wiring issues. If you're good with a multimeter, there are ways of checking just about everything on the car.

As an aside request for either of you with the problem if you're able to do it: The next time the car won't start back up, pull the distributor out and put the ignition in the run position. Disconnect the coil harness and spin the drive gear on the distributor and see if the injectors click. If they do, then plug the coil back in and pull the 10A fuel pump relay fuse. (I think it's the middle one in the bank of 3 in the underhood box.) Either use a neon tube spark checker (If you've got on) or an old plug grounded to the engine and see if it sparks while you're spinning the distributor.

If you're able to do the electrical checking, I'll provide any of the pinouts and locations my FSM's have. If you were closer, I'd throw in a hand.


Modified by qat727 at 6:48 PM 11/8/2008

Regardless, let me take a look around my car and see what might be causing the noise.

I still have to finish hooking up the wires and such, but I had to head to work (where I am now) and didn't want to rush anything. It's been an eventful day though and I'm feeling confident that this WILL fix it

To Zoom45: I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to get out and check my car yet. Things have been really hectic and it's been raining on and off for the past 3 or 4 days.

I did get to thinking about what you'd said, though. The noise you're describing could be coming from one of the vacuum solenoids, or it could be transferring from the IACV solenoid. If you can, use an extension or something to act as a hearing rod of sorts to see if you can identify what the sound is coming from. There are two solenoids behind the head, one for the SCV the other for the EGR. The IACV solenoid is on top of the bottom intake runner at the back.

As for the grounds, just because they're tight doesn't mean they're clean. It can't hurt to make sure they aren't corroded underneath. It's unlikely, but not unheard of.

BTW... You don't have an alarm, do you? LOL

I looked back over all the diagrams again. The only thing I can find that might cause it would be loose wiring in the coil circuit or the ECU. I'm not sure if the ECU has some sort of programming to kill voltage to the coil under certain circumstances. I know there are fuel pump shutdown circuits. I haven't seen any documentation of an ignition shutdown circuit on these cars, but it's possible the ECU is causing the problem.

Another possibility is a partially broken wire in the ignition circuit. If it was in contact most of the time, but under certain vibrations came loose, it could cause it. The only problem with these ideas is that they're difficult if not impossible to test for. I hate to say it, but you might have to rip the car apart and start working on the harness.

PS-I'd like to see this clean vert

Modified by EastTennBimmin at 2:18 PM 11/20/2008

Have you verified that the engine is in time? Have you tried ether?