2000 I30 won't start

[hernonm]

I resolved a fuel pump issue which basically was a hard-starting issue. Seem the fuel filter was clogged (replaced with a new one) or the rubber grummet was not seated correctly. The car would now start immediately on the first turn which was a relief however the first time it started it was running very very rough, so I called it a night and went to bed. The next morning it fired right up and wasn't running rough at all however the engine light was one.

That night I drove it on the highway hoping to re-cycle the engine light and all was well until I got off the highway, pulled over, let the car idle for 5 mins started driving again and the car started stumbling and I pulled it over and it stalled. All the lights went on include the TCS, SLIP and engine light and alternator. It would then not start (felt like it was about to but didn't) and had to get it towed home.

I read that seeing the TCS, SLIP and engine light is a sign of a bad alternator. My question is, would a bad alternator prohibit the car to start. Note, the battery is brand new and lights look good, etc.

I bought an ECM code reader and had the following codes:

1320 - Ignition Signal
0180 - Fuel Tank Temperature Sensor
0464 - Fuel Level Sensor Circuit

I cleared the codes and got it running again for 10 seconds or so and it stalled. Now I only get 1320. One thing to note is that the starter is starting to go, I hear a wine on occasion when I turn it off, but I don't think this is effecting the car starting. I verified I was getting a spark (had wife turn the car over while one plug was out resting against a ground). I then pulled a plug and it was wet and smelt of gas however, it wasn't a clear wetness it was dark, slightly oily in nature. I pulled all the plugs and this was consistent (darkish, wet, in nature). I decided to check the pressure and they all were roughly in the 170 range (one was a bit lower). So, perhaps this is normal and seeing it was running fine a month ago, I am going to rule this out as the culprit for now.

It sounds liked 1320 is the tell-tail sign of coil-pack failure, so I am considering replacing all of them with OEM ones (as I have seen other say don't go with aftermarket on coil-packs).

So, i'm frustrated and stumped and not sure where to go from here...recommendations of next steps?

Thank you in advance.

[loystock]

You have a classic symptom of a failing alternator and need to be replaced. But before doing so, make sure the alternator wiring is intact (no crossed wires) and connections secure, battery cables are good (no corrosion) and connections are clean and tight.

P1320 is ignition problem. Hopefully, it goes away when the alternator problem is fixed. If it persisted, try cleaning the main engine harness ground connections first. Then you can do a basic Power Balance Test by disconnecting one coil pack/ignition coil one at a time and observing engine response (in a good cylinder, engine RPM will drop and and idle becomes rough(er)). Some scan tools can selectively disable a cylinder but the better Power Balance tools are only available in dealership/shop.

[hernonm]

Thanks loystock for your quick response, it is much appreciated. So a few questions for you:

1) You say 'classic symptom of failing alternator'. Are you saying that based off my comments of the car suddenly die'ing and the TCS, SLIP and engine lights all coming on? When I googled those symptoms before I did see reference about it being a failed alternator.

2) With a brand new battery, wouldn't the car still start with a failed alternator? I thought the alternator only is responsible for 'charging' the battery while the car is running and the car is initially started off the battery.

3) Do you recommend an OEM alternator or an after-market (ie. autozone)? What ampage? I saw some posts about not using after-market and going strictly with OEM, then I saw other posts saying after market were fine. I want to avoid second guessing. :-)

One od side note, was that during the cylinder pressure testing, the car fired up a few times and quickly stalled. I found it ironic I had more luck firing up the car on 5 cylinders then 6. Note sure it really means anything..

Yes, once I do get it going I can narrow the faulty coil-pack as you indicated however I was thinking that I amy look to buy the whole set and be done with it! From what I have read, everyone strongly recommends the OEM coil packs which are obviously a lot more pricey, but once again, I'd like to avoid second guessing. It seems these cars a very temperamental.

-M

[loystock]

Thanks loystock for your quick response, it is much appreciated. So a few questions for you:

1) You say 'classic symptom of failing alternator'. Are you saying that based off my comments of the car suddenly die'ing and the TCS, SLIP and engine lights all coming on? When I googled those symptoms before I did see reference about it being a failed alternator.
-Yes!

2) With a brand new battery, wouldn't the car still start with a failed alternator? I thought the alternator only is responsible for 'charging' the battery while the car is running and the car is initially started off the battery.
-You are right, battery is used for starting the car. But the ECU has to control the engine parameters to keep it going. Crazy things do happen when the alternator is on the way out.

