# Low idle, No start



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

I have a 95 Altima 230,000 miles. For a few months now the car has occasionally idled at or near 0 RPM. It felt like it would stall, but never did. This morning, I tried to start the car and it wouldn't turn over, though it cranks just fine. Eventually it does turn over, but then immediately stalls out. 1 in every 20 tries, it will actually start, I'll give it gas, and it will run for a few seconds before stalling again. I've recently changed the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and alternator. To a novice like myself, it seems to be a fuel issue, possibly a fuel pump.
Questions:
1. Are the low idling and this non-starting/stalling issue related?
2. What's causing either or both?
3. If it's the fuel pump, how do I verify this?

Thanks,
sk


----------



## Agoudine (Feb 19, 2005)

When did you last time replace fuel and air filters? It may cause problems like this. If it was more than two years - replace those and see what happens. Write if you need to know how to replace fuel filter(Haynes Repair manual has this information). Also check hoses for cracking. See if any trouble codes present.
What about the noise under hood? I believe, you've had this issue before.


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

Agoudine said:


> When did you last time replace fuel and air filters? It may cause problems like this. If it was more than two years - replace those and see what happens. Write if you need to know how to replace fuel filter(Haynes Repair manual has this information). Also check hoses for cracking. See if any trouble codes present.
> What about the noise under hood? I believe, you've had this issue before.


I will try the fuel and air filters before I try anything else. But would this cause it to not start?

I also know for sure that the rear mount is bad, causing a clunking sound occasionally. But this seems unrelated, as it's been around for a very long time with no repercussions.

I'm also going to replace the water pump for no other reason than to be sure that's not causing the problem. I know that you have to go through the backseat to get to it, but is there any sort of trick to pulling it out? I've asked around and a couple people have said that it's easy to access, hard to get out.

The stores near my house do not have the altima's haynes manual, so if anyone has any info that might help with any of this, it would be a great help.

thank you very much,
sk


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

Alright so I got the scan tool and it told me that the camshaft position sensor has gone bad. The part is a dealer part and cost 41.00...not bad. The dealer says that it's gonna be 20-25 hours of labor, so almost $1600 !!!!!

So I called other places and they said it would cost around $100 for labor...not bad. But before I do this, I would like to verify if:
1. In fact, the Cam Shaft Position Sensor IS in fact causing these problems.
2. If I can do this myself?

Any help would be great. 

Thanks, 

sk


----------



## Agoudine (Feb 19, 2005)

I think,there are no replacement parts for distributor except cap rotor and seal cover.So, in order to replace camshaft position sensor,you need to replace the entire distributor,which cost about $300. But there may be other way, that I don't know about.
Replace fuel and air filters. Before changing the fuel pump check it.
Haynes Repair Manual shows how to do it.
Buy the Manual online,just search for its name in Yahoo and it will find a lot of web sites selling this book. It cost about $15.


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

Agoudine said:


> I think,there are no replacement parts for distributor except cap rotor and seal cover.So, in order to replace camshaft position sensor,you need to replace the entire distributor,which cost about $300. But there may be other way, that I don't know about.
> Replace fuel and air filters. Before changing the fuel pump check it.
> Haynes Repair Manual shows how to do it.
> Buy the Manual online,just search for its name in Yahoo and it will find a lot of web sites selling this book. It cost about $15.


So if I replace the distributor, that will also take care of the camshaft position sensor??

I asked that same question to the Advance people and they said yes.
I asked the Nissan dealer and they said no, it's a separate repair. But I suspected they were trying to make money. 

thank you. I will replace the entire distributor, unless someone has any other ideas.


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

This morning, I switched out the distributor, with no relief. The car started right up, and ran perfectly for about 3 minutes. Then, everything just cut off. I tried to restart it and it would not turn over, would just crank. 

Not sure what to do next.

sk


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

Please help!!


----------



## Agoudine (Feb 19, 2005)

Did you install the distributor correctly?
Check the wire connections.
What about the filters?
There may be some electrical problems,but it's hard to determine.
Check everything again and if nothing helps, bring it to someone who can take a look at it.
Dealership will charge you a little under $100 for this,but they will tall you for sure.
Read the codes again.
What happens when you try to start the engine?


----------



## khatrisa (Aug 23, 2004)

Agoudine said:


> Did you install the distributor correctly?
> Check the wire connections.
> What about the filters?
> There may be some electrical problems,but it's hard to determine.
> ...


thanks for the help...i'm taking it in.

I'll let yall know what it was...seems to be relatively common


----------

