# '89 sentra ga16i won't start



## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

my g/f's '89 sentra will not start, it does crank over, has spark, fuel pump is working, injector is spraying, battery has 12v, cel was on a week ago and disappeared 2 days before it quit starting. I know it could be any of the sensors that are bad.I was wondering if there is a way to pull cel codes without the diagnostic reader. I did search for post on pulling cel codes without a diagnostic reader and couldn't find an answer. If i missed that thread i am sorry. I know that on hondas you can put a paper clip in the diagnostic plug into certain pins to make the cel flash the code. Is there a similar way to do this on an '89 sentra? thank you.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

you don't need anything to get the codes, on the computer under the pass. seat there is a screw next to 2 led's (red and green), you turn the screw fully clockwise until you see the led's blink 3 times, than quickly turn the screw all the way back the other way, than count the number of blinks each led blinks, I don't have the service manual in front of me but I have one for my 90 sentra, 

this should help you also:

| Repair Guides | Self-diagnostic Systems | Fuel Injected Engines | AutoZone.com


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

awesome thank you very much!


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

your welcome, anytime!! Good luck


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

Ok so i finally got around to pulling that code, and it's coming out as a code 32 or a code 23 not good at reading these. It was 2 long flashes followed by 3 short flashes then a pause then 4 short flashes, then a pause, then 5 short flashes. i believe which would be the egr or "idle switch". anyone have an idea?


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

Not sure if you were in "mode 3", when you turned the screw fully clockwise, did you wait for the led's to blink 3 times than you have to turn the screw back the other way all the way. than it will blink out the codes, Also in "mode 
3" I believe the codes will blink at the same speed, no quick 2 than slow 3, the led's should blink one color first say green on off on, than the red on off on off on, giving the 23 code,but if you were in mode 5 which is a real time mode where the engine would be running the service manual shows those codes as blinking fast or slow. Code 45 comes up as injector leak California models only, no code for non California.

You say the car won't start but it cranks, you can hear the fuel pump priming before turning the key, and can see fuel goin g into the throttle body, have you checked the timing? make sure each spark plug wire is on the correct location on the distributor cap?

here is a diagram for code 23:


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

yep timing is perfect, all spark plugs in correct spots on the dizzy and all sparking. i didn't realize that when i pulled the code the last time i was in the wrong mode. got into mode 3 and gave code 55 so everything there shows good. could the battery voltage being low cause this? i haven't tried charging or jumping her battery. also her battery terminal definitely needs replace it had corrosion on it and some of the terminal chunked off where it goes around the post. any more ideas? thank you for all the info ahardb0dy, it's helping me learn a lot.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

I still have no clue why it won't start, The FSM lists things to check if the car won't start at all, or only when the engine may be hot, I can post them all in a while. Meanwhile I posted your problem on another forum I go to (pathfinder forum on another site to see if anyone there has a clue), your welcome on the help, want to see you get the car running again.

one of the responses from the other forum was asking about the spark, they were asking if it was a "hot blue spark, or a dull yellow spark" he said it may have spark but not enough to allow the engine to run.

also someone had said he doubts it is a timing problem unless the timing was 180 degrees off, but he said even if the timing was off it would run, really shitty but it should run.

they also suggested checking the MAF sensor.

could you give some more back ground on the car, was it running, what happened when it wouldn't start? did she park it for the night and than the next day it just wouldn't start or something? Thanks


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

So the history on the car is when she bought a month ago it was running just fine and about 2 weeks of driving it would have times where it wouldn't want to start on the first try. So each time she would start the car had her turn the ignition to the on position then back off then turn ignition to start and sure enough it would start right up. At that point i was thinking the fuel pump was going out. then about a week ago she went to start the car and when it fired up it ran for about 2 seconds then shutoff. now each time you go start it it will crank over 3 times start for half a second then start turning over again. when i pulled the spark plugs out they were very corroded. i sanded the contacts and regapped them to .040 because the gap was massive. tested the spark it was yellow instead of blue. i kind of dismissed that. don't know why... so today i'll be headed out to get new plugs.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

the spark looking yellow may indicate a weak coil, and it may not be giving enough of a spark to ignite the fuel. I hate to replace parts when I'm not sure of what the problem may be but if you could get a coil from a junkyard you may want to try that first.

where did you check for spark at each individual plug wire? If not I would, could have a bad wire also.

