# 98 Altima intermittent hesitation/stalling



## jmacho (Aug 20, 2004)

98 Altima auto exhibits occasional hesitation with no CEL- may go for days with no problem. When it happens it feels like bad gas- hesitation, will run fine for a few min, hesitation. Happens under load/no load and will sometimes stall when stopped. It does not stall when driving or when coasting down a hill in gear (coasting in neutral may cause it to stall). When parked idling, I can hear the engine begin to die and by accelerating prevent the engine from stalling. I've replaced all the usual suspects-cap (clean distributer sensor, no oil problem), rotor, wires, plugs, fuel filter, up & downstream O2 sensors. What I have noticed is it will occur usually when the engine has been running for a while and is more noticeable with wet weather (but has happened in dry weather as well). I have not done a fuel pressure test as I do not have a fuel pressure gage, but I am suspecting the TPS. I have a CD-ROM Service Manual but what I believe is the TPS sensor has 2 plugs where the manual only mentions 1 3 wire plug for testing resistance.

Any help would be greatly appreciated


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## jmacho (Aug 20, 2004)

*Hesitation Problem Fixed !!!*



jmacho said:


> 98 Altima auto exhibits occasional hesitation with no CEL- may go for days with no problem. When it happens it feels like bad gas- hesitation, will run fine for a few min, hesitation. Happens under load/no load and will sometimes stall when stopped. It does not stall when driving or when coasting down a hill in gear (coasting in neutral may cause it to stall). When parked idling, I can hear the engine begin to die and by accelerating prevent the engine from stalling. I've replaced all the usual suspects-cap (clean distributer sensor, no oil problem), rotor, wires, plugs, fuel filter, up & downstream O2 sensors. What I have noticed is it will occur usually when the engine has been running for a while and is more noticeable with wet weather (but has happened in dry weather as well). I have not done a fuel pressure test as I do not have a fuel pressure gage, but I am suspecting the TPS. I have a CD-ROM Service Manual but what I believe is the TPS sensor has 2 plugs where the manual only mentions 1 3 wire plug for testing resistance.
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated


Update on problem for those of you who have had occasional hesitation issues- 

Doing some further investigation I found that the Nissan MAF sensor can cause driveability problems. Took out the MAF (in housing) and thoroughly cleaned the wire element using a electrical contact cleaner (leaves no residue or film) You have to be very careful while spraying as you can easily damage the thin wire, so spray from > 1 ft. as contact cleaners have a strong spray. You can also use a MAF cleaner although I suspect it is the same. I have not had any problems this week and I will update should the hesitation occur again.


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