New Distributor and starting issues

[doode]

1999 Pathfinder, 3.3 V6
Distributor died so I got a new one
Timed it to 15 degrees BTDC as per FSM
Starts great when warmed up. No misfires, pulls hard through the RPM band. No issues with hot restarts.

Cold start is a whole other issue.
Tachometer jumps all over the place when cranking
The engine stops cranking all together after 2 to 3 cranks.
Takes about 3 tries before starting
New battery was installed thinking it was a power issue but it's not.

Could this be a related issue or something separate?
My temperature gauge in the dash hasn't worked consistently in over 5 years but could it be a culprit?

If I was a tooth off , is it possible to still get to 15 degrees BTDC and still have it run smoothly when warmed up?

Thanks !

[VStar650CL]

Did you have the TPS disconnected while timing it? It can be way off if you didn't.

There might be enough rotation to compensate for one tooth, but in any case, if it adjusted to the correct value then that shouldn't matter. The sensor and rotor are either in the right spot or they aren't.

[doode]

Pulled the distributor and re-installed it.

Re-set the timing following FSM and I did have the TPS disconnected.

After doing some online searching, I realized there is a specific procedure for re-installing the TPS if it is removed. I had to remove it the first time because I couldn't get the electrical connector off and simply shoved it back in. I followed the steps here https://troubleshootmyvehicle.com/nissa ... dle-switch and set the voltage to 0.3V and then 0.5V . No difference.

Car still struggles with a cold start, re-starts fine hot.

Only thing I can think of is playing with the timing as the FSM says 15 degrees +/- 2 degrees


Here is the video of it cranking
[youtube]https://youtu.be/tvU-X5oAKNA?si=tErRuPgCkkD6QiTa[/youtube]

[VStar650CL]

The tach jumping is a clue that the ECM doesn't know exactly what the engine is doing. The signal to the cluster is a square wave coming directly from the ECM, so barring an issue in the cluster, the only way it can be jumping around is if the ECM is confused and telling it to jump.

Your first post said the original dizzy died, what killed it? Did any of these symptoms preexist the dizzy issue?

[doode]

The tach jumping is a clue that the ECM doesn't know exactly what the engine is doing. The signal to the cluster is a square wave coming directly from the ECM, so barring an issue in the cluster, the only way it can be jumping around is if the ECM is confused and telling it to jump.

Your first post said the original dizzy died, what killed it? Did any of these symptoms preexist the dizzy issue?

I appreciate your help !

It happened overnight. Car wouldn't start, no spark.
Followed the FSM and determined no resistance at the ignition coil, no resistance at the power transistor. (trying to say t r a n s i s t o r but for some reason it keeps auto correcting to transmission)



Distributor was replaced about 6 years/ 82k (51k miles) previously.

I have no fancy tools, is this something I need to bring to shop then?

[VStar650CL]

Since you had a blown-short PTU, the biggest cause of that is crappy grounding. Bad grounds to the drive tran-sistor (yes, for some reason the editor does that with any word starting with "tran-s") cause it to overheat and melt, resulting in 0 ohms from the coil primary to the ground terminal. Check your distributor ground, sounds like maybe it's poor and temperature is affecting it.

[doode]

I suspected it was a bad distributor/ camshaft position sensor so I put in a warranty claim (RockAuto)

New one arrived today, threw it in, engine was stone cold ( sat overnight below 0 Celsius) and it started 1st try.

All subsequent restarts, the tach signal is normal, no misfiring etc.

Fingers crossed that was the issue.

[VStar650CL]

Very cool. Check the ground anyway, do voltage-drop to the negative post with the engine running. Anything higher than about 50 millivolts (0.05V) will gradually blow up PTU's and coils.

I know, that "transmission" thing is incredibly annoying. I use a hyphen after "tran", i.e., tran-sistor, tran-sfer, tran-saction, etc.

[doode]

So a 1 year update: I am a dumbass.

The cold starting issue with the sputtering/misfiring persisted for a year. I chalked it up to a crappy Chinese distributor and figured I would drive it til it broke for good, then go from there.

I had installed NGK platinum plugs 4 years / 60k prior and in the back of my head thought, should I pull them and check?




New plugs, everything seems to be back to normal.

I hate plug #6

[VStar650CL]

Pretty ugly. Some of those gaps look to be darn near double what they started out.