2000 Pathfinder Starts and Stalls Immediately

[Innominate]

Hello all, new guy on the block.

I have an issue with my 2000 Pathfinder XE where the engine cranks and starts for a split second before stalling. I took it to a mechanic and they wanted around $900 to place the plugs, the wiring, and the distributor. Deciding that was too much of an investment I instead decided to try and work on it on my own.

So I replaced the distributor hoping that would be the issue (the rotor looked worn) but the issue still persists. From what I've read the ignition coil as well as the CAM sensor reside in the distributor, so we can take those out of the equation. The mechanic also tested the fuel pump and MAF which they said were good, so those are also not the issue.

I also tried connecting the negative terminal to the positive to reset the car but still no luck.

Does anyone have any idea on what it could be? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[NismoPick]

Step 1: Check OBD-II codes.

[Innominate]

Sorry, should've mentioned that there is no check engine light nor are there any OBD-II codes.

[4xq]

Fuel,air,spark.

Shoot some starting fluid down the snout. If you can keep it running for several seconds on that, you have some type of fuel pressure / delivery issue. No start confirms ignition problem of some type. With no codes, its kind of a crapshoot as to what the issue may be.

I would probably try a crankshaft position sensor if starting fluid does not work, given that you have a new distributor in it. But its a guess, altho not a real expensive one.

[rgk]

As 4xq stated, this is often the cause of a fuel delivery issue. In my case, it was an empty fuel tank. However, it can also be caused by a vacuum leak. Check all hoses upward of the MAF, and don't forget to inspect the air duct to the throttle body. Make sure it's on there tight. In extreme cases, an improperly seated manifold can also be the culprit.

[atraudes]

Cleaning the MAF and hooking up a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel rail would be good first steps as well. I could see a dead fuel pump being the culprit. You can usually borrow a pressure gauge from an auto parts store.

[Innominate]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll give them a try this weekend.

The shop I took it to ruled out the MAF and the fuel pump, but who knows.

[Innominate]

I had someone come check out the car yesterday. He did some trick where he rapidly turned the key back and forth, thereby "resetting"... something, and causing the puel pump to push more fuel in.. or something like that, this was kind of above my head.

Anyway THAT got the engine running for a good few seconds, but then it cut off again. Does that rule anything out? I'd suspect that would be in line with what the mechanic said about ruling out the fuel pump, right? Is there anything else that tells me as far as ruling anything out?

[rgk]

It sounds like he performed an ECU reset, which doesn't rule anything out.

Since you didn't mention it, I'll assume you never tried spraying starting fluid or checking for spark. These are the quickest and easiest ways of narrowing your options, so try them and report back.

[rgk]

Sorry, I meant checking for spark or testing your fuel pressure.

You can check for spark by removing a spark plug wire, putting a spare spark plug in it, and holding it with insulated pliers a quarter of an inch from the chassis. Have an assistant crank the engine and watch for a bright blue spark jump between the plug and the chassis. For added protection you can wear insulated (rubber) gloves. The ignition coil provides 40k-100k volts, so be careful.

Another way to check for spark is to remove the intake hose upstream of the MAF sensor and spray starter fluid while an assistant cranks the engine. If the car attempts to start, and runs while you spray fluid, you have spark. If you have spark, then you either don't have fuel pressure, or do have a huge air leak.

To test the fuel pressure, you can rent a fuel pressure gauge from an auto parts store. I'm not sure about your Pathfinder, but for my 3.5L R50, the recommended place to affix the gauge is just after the fuel filter. Ask the auto parts store guys for more info.

[Innominate]

Here's something I just noticed. The security light, instead of blinking like normal, actually STAYS ON when I try to crank my SUV. I just remembered that I might've hit the RFID chip inside the key when I was trying to drill a new hole for a keyring (the top part that hold it to the keyring broke off), so I think I damaged the RFID chip and as a result the immobilizer is being engaged and cutting the car off at start. Does that seem plausible? I don't have a spare to test with.

[4xq]

Yep, sounds like you are onto something. Read the link here:
http://www.justanswer.com/nissan/1rc2s- ... start.html

You can try the "reset" procedure described in that post. If you try the reset procedure a couple of times and it fails, it pretty much proves your key is not recognized.

Dealers are a little more reasonably priced than they used to be when it comes to cutting new keys and reprogramming. Good Luck!

[Innominate]

Sadly I went the route of having a new key made since I was so sure that was the issue (which requires towing of the vehicle to the dealership) only to have them tell me the problem still persists. They said that it looks like an electrical issue, so I just gave them to go ahead to perform an elec. diag. and tell me what the issue is. I'll report back with their findings and explore my options from there. Thanks guys.

[Innominate]

Turns out there was a loose wire, but the root cause was still the key RFID chip in the key getting damaged and engaging the inhibitor. Either way I'm very happy that the issue was finally solved. Thanks for the help everyone.

[atraudes]

Glad to hear it got sorted out!