Wierdest Problem I have EVER Encountered

[sideways24d]

Some of you might have seen my recent postings on the Intermittent Stall, but this is the problem again.

I bought my 91 s-13 for dirt cheap from a guy in the city. He sold it because of this intermittent stall it had that had been happening for months and he didn't want to deal with it nemore so he bought a new car. I got the car and drove it home, no problems. ok. take it for a spin when i get home to get a feel for my sweet ride and everythings great and then....suddenly without a putter....it stalls. Eventually I was able to get it home by driving it, sitting for an hour and it started. Well I would go to take it down the road and the more i drive the car the more frequent it dies and takes longer to start. (not cranking i'm saying i would go back every hour to try and get it home).

So I think its electrical and start testing the sensors and they are good, new cap n rotor, spark plugs, power transistor and a Blaster coil to replace the stock one. (it was cheaper by like 200 dollars). None of these things would fix it. So I go to test the pins on the computer. To do this ofcourse I had to disconnect the battery and I went to work. It starting raining that day and on for a week and I did not want to do electrical in the rain so I left my project outside with the battery disconnected for a good day to do it. A week later I walk up, do a few more tests, then i put everything back together and fire it up. Hoping that when it dies I can find the problem through the computer. It runs great, and for three days straight.

I had to move to wisconsin and instead of throwing my stuff in my car and chancing a breakdown on the highway, I cruised for a day to make sure it was good, 6 hours of driving and still no problems. So the next day I went to wisconsin and made it to my destination about 3 hrs away. By now im so happy my car is back and running great. So I make it to my house where my cai was at and I put it on. Man my whole car sounds much better and removing the airbox allowes me to finally install my MSD box. But I wanted to wait for that so I took it on a test drive. Made it into town, shut off the car and chill with some friends for 20 minutes.

When I go outside and start it i let it idle for a little, It at one point hesitated so I shut it off. (At idle by the way for a second then it went back to normal) 5 minutes later i need to be home, hop in, one block away the sucker stalls.

Now it's in my garage awaiting repair but i need advice because its been doin this for awhile. I'm gettin fed up with it but i will not sell it so I need to figure this out. Please help. sorry for typing so much, and Thank you

[scruffy63]

I had the exact same problem for a long time, about 2 years, so my car sat I eventually changed out the whole distributor and the problem never came back.i'm goin on 8-9 months now.

*edit*the distributor I bought was used. New they are pretty expensive I think around 2-500 price range.

[sideways24d]

I might just do that cause nothing has been working. I've tested it from bumper to bumper and still nothing. The codes that it throws are 11,21,34. (CAS,KS,ignition circuit) If this helps let me know but I think I will put in a new distributer. If You can get me procedures to do this I would be most greatful, I don't want to mess it up and I have a good idea of how to do this but I want to be sure. Thanx.

[zerepdivad]

Actually that is exactly what was happening with my friends car and it ended up being the crank angle sensor so we just bought a whole nother distributor and the problem went away. since then the car hasn't failed.
Modified by zerepdivad at 4:38 PM 6/7/2007

[scruffy63]

it was my cas too (crank angle sensor). Just search thats what I did, you'll find the answer. I would help but i'm tired and I have a headache.

[pr240sx]

I had a similar problem but with another car... crappy Vitara, Will not start when hot. Was the CAM sensor.But before spending some $$$ on the distributor, I will test the fuel pump and related wiring.Also, pour some cold water, just a dribble at the distributor so it will cool down, retest.

[WWJD]

+1 for distributor. I worked on a mustang with similar problem. it would run gr8 for ten min. then shut off. it wouldn't start up till car was cold

[wa-chiss]

replacing a distributor (on a KA) is cake walk. They can only go in 1 way. 1)disconect battery2)set engine to TDC on compressiopn stroke3)unplug sparkplug wires4)unplug distributor5)remove distributor cap6)take a sharpie and trace around the top bolt hole loop (so you can install the new one and not have to time it)7)unbolt distributor8)remove distributor and relace with new9)line up new distributor with marks already made and torque bolts to propper specs10)swap over the cap and rotor11)plug new distributor and plugwires in12)conect battery13) start up car

[autox615]

I had the exact problem with my old S13, my brake booster hose was split open. Once I replaced the hose it never did it again!?

