Won't start

[brutaldm]

Alright
1999 Nissan Pathfinder
146k miles New England vehicle

Driving a few days ago and pathy dies in the middle of a turn. shift into neutral and pull over. truck won't start.. wait 5 minutes and truck starts up again with no problems
Fast forward 5 days, go to start truck and it won't start. starter is good and battery is good, motor just spins but never starts. Let it sit for 20 minutes or so and go back, turn key, pathy starts up just fine.

Next day I have the same problem. Truck won't start. I'm cranking it and notice that there is a slight bit of combustion in the engine, like it's trying to start. It sounds like the engine is not getting enough gas. I manage to get it started but RPMS are at like 100-250. I give it some gas, engine roars to life and idles normally. Take it for a test drive, no problem. Head home, turn off engine. Try to start again and it starts just fine - no problem.

Next day, truck won't start again. Leave it for 20 minutes, still no starting. Alright, I figure it must be a fuel delivery problem. Replace fuel filter per these forums (fuel filter was awful, brown gas drained out of it, just foul) Fuel filter replaced and vehicle roars to life instantly. I also checked obd codes and none were present.

Now fast forward another 3 days and pathy is DOA again. Starter turns the engine, but it just won't fire up. I'm not sure where to go from here. I figured the fuel filter was the problem as it was old and I haven't replaced it yet. I did notice a bit of white smoke coming from the exhaust after cranking it all morning. I think that white smoke is just atomized uncombusted fuel (happened on my motorcycle before) I'm considering going to a mechanic but I want to get all the basic stuff out of the way first.

I'm fairly mechanically inclined. What should I check on before I send the vehicle to the mechanic? Are there any obvious items that would keep the engine from starting?
I do not have any issues once I get it started. Starting is the only problem.

I have checked:
Air filter
OBDII codes
Fuel filter

[Towncivilian]

Check under the distributor cap for dust/dirt build up, if dust/dirt is on the LED this can impact timing. ARKQX33V6 will have more to say about the distributor set up, I don't know much about it and don't recall any more suggestions (didn't get much sleep last night). Sorry for being useless currently.

[brutaldm]

as far as the distributor cap goes: is it just a matter of pulling the spark plug wire boots off and unscrewing the distributor cover then cleaning the inside?

[Towncivilian]

You are correct, to the best of my knowledge. Use compressed air to clean it I think.

[Buzzman]

Sounds a bit like an intermittent fuel pump.
When you turn the key to the run position (but don't try to start it), can you hear the fuel pump start up?
Considering the age of the truck, it could be a dirty connection somewhere under the truck, or even in the gas tank itself.
Tough to troubleshoot, but I'd be inclined to go after the pump and it's wiring.

[brutaldm]

I checked out the distributor as suggested. Cleaned off the rotor and the contacts on the posts in the cap. Rotor end was black and post internals had slight corrosion. I cleaned the rotor and cap. Tried to start the pathy again. - starter turns motor, but pathy does not start.

I pulled the 1st plug and grounded it to the intake manifold. buddy tries to start my truck and I observe no spark. At this point, I take it to the mechanic and he figures out that the inside of the rotor was cracked and was grounding out. Therefore, no electricity was making it to the plugs.

To answer the question about the fuel pump: I could hear the fuel pump priming consistently and it turned out the fuel pump was OK.


thanks for all the help, nicoforums!