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1993 Sentra 1.6 Again


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bill k
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Apr 16, 2009, 9:42 AM

Post #1 of 15 (1872 views)
1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

HI all, well it has been a few months since we changed the injectors, fuel filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and MAF and the car was running really nice. Now all of a sudden at idle it is running real rough and with the AC on it almost quits. Where do I go from here????????


Loren Champlain Sr
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Apr 16, 2009, 4:27 PM

Post #2 of 15 (1866 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Bill; There's a lot of reasons it could be running 'rough'. By pulling the spark plugs and taking a look will tell a lot.
If no vacuum leaks are found, might take a compression test while the plugs are out. Report back with how the plugs looked. White, dark, wet, dry, and what cylinders they came out of. Also, compression readings.
Loren
SW Washington


bill k
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Apr 21, 2009, 1:44 PM

Post #3 of 15 (1854 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Ok been busy this weekend with a roof repair, but here is what I found yesterday and today
Number 2 spark plug full of black soot & carbon fouled, all other plugs look great so I swapped plugs one and two to see what happened. Today wife said no change so I checked again, one is great, number two is all black and sooty again. traced wire to distributer in case it was loose and found bottom of distributer is wet with oil and the lowest wire on the cap is Number Two, did not pull cap off, want to see what you all think......


Loren Champlain Sr
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Apr 21, 2009, 3:52 PM

Post #4 of 15 (1844 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

bill; That would very suspicious, of course. I've seen distributors leak oil internally, before. Remove the cap and take a look. If it is oily inside, replace it, of course. To buy yourself some time, you could get a spray can of electrical cleaner and clean the inside of the distributor. Be sure to give it a lot of time to dry, though. If you don't, you could literally blow the cap off when you try to start it. It is also very possible that you've got a bad spark plug wire on that cylinder, or even a compression issue. But, first things first.
Loren
SW Washington


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kubiakw@bellsouth.net

Apr 23, 2009, 7:58 AM

Post #5 of 15 (1838 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Here is what I have done, there was some evidence of the inner oil seal shaft of the distributer leaking but there was no oil on the electrodes inside the cap so I put the old saved distrubuter cap back on, put the old saved number two plug wire back on and ran it around the block, same thing, misfiring, or running rough at idle, seems to run fine when I give it the gas, pulled number two plug it is all black and sooty, pulled one and three plugs they are all firing normally, got my compression gauge out, Number one and three both around 150 number two is 110, I even pulled and cleaned the IAC as suggested in the haynes manual, it was slightly dusty, cleaned and put it back in, no difference
The black sooty plug condition indicates it is running too rich, how can that be we just recently changed all the injectors???


Loren Champlain Sr
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Apr 23, 2009, 3:48 PM

Post #6 of 15 (1829 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Are the #2 & #3 wires close enough to the same length that you could swap them, to see if the miss moves to 3?
Could be an injector problem (too much fuel), a vacuum leak on that cylinder, or a loss of spark. 110# compression isn't anything to write home about, but enough for the cylinder to fire. And, if it's getting fuel washed, would explain why the compression is down. Another thought...have you checked valve clearances? A tight (or partially burned) valve could cause these symptoms.
Loren
SW Washington


bill k
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May 1, 2009, 6:00 AM

Post #7 of 15 (1818 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

The miss did not move with the wire swap. If it was getting too much fuel I thought the plug would be wet and not fire at all. This is all black and sooty which I understand to mean it is firing but not burning the gas completly. When I gun it, (Pedal to the Metal) it blasts off like it was new. it goes to hell at idle and with the AC on it almost quits. That distributer is still getting wet with oil and I wonder about that. I called the injector warehouse and they said it if is a bad injector they will send another one. But that is a lot of work, I am hoping for something simple .


Loren Champlain Sr
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May 1, 2009, 4:10 PM

Post #8 of 15 (1811 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Bill; You must be to the point of pulling out your hair! I feel for ya'. The black, sooty, plug says too much fuel. Assuming (I hate that word) that the cylinder is getting ample spark, we're getting down to either a faulty injector or a valve problem, I think. I'm just wondering if the problem could be from an unseen problem with the distributor cap? Maybe, a carbon track that you can't see? If you're getting moisture in the cap, it's a definite possibility.
I remember that you replaced the injectors, but not why. Were you getting the same results, on the same cylinder? If so, the odds of a faulty injector just went way down. By swapping the wires, you've eliminated the spark plug wires as the problem. I think I'd try a dist. cap...cheap and easy. But, you're going to have to deal with the oil leak eventually. If you don't want to check valve clearances, which you really should if everything else checks out, you could try swapping #2 & #3 injectors to see if the problem moves. Unsure
Loren
SW Washington


