Distributor brands?

[whitedragon551]

Anyone have any experience with AIP? Never had to do any electrical work other than spark plugs or batteries.

I have to replace the distributor. AIP has 2 offerings. One is a $80 distributor, cap, rotor. The other is a heavy duty model that runs $165 and is a happy medium compared to a Beck/Arnley at $380.

Or perhaps a Rich Porter Technologies? They have a cheaper model running $138 with a 1 year warranty.

I dont want junk and have to replace in 60 days, but I also dont have the cash to drop $300 on a replacement either as I just lost my job.

[Chuck Tribolet]

What makes you think you need a new distributor? That doesn't seem to be a normal point of failure in 3.0/3.0 litre
Pathfinders.

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

What makes you think you need a new distributor? That doesn't seem to be a normal point of failure in 3.0/3.0 litre
Pathfinders.

Chuck

The fact there is absolutely no spark from cap to plug wire, but spark from spark plug to end of wire. Battery is brand new and tested good and starter is good. There is no codes being thrown or soft codes stored and the truck wont start.

[Chuck Tribolet]

Distributors are dirt simple.

Was any work done on it when it quit? Could the distributor be installed 180 a tooth off?

Have you replaced cap and rotor?

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

Distributors are dirt simple.

Was any work done on it when it quit? Could the distributor be installed 180 a tooth off?

Have you replaced cap and rotor?

Chuck

Have not ever pulled the distributor out and no work was done when it wouldnt start.

I have not replaced cap and rotor. The distributor comes with both of those pieces brand new. I dont want to replace cap and rotor and need the entire thing. The cap and rotor isnt returnable.

[00pathyse]

Cap and rotor are CHEAP, start there first. Unlikely it's your whole distributor.

[whitedragon551]

Cap and rotor are CHEAP, start there first. Unlikely it's your whole distributor.

They sure are. If its not those 2 pieces then I have a cap and rotor laying around that I cant do anything with and I wasted $50.

[00pathyse]

Unless you've messed around with yours in some way you should not need to replace a distributor. Cap and rotor are maintenance items and need to be replaced periodically. When was yours last replaced?

[whitedragon551]

Unless you've messed around with yours in some way you should not need to replace a distributor. Cap and rotor are maintenance items and need to be replaced periodically. When was yours last replaced?

Not a clue. Ive only owned it for a few months. Ive got about 1-3 years worth of maintenance records and it has never been done.

[whitedragon551]

Swapped cap and rotor today with Duralast gold parts. Still a no go. It was clear the old hasnt been replaced for awhile. The top of the rotor on the old one appeared to be burnt a little.

[Chuck Tribolet]

Do you have spark on the wire from the coil to the distributor?

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

Not sure where those parts are located. I know the distributor.

[Chuck Tribolet]

The distributor has seven fat wires coming to it. Six around the outside perimeter go to spark plugs, one to the middle comes from the coil.
The purpose of the distributor is to distribute the spark from the coil to the right spark plug.

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

How do I test for spark from the coil?

[00pathyse]

Whats happening with your truck that you think you need to replace the distributor? You need an ohmeter to test the resistance of the coil. But I doubt the coil is the issue as I've had cars 25 years old with the same coil that were fine. Is your pathfinder running? Tell us what problems you're having.

[Chuck Tribolet]

How do I test for spark from the coil?

Unplug the coil wire from the distributor. Hold it close (1/8' or less) to a good ground while a buddy tries to start the truck. If it's sparking,
you will see (unless you are in full sun) and hear the spark.

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

Recap:

Drove my SUV today. Has 138,000 on it.
Ran fine when we went to my daughters school.
Ran fine on the way to grab lunch at the same time and ran fine until we got home.
Parked the SUV for about an hour and went inside to eat. Left and it started up fine.
I start backing out of my parking space and it stutters and quits.
I try to start it again and it doesnt start. I pop the hood and look in the engine bay.
Everything looks fine.
Fluids are good.
Belts on.
I have a full tank of gas.
Fuel pump is pressurizing and gas is getting to the engine.
Injectors are getting signal.
Fuel filter was replaced 3 months ago.
Plug wires are good.
Cap and Rotor have been replaced.
No spark from cap to plug wires.
Checked and cleaned EGR valve.
Checked and cleaned throttle body.
Checked and cleaned MAF.

No Service Engine Light.
No leaking fluids.
Brand new battery.
Wont start with starting fluid.
It wont start. It tries to roll over, but does not catch

Previous thread:

suv-not-starting-intake-question-t566694.html

[Chuck Tribolet]

Are you getting spark from the coil to the distributor?

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

Are you getting spark from the coil to the distributor?

Chuck

I will be checking that today. Wouldnt I get spark from the plug wires off the distributor if the coil was getting spark? Seems like its an obvious chain of events.

[Chuck Tribolet]

It's possible that the coil is supplying spark, but the distributor isn't distributing the spark.

But the coil isn't supplying spark, your have to look at the coil and the low voltage side of the distributor.

It's about tracing the bug back to it's source.

The FSM should have a debug procedure.

Chuck

[whitedragon551]

It's possible that the coil is supplying spark, but the distributor isn't distributing the spark.

But the coil isn't supplying spark, your have to look at the coil and the low voltage side of the distributor.

It's about tracing the bug back to it's source.

The FSM should have a debug procedure.

Chuck

Either way its a distributor issue right?

[fueler]

What makes you think you need a new distributor? That doesn't seem to be a normal point of failure in 3.0/3.0 litre
Pathfinders.

Chuck

His 1998 QX4 (same as Pathfinder) is a 3.3 liter. I actually had a distributor go bad on my 3.3L (well, technically it wasn't the distributor itself, but rather the camshaft position sensor which is a part of the distributor and cannot be replaced separately). This happened at around 175k miles.

When it failed, the QX4 quit running but it also threw the code for it immediately, which made diagnosis a breeze.

[whitedragon551]

What makes you think you need a new distributor? That doesn't seem to be a normal point of failure in 3.0/3.0 litre
Pathfinders.

Chuck

His 1998 QX4 (same as Pathfinder) is a 3.3 liter. I actually had a distributor go bad on my 3.3L (well, technically it wasn't the distributor itself, but rather the camshaft position sensor which is a part of the distributor and cannot be replaced separately). This happened at around 175k miles.

When it failed, the QX4 quit running but it also threw the code for it immediately, which made diagnosis a breeze.

It ran fine one minute. I shut it off went inside and came back out to start it and it just wouldnt start.

[Chuck Tribolet]

It's possible that the coil is supplying spark, but the distributor isn't distributing the spark.

But the coil isn't supplying spark, your have to look at the coil and the low voltage side of the distributor.

It's about tracing the bug back to it's source.

The FSM should have a debug procedure.

Chuck

Either way its a distributor issue right?

No, it could be a bad coil.

[whitedragon551]

Well we changed spark plugs and got it started. It runs pretty good. It idles a little rough and you can watch RPM's dip and increase with gear selector shifting. I now have an SES light so I can get that looked at tomorrow.