# 93 Altima cut-off and will not start



## MrJPorter (Aug 21, 2006)

I was driving home about 2 days ago and my altima cut off on me all of a sudden. Many lights in the instrument cluster popped on at once including the check engine light, oil light, seat belt light, etc... At that moment I lost my power steering as well and the car completely shut off. 

When we tried to restart it the car cranks but it will not catch (start). Yesterday I looked under the hood again to try and diagnose the problem. The fuel pump and fuel filter are good (It gets gas). The spark plugs are good and there is no oil in the distributor (it gets fire... Very good fire). We also tried testing the fuel pressure and that seemed to be decent. The security fuses were also checked and they were perfect. 

After many headaches we went to see what codes popped up from the ECM and got 3 long pulses and 4 short ones indicating a knock sensor problem. We've removed the knock sensor and tested it's resitivity and the harness wiring continuity... Everything seems to be coming out fine. 

Does anyone else have any suggestions to get my Altima back running again???


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## MrJPorter (Aug 21, 2006)

By the way, the spark plugs are looking mighty fine as well...


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## enjoy_incubus (Aug 26, 2004)

check your main fuses and your belts.


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## MrJPorter (Aug 21, 2006)

enjoy_incubus said:


> check your main fuses and your belts.


We checked all fuses and they work. Which belts are we supposed to check (and how)?


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

Do this. Remove the distributor car and rotor then the cover on the distributor itself. If there is any oil present there, then you have a bad distributor. Veyr common problem


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

The Same thing happened to my 1994 Altima last night. I let my roommate borrow my car and she said it stalled right before they got home, but she was able to start it up again and drive it the 100 yards to our house, but she said it was steaming. This morning I checked on it and there was no coolant in it at all. I filled it up, but it wouldn't start. The ECM gave me the code 34, knock sensor. It's sitting in my muddy driveway and I can't get to the knock sensor, but I checked the distributor and there is a small crack on the cap (I may have actually done this when I removed it, but it's) and the distributor is loose. I don't know if it's supposed to be like that but my intuition and friends who know more about cars than I do, both say it's not. And I didn't see any oil on or around the distributor.

Thanks,

matt


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## dmcgreal (May 7, 2006)

*how to check your distributer for oil*

1... take the plug wires off the distributer cap

2... take th distributer cap off set to the side

3... take the rotor off

4... slide the protectant plate off be carefull there is a rubber ring gasket do not loose this the plate is as round as the distributer.

5... than behind that plate is a little disk looks like a cd but smaller it should be very clean and shiny if there is oil on it the distributer is bad dont try to clean it that will not solve the problem you must replace it to fix it 

now that should solve all your problems just take your time and do it right the first time i had the same problems and have not had them since good luck


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## enjoy_incubus (Aug 26, 2004)

MrJPorter said:


> We checked all fuses and they work. Which belts are we supposed to check (and how)?


alternator belt..make sure its working properly


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## MrJPorter (Aug 21, 2006)

Well, I think the altnerator belt worked fine. We actually got it up and running today (yippee skippy). After $255 on an ignition coil, distributor, distributor cap, and rotor button, it appears as though the timing was off just a bit. This all started to make sense after logical thinking (bumpy ride shuts car off, won't allow restart, knock sensor alert is enabled [but knock sensor doesn't keep car from starting... only retards timing]) So, we adjusted the ignition timing by slowing rotating the new distributor opened the accelerator a bit and it started right up. 

As far as matts question, on my new $140 distributor it gave me a guide to problems and a cracked and loose distributor were each symptoms for engine problems and starting issues. Unfortunately, if I were you, I would replace the cap, button, and distributor itself.


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

dmcgreal said:


> 1... take the plug wires off the distributer cap
> 
> 2... take th distributer cap off set to the side
> 
> ...


Good write up..
for the two people having there car's stalling out, the first place to look is the distributor. Again, this is a very common problem with the Altimas.


