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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / March 2008Cold Start Problem-'92 Sentra 1.6L
My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until the engine is cold again. It takes me about 2-3 minutes to start it when it is 30F out. Crank for 10 seconds. Wait 15 seconds. Repeat. I noticed during the summer that it had a minor problem starting when *hot*. It would start fine, then, when restarted, it would: Start right up, RPMs would jump, drop, engine would stall. Turn the key again, and maybe the same, or maybe it would be OK. Usually a judicious amount of gas at startup would keep it running. I don't know if this is related. For the cold start problem, it cranks over fine. first there is no combustion, then it "coughs" then it coughs more, then it starts. It then runs normally. It seems as if all the cylinders are not firing at first. Pumping the gas/holding at full throttle do not seem to affect the time it takes to start the engine. I did not have this car last winter, and the person I bought it from cannot remember whether it showed this problem. It has: fresh gas, drygas, fuel filter, air filter, oil and filter, plugs and wires, cap and rotor, and PCV valve. The only thing I know may be off is the timing; however the car runs the same as before I changed the distributor and the problem started showing up before this. The gauges work normally, and the MIL is not on. My thought is it is a bad coolant or air temp sensor. I'd rather narrow it down or use a scan tool than start yanking things randomly-it's *cold* here. PB > My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the > ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > PB If your coolant sensor is bad you should notice it as your gas mileage will be bad because of it. I seriously doubt its your air intake sensor, do you mean the MAF? I would suggest cleaning your throttle body. Lots of carbon deposits around the throttle body tend to affect low rpm drivability the most. CD >> My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the >> ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] >> >> PB <I am leaving this whole in case people have lost last year's posts> > If your coolant sensor is bad you should notice it as your gas mileage will be bad because of it. Gas Mileage is 22-30 MPG, which seems OK. > I seriously doubt its your air intake sensor, do you mean the MAF? No, I presume there is a sensor for the air temp. I will check the manuals and confirm this. > I would suggest cleaning your throttle body. Lots of carbon deposits > around the throttle body tend to affect low rpm drivability the most. Well, the car drives fine, once it *starts*. If it's not the coolant sensor, could it be an injector is letting the fuel leak into the cylinder? Thank you for taking the time to reply, and Happy New Year to everybody here!  SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW >>> My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the >>> ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > Thank you for taking the time to reply, and Happy New Year to > everybody here! I wonder if you have a bad idle air control valve(IACV)? maybe it's sticking. have you cleaned/replaced the PCV valve? SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net <snip> > I wonder if you have a bad idle air control valve(IACV)? > maybe it's sticking. I'm taking this under consideration. It's 10F here now, and the IACV looks to be about $100, so the cooland temp sensor looks more attractive as a possibility. <g> > have you cleaned/replaced the PCV valve? Replaced in Sept. Old one seemed OK, but for $4.00.... Thank you for your input. SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW > >> My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the > >> ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the > Red Bull generation." - CJW 22 MPG from a 1.6 liter engine?? I have a 98 Sentra 1.6 with a 5 speed manual. For the whole tank I get no less than 28 mpg. I tend to have a lead foot and have never gotten less than 27. If my tankful is mostly a highway jaunt I get 31 or more. I think it's your sensor. CD > 22 MPG from a 1.6 liter engine?? I have a 98 Sentra 1.6 with a 5 speed > manual. For the whole tank I get no less than 28 mpg. I tend to have a > lead foot and have never gotten less than 27. If my tankful is mostly > a highway jaunt I get 31 or more. Well... all my cars seem to get about 20MPG city. :-( I haven't really kept track of the MPG since I got the car other than the first tank. I mainly drive it 1 mile to work and back, a little around the city, and once a month or so a little road trip out of the city. I would like to describe my driving style as "spirited". > I think it's your sensor. I googled for a while last night, but