# 97 Alti Stalls during slow speeds/stops



## Fourinhand (Jan 9, 2007)

Okay. Offical frustration.

My Altima's been a good car to me for the past eight years. Thing is, everything that could happen wrong has already happened at ONCE.

My headlights dim in and out when I'm driving her. Dim-bright-dim-extra bright-dim-dim-bright-extra bright.
Had the alternator replaced. Problem solved.

She idles roughly at stoplights.
Had 02 Sensors replaced. Problem solved.

She sputters and bucks during high speeds and cuts off at stop lights/slowing to a stop.
Had distributor cap, plugs, wires, fuel pump, wiring checked, new battery
installed, in addition to the 02 Sensors and the alternator all replaced.
Problem NOT solved.

What am I missing? I've taken it to four different diagnostic centers (PLUS the dealer, TWICE) and everything keeps checking out okay. I know she's tempermental... but I'm an intern. I can't afford all this! What can I do??


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

Well it does sound like your putting alot new parts and money into the car needlessly. I would suggest to see if you have any oil present inside the distributor. Remove the distrbutor car and then the plastic housing, if you see oil there, replace the distributor

Frank


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## Fourinhand (Jan 9, 2007)

LONDONDERRY said:


> Well it does sound like your putting alot new parts and money into the car needlessly. I would suggest to see if you have any oil present inside the distributor. Remove the distrbutor car and then the plastic housing, if you see oil there, replace the distributor
> 
> Frank



Distributor's dry as a bone. Not only that, but I've recently had the rotor replaced as well as all the seals checked... all okay...


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

Have the ECU scanned for any stored codes. So just so I understand, you removed the distrbutor cap and rotor and then the plastic cover on the distributor, looked inside ans saw a encoder disk and there was no oil present?


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

Try cleaning the inside of the throttle body. if that doesn't help then the idle air control valve may have an issue. If you need the test procedure for that let me know.

Troy


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## shayak_b (Aug 9, 2006)

I am also having the same problem. No error codes are showing up, I replaced the MAF, distributor, O2 sensors, spark plugs and alternator. As KA24 suggested, I also cleaned the throttle body and replaced the IAC. Whole lot of stuff. Nothing helped. The biggest problem is locating the source. Can you check if your exhaust manifold is cracked. It's easy to check as you just have to pry off the heat shield and look under it. I am thinking this could be the cause of my troubles. I am also going to look into the fuel injectors. Those could also be a potential cause of the problem. Hope this helps.


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

I misread the first post about it having issues at high rpms. I would do two things
1) Check the fuel pressure, use a good fuel system cleaner and replace the fuel filter, because a fuel issue could cause an issue at idle and at higher rpm.
2) Do a voltage drop and engine and fuel pump ground test. Check with a voltmeter while the car is running. A voltage drop test is done by placing the voltmeter leads on either the positive or negative battery post (depending on which side is being checked) and the other lead further up line in the circuit. I usually start at the ground side and work my way around to the positive side.
With negative lead of the voltmeter on the battery post then place the positive lead around different parts of the engine bay and chassis ground points. The meter readings should be less than 0.2v when the car is idling.
Also pull the fuel pump fuse to inspect the fuse for carbonizing or burned contacts and check the voltage at the fuel pump and clean the ground. If necessary coat it with some grease on the connection. I would also check the resistance with an ohmmeter between the connector and ground.
Try these things but unfortunately the intermitent problems usually require alot of troubleshooting.

Troy


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