# Stalling problem with 92 maxima...HELP!



## Kristen514 (Jun 10, 2004)

Hi everyone I am new to this forum so hopefully I am posting in the right section. If not I am sorry. I do not know much about cars so sorry if I seem like an idiot.


I have an Automatic 1992 Nissan Maxima MSE that I just bought. The first day I had it it ran fine then it started to stall every so often for no reason. I thought it was because I put in bad gas so I emptied the tank and then put it octane 93...it seemed to run fine until I put octane booster in. I took it to the mechanic and he couldnt find any major problems with it. I thought it might be something with the fuel or maybe the octane booster but I dont think that would cause the car to act this way. 
What happens is I will be driving along the highway and all of a sudden the RPM's will drop from 2500 down to like 1000. I will be hitting the gas but the car will not go. Sometimes it will just drop down to 0 rpms and then the car will stall. Some of the time it just bogs and the RPMS will be jumping around from 1000 to 2000. 
The mechanic said he fixed the idle control or something like that which would possibly make the car stall but when I drove it home I was still having the same problem. 
Has anyone else ever had this problem or maybe have a suggestion as to what it might be. 

I have already: 

Changed the battery 
Got a mobil 1 oil change 
Got a new fuel filter 
Put fuel injector cleaner in the tank 
And the mechanic changed some idle control thing 

The car was sitting for 6 months and I cant even call the previous owner to see if he was having this problem because he just had a heart attack. I am getting so frustrated! 
Any suggestions would be great. I am taking it back to the mechanic soon and maybe a few suggestions could help him solve the problem.


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## Kristen514 (Jun 10, 2004)

Also I do not have a distributor cap or spark plug wires. The car is fuel injected and has seperate coils. Sorry I missed that important detail.


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## wildcat1559 (Jul 1, 2004)

*i have same problem*

I own a 1992 nissan maxima. for the last 5 months that i have owned it it has been running fine, however just recently its been stalling at just about every intersection ive stopped at. it dosent seem to be idling rough, and the acceleration is smooth. the problem starts when i come to a stop the car will sit on 1000rpm and then it would slowly descend to 500rpm where it would sit for a couple of seconds and then it would intermittently drop to 0rpm the auto throttle would kick in and send it back up to 1000 rpms or the engine would just cut out altogether, which has been more common lately. i have scouted the net and the something called the *tcc solenoids* seem to be the problem. its a problem when you run the car in overdrive alot. the torque converter locks in the gears too early and shifts down too late causing the idling problems. i have to get my car checked out by a professional but am pretty sure that that is the problem and that both of our cars are suffering from the same problem.


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## Kristen514 (Jun 10, 2004)

Do you think that not putting the car into overdrive would help at all? 
I brought my car to a professional and he couldnt find the problem. Its annoying because sometimes it will run perfectly fine and then other times it will just stall even if im going 50 down the highway. Yesterday when I was driving the car I was giving it gas and nothing was happening. So I kept flooring it and finally it would kick in and rev the car up to like 4500 rpms. It was running so crappy. Then today it hasnt stalled once and it was bucking a little bit but nothing like yesterday. 
Anyone want to buy a 92 Maxima???


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## sxy92max (Jul 8, 2004)

Kristen514 said:


> Hi everyone I am new to this forum so hopefully I am posting in the right section. If not I am sorry. I do not know much about cars so sorry if I seem like an idiot.
> 
> 
> I have an Automatic 1992 Nissan Maxima MSE that I just bought. The first day I had it it ran fine then it started to stall every so often for no reason. I thought it was because I put in bad gas so I emptied the tank and then put it octane 93...it seemed to run fine until I put octane booster in. I took it to the mechanic and he couldnt find any major problems with it. I thought it might be something with the fuel or maybe the octane booster but I dont think that would cause the car to act this way.
> ...



I had a smiliar problem and it wound up being a bad fuel injector. The bad part is that is an expensie job to do. Your best bet is have the dealer diagianos the car. Let me know what it is.


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## igramwest (Jul 15, 2004)

sxy92max said:


> I had a smiliar problem and it wound up being a bad fuel injector. The bad part is that is an expensie job to do. Your best bet is have the dealer diagianos the car. Let me know what it is.



Symptoms sound a lot like mine a couple of years ago. I tried several thing.

* new fuel filter
* new plugs
* cleaned TB
* new O2 Sensor
* cleaned electrical connnections
* checked vacuum hoses

It ended up being the knock sensor.


