Car sounded like a subaru, but wait! - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

daftphunk · 02-23-2012, 07:55 PM

Sup guys, simple enough question.

Today turned my car on after sitting for about two hours. Car sounded like a Subaru, so Im thinking it's only running on three cylinders. Turn it off then back on, sounds the same. Drive down the street and it's back to normal, all 4 cylinders again.

This literally happened 10 minutes ago. Am I looking at a coil pack beginning to go out?

Had this problem last year but it was a bad coil pack and I replaced it and was good to go.

Car has been running strong and fine. Yesterday I put new plugs in, BKR7E and gapped them to 0.028 and drove around and was good to go. Drove 30 miles today, parked and came back out and it happened then disappeared.

Is this a warning sign that a pack could go out anytime now? Or am I looking at something dumb and it just happened randomly?

RyanS13 · 02-23-2012, 08:06 PM

This happened to me and it was an Injector. Just cut out of nowhere.

daftphunk · 02-23-2012, 08:09 PM

Oh yeah forgot about injectors. How can I tell from a clogged vs dead?

RyanS13 · 02-23-2012, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daftphunk

Oh yeah forgot about injectors. How can I tell from a clogged vs dead?

I'm not sure how to check if its clogged vs. dead, But I just made sure it had spark, Then I made sure I had compression. When I knew I had spark and compression it had to be fuel, So I just replaced the injector and was good to go.

*wangan_cruiser* · 02-23-2012, 09:21 PM

run a wire directly from the battery to each injector then listen if each one of them makes a clicking sound

AutechKouki · 02-23-2012, 11:59 PM

Multimeter. Ohm check each individually, should be around 12.xx to 14.xx ohms. Easy way to know which one is bad is just unplug each injector individually and if it worsens the idle then the injector is fine, if it doesn't change it's bad. Remember to change injector seals whenever you pull injector out.

Taylor008 · 02-25-2012, 08:45 PM

Make sure you put the coil packs all the way on.

Walperstyle · 02-29-2012, 12:46 PM

Once you find out what cylinder isn't firing, try swapping that injector with another cylinder. If the problem follows the injector to the other cylinder, then you know the injector is messed up. Replace it.

conrad_s13.5 · 02-29-2012, 03:17 PM

same thing happen to me a few times,. the clip on the coil pack harness actually just took a shit,...when i was checking which cylinder was efff'd i could see the clip creating an arc from one pin to the other

so yeah,...check everything

daftphunk · 03-05-2012, 06:11 PM

Okay so it ran fine until today, then it went on 3 again. On the way home I got back to 4, then on my way to pick up my fluke meter it went back to 3.

While on three cylinders, I pulled each injector clip, each one changed the idle until I got to injector 4 where it made no change. Is that a sure sign that injector 4 is dead? Or do I have to go pull the coil packs, etc.

And with a fluke meter, I have Ohms, how do I test for resistance? Ground with black and where do I test with the red at? Not too experienced with testing with a meter.

r20crazy · 03-05-2012, 10:58 PM

ohms IS resistance. injector 4 is dead. if dead it will read as an open circuit. it should be between 12-14 ohms when putting one lead of multimeter on each injector prong being tested. pull injector clip off and test the injector itself..... but u already know whats wrong, replace injector #4, and have a few spares on hand, when 1 goes out others generally follow as they are the same age usually

Heytheremr2 · 03-06-2012, 12:56 AM

^then why not replace all 4 if you're gonna buy them all at once?

0danxQ · 03-06-2012, 09:50 AM

this happened to me... turned out to be the ecu but id check to see if it's just a bad ground. make sure you check ecu---injector very important

Blues13 · 03-07-2012, 02:02 AM

Happened to me as well. Unplugged each injector one at a time, found dead injector and then swapped it with another cylinder to double check. Replaced injector and all was good. You can have them all serviced, flow tested and balanced to make sure they're running within limits after you get your replacement.

conrad_s13.5 · 03-07-2012, 08:25 AM

it does NOT mean the injector is dead,.. it just means cylinder 4 is the problem. Could be injector, could be coil pack, could be spark plug.

the off and on again-ness,...i would imagine its a loose connection or a coil pack taking a shit.

pull a coil pack off another cylinder and put it at number 4. See if number 4 is still the problem. While your doing this, check the coil harness clip

Blues13 · 03-07-2012, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conrad_s13.5

it does NOT mean the injector is dead,..