[sideways24d]

Well I just ordered a distributor so well see how that works, as for the recent post on the booster, Its wierd but after that long drive I think the booster is going out. My pedal goes down further and I have to pump the brakes to stop. I figure though I could wait on the brakes. If it were the brakes that wouldn't make sense why it would run for so many hours and then go kaput. I will check on that though, thanx for the headsup man

PS...The line you replaced was that a vacuum line or fluid line?

[ZOOMIGUEL]

Well I just ordered a distributor so well see how that works, as for the recent post on the booster, Its wierd but after that long drive I think the booster is going out. My pedal goes down further and I have to pump the brakes to stop. I figure though I could wait on the brakes. If it were the brakes that wouldn't make sense why it would run for so many hours and then go kaput. I will check on that though, thanx for the headsup man

PS...The line you replaced was that a vacuum line or fluid line?

let me know what happens after you replace it, because i am having same problem, and all the shops ive taken it too have no idea, because they've never seen a 240 before. so please let me know.

[sideways24d]

Bump

[Brandon93240]

its your distributor hands down, it looses reference from the camshaft sensor and the car cuts off. Ford 7.3 and all dodge 4.7/5.7 are bad about loosing reference. If you had access to a scan tool you can data log while you drive and when it cuts out you can replay and see what was happening when the car was acting up, any compitent technician should be able to do that, well thats use to doing driveability anyways.

[gumby74]

That is wierd. My car started idling like crap a couple of months now. Really, it won't stay on when cold, and idles really badly.I have the throttle cable tightened down a few turns. That is the only way it will stay on. Thing is the car drives great and I still get 25 mpg. I will definitely check inta a distributor.

[sideways24d]

Well lets hope so I bought the distributer already and it's waiting at home for me to install it. Unfortunately I am in North Carolina attending my Nissan Training for 9 weeks so I am unable to get back to install it. If I had a scantool handy I could test it while I drive but since I don't, I have to test old school. Thanx for the input and I will be sure to tell you what happens, but like I said, 9 weeks till I even get to see my car.

[ZOOMIGUEL]

9

Well lets hope so I bought the distributer already and it's waiting at home for me to install it. Unfortunately I am in North Carolina attending my Nissan Training for 9 weeks so I am unable to get back to install it. If I had a scantool handy I could test it while I drive but since I don't, I have to test old school. Thanx for the input and I will be sure to tell you what happens, but like I said, 9 weeks till I even get to see my car.

9 WEEKS!!!! OMFG! HAHA, I CANT WAIT THAT LONG, IM GOING TO BUY A NEW DISTRIBUTOR AT AUTOZONE, FOR 180$ AND CHANGE IT THIS WEEKEND, SO ILL BE BACK WITH MY RESULTS, AND P.S. I WILL TAKE A VIDEO OF HOW MY CAR DIES AND HOW IT REACTS WHEN I TRY TO TURN IT BACK ON.

BUT I WILL POST A VIDEO WITHIN 2 DAYS, AND ILL LET YOU KNOW IF THE PROBLEM IS FIXED WITH THE NEW DISTRIBUTOR.

[autox615]

I had a similar problem in my 92 coupe, pretty much the same thing. there was a hole in my brake booster hose..It never did it again but im not positve thats what it was,lol?

[sideways24d]

9

9 WEEKS!!!! OMFG! HAHA, I CANT WAIT THAT LONG, IM GOING TO BUY A NEW DISTRIBUTOR AT AUTOZONE, FOR 180$ AND CHANGE IT THIS WEEKEND, SO ILL BE BACK WITH MY RESULTS, AND P.S. I WILL TAKE A VIDEO OF HOW MY CAR DIES AND HOW IT REACTS WHEN I TRY TO TURN IT BACK ON.