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check take the whole distributor apart and check for oil and try and get a new one as soon as I can get a ride to a parts store which is unfortunately quite a ways from home.


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

I also checked the spark plugs and they are sparking, not great, I need to replace them, but they were working.would that mean my distributor is working and it's a timing issue and if so how exactly do you change the timing? I looked around online and in the Haynes manual, but they all say I need special tools. Is this the case?

thanks

matt


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

mnoerpel said:


> I also checked the spark plugs and they are sparking, not great, I need to replace them, but they were working.would that mean my distributor is working and it's a timing issue and if so how exactly do you change the timing? I looked around online and in the Haynes manual, but they all say I need special tools. Is this the case?
> 
> thanks
> 
> matt


Just because your spark plugs wires are workinf doesn't mean the dist. is fine.
What happens, from what I read up on the distributor is , when the PVC valve gets clogged and the oil migrates through the seal on the distributor, cause it to fail. Like I mentioned before, dont' jump to conclucions. Inspect the dist. to determine if its bad and then let us know what you find.
Frank


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

I'm not quite sure I did the right thing. I took off the cap, but I don't see how to get the rotor detached from the distributor. I can see what I'm assuming is the rubber ring gasket from step 4, but I don't see how to get at it.

So I took the whole thing out of the engine. There was oil on the part that came out, but I'm assuming there was supposed to be. The rubber ring there was in good condition and there was only oil on the engine side of it. 

I checked the wrong thing though didn't I?

thanks

matt


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

mnoerpel said:


> I'm not quite sure I did the right thing. I took off the cap, but I don't see how to get the rotor detached from the distributor. I can see what I'm assuming is the rubber ring gasket from step 4, but I don't see how to get at it.
> 
> So I took the whole thing out of the engine. There was oil on the part that came out, but I'm assuming there was supposed to be. The rubber ring there was in good condition and there was only oil on the engine side of it.
> 
> ...



The rotor is attatch with a crossed recessed screw, you probably didn't see it, because its rotated under the rotor, feel around and your find the screw. Once you remove that, remove the plastic cover on the distributor, you'll see a encoder disk. Basically is a thin disk with a bunch of slots and a sensor. If you see any oil in there then the distributor is bad.


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

I had to take the whole thing out to get at that screw, but I got it open and the disc is clean and shiny. and the distributor isn't loose as I had originally thought, just the cover and it's not very loose.

Could it be just the distributor cap and button or am I in the wrong place alltogether.

thanks,

matt


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## dmcgreal (May 7, 2006)

start there if it dose not fix the problem saave youself alot of headachs and replace the dist.


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

It's come to my attention that I haven't replaced the fuel filter in quite a while and drove my car pretty low on gas the other day (The low fuel light never popped on, but I definately put in a low fuel light amount of gas. And the temperature gage didn't read anything funny (I hear) when my roommate was driving it when it died.) Someone also drove by and suggested the relay may be gone. When he suggested that a firend who was in the car with my roommate when it died said the heat wouldn't go on when he tried to defog the windows. I've got a ride to work tomorrow so I can get a new filter and releys if neccessary.

thanks


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

mnoerpel said:


> It's come to my attention that I haven't replaced the fuel filter in quite a while and drove my car pretty low on gas the other day (The low fuel light never popped on, but I definately put in a low fuel light amount of gas. And the temperature gage didn't read anything funny (I hear) when my roommate was driving it when it died.) Someone also drove by and suggested the relay may be gone. When he suggested that a firend who was in the car with my roommate when it died said the heat wouldn't go on when he tried to defog the windows. I've got a ride to work tomorrow so I can get a new filter and releys if neccessary.
> 
> thanks



Giving the car a tune up never hurts. It sounds like your on a wild goose chase. Have you at least had the car's computer scanned for any stored codes? Remember that just because the engine light is not on doesn't mean there isn't a store code. 

