# 98 Altima Won't Start



## gtg162y (Oct 9, 2005)

I have a 99 Altima and it has 135,000 miles. It has been driving pretty well, but all of a sudden I could not start it yesterday morning. 

The engine does crack but does not start. My mechanic tested the battery and it is fine.
Searching on the internet, I came to know that this could be a result of any of these three conditions:
1. Fuel pump problem
2. Timing chain problem (engine compression)
3. Ignition system problem

Here's what my mechanic says:
1. The fuel pump seems fine as well, cause when I turn the key to "ON" position, there's some noise coming from somewhere around the gas tank for a few seconds.

2. The engine compression is above 120 on all 4 cylinders. So no prob. related to the timing chain.
FYI, mechanic said only cylinder 1 and 4 are important for starting

3. We changed the spark plugs and the ignition wires. My mechanic says since the car has a distributor, there's no ignition module, is this true??
He checked the distributor cover and rotor and both seem to be fine.
He finally connected a metal rod between the ignition wire and the engine metal and did *not* see a spark. This makes him be *confident* that the distributor is the source of the problem and so it needs to be replaced.

Can you please tell me if my mechanic is correct?

I would really appreciate any inputs/advice.
Thanks,
Amit


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

check your fuses first. start cheaply. you also need to check the ecu for codes. the chain isnt normally a problem. theyre made to last the life of the engine. have you checked to make sure that youre getting fuel to the cylinders? the distributors are known to be trouble on these engines. but dont go out and spend your hard earned money just yet.


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## gtg162y (Oct 9, 2005)

AsleepAltima said:


> check your fuses first. start cheaply. you also need to check the ecu for codes. the chain isnt normally a problem. theyre made to last the life of the engine. have you checked to make sure that youre getting fuel to the cylinders? the distributors are known to be trouble on these engines. but dont go out and spend your hard earned money just yet.


Yeah, I checked all the fuses and they seem to be fine. I think there's fuel going into the cylinders, cause after I tried for a few times, I removed the spark plugs from the cylinders and there was fuel in there. Also, when i diconnected the hose going from the fuel filter to the injection system, there was alot of fuel spilling off. So I think there's fuel going into the cylinders.

I am not sure how to check the ecu codes? Can you give me some more info about this? 

Thanks alot!


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## Vandy-1 (Apr 14, 2006)

In addition to checking for codes: Since it sounds like it is not a fuel problem
Take one of your plug wires off, push a plug into it as it normally is in the engine then
hold it so the end of the plug is close to a ground on the engine such as the valve cover.
MAKE SURE the area of the wire you are holding is well insulated to guard against shock.
Now have another person crank the motor over and look for spark at the end of the plug.
If a spark is present this tells you the distributor is fine and spark is reaching the plugs
so the distributor being faulty can be ruled out. If there is no spark then the problem
lies in the coils or in the distributor or one of its components.However if the mechanic
says there is no power to the ignition wire that enters/connects to the distributor then the problem would lie somewhere before the distributor and likely be a fuse or link as
Asleep Altima mentioned. In any case perform these tests before assuming the dist. is at
fault.


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## gtg162y (Oct 9, 2005)

Thanks alot guys!!!

One more question, how can you test if the ignition coil is working?


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