# 1995 Nissan Maxima intermittent stalling issue



## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

175K on the car, usually fill up with 89 to 93 octane fuel and add lucas fuel treatment once a month. Regular maintenance is always performed.

My Maxima is not giving me a check engine light code. It starts up fine and idles fine but I am having a weird stalling issue under load. Most of the time when this occurs it happens as soon as I shift into a gear. The engine rpms start fluctuating and it stalls out almost immediately. Now sometimes I can just be driving and all of a sudden it does the same thing regardless of how fast I am driving. If I shift into neutral and gas it, sometimes I can keep it from stalling completely and then shift back into drive, but most of the time it just stalls out and I have to restart the engine.

I have taken apart all of the air intake housing and cleaned it out. I cleaned out my mass air flow sensor with maf cleaner. I have checked hoses for leaks. Replaced my fuel filter. Cleaned out my idle air control valve. Nothing seems to have helped. The issue is still occurring every other day or sometimes I can drive fine for 2 days and then it's a battle to get out of my driveway.

I figure the maf should be working ok since I cleaned it but maybe I should replace it just to see what happens. Can disconnecting the maf and driving around tell me anything?

Do I need to start checking the fuel pump, relay or regulator? It just seems like I am not getting fuel or air and I think I have checked the air side of things. Not receiving a check engine light with my engine constantly stalling has me stumped so if anyone here has ran across this issue please shoot me some ideas.


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## rexracer (Mar 21, 2010)

Disconnecting the MAF is an easy way to diagnose if it is bad. There is no harm on a stock vehicle since the computer will go into a "fail mode" or "safe mode" as some people know it as. Basically it's just an open loop. Doesn't take an actual reading of the air flow, instead uses a preset table of fuel against the rpm and throttle position. However you will probably experience a rough idle or high idle but will be fine when driving normal. I would not recommend doing this on a car that is modified or for an extended amount of time as you can burn on the lean side and run the risk of pinging.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

The only problem with just disconnecting the maf is waiting for it to occur again to see if there is any difference. It has driven fine today so far. I just want to narrow this issue down a bit. I know that there is a check engine code for the maf and since I am not receiving a check engine light then I might be barking up the wrong tree.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

Ok so last night the issue popped up on my way home. I was driving fine and was coming to a stop sign and the engine stalled. It restarted immediately but as soon as I shifted to drive it died again. I hopped out and unplugged the MAF, restarted and it died again when i shifted into drive. Tried 3 more times with the MAF unplugged...same result. So I started the car up and hopped out and plugged the MAF in while the car was running and the engine stalled out immediately on me plugging it in. I started the car and drove home with no more issues. So.....does that mean anything to any of you because I am still confused. Still no check engine light.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

Found someone willing to swap out his MAF sensor with mine Friday. Gonna try that and see if the problem comes back. Anyone have any other ideas?


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

So I swapped out the MAF and so far it hasn't given me an issue and my MAF hasn't given his car an issue. I will just drive this way and see what happens.

any other suggestions would be appreciated. still no check engine light.

Please post anything else that may cause this weird intermittent stalling issue. pcv, knock sensor, spark plugs...whatever.


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## JNCoRacer (Apr 18, 2003)

One of the other Dallas guys on the forums had a problem with his stalling. He found that the battery wasnt tied down properly and it was hitting the fuse boxes under the hood and casing something to come loose.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

My battery is snug. Just double checked it.


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## rexracer (Mar 21, 2010)

Well if it isn't giving you anymore issues after replace the MAF then there is your answer. As for your old one not causing problems on the other guy's car, I have no clue.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

no issues on either car. although the car i swapped MAF's with is a 5 speed. his air filter housing doesn't have that other sensor like the automatics. not sure what that little sensor in the air filter housing does in conjunction with the MAF. gonna keep driving it like this all week and see if either of us have any issues...so far so good though.


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

Still runs good with the swapped out MAF. I was going to buy a new one so I can give this other MAF back or replace it if it acts up again. Seems like they run about $200 in parts stores but there is one on ebay for 94.99. Has anyone had luck with this ebay model?
Nissan Maxima Mass Air Flow Sensor Meter 1995-1999 1996 : eBay Motors (item 360216568315 end time May-09-10 09:06:40 PDT)


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## guinnesshead (Mar 22, 2010)

My original MAF started acting up in the other car so I ended up buying a used MAF for $45 on ebay. It was dirty so I sprayed it down with MAF cleaner and my Max is running like a champ.


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