2001 Infiniti i30t experiencing odd problems

[raijin]

Hi there, this is my first post here as I have recently purchased my second Nissan, since my first car ever was a 1986 Maxima

I had meaning to come back to this car eventually..

The car has been running great in the 2 weeks I have had it. Has 168K and rather mechanically sound...until recently

I will be driving along normally and I get a sudden engine stutter, and the check engine soon light, TCS Off and SLIP light all come on simultaneously. after that i do notice a significant lack of power and my fuel economy nose dives. I had a diagnostic ran at the dealership, they said everything was fine, some moisture may have collected in a sensor, and a reset would do the trick. That was 4 days ago, lights have come back on..

2nd issue, there is a high pitched electrical whine, coming from the left rear of the car, i looked underneath and did notice an electrical box. Before cracking it open I would like to gather some more information as to what it could be.

You gents definitely seem like you know your Infiniti's and any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[MTZI30]

THe first problem sounds a lot like a problem we had with a g35 at my dealership, just like you said, the tcs, slip and engine lights come on. The thing would rev past 2500 rpm. Well the car had about 1/8th of a tank of gas so i tried topping it off and it ran fine after that. I dont know why low fuel would do that but it fixed the problem. The weird thing is what does the tcs have to do with engine managment? Sounds like a bad sensor somewhere. You should try and get some codes from the cars computer.

As for the whine, that sounds like a fuel pump. Is it constantly whining? If it is i doubt youd be able to get to anything mechanical on the outside of the car.

good luck.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I'm not sure what to say for the first problem. I'd take it back to the dealer and have them take a more thorough look at it.

The second problem sounds like the fuel pump to me as well. Sometimes a whining fuel pump can be a sign that it is going bad. Not always, though. If you've replaced the pump before, it may be totally normal: some aftermarket fuel pumps (like Walbro) are known to whine a lot.

Fuel pump replacement is a pretty simple procedure assuming the 2nd gen has an under-seat pass-through like the later generations do. If it doesn't...ugh. If it does, you just need to remove the back seat and there'll be a circular plate that you remove. Once that's off, you'll be able to get right to the tank and pump. Pull the pump out, put the new pump in, replace the covers and you're done.