But I'm telling you if your car is stalling out and then you wait a few seconds and it restartes and stalls out again, its more or less the distributor. If you don't believe me do a search "distributor" on this forum for the 1993-1997 section and you'll see tons of hits. Like I mentioned it a very very commone isses with these Altimas. Now just because you don't see any oil inside the distributor doesn't mean there's not a distributor issue.
Good Luck Frank


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

I replaced the distributor cap, rotor button, spark plugs (which smell like they're geting fuel), and fuel filter and it's still not working. I checked the ECM when it first happened and it gave th ethe code 34 -- Knock Sensor (the car was overheating when it went out. The temp gage said it was fine, but it was clearly overheating and there was no coolant in the radiator when I checked it the next morning and I'm told the heat would not come on to defog the windows). Now the ECM reads 55 -- Everythings alright (clearly not the case). But the Haynes manual says the Knock sensor throws off the timing. Would an engine start if the timing was off?

I am on a wild goose chase here mainly because I don't have the money to get a new distributor.


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## dmcgreal (May 7, 2006)

just trust me on this your knock sensor is not bad it is your dist. replace it you are on a wild goose chase i mean if you dont wat to take are advise its fine if you dont have the money to buy one go to the junk yard and get one for like 20 bucks im 99.9% sure that is your problem and if im not ill come to your house and fix it myself so stop working your self up about a knock sensor altimas throw that code when something is wrong with the ignition system because the dist. dose not have a sensor in it to throw a code and as for the overheating the water pump runs off the timeing belt and it was not functioning right because of the ignition problem

just trust me
dan


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

Hey all, I thought I should let everyone know what the outcome of my car troubles were. I took it to a mechanic who said my water pump was not working and there was some water in the oil. He replaced the water pump and when he did, he found what looked like brass shards in the water and oil. It turns out that before I had bought it, the block had cracked and it had been fixed with block sealer. That worked fine for over 3 years until the water pump went out and the car overheated which reopened that crack. He was able to get the car running, but after the 4 mile ride home, the oil looked like chocolate milk. I tried the block filler again, but there are bubbles in my oil and it won't idle, so unless all the water didn't get out when I changed the oil, it didn't work. 

And the mechanic said it wouldn't start because it was severly flooded, which doesn't make sense to me because the I tried starting it multiple times over the course of a week and then changed the spark plugs which I would think would take care of that. 

Thanks for all the help. If I get another nissan, I sure you'll hear from me again.


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

mnoerpel said:


> Hey all, I thought I should let everyone know what the outcome of my car troubles were. I took it to a mechanic who said my water pump was not working and there was some water in the oil. He replaced the water pump and when he did, he found what looked like brass shards in the water and oil. It turns out that before I had bought it, the block had cracked and it had been fixed with block sealer. That worked fine for over 3 years until the water pump went out and the car overheated which reopened that crack. He was able to get the car running, but after the 4 mile ride home, the oil looked like chocolate milk. I tried the block filler again, but there are bubbles in my oil and it won't idle, so unless all the water didn't get out when I changed the oil, it didn't work.
> 
> And the mechanic said it wouldn't start because it was severly flooded, which doesn't make sense to me because the I tried starting it multiple times over the course of a week and then changed the spark plugs which I would think would take care of that.
> 
> Thanks for all the help. If I get another nissan, I sure you'll hear from me again.


That would have been my solution to your problem as well. I'd wouldn't bother with swaping engines, unless the body and everything else was in mint condition.


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## mnoerpel (Feb 19, 2006)

Yeah, unless someone gives me an engine (I'm not holding my breath), this car's unfortunately headed to the junkyard. The worst part of it is that I've got tires with 300 miles on them. They've still got the rubber threads hanging off them. And I was in Northern Virginia, in the wealthiest county in the country, when the old ones blew, so not only are they brand new, but they were overpriced as well. I should have just bought a bus ticket home. at least I can get something for those. I can't get anything for the clutch I just put in.


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