Jackson0927

ok so this has been a 3 week journey so far, nissan dealership just called and they have no idea.

I like to think that i've narrowed the symptoms down at this point,
discussed this with many others, but with no luck, so im stuck now

all started after I left it sit for week and half. was driving nismo while dad was out of town

happens if I leave my car sitting for more than 8-12 hours, so most typically was happening in the mornings. but I know now that its the based on length of time, not temperature/time of day.

first light/stop I roll up on as the z is almost warmed up, (not quite at operating temp yet but close) lets say 2 miles into the drive. RPMs become erratic, unable to idle. sometimes i can give it a lil gas&clutch I can keep it going, other times that just kills it instantly. if i do nothing will die within seconds.

will crank and crank (strong electrical still) but never fire, turn it prolly 3 or 4 times, or say wait 30-45 seconds, usually while people are honking and getting p!ssed from behind me at a light, then she will startup but throttle will still be erratic as I try to limp way.

if I hit another light/stop real close after the first it will die again. if I can drive at least mile it will stay going, and going

if I get thru that it will drive perfectly fine all day. doesn't matter if I drive 2 miles or 20 miles.

oh and most importantly no CEL (check engine light) so i cant scan for anything.

things I've tried or can eliminate
- bad gas
- reset ecu, let sit overnight unplugged (worked for 1 day)
- not temperature related, (first only happening on cold mornings, know that now to not be only case)

things I've read/heard so far
- fuel pump / fuel filter
- bad CAM sensor
- bad MAF
- fired my ecu
- bad throttle body
- even try putting oem air box back on.


This morning I got got a call from the nissan dealership, I left it there for a week so the master-tech would work on it (whom has worked on z club members car's for 30+ years, came highly recommended) was able to get it to stall and misfire but found nothing wrong.

tried to tell me I had the wrong spark plugs in, (they copper not platinum) wanted to replace and try again tomorrow. also told me i was running slightly lean. he did an idle reset as well.

please help, dont know where else to turn.........
oh and it's an 03 with 144k miles

Jackson

RUNWDVL

iTrader: (10)

Sounds like a cam sensor. Exactly happen to me. They told because its cold to cold crank. Seems to work about a month later, same thing happened again. This time cel came on. Took it back, cam sensor went bad. In short took abt two month of checking and rechecking. Ask them to check the sensor.

Jackson0927

^ ya everyone mentions the cam sensor, i just don't get why the sensor wouldn't shoot code tho, especially on nissan's "super-computer"

this happens every day now, for weeks, wouldn't it had "died" already if it were just starting to go bad....

but at this point, all I can do it start replacing stuff one by one and see.

like how would I even know which one is going bad, aren't there 2??


what makes it even worse, is i cant even bail on the car and pick up 370 if i cant get it running properly


soooooooo upset today about this

Cux350z

iTrader: (162)

+1 to a cam sensor.

RUNWDVL

iTrader: (10)

It didn't throw my cel about 4 or 5 weeks later. Yeah there is two cam sensor but I'm sure mechanic can tell which is bad. It cost me bout 80 dollars to replace one including labor.

JCITY

iTrader: (2)

Wow,this is cam sensor week.
I'll vote,thats what it is.For whatever reason on 03-04 cars,
its common for cam sensors to go out at around 70-80k miles.
I replaced mine a few months ago.You will not get any CEL codes until
a sensor goes out completely.The car will die at idle,be fine for a few days.
Do it again.Your mpg will drop.When it does go,you will get a CEL
that will indicate what bank(1 or 2)had failed.Bank one(passenger side)
is fairly easy to get at.Bank 2,its best to remove the intake to replace it.
I do not recommend using a cheap aftermarket sensor.Spring for a OEM
sensor.They run 70-80 bucks.However,a stealership will soak you for well over $100.
Some people go ahead and replace both while their at it.I guess the"other one
will go soon" logic.If it is the cam position sensor,you will be surprised how much
better your car will run after you replace!

Jackson0927

so my idle was much stronger yesterday after he did a idle reset, but problem didn't go away..... honestly prolly worse.... couldn't even give it gas this morning without it dyeing, throttle is very erratic.

I guess dont really have any choice but to replace cam sensors and see what happens

should I replace spark plugs to platinum as well just to shut up the dealership??

their master-tech just called me, told me he has read all about the cam sensors, said he can't "recommend" because it is not showing they are bad, although the symptoms are similiar and is only gunna hurt my wallet if thats not them.

Jackson0927

i just went and bought both CAM sensors from dealer ($190 for both)

so we'll see what happens tomorrow morning

Jackson0927

this !! thanks soo much for the help

felt like i picked up an extra 20 hp, wont know for 100% that is was the sensors till she continues to run great. but this morning was a success

iideadeyeii

iTrader: (6)

WTF they wanted to charge you $345 + tax to replace spark plugs. . . are they high?

Spike100

So it was the camshaft sensors causing the problem?

This is a problem on the Nissan automobiles sharing the v-6 engine. There was a voluntary recall by Nissan in 2003, but they backed-off after realizing it was a problem with every one of the engines.

If you have a Nissan with this engine, you will need to replace the sensors at some point.

--Spike