Greetings: I am currenty having the following issue(s) withmy 93 Maxima SE DOHC:
After morning startup until warmup (15-20 mins) the car runs very well. After the warmup the following occurs:>When the gas is depressed either from a dead stop or a almost stop, the car is very sluggish. Gas pedal can be mashed to the floor but will slowly accelerate until 2nd gear (auto) is attained (sometimes shifting to 2nd is a little jerky). When I come to an almost stop, depress pedal and will not shift down to 1st until I mash it. Even at this point, engine is still not running smooth at all. Gas consumption has plummetted from 20-21mpg city to around 10-12mpg!!!
No engine light on
3-5 times a day, when I come to an almost stop then accelerate, there is a "backfire" coming from what I think is the front right of motor. Sometimes I smell fuel after I have parked the car (not on the inside, but as I walk away).
Local mom/pop shop thinks it may be one of the injectors, but this is just a guess on their part.
I recently (1 month ago) put in new NGK Platinum plugs and a new fuel filter.
After reading online forums my mind is is completely buzzing with all "what it could be."
My problem is that I do not want to go and pay (mom/pop shop said it would cost me $300-400 to replace one injector) for what it could be, then after work is done, no fix. A friend suggested this as the Kingdom of Maxima queries and reliable answers/ solutions.
Could the problem be:MAFThe first Catalytic converter( flow issue) EGRO2 sensorInjectors
Sorry my post is so long.
Thanks in advance.
Cameron
Modified by Cam442 at 4:13 PM 7/16/2008
93 Maxima SE DOHC Sluggishness
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mtcookson
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Hey Cameron, welcome to NICO! What part of Indiana are you from? I used to live in the Bloomington area a few years back.
Anyway... on to the problem. The first thing that needs to be done is to check the ECU for codes. There are some codes that will not turn the check engine light on but will be stored in the ECU and cause running issues.
Next thing is to check the injector resistance. You'll need a multimeter or ohm meter. If all of them are between 12 and 14 ohms they should be ok (the tolerances are closer than that but it heavily depends on the meter being used).
Its not likely the MAF as that would generally throw a check engine light and you would only be able to rev the engine up to around 2,500 RPM.
There's only one catalytic converter on the 3rd gen Maxima's however it could be possible that it is clogged or damaged in some way. If the other tests check out ok, an exhaust shop can do a simple pressure test to see if the cat is flowing like it should be.
EGR issues tend to be more intermittent since they're constantly opening and closing. Dopey me at one point unhooked the EGR tube from the exhaust and plugged the manifold but forgot to plug the EGR valve so for the longest time I kept having issues with power cutting out every now and then till one day I finally realized what I had done.
O2 sensor issue should have a code stored in the ECU if it is not sending the proper reading and it will make the car run a little more rich... but not likely as bad as you're experiencing.
Injectors... I'd say that this is the most likely culprit. The injectors on the 3rd gen aren't the greatest and people have problems with them all of the time. If the injectors are the problem, I'd personally replace them all at the same time. I know http://www.deatschwerks.com has some pretty decent prices on injectors and should have some for your Maxima.
Another issue that might come up is the knock sensor. If that is acting up there should be a code stored in the ECU. They are known to cause the issue you're having where it acts up when it is warmed up.
While you're hunting around you should also take a look at the ignition coils just for a sort of preventative maintenance. They plastic bodies are known to crack and cause issues. If any of them are cracked they will eventually need replaced but for a short term fix I've seen a lot of people tape them tightly with electrical tape.
One thing I need clarification on is after the shift. Once it is in second gear, does the power come back? Regardless, the steps above should help us get closer to a solution as we'll either find or dismiss potential problem areas.
For checking the ECU codes, you can refer to the FSM we have here at NICO. Go to http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1994/ and download ec.pdf, from there to go page EF & EC-197 (page 195 of 337 in Adobe). That lays out the instruction on how to get the codes from the ECU and tells you what the codes are on the following pages.
Anyway... on to the problem. The first thing that needs to be done is to check the ECU for codes. There are some codes that will not turn the check engine light on but will be stored in the ECU and cause running issues.
Next thing is to check the injector resistance. You'll need a multimeter or ohm meter. If all of them are between 12 and 14 ohms they should be ok (the tolerances are closer than that but it heavily depends on the meter being used).
Its not likely the MAF as that would generally throw a check engine light and you would only be able to rev the engine up to around 2,500 RPM.
There's only one catalytic converter on the 3rd gen Maxima's however it could be possible that it is clogged or damaged in some way. If the other tests check out ok, an exhaust shop can do a simple pressure test to see if the cat is flowing like it should be.
EGR issues tend to be more intermittent since they're constantly opening and closing. Dopey me at one point unhooked the EGR tube from the exhaust and plugged the manifold but forgot to plug the EGR valve so for the longest time I kept having issues with power cutting out every now and then till one day I finally realized what I had done.
O2 sensor issue should have a code stored in the ECU if it is not sending the proper reading and it will make the car run a little more rich... but not likely as bad as you're experiencing.
Injectors... I'd say that this is the most likely culprit. The injectors on the 3rd gen aren't the greatest and people have problems with them all of the time. If the injectors are the problem, I'd personally replace them all at the same time. I know http://www.deatschwerks.com has some pretty decent prices on injectors and should have some for your Maxima.
Another issue that might come up is the knock sensor. If that is acting up there should be a code stored in the ECU. They are known to cause the issue you're having where it acts up when it is warmed up.
While you're hunting around you should also take a look at the ignition coils just for a sort of preventative maintenance. They plastic bodies are known to crack and cause issues. If any of them are cracked they will eventually need replaced but for a short term fix I've seen a lot of people tape them tightly with electrical tape.
One thing I need clarification on is after the shift. Once it is in second gear, does the power come back? Regardless, the steps above should help us get closer to a solution as we'll either find or dismiss potential problem areas.
For checking the ECU codes, you can refer to the FSM we have here at NICO. Go to http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1994/ and download ec.pdf, from there to go page EF & EC-197 (page 195 of 337 in Adobe). That lays out the instruction on how to get the codes from the ECU and tells you what the codes are on the following pages.