Please explain why it would not be injector #4 if he swaps that injector to cyl 3 and the problem follows to that cyl? Obviously, if cyl 4 still has the problem after swapping, than he can start checking the ignition/coilpacks. Best to check one system at a time.

redline racer510 · 03-07-2012, 10:49 AM

You sure you don't have a ej25 in their.

axiomatik · 03-07-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blues13

Please explain why it would not be injector #4 if he swaps that injector to cyl 3 and the problem follows to that cyl? Obviously, if cyl 4 still has the problem after swapping, than he can start checking the ignition/coilpacks. Best to check one system at a time.

He is replying to the OP's question, not your post. Indeed, if you swap injectors and the problem follows the injector, then the injector is the problem. Ohming out the injector isn't reliable a reliable test. When one of my injectors died, the bad one ohmed out fine, but it was stuck open.

daftphunk · 03-07-2012, 02:42 PM

So I'm back. The car ran fine up until now and had no more 3 cylinder problems until the other day. Unplugged injector to cylinder 4 and it made no change to the idle. I went ahead and got a different injector from one of my buddies. Put it in and started the car up - no change. Still injector 4.

I went ahead and checked coil packs, moved them around, still cylinder 4 was not firing.

I haven't had to check for spark before so I'm going to try and do that. I do know that when removing and replacing coil packs, there's a clicking sound inside the cylinder.

So I know the coil pack is not at fault. I'm gonna see if the connector is the problem next. Hopefully not.

I could still have a dead injector, I'm going to go and remove/replace and see if it follows the injector too.

What else could I potentially be facing?

Might I add I turned the car on one day and was on three cylinders. I had to get home so I drove about 10 miles and was back on all 4 and it got me home. After parking for a bit I was back on 3 cylinders.

All help is appreciated! Need to get this car moving.

Edit: cylinder 4 is getting spark. So must be another dead injector?

cbt240sx · 03-07-2012, 04:38 PM

I am going through the same thing currently with my 1990 KA24e.... kinda stumped. I made my own thread before I saw this one, but there is some good info in here. Ill try to hard wire test the injector to the battery like wangan cruiser suggested. (sorry to thread-jack, jack!)

http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/440043...ml#post4565032

daftphunk · 03-07-2012, 04:58 PM

My problem is solved, thanks everyone.

My injector was dead. Replaced it with another dead injector, lol.
Replaced it with a working one now and I'm good to go!

I moved the injector and the problem followed it.

Thanks for all the good info

02-23-2012, 07:55 PM	#1
daftphunk Zilvia Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 767 Trader Rating: (8) Feedback Score: 8 reviews	Car sounded like a subaru, but wait! Sup guys, simple enough question. Today turned my car on after sitting for about two hours. Car sounded like a Subaru, so Im thinking it's only running on three cylinders. Turn it off then back on, sounds the same. Drive down the street and it's back to normal, all 4 cylinders again. This literally happened 10 minutes ago. Am I looking at a coil pack beginning to go out? Had this problem last year but it was a bad coil pack and I replaced it and was good to go. Car has been running strong and fine. Yesterday I put new plugs in, BKR7E and gapped them to 0.028 and drove around and was good to go. Drove 30 miles today, parked and came back out and it happened then disappeared. Is this a warning sign that a pack could go out anytime now? Or am I looking at something dumb and it just happened randomly?

02-23-2012, 08:06 PM	#2
RyanS13 Zilvia Addict Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: CA Posts: 657 Trader Rating: (14) Feedback Score: 14 reviews	This happened to me and it was an Injector. Just cut out of nowhere. __________________

02-29-2012, 12:46 PM	#8
Walperstyle Nissanaholic! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Alberta, Red Derp Age: 44 Posts: 1,729 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Once you find out what cylinder isn't firing, try swapping that injector with another cylinder. If the problem follows the injector to the other cylinder, then you know the injector is messed up. Replace it. __________________ KA-T ORG-Function over Flush

02-29-2012, 03:17 PM	#9
conrad_s13.5 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: STL Age: 37 Posts: 1,533 Trader Rating: (6) Feedback Score: 6 reviews	same thing happen to me a few times,. the clip on the coil pack harness actually just took a shit,...when i was checking which cylinder was efff'd i could see the clip creating an arc from one pin to the other so yeah,...check everything __________________ cONtRol FReAkS

03-06-2012, 09:50 AM	#13
0danxQ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: illinois Posts: 40 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	this happened to me... turned out to be the ecu but id check to see if it's just a bad ground. make sure you check ecu---injector very important __________________

02-23-2012, 08:09 PM	#3
daftphunk Zilvia Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 767 Trader Rating: (8) Feedback Score: 8 reviews	Oh yeah forgot about injectors. How can I tell from a clogged vs dead?