Did you check the rotor and inside of the distributor cap?

As for the plugs I would just recommend getting new ones they are cheap enough, I would stay with regular old NGK plugs the Nissans tend to run better using them and don't fall for any of the "gimmick plugs"

Let me know if anything changes


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

Checked it all and got new plugs. with new plugs its a blue spark all around. still doing the same thing. even checked battery voltage and it was sitting perfect at 12volts. Her dad picked up a new o2 sensor today so i'll be putting that in and giving it a try. if that doesn't work i'll be taking a volt/ohm meter to ever sensor. also will clean out the iacv.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

O2 sensor wouldn't effect it starting, the voltage normally will be higher than 12 but if it has been sitting I guess it could drop, but running the alternator should put out about 13.6, you may see a voltage drop when it is cranking but than it should recover once it starts to run. But you have enough voltage for it to crank so that shouldn't be a problem.

You have fuel, the fuel pump primes when you first turn the key on ( hissing sound), you have spark, and the starter cranks, it should start, unless the timing is so far off, spark may not be going to the correct plug at the correct time, only thing I can think of for it not starting. If the distributor is sending spark to a plug in a cylinder that say is on the exhaust stroke than their would be no fuel in the cylinder to ignite and no start.

I took this from another site:

Engine Problems

So you go out one morning and your engine will turn over but it won't start... What could be wrong? Three fundamental things can happen: a bad fuel mix, lack of compression or lack of spark. Beyond that, thousands of minor things can create problems, but these are the "big three." here is a quick rundown on how these problems affect your engine:

Bad fuel mix - A bad fuel mix can occur in several ways:

* You are out of gas, so the engine is getting air but no fuel.
* The air intake might be clogged, so there is fuel but not enough air.
* The fuel system might be supplying too much or too little fuel to the mix, meaning that combustion does not occur properly.
* There might be an impurity in the fuel (like water in your gas tank) that makes the fuel not burn.

Lack of compression - If the charge of air and fuel cannot be compressed properly, the combustion process will not work like it should. Lack of compression might occur for these reasons:

* Your piston rings are worn (allowing air/fuel to leak past the piston during compression).
* The intake or exhaust valves are not sealing properly, again allowing a leak during compression.
* There is a hole in the cylinder.

Lack of spark - The spark might be nonexistent or weak for a number of reasons:

* If your spark plug or the wire leading to it is worn out, the spark will be weak.
* If the wire is cut or missing, or if the system that sends a spark down the wire is not working properly, there will be no spark.
* If the spark occurs either too early or too late in the cycle (i.e. if the ignition timing is off), the fuel will not ignite at the right time, and this can cause all sorts of problems.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

Just had a thought, does the car have an alarm? If so could be an ignition kill issue, see also this web site that guides you thru situations just click on the appropriate answer to take you to the next set of questions:


Car no-start troubleshooting guide


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

So I found out what is going on. It clicked in my head when i went to start it again. Went to test the volts of the tps and sure enough 0 volts. checked the plug at the tps and it has 5 volts but from number 19 port on the ecu it has 0 volts all around with throttle wide open and throttle closed. i believe it should be giving out 4 volts wot and .4 volts with throttle not pressed. now i'm going to adjust the tps and see what happens.


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## s13panda16 (Aug 21, 2010)

ok so i hadn't touch the for a while up until today. this morning i decided to sit in the car turn ignition to on and heard the relays click fuel pump prime then about 1 min later i heard the fuel pump relay click again and prime again(not supposed to do that). so i took the relay out of my 89 240sx and swapped it with the sentras sure enough car fired right up and now drivable after getting new plugs, wires, fuel filter and cap and rotor. glad it has a tune up though haha. so pretty much the relay was still working but didn't have a good connection inside or something. thought i would just give an update. thanks again ahardbody for all the tips and input!


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

Glad to hear you figured it out, remember most Nissan relays that are the same color are the same, so if you get one from a junkyard or something.


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