I strongly recommend buying your parts from nissan or an afteremarket place that deals with nissan. Duralast is not the way to go. I cant wait to get back man, 6 more weeks of training, and guys im not one to advertise, buut this training is so worth it if your going to be in the buisness and you want to work on nissans.

[pr240sx]

Before buying, try this whenever the car does not start.

Remove the distributor and rotate it by hand with the ignition in ON position.does the injectors fire?If yes, check everywhere else, if not, your CAM sensor (distributor) is toasted.

Try getting one in good known working condition and swap it out before shedding mad cash for one.

[sideways24d]

Yeah so i got back and replaced the distributer. Now the car wont fire up. Changed the plugs and still nothing. I even took the cover off and timed it according to the cams. What did I do wrong?

[Florida240sx]

You could of gotten a bad distributor... Does the car crank? Did you put it in exactly lie kyou took it off? Could be 180 out or just one tooth off...

[Acecool]

ALTERNATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have it tested, why do I say this when everyone else says distributor?

Well, I had my car stall ONE TIME, that was when I was drawing about 10volts with it cranked up showing up on my radar detector, it did it once, changed the alternator and everyone worked great since....

you need to make sure you are drawing around 14 volts while started...

EDIT: After fully reading your post, have your battery checked as well, the way you describe it shutting off for 20 minutes then firing back up has something to do with the alternator not charging the battery and providing enough energy to keep the car running... do you have the ka oil leak? Check to see if the alternator is caked in oil...

When you let your car sit for 20 minutes, it has time to build up static electricity which is enough to start it..

[sideways24d]

You could of gotten a bad distributor... Does the car crank? Did you put it in exactly lie kyou took it off? Could be 180 out or just one tooth off...

I put it exactly how it should have went in and i even took the cover off to time it by the cams. The car cranks just fine but just wont fire up.

[sideways24d]

Battery has enough voltage to start i just cant get the car started. I will check that though when i get the car running just need to figure this out. I ONLY CHANGED THE DISTRIBUTER!!! Do you guys have any info on the procedure cuz i will just do it again but i'd rather not pay to download something. anything free out there?

[sideways24d]

bump to the top

[sideways24d]

Yo check it out, got the car running today

Now i have to get it running right. I'll b checking the timing with a light to see if that helps it but it runs a little rough at idle, like it's cammed. a few putters out the tailpipe as well and when i took it for a spin it stalled, i popped into neutral, and it fired back up. The timing chain is making some noise prolly the guides. and something sounds like it's loose......a rattling noise. Car kinda sounds like a tractor. But at cruise, it sound better, smoother. At my cruise after install there was a slight hesitation while cruising, and it died once and wouldn't fire up right away. sat for like 30 secs and fired up, drove into town and no problems except for that tractor sound at idle. Any ideas guys?

SO HAPPY MY KA IS RUNNING THOUGH!!!!!! HAPPIEST GUY AROUND

[Acecool]

still sounds like an alternator..

But, check the FPR hoses, check for vacuum leaks around that area. make sure your injectors are good and check the plug wires and plugs :-)

[sideways24d]

Think it might be the timing chain? It has new plugs and i guess ill bench test the Alt. Even though I've Driven it around for like 5 hours so far. Yea and by the way, when i accel, it sounds like i'm boosting but i have no turbo. Any thoughts?

[Acecool]

Transmission? Thats what mine did, I could stomp the gas pedal and mine would rev to 7k then I would get this incredible burst of speed and it would stay at 7k...

[sideways24d]

Trans shifts hard in 1-2 if i get on it. it doesn't really slip much, and it engages fine but yeah it could rev up to 7k then shift kinda hard. Is there vacuum line running there.....to the trans? Sounds like air leaking somewhere.