02-23-2012, 09:21 PM	#5
wangan_cruiser kouki man Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: downtown oakland,ca Age: 40 Posts: 3,539 Trader Rating: (36) Feedback Score: 36 reviews	run a wire directly from the battery to each injector then listen if each one of them makes a clicking sound

02-23-2012, 11:59 PM	#6
AutechKouki Zilvia Addict Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: SoCal Age: 33 Posts: 673 Trader Rating: (43) Feedback Score: 43 reviews	Multimeter. Ohm check each individually, should be around 12.xx to 14.xx ohms. Easy way to know which one is bad is just unplug each injector individually and if it worsens the idle then the injector is fine, if it doesn't change it's bad. Remember to change injector seals whenever you pull injector out.

02-25-2012, 08:45 PM	#7
Taylor008 Leaky Injector Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Utah Age: 33 Posts: 135 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Make sure you put the coil packs all the way on.

03-05-2012, 06:11 PM	#10
daftphunk Zilvia Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 767 Trader Rating: (8) Feedback Score: 8 reviews	Okay so it ran fine until today, then it went on 3 again. On the way home I got back to 4, then on my way to pick up my fluke meter it went back to 3. While on three cylinders, I pulled each injector clip, each one changed the idle until I got to injector 4 where it made no change. Is that a sure sign that injector 4 is dead? Or do I have to go pull the coil packs, etc. And with a fluke meter, I have Ohms, how do I test for resistance? Ground with black and where do I test with the red at? Not too experienced with testing with a meter.

03-06-2012, 12:56 AM	#12
Heytheremr2 Zilvia Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Washington Age: 33 Posts: 166 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	^then why not replace all 4 if you're gonna buy them all at once?

03-07-2012, 02:02 AM	#14
Blues13 Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: OC Posts: 435 Trader Rating: (2) Feedback Score: 2 reviews	Happened to me as well. Unplugged each injector one at a time, found dead injector and then swapped it with another cylinder to double check. Replaced injector and all was good. You can have them all serviced, flow tested and balanced to make sure they're running within limits after you get your replacement.

03-07-2012, 08:25 AM	#15
conrad_s13.5 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: STL Age: 37 Posts: 1,533 Trader Rating: (6) Feedback Score: 6 reviews	it does NOT mean the injector is dead,.. it just means cylinder 4 is the problem. Could be injector, could be coil pack, could be spark plug. the off and on again-ness,...i would imagine its a loose connection or a coil pack taking a shit. pull a coil pack off another cylinder and put it at number 4. See if number 4 is still the problem. While your doing this, check the coil harness clip __________________ cONtRol FReAkS

03-07-2012, 10:49 AM	#17
redline racer510 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: EARFF(earth for you idiots) Posts: 1,072 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	You sure you don't have a ej25 in their. __________________ WARNING: User has a low tolerance for stupidity. Post at your own risk.

03-07-2012, 02:42 PM	#19
daftphunk Zilvia Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 767 Trader Rating: (8) Feedback Score: 8 reviews	So I'm back. The car ran fine up until now and had no more 3 cylinder problems until the other day. Unplugged injector to cylinder 4 and it made no change to the idle. I went ahead and got a different injector from one of my buddies. Put it in and started the car up - no change. Still injector 4. I went ahead and checked coil packs, moved them around, still cylinder 4 was not firing. I haven't had to check for spark before so I'm going to try and do that. I do know that when removing and replacing coil packs, there's a clicking sound inside the cylinder. So I know the coil pack is not at fault. I'm gonna see if the connector is the problem next. Hopefully not. I could still have a dead injector, I'm going to go and remove/replace and see if it follows the injector too. What else could I potentially be facing? Might I add I turned the car on one day and was on three cylinders. I had to get home so I drove about 10 miles and was back on all 4 and it got me home. After parking for a bit I was back on 3 cylinders. All help is appreciated! Need to get this car moving. Edit: cylinder 4 is getting spark. So must be another dead injector?

03-07-2012, 04:38 PM	#20
cbt240sx Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Little Rock, AR Age: 44 Posts: 21 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	I am going through the same thing currently with my 1990 KA24e.... kinda stumped. I made my own thread before I saw this one, but there is some good info in here. Ill try to hard wire test the injector to the battery like wangan cruiser suggested. (sorry to thread-jack, jack!) http://zilvia.net/f/s-chassis/440043...ml#post4565032

03-07-2012, 04:58 PM	#21
daftphunk Zilvia Addict Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 767 Trader Rating: (8) Feedback Score: 8 reviews	My problem is solved, thanks everyone. My injector was dead. Replaced it with another dead injector, lol. Replaced it with a working one now and I'm good to go! I moved the injector and the problem followed it. Thanks for all the good info