bill k
User

May 1, 2009, 5:20 PM

Post #9 of 15 (1807 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Ripping my hair out is more like it. You don't know what you ask swapping injectors, gotta take half the motor apart just to get at em. Last time I did that I broke the MAF in the process. I think it was number 4 cylinder that was the problem the last time. The distributer is mounted sideways and it has oil on the outside bottom, when I pull the cap off the inside lip has some oil on it. That tells me it is leaking internally thru a shaft seal. I cannot get at what is inside the damn thing because it all electronic and the rubber seal between the cap and the body is both swollen and torn. There is some magic hocus pocus that goes on inside there that takes the place of points, condenser and a vacuum advance. The cap is new, so was the one I originally replaced, I saved the cap and wires too. I've been fooling with cars for 40 years and never had this much trouble fixing something.

For kicks I looked at my Jeep Grand Cherokee V-8 today and everything is right out in the open, I can swap injectors, pull plugs with ease etc, on this computer operated Nissan I am working in the dark, I have yet to find the computer that is located somewhere under the dash behind the radio and AC controls.

This #2 plug is firing, it just don't have enough grit in the fire. I connected a timing light to the wire and it shows the electric is flowing to the plug, how much is another guess.

I am thinking to try to find a used distributer at a junk yard, since you cannot repair them anymore. There is a magical module in there that cost about a hundred bucks or more to buy


Loren Champlain Sr
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May 1, 2009, 7:15 PM

Post #10 of 15 (1803 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Bill; Glad to hear that you still have a sense of humor after all of this.Wink Yes, the ignition control modules in the distributor are so expensive, it's usually cheaper to buy a reman. distributor than to replace parts in it. Unsure Although the distributor is a need, I really don't think that is the source of your problem. I still keep coming back, in my mind...what's left of it, to compression, valves, and injector. Could be way off, but... You have checked for external problems, like vacuum hoses, EGR? Not sure what intake port the EGR mounts. Just for a reference. Price: $199.99
Just checked, labor to replace all injectors calls for one hour. Can't be that tough.Wink Injector resistance should be 10 ohms. Also, be sure to check the injector connectors as they are a known trouble spot.

Loren
SW Washington

(This post was edited by Loren Champlain Sr on May 1, 2009, 7:20 PM)


bill k
User

May 4, 2009, 9:35 AM

Post #11 of 15 (1783 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

I called the Injector Warehouse and they are sending me a replacement injector (free) I am looking for a used Distributer, any ideas there?

It took me over one hour just to disassemble the car enough to get at the injectors, all the hoses are not easy after years of being stuck on there and the injectors do not just pop out after 14 years, they put up a great struggle to stay in there. Getting them out with out breaking the top off is a time consuming and delicate operation if you want your 10 dollar each core fee back.

Today I discovered that if I stomp on the gas from a start the car runs great. if I just start off normally it bucks and struggles to get going but once up to speed it runs smooth. DOES THAT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU??


Loren Champlain Sr
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May 4, 2009, 2:34 PM

Post #12 of 15 (1776 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Bill; Before you go to the trouble of replacing the injector, check the resistance and the connector. It's been so long since this thread started, I can't remember if you've checked this injector with a noid light to make sure it is even getting an electrical pulse. Noid lights are very inexpensive if you don't have one. Many times, under higher rpms, people just won't notice the misfire.
Loren
SW Washington

(This post was edited by Loren Champlain Sr on May 4, 2009, 2:36 PM)


bill k
User

May 4, 2009, 2:57 PM

Post #13 of 15 (1769 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Now there is a new word. What is a noid light?

Bill


Loren Champlain Sr
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May 4, 2009, 3:44 PM

Post #14 of 15 (1765 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

Noid; That's eastern US speech for nerd. No, just kidding. A noid light is a little light that plugs into the injector connector and illuminates in accordance with the command from the PCM. You can tell if the harness is supplying voltage to the injector, and depending on the demand, you can actually see how often it sends 'pulses'. Not a very good picture, and I think you can buy them individually, rather than a set.
Loren
SW Washington


bill k
User

May 6, 2009, 7:16 AM

Post #15 of 15 (1754 views)
Re: 1993 Sentra 1.6 Again Sign In

I put a mechanic's stethoscope on and listened to the injectors. The #2 did not sound at all like the other three, so I called the Injector Warehouse people to see what they thought and the next day, a knock on the door, it's FEDEX with another injector at no charge. That is great customer service. Still looking for a replacement Distributer, that leaking oil internally cannot be good.

Bill






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