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## Mike99 (Aug 19, 2004)

Hi all, I had the same problem on my maxima 92 SE Mexico version, which I believe to be the same as 91 US version, but anyway it is a second generation max with the V6 3lt. VG30E engine. The problem arose after it rained very heavily and the engine was underwater for about 5 minutes (powered off). The RPM’s started to suddenly drop from 2500 to 500 or less. After a deep research on the net, I found that it could be the TPS (Throttle position sensor), afterwards I found that the rubber cover of the TPS connector was worn out, and therefore the water went into the sensor causing a faulty operation. I took it out, dry it and test it with an ohm meter, you should get about 10000 ohms for the released throttle, the resistance should decrease as you depress the throttle pedal, and you should get about 2500 ohms at the full throttle. You will need to calibrate the sensor to provide the 10000 ohms with the released throttle in order to get about 800 -900 RPM’s for idle (check it at the normal operation temperature, since resistance is affected by temperature). Otherwise you will need to replace the sensor.

See you.


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## tpatrickwilson (May 12, 2005)

*Were you ever able to determine what was causing?*

Mine is doing almost the same thing. 1992 SE we well. What was the fix?





Kristen514 said:


> Hi everyone I am new to this forum so hopefully I am posting in the right section. If not I am sorry. I do not know much about cars so sorry if I seem like an idiot.
> 
> 
> I have an Automatic 1992 Nissan Maxima MSE that I just bought. The first day I had it it ran fine then it started to stall every so often for no reason. I thought it was because I put in bad gas so I emptied the tank and then put it octane 93...it seemed to run fine until I put octane booster in. I took it to the mechanic and he couldnt find any major problems with it. I thought it might be something with the fuel or maybe the octane booster but I dont think that would cause the car to act this way.
> ...


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## blackmav2002 (May 28, 2005)

*The Stalling problems*



igramwest said:


> Symptoms sound a lot like mine a couple of years ago. I tried several thing.
> 
> * new fuel filter
> * new plugs
> ...


Hi everyone, I'm new to this site an as all of you I'm having the same problems with my 90 maxima. After mines stalled, I bent the push rods by letting it roll to a stop while in drive. I replaced the motor with a 93 and still I have the same problems. I've changed the O2 sensor, and still the car stalls.When I spray a non ether based formula into the breather, the car stops stallin until I turn it off or use it the next day. But My question is what is a "KNOCK SENSOR" and where is it located on the engine, also I want to add Refrigerant 134a to my A/C system but don't know where to connect the hose on what is called "low pressure line". Does this KNOCK SENSOR go by any other name?


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

As you all can see, there can be many causes. What i would do is take it to a shop and have them run diagnostics, pay them 75 for their trouble and fix it.


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## stevebesse (Sep 11, 2005)

*my 1992 maxima gxe*



Kristen514 said:


> Do you think that not putting the car into overdrive would help at all?
> I brought my car to a professional and he couldnt find the problem. Its annoying because sometimes it will run perfectly fine and then other times it will just stall even if im going 50 down the highway. Yesterday when I was driving the car I was giving it gas and nothing was happening. So I kept flooring it and finally it would kick in and rev the car up to like 4500 rpms. It was running so crappy. Then today it hasnt stalled once and it was bucking a little bit but nothing like yesterday.
> Anyone want to buy a 92 Maxima???


Well Mine has never run right since i Bought it, I changed plugs wires, distributor cap, rotor, air filter, fuel filter. I ran a test ont it with the ECU and it turns out it is a code 12 which is Mass air flow sensor, Circuit open or short. I changed the sensor, and nothing ( I did get a used one cause new is like $400) I cant see it being a short in the wiring becasue the harness is fine I have ripped half of it apart and all wires are good, I dont understand why the old air flow sensor had 4 pins when the harness that conects to it has 5 wires going into it so the new sensor has 5 pins but it still runs horrible. Any SUGGESTIONS FROM ANYONE PLEASE HELP !!!! Thanks


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## phreesoal (Apr 28, 2005)

Hi Kristen and welcome to the forums!

I've had a shifting problem that I started a thread on last week if you have seen it: http://nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=104072

My problem seemed to get worse after I put some Fuel Injection cleaner in my car and added about 5 gallons of fuel (on top of other fuel) from a place I've never used before. I noticed you said that you added octane booster and your problems surfaced. This seems like the month for the 90s Maximas to go bonkers with stalling looking at the new posts here! Perhaps we're all using a part manufactured at the same time, same place that's going bad? 

A couple of nice guys on the forums have offered suggestions to my sluggishness, most recently to take it to the Nissan Service Center for the $70 diagnostic. Someone here mentioned that too and I have to suggest it for you as well. 

Good luck and keep us informed...

PS


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## blackmav2002 (May 28, 2005)

*Stalling Problem*

Steve,

I had the same problem, I changed the air flow sensor which was used and discovered that it was bad as well. I contacted a friend who also has the same car and tested the sensor on his. Thats how I found out the used one was bad. I kept the old one that came off the old motor, had my friend test it on his car and it worked fine. I then put it on my car and its been running fine ever since. Sometimes used parts are defective. Especially, if the owner of the used part was having the same problems we're having currently. Note: four prong works just as well in five prong harness.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

you guys do realize most of this thread is over a year old, right?


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