3) Do you recommend an OEM alternator or an after-market (ie. autozone)? What ampage? I saw some posts about not using after-market and going strictly with OEM, then I saw other posts saying after market were fine. I want to avoid second guessing. :-)
-For alternator, I suggest you stick with OEM. One time, I have to replace a non-OEM 3 times until I got it working. Best place to buy OEM parts is IoS (Infiniti of Scottsdale) with 25% discount off MSRP and no tax if you live outsize Arizona. See pricing below., IoS and Autozone.

http://www.infinitipartsusa.com/partloc ... atalogid=0

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/ ... eetpZ9ci9i

One od side note, was that during the cylinder pressure testing, the car fired up a few times and quickly stalled. I found it ironic I had more luck firing up the car on 5 cylinders then 6. Note sure it really means anything..
-It's difficult to say. Maybe one cylinder is dragging down the engine...don't know

Yes, once I do get it going I can narrow the faulty coil-pack as you indicated however I was thinking that I amy look to buy the whole set and be done with it! From what I have read, everyone strongly recommends the OEM coil packs which are obviously a lot more pricey, but once again, I'd like to avoid second guessing. It seems these cars a very temperamental.
-others have had no problem with non-OEM coils. But personally, I'll go for OEM. But you are the car owner...your call.

-M

[hernonm]

Well I pulled the alternator and checked it at three places:

1) Autozone, checked it twice said it was good
2) Advanced Auto parts, said it was bad but it never looked like the machine spun up the alternator correctly
3) Pep boys, they told me it was fine.

So, ugggggggggg, not sure what I should do. Advanced said they heard a bearing in it going bad, when you spin it you can here a very faint whining noise....

Any suggestions? Don't want to dump $160, aftermarked or $300 OEM on a part that doesn't look bad....

Thanks!!!!

[Fezzik]

Another thing. Your coil packs should have a color dot on them. What color is it?

[hernonm]

HI there, thanks for responding. I was about to "bump" this thread to get additional feedback.

So, I don't hink they have a dot on them at all, I will check but I will bet they are the original OEM coil packs. Car has 110k on it.

I have been borrowing my dads caddy all summer so I decided to put this headache of a car aside but now I need to get back to it. My plan is to test the coil packs with a meter to see if they all ready consistently the same. This may cause one to standout as a problem. Once I do that I'll post and let everyone know.

Thanks

[Fezzik]

There was a coil pack issue around that time. Most coilpacks have a color code on them. If memory serves me correctly a yellow pack is the ones that were not great and were replaced with green dot coils. This was the case with my 2000 maxima which has the same engine as yours.

[hernonm]

Thanks man. Yes, I have read a lot of issues of coil pack issues with this year Maxima / I30. My brother has a 2000 was driving down the highway and it stalled, got it towed, etc...was a coil pack, was replaced and no it's running.

I guess I just don't want to buy coil packs and cross my fingers, would be nice to know that was the problem.

From what I have read P1320 is indicative of a faulty coil pack.

One question I do have to everyone is I see a lot of posts about "ground issue", "cleaning the grounds", this car was never garaged and has a lot of underside rust (not under the hood per se), where do I look to clean connections?

Thanks

[Fezzik]

You will see wires connected to the actual body / fender areas of the car. Most of the time the gauge wire is small (that's why there are grounding kits out there) But if a car that has sat outside a long time, then the area can get corroded. Just unscrew the ground bolt and clean the ground wire and the metal where the ground attaches with a brillow pad until corrosion is gone.

[hernonm]

So I checked the ground cables, both were between the fender and the headlight, one each side. They didn't look rusted or bad at all, but cleaned and wire brushed them. How many total grounds are there?

I also bought a device that visually shows if you are getting a spark or not. You plug it into the coil pack like a spark plug and turn the engine over and you can see the spark jump. I checked all 6 and the spark looks great. Does this indicated the coil packs are OK?

Also, I used an ohm meter checking two of the pins on each coil pack (the only two pins that showed a reading) and all the coil packs where in a very consistent range. Not sure that tells me a lot or not, I have seen some say (online) it does tell if a coil pack is good or not and other say it's not completely deterministic. Any thoughts?

I only see ONE coil pack with a white dot, the rest don't have 'any' dot on them. Makes me think, perhaps one was replaced.

The car did start a few times.....seems to be running strong for 5-10 seconds then sputters out. When this happened the batter light remained on and the engine light went on, however I don't get any code when I read it with a scanner which seems very strange.

Any thoughts overall? Verifying a good spark, does that rule out the camshaft position sensor and the crankshaft position sensor I was thinking of replacing both of these next but don't want to throw away money. Unfortuatenly, I think I am at the "throwing parts at it" stage .....uggggggg hate this car

Thanks for the feedback