2003 model Nissan Almera 1.8 manual (South African issue - not sure what the other equivalents are) fitted with QG18DE engine 250 000km on clock.
Initial problem: Intermittently car won't start - engine cranks but won't start. Starts after several attempts. Problem would go away for weeks and then re-occur again. Read up on WWW and found many hits on stretched timing chains. I found that, when the car fails to start, I put it in gear and just "tack" the starter it would fire at next try and run like a dream. On the odd occasion it would cut out while running - like loosing all power and then pull again.
Problem became worse to the point where it would fail completely - leave it for 1-2 hours and try again and then it will start and operate without hassle until recently when it failed completely. When cranking the engine I get the smell of petrol - checked for spark but could not any. Took of the valve cover and inspected the timing chain and saw that the tensioner protruded more than 12mm. Decided to replace timing chain - made sure crankshaft on TDC
Placed marked links on new chain on proper places and ensured valve time does not move during re-assembly. I tried starting after the operation, but no joy - dead as a duck! Still no spark. I note reference to Crank sensor and cam sensor....
Q. Where is the crank sensor located ?
Q. Can I test these sensors using a multi meter? and how?
Some say to disconnect the crank sensor and it should fire up? True/False? PLEASE HELP