I did not find anything definitive. Since it looks like a good probability, I'm going to see if I can get a friend to pick up a new sensor and bring it to me. We're going into an Arctic Freeze here, and the car is covered in 1' of fresh snow AND my street is not plowed yet, it may be a few days until I can get it installed. *sigh* Thanks for the info on the gas milage. I guess I've been conditioned not to expect too much from older, high-mileage cars that haven't been maintained. Maybe I'm in for a surprise! SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW >> 22 MPG from a 1.6 liter engine?? I have a 98 Sentra 1.6 with a 5 speed >> manual. For the whole tank I get no less than 28 mpg. I tend to have a [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > not to expect too much from older, high-mileage cars that haven't been > maintained. Maybe I'm in for a surprise! Things getting a bit clearer now. If you only drive one mile to work then that means your car probably never reaches operating tempurature before you've even finished your commute to work. During the warmup cycle the car runs rich and hence has terrible gas mileage. Given this situation, perhaps 20 mpg is "normal" for your driving situation. The temp sensor doesn't even come into play with this scenario. It may be bad, but if you replace it you won't notice a difference/improvement. I wouldn't bother replacing it for the moment. Maybe wait till its warmer. CD >Things getting a bit clearer now. If you only drive one mile to work >then that means your car probably never reaches operating tempurature >before you've even finished your commute to work. During the warmup >cycle the car runs rich and hence has terrible gas mileage. Given this >situation, perhaps 20 mpg is "normal" for your driving situation. Definitely! Mileage is _very_ low for the first couple miles of driving. If you add in temps below 20 degrees, it drops some more. A car that gets 28mpg in a reasonable highway/city mix probably gets 14-18mpg at 10 degrees F on a two mile drive. > >Things getting a bit clearer now. If you only drive one mile to work > >then that means your car probably never reaches operating tempurature [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > car that gets 28mpg in a reasonable highway/city mix probably gets > 14-18mpg at 10 degrees F on a two mile drive. In tempuratures as cold as those maybe you should do like the truckers do and block the radiator. I did that for mine because my thermostat seems to be stuck open . . .or is just old and tired. CD <cold start problem> > The temp sensor doesn't even come into play with this scenario. It may > be bad, but if you replace it you won't notice a difference/improvement. > > I wouldn't bother replacing it for the moment. Maybe wait till its warmer. OK. Since I've replaced the alternator, the car seems to be working again. It's been unseasonably warm here, so the car has been starting fine. I was checking the fluids today when I noticed the vacuum hose that goes to what I assume is the fuel pressure regulator is looking....old and tired. I'd like to know what purpose this hose serves. I'm wondering if the hose leaking requires me to crank the engine endlessly to build up vacuum. When I turn the key, if I leave it on "run" rather than "start" I hear (I'm presuming) the fuel pump run for about three seconds, then it stops. I have fresh fuel, drygas, and new fuel filter. I presume that my compression is not the problem, nor the spark. I'm also thinking that it's a fuel starvation problem, not a flooding problem. It just seems as if whatever passes for a choke in this car is not working. I do not find listings in the on-line auto parts sites for any kind of "cold start" valve however. SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW > <cold start problem> > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the > Red Bull generation." - CJW I'm not sure what to suggest at this point. When you leave the car in "run" mode and wait a few moments for the feul pump to pressurize the system, does the car start better? Also, it could be a vacuum issue as you've mentioned. If that hose is leaking, replace it. CD <snip> > I'm not sure what to suggest at this point. When you leave the car in > "run" mode and wait a few moments for the feul pump to pressurize the > system, does the car start better? No. Nothing I have done makes the car start better. The manual does say that the fuel pump will shut off after three seconds without a signal from the crank/distrib sensor. I thought it shut off because the line pressure had built up. Also, it could be a vacuum issue as > you've mentioned. If that hose is leaking, replace it. It definitely looks as if it could leak. I already found out the cruise wasn't working because the hose was split. So close examination or