enigne light w/ no power

[smitty8806]

on my way to work this morning my engine light turned on for about 30 sec and during that time the car had no power. This happened 3 times on my way to work which is only a 5 mile drive. any ideas what it might be? i wish i could be more specific but im at work now and only know what it was doing while i was driving it. its a 1990 240sx w/ stock ka24.

[modulation]

When the light was on could you still take it to redline or would it stop at a certain RPM?

I'm thinking either MAF or O2 sensor..

If you'd floor it would it drive normal or still drive like crap?

Probably MAF if it would still drive like crap when you gave it more gas.

[smitty8806]

with the throttle to the floor the rpm would not raise up there was no misfire either.

[modulation]

Try to see if there are any engine codes stored by doing the procedure you can find in the faq or by searching the forums/google..

Maybe it's your TPS?

[Cone Junky]

on my way to work this morning my engine light turned on for about 30 sec and during that time the car had no power. This happened 3 times on my way to work which is only a 5 mile drive. any ideas what it might be? i wish i could be more specific but im at work now and only know what it was doing while i was driving it. its a 1990 240sx w/ stock ka24.

This specualtion is absolutely useless. Pull the codes and post back.

[modulation]

It's not speculation.By the symptoms you can't tell it's 1 thing for certain, but you can rule ALOT of stuff out.

[Cone Junky]

It's not speculation.By the symptoms you can't tell it's 1 thing for certain, but you can rule ALOT of stuff out.

Speculation

Why would you argue the point when just one post earlier you asked him to pull codes and check them against the FAQs?

[modulation]

Speculation

Why would you argue the point when just one post earlier you asked him to pull codes and check them against the FAQs?

Because there might not be engine codes the problem might be intermittent.Alot of times engine codes don't actually tell you what is going on and where..

People that troubleshoot by engine codes first are lame especially with OBD1.Engine codes are a tool for troubleshooting, they are no replacement for a mechanic with logic.

[Cone Junky]

Because there might not be engine codes the problem might be intermittent.Alot of times engine codes don't actually tell you what is going on and where..

People that troubleshoot by engine codes first are lame especially with OBD1.Engine codes are a tool for troubleshooting, they are no replacement for a mechanic with logic.

Contradict yourself often?

Gee, thanks for all the helpful info. Being an ASE certified Master Technician, an ASE certified Undercar Specialist, a Bosch Certified technician, and working as a professional technician for tha last 15 years I would have just thrown parts at it.

People who don't take into account DTCs are ignorant. They may not tell you what part is bad, but they do tell you what part of the system to check.

So once again PO, pull the codes and post back.

[modulation]

Contradict yourself often?

Gee, thanks for all the helpful info. Being an ASE certified Master Technician, an ASE certified Undercar Specialist, a Bosch Certified technician, and working as a professional technician for tha last 15 years I would have just thrown parts at it.

People who don't take into account DTCs are ignorant. They may not tell you what part is bad, but they do tell you what part of the system to check.

So once again PO, pull the codes and post back.

You should use the engine codes to confirm your hypothesis not to form your hypothesis for you.

If you rely on engine codes to troubleshoot/diagnose and have no systematic logical troubleshooting skills it's no wonder you've been a mechanic for 15 years and haven't gotten anywhere. Keep moving from shop to shop? You wonder why..

Mechanics like you are exactly the reason I work on my own car. You expect the computer/tools to do everything. You might know cars but I've worked with computers my entire life and actually have a BS degree in them. Trusting computers to do your work for you is a sure way to fail. Computers are to help assist you in this case once you've formed and idea of what might be wrong, they are to confirm you are correct not to make up your mind for you.

[Cone Junky]

Boy, even Evil Canival wouldn't even attempt to conquer the conclusions you've jumped.

How do you have any clue what my career has involved?I'm not sure why I am even bothering replying to your ignorant rant, but I have been with my current shop for 13 years. Not only am I the lead technician, but I am also the youngest. I also specialize in German cars, and I think they like to use computers too . In fact the late model $80K BMWs that I diagnose and repair on a regular basis contain over 32 seperate control units on 12 different BUS protocols. Please don't assume I am not familiar with computer diagnostics and strategies used to test them. If you're car is telling you that something is wrong (MIL), than that is the first peice of information you use to start diagnostics.

Please stop trying to to argue with and disparage me for the sport of it. Your assumptions of me based on my 2 previous posts in one thread just shows your ignorance. Do you jump to such wild conclusions when diagnosing computers and cars? Or do you gather ALL information available to you and use them ALL as a tool for the next step? If you have any brains you can't possibly think that active or stored codes in a control unit are completely irrelavent.

Please stop now, you're only looking more niave as this thread goes on.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I am also an ASE certified Advanced Level Diagnostic Specialist