Service Engine Light 2002 Nissan Sentra GXE

[herblatham]

My Service Engine Light came on two months ago, went back off, and now is back on. I took it to auto zone to have the code read, they said their computer wasn't getting any codes from it. So I took it to a mechanic today, and he took the entire computer out of the car, and none of his machines could get a code off of it either!! I'm taking it back tomorrow morning to have him keep trying, but do any of you guys have any ideas of what's wrong?

[nametakennow]

If it's an actual code, it's probably for the gas cap. Re-tighten it and see if it reappears.

Also contact your dealer to see if you have done/need to do the ECU recall.

Welcome to NICO!

[herblatham]

Ya i checked with the dealer, and my car isn't affected by the recall, and i always tighten the gas cap. my car isn't giving the computer any codes at all.

[radoman93]

wait till it comes back on

[herblatham]

The Light is on , and has been on.

[nametakennow]

And it stays on while they're reading the codes and finding nothing, or does the light seem to magically shut off when there's an OBDII reader around?

If the light's on with no codes, that's a new one. I'm looking to see if anyone's run into this before.

Have you done anything with the electrical system (stereo, etc. or anything at all)?

[herblatham]

It stays on while it's connected

And oh ya, The mechanic told me that usually when you take the computer out, and put it back in, it takes several min/miles before the comp. picks up on what's wrong and the service engine light comes back on. With mine, as soon as he plugged it back in, and started the car, it cut on

I haven't done anything to the car
Modified by herblatham at 10:19 AM 2/27/2008

[opwonder]

I damn Nissan for doing this. Your car seems to have the same starting symptoms as mine. It decided to stall one day for no apparent reason. I was going 70 in the carpool lane when it suddenly shut off. Yes, it shut off. The light did not go on until 5 mins later after it decided to turn back on and I was able to get out of the freeway. The light had been on since then. I took it to the dealer to get the ecm checked out since per Nissan there was a dangerous foam in the box that caused it. It was a recall for that same reason so I got it fixed for free. But what they could not figure out was why the light never went out. It turns out that they wanted more money to check it out and then $108.00 later it turns out the ecm was fried. So its only going to cost you about $800.00 more to fix it by replacing it. Other symptoms include erratic idle and heating up but fortunately not enough for it to fry your engine. It cools down immediately after the needle rises. But anyway, get that checked out and if you can, get Nissan to run that recall on your call even if the vin # does not pertain to that list of cars. They have saved $800.00 for every f'd up Sentra out there and they never admitted that it too should have been recalled. Fortunately I found a website that offers a one year warranty on a reconstructed one programed to your specific Vin # for $350.00. I'm ordering one tomorrow. I'll see if I can find my way back here to let you know how everything worked out.

A fried ECM has been causing all sorts of malfunctions but we can't figure where to begin since there are no readings. Fixing the ECM will most likely correct other problems.

[opwonder]

So, last time I was here, my ecm was busted. So as I mentioned before, I ordered my rebuilt computer for $350.00 including shipping and handling. If I return the core, which I plan to, I get a 1 year warranty for any problems with the ECM. So far I installed it about 25 miles ago, and the engine light has still not come back on. My idle problem was fixed, and the only thing I'm waiting to hopefully not see is that damn light come back on. BUt on the bright side, the new ECM will allow me to see what is causing it.

I wonder if anyone else fixed their Nissan problems or they just got rid of it?

All these blogs are helpful, but I was never able to find a "resolution" section for all those problems that I've read about the Infamous Sentra.

[DRIFT101]

i am a nissan tech an i've seen some weird things with the 1.8 computers they seem to crap out alot

[hellmet]

Mine died a few months ago. Got a replacement -without warranty - for $275. I'm not sure why the ECM fried. The dealer says the ground was no good. My MAF also fried along with the ECM - another $140 from salvage.

But, even now the car sometimes does weird things like vibrating at startup, rough idle, and a few days back it even refused to start.

[coffeeincream]

where can you get an ecm for a 2002 nissan sentra gxe without going broke?

[nametakennow]

Junkyards. Make sure you get the numbers off the back of the ECU so you can get the right one, as there are a ton of different ECUs out there.

Actually, first have a dealer run your VIN, you may be covered under the ECU foam recall.