New to the forum, 1990 Sentra XE, minor issues

[sleepy3863]

Ive got a 19990 Sentra XE, auto, has a few minor issues... pretty mechanically inclined, so i do all my work myself... here goes...

the car runs like a top... have had it for a little over a year, and just dont basic maintenance... the problem ive had, is that occasionally, it will sputter like it has a miss... other times, it will lose power in random moments, such as cruising along the freeway at 65mph, but just for a quick second... long enough to be noticed, when it jerks back into power... no speed is lost during this, it is actually gained when the power returns... very odd, ive never seen or felt anything like this before... its gotten more frequent recently, to the point where i can count on it happening at least twice on my 18 mile drive to work, same on return trip home... weather doesnt have anything to do with frequency, has been hot and cold the past few weeks, from 59 to 95 degrees, and ive driven in all temps in that range... any help with where to start looking would be helpful, or anyone experiencing the same problem knowing what it is would be appreciated for a chime in...

TIA for any help

[nametakennow]

Sounds like you have something in your fuel lines/tank or a dirty injector causing intermittent fuel delivery problems.

Welcome to NICO!

[sleepy3863]

as i am somewhat new to fuel injection,(everyone in my family BUT me still drives old school cars, all carb cars) what would be the easiest way to clean a dirty injector? if it was carbed, it would be a snap, sparkling clean in under 20... injectors, havent done any yet... an experience i cant wait for

[nametakennow]

You could try some fuel system cleaner first, but you'll probably have to pull it to clean it. Some carb cleaner through the chamber should work, though I honestly don't know the exact process, so you'll want to double check that (or someone else might chime in here and help out).

[spdfreak200]

well ive had that same problem so dont feel bad...mine did it in higher acceleration between 4500 and 6000 rpm my problem was electrical...idk how ur battery setup is but on mine theres 2 thick cables bolted onto the batt cap...they were loose i tightend em and havent had the problem since...my car also completly shut off like there was a short or the alternator was going bad but hopefully that helps some. if it doesnt help let me know and i can talk to a friend thats been workin on these cars for 5 or 6 years longer than me and ive been doin work on em for bout 5 years so let me know what you find out

[sleepy3863]

battery is all tight, i am starting to experience some of the same symptoms you are talking about, like it just dying out like its a bad alternator or battery, but it does it at stoplights... ive checked the spark, and all seems well... it feels like when im driving it just loses all electrical power for a second, and surges back on... when im at a stoplight, it does the same thing, but sometimes, becoming more frequent, it dies at the light... it starts right back up, but becomes annoying as i have about fifteen stoplights between home and work and yesterday it happened at every single one of them... its becoming a regular issue, and i want to catch it before it becomes something major...

[94 Sentra-XE]

mine does the same thing ut mostly just in 1st and second gear, i think its my lines so eventually i will replace it (when i do the sr20det swap)

[sleepy3863]

mines an auto, so i dont know if there is any difference there....

[nametakennow]

Could easily be a transmission problem. The torque converter could be acting up, or even the ECU. It's tough to say.

[sleepy3863]

ive had transmission problems in my other cars before, and ive had my uncle (who is a mechanic) take a look at it... he thinks its the fuel pump, just from listening to it run... thinks there may not be enough pressure from the pump, and it may be causing fuel delivery problems... thats why it seems to lose power, and jerk or die,because theres not enough fuel coming in under pressure in order to keep the car running... does anyone know what the pressure is supposed to be so that i can check it this weekend?

[nametakennow]

I don't know off hand, but the FSM will have that info. Link is in my sig.

Like I said earlier: "Sounds like you have something in your fuel lines/tank or a dirty injector causing intermittent fuel delivery problems."

Could be that simple, could be that the pump or pressure regulator itself is bad.

[sleepy3863]

I don't know off hand, but the FSM will have that info. Link is in my sig.

didnt see a sig attached to ya... just an FYI if its disappered

[javinsMR]

what about your spark plugs or plug wires?

[sleepy3863]

when i bought the car, it did it occasionally and i did them then, thinking thats what it was.. ive done them again, about a month and a half ago, just as general maintenance...

[nametakennow]

Sigs are now only after the first post by a user in each thread.

[sleepy3863]

the FSM doesnt go back far enough and ididnt see anything right away in the 94 one about pressure... have to do some more digging when its NOT 315am...

[nametakennow]

Shoot, I forgot this is a '90... However, since this is intermittent, the pump is probably going to read fine unless you happen to check it right when it is acting up. Talk to your uncle and see what ideas he might have on how to test it.

[sleepy3863]

so, i finally got my uncle to take a good look at it with me, so as i could get this annoying problem sorted out... he noticed right off the bat that it was idling high, so we went to adjust the idle... got the air cleaner off, and as he was looking around for the adjustment, he dropped a tool on accident and it hit the air mass meter... wow... the car just automatically idled down to where it was supposed to, and IMMEDIATELY quit running like crap... smoothed out, purred like a kitten, i was happy... until i found out the price... Price: $272.09Core: $120.00 at my favorite auto parts store, and the cheapest ive been able to find one so far is 157.99 w/a 66 dollar core charge... OUCH!!! so i decided to clean it today(yesterday beofre work), and i drove to and from work with no hassle... i still wonder.. is the cleaning just a temporary fix, or is it something that i can do over and over, every time it starts to act up??