94 nissan pathfinder help

Loganwayne

Loganwayne

#BTL
Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Location
Clyde, North Carolina
So I got a pathfinder for basically nothing and was told the timing belt was broke tore it down and the belt looks fine. Next problem is I went threw and replaced all the plugs wires cap and rotor, who ever worked on it before had the wires wrong. The main problem is now that I have spark on #1 cylinder but I'm not getting anything on any other cylinder is this a coil pack problem?
 
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Sorry nobody is helping I am not familiar with that vehicle . If you have spark at only one cylinder sounds like a problem with distributor. When somebody else has worked on engine and it doesn't run start with basics . Check compression. Check for fuel. Need spark with correct timing. Verify timing marks are correct.
 
Dont know much about what you are working on, but if it has coil packs start there. Make sure there are signals to each of the coil packs. Not sure how the coils are fired in that engine but look for a problem with that system. (crank trigger, distributor, ecu) There may even be a cut in the harness or something.
 
Worked on it for a while today and got it running, now I think I need to drop and clean tank out. I changed fuel filter and old had orange fluid in it. Took a while to short out the firing order. Now it will start up and idle okay but give it gas and it starts sputtering and cutting out till it dies.
 
There is a crank angle sensor inside the distributor that can go bad. Kinda pricey though. Would be best to find a running donor to switch out first and see if that does it. But if it starts, that would not be my guess. Very well could be old fuel.
 
Given that there were some holiday days after you posted could explain the lack of responses. The VG30E in that pathfinder has a fairly straightforward ignition system. The ECU reads the sensor mentioned above and triggers the coil to fire. There is only one coil for the engine.

If you had that much trash in the fuel system there could be issues with the injectors being clogged or the fuel pressure regulator not working right because it sounds like you are leaning it way out. I would clean the MAF first to make sure that is reading correctly.
 
OnlyOneDR said:
It's OBD1 so a regular scan tool will not help. However, I forgot that these ECUs have a diagnostic mode and LEDs to tell you what's up. Read here: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/21-ecu-self-diagnostics-for-87-95-pathfinder/
Click to expand...

Actually most professional level tools offer both obd1/2 capabilities. While codes may be useful they quickly become irrelevant when performing diagnosis without data provided by the ecu. In this case for instance O2 voltages can be used to determine if the sensors are working and determine if the condition is in fact rich or lean. Likely also view the maf/map data, fuel trims etc. Doing so will provide direction and shorten the time spent on diagnosis dramatically. Using ecu PID also helps verify circuit integrity and the internal ecu circuitry. Aside from the basics (pressure test - scope - dvom etc) most all powertrain diagnosis largely based on the data. Long story short very little diagnosis work can be done without the data provided by the ecu.
 
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