replacement of all the vacuum lines would seem to be in order. Unfortunately, my house is jealous of all the time I'm spending with the car. I'm going to have to spend some "quality time" replacing my HW heater, which stuck in the "on" position yesterday. *sigh* Well, it didn't happen while I was away for a week at Christmas- I could now be *living* in the Nissan. > CD SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW on 1/2/2008 10:18 AM codifus said the following: > >> [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] > CD > I had an 86 Nissan Pulsar (carburetored) and a 93 Sentra 2 door (FI). Both were 1.6 L and stick shifts, and both got mileage in the mid 30s. I commuted 90 miles a day in those two cars for 14 years. Now they espouse gas mileage in the mid 30s for new cars like it's a breakthrough. What happened between 1986 and now? SignatureBill In Hamptonburgh, NY To email, remove the double zeroes after @ > on 1/2/2008 10:18 AM codifus said the following: > [quoted text clipped - 80 lines] > In Hamptonburgh, NY > To email, remove the double zeroes after @ The cars got more powerful, cleaner,and more sophisticated. The 1.6 liter in my 98 sentra has DOHC, 16 valves, multi-port fuel injection and OBDII for a very clean exhaust. It's rated at 115 HP. CD >>>> My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the >>>> ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until >>>> the engine is cold again. It takes me about 2-3 minutes to start it >>>> when it is 30F out. Crank for 10 seconds. Wait 15 seconds. Repeat. <snip> > I think it's your sensor. Bingo! That's what it was! I bought a new sensor at NAPA after Advance Auto didn't have one, even though their website said "in stock". Lesson-call and have a human confirm it. Anyhow, two Saturdays ago I installed the new sensor. The change was immediate and obvious. It seems to be taking the ECM a while to adjust to the new regime. The engine now starts in 5 seconds or less, even at 12F, and idles and runs smoother and consistently. I'm hopeful that this will also fix the "hot engine stall-on-start" problem I mentioned in my first post. I've filled the tank up just after the repair, it worked out to just under 20 MPG. I'm probably taking an extended jaunt tomorrow, and I'll fill it up and see what the average comes out to. If anyone reading this needs to replace the sensor, the tool of choice seems to be a 12 point spark plug socket, but I don't remember 3/8" or 11/16". There really isn't much clearance to get a wrench on it; the socket worked like a charm. I had the new one ready to go so I removed the old one by hand and plopped the new one in it's place quickly. I didn't bother to drain the coolant. SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW > >>>> My Nissan has been having problems starting. The lower the > >>>> ambient temp, the harder the start. Once it runs, it's OK until [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Bingo! That's what it was! ...... > -- > PB > "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the > Red Bull generation." - CJW Don't mind me while I stand in front and brush my shoulders off:) CD >> <snip> >> >>> I think it's your sensor. >> Bingo! That's what it was! >> > ....... > Don't mind me while I stand in front and brush my shoulders off:) Well, the jury is still out regarding the gas mileage. I filled it up just after I replaced the sensor. 19 MPG. I then drove it around town and on the highway with the cruise control on, and filled it up again. 19MPG. Well, I think I got closer to 30 MPG last highway trip, so maybe there's some anomaly. I don't have to warm the car up for 3 minutes for a 5 minute drive to work, that *has* to help the gas mileage. I'm hoping the ECM is still sorting things out. SignaturePB "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the Red Bull generation." - CJW > >> <snip> > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > "I suspect you're an arrogant little pissant who grew up in the > Red Bull generation." - CJW Well, you gotta appreciate that a 5 minute commute during cold winter months is gonna make your gas mileage just horrible. 5 minutes? Isn't the steering wheel still cold when you get out of the car? You will know for certain if that was the fix if you drive at least twenty minutes for each trip during that tankfull. That way the car reaches operating temps for at least some time on each trip and gets better MPGs. If you really need to know, fill the tank and reset your odometer trip meter. Take a road trip for 100 miles (50 each way) then fill it again immediately at the end of the trip. Divide the total miles driven by the gallons used (for this car is should be like 3.5 gallons) which comes out to 28 mpg average for that 100 mile trip. CD |
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