1995 K11 Nissan Micra has a cold stall problem.
* Starts first time
* Idles OK
* Cuts out whilst maneuvering
* Fine once I get out on the open road.
Took it into the Nissan main dealer (twice). They checked tje diagnostics -- nothing wrong. They upped the idle speed and set the throttle sensor -- slightly better but still stalls sometimes, just a touch on the throttle sends it shooting forward and the engine is noisier!
I'm not sure that just increasing the idle speed & throttle is going to fix this.
Any ideas -- is this a auxiliary air valve problem, or a coked up throttle?
Also, the previous owner used to run out of petrol now and again -- could it be a blocked fuel filter?
Thanks
Mike
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99.99% likely its your throttle body out of callibration. common problem.
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What do you mean by "out of calibration" ?
Sounds like an expensive fix...it may pay for me to check the basic things first.
Mike
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Mike
Try a different main dealer. Took my Micra in to check a speedo that was sporadically reading absurdly high (70 mph in 30 mph zone). Nothing found. Took it in to another main dealer. Problem isolated and speedo replaced.
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Good idea. There are several other main dealers within striking distance.
But intermittent problems like this can take a long time (a a lot of money) to diagnose. You hear tales of people who have replaced virtually *everything* trying to track down the cause.
Mike
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this is a very well known problem.
[big snip - see my later note].
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Thanks for your reply. I'll look at your web site.
But I'm not mechanically minded -- I can change the air filter and check the oil & water but that's it.
Taking the throttle apart is something I'd rather leave to more experienced mechanics, with the right tools.
And if I replace the throttle body? Do all the various sensors need fine tuning to work with it?
Mike
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bbr-reman,
Please do not tout for business on this website without clearing with Honest John or Martyn.
Both are available if you click on the "Contact Us" button to your left. Both are also open to such discussions.
In the meantime, I have edited the contents of your notes to remove those parts.
I realise you were trying to help as well, but this is a strict rule of the site.
Thank you.
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There are no serviceable parts to these throttle bodies. You may well wind up fitting a new or reconditioned throttle body but check before you go down that route check the row of fuses in front of the battery, particularly the 10A fuse on the left hand side. You will almost certainly find it corroded. Clean it up and see if it improves things.
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I'll have a look tomorrow.
What's the fuse for -- injection system?
How do I clean it up -- wire wool?
Don't know if this is related to the cold stall but when I rev the Micra in 3rd it sounds like its breaking wind! An exhaust problem which could have knock on effects?
Thanks
Mike
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[update]
Just had a scary conversation with the local Nissan dealer about this. He kept mentioning the "air mass meter" -- I know enough to know that is an expensive replacement!
Anyway, they are going to do a few more tests on it free of charge...but if they recommend a new air mass meter I'll run a mile. The car is fine after the initial 100 yards.
Mike
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i own 92 version of your car. first check that the car has the modified coolant temp sender wiring loom. nissan modified this to stop the car in cold conditions flooding itself the loom is about £15 plus change plugs to bosch or ngk one number hotter in rating. also check in the fusebox by the battery that all fuses are clean as the fuse for the injectors is in there and suffers from corrision. all dealers will say its the air mass meter as it is very common on micras but when mine went the symptoms are a car that wont rev at all or intermitantly hesitated whilst at a constant throttle approx 55mph. also check lamda sensor wiring as this runs under the dizzy cap and if not routed tight under the dizzy picks up ht voltage and the ecu tries to shut its self down.your symptoms sound to me like car flooding on inital startup. treat your car to some injector cleaner as the injectors foul on these espically if used on short journies a lot. you wont belive the difference. hope this helps.
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Sorry to got slighly off topic, but my Micra (1995, 1L) is supposed to have this mod done, but I'm not convinced. Do you know if there is a DIY way to check?
I'd echo the suggestion to check and clean the fuse box on these cars as well. One of the fuses on mine (headlight, dipped beam) got so hot that it melted a signifiant hole in the fuse box. The headlight only went out when the plastic parts of the fuse melted, causing it to dis-integrate. I could only explain this by a build up of dirt/corrosion on the connections, as the fuse was the correct rating.
We'll never know how close we were to a major under-bonnet fire.
The car was out of guarantee, so I repaired it by removing this circuit from the (damaged, but still servicable) fuse box, and adding an external fuse holder. I dread to think what a Nissan dealers would have charged.
Thanks
Ian
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Mine is the same year and model. Dunno if it has had the mods done, though.
Mike
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Thanks for those useful suggestions. I'll work through a few of them.
My Micra is 95, so I would imagine that it had the proper wiring loom? Surely the main dealer would know to check this, though?
I'll also try some injector cleaner as you suggest. The previous owner used to run out of petrol on occasions. Maybe some crud has got in there.
Mike
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> first check that the car has the modified coolant temp sender wiring loom. nissan modified this to stop the car in cold conditions flooding itself the loom is about £15 <
No idea if this was done. 1995 model.
>plus change plugs to bosch or ngk one number hotter in rating. <
Plugs are due for changing next year. Can it wait until then?
>also check in the fusebox by the battery that all fuses are clean as the fuse for the injectors is in there and suffers from corrision. <
Injector 10A fuse is clean as a whistle.
>all dealers will say its the air mass meter as it is very common on micras but when mine went the symptoms are a car that wont rev at all or intermitantly hesitated whilst at a constant throttle approx 55mph.<
Mine is just an annoying cold stall problem (at the moment).
>also check lamda sensor wiring as this runs under the dizzy cap and if not routed tight under the dizzy picks up ht voltage and the ecu tries to shut its self down.<
Wiring looks OK visually and isn't loose.
>your symptoms sound to me like car flooding on inital startup. treat your car to some injector cleaner as the injectors foul on these espically if used on short journies a lot.<
I've just put some Redex in. Had to poke the petrol tank pipe flap open using the long neck of the Redex bottle & squirt some stuff down as best I could. Is this the correct "technique"? Put in 25l of petrol yesterday, so added 50ml of Redex as recommended on the bottle. Then went out for a thrash in 3rd gear up some of the steep hills in Sheffield near where I work.
Mike
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re temp sender loom. if mod has been done then coolant temp sender loom will have what looks like an extension to the wiring approx 20cm long. will be cable tied up to loom from dizzy.sender is just below dizzy so you will be able to see this.
change plugs now as old plugs will give you a give you a good indication of how it is running. thus if very black and sooty then running to rich. mine come out black around threads but brown/white on electrodes. bosch part no fr7dcx 1.1mm gap approx £10 for set. stp injection cleaner is best but reddex will work also. do not expect ot to work stright away will take time.
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sorry forgot to ask, has your car got power steering and is it an auto as this makes a difference.
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No its not auto or power steering. Just the base 1.0 model.
Anyway, its going to the main dealer tomorrow. They'll "try a few things", they said.
I'll check that wiring loom tomorrow.
Injector cleaner stuff doesn't seem to make much difference (half a tank gone), but I'll persevere.
I may go for the spark plug change -- its a cheap enough option.
Mike
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make sure that the dealer do the tests when the vehicle is stone cold like when you are getting the fault. they will plug a diagnostic machine into your car called 'console'. what is your car doing in milage to the tank. my 1.0l does about 300miles to 20 litres of fuel roughly 42/43 to the gallon but i drive it quite hard as im still young and in a hurry! watch dealers as they will charge hard for doing nothing.
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>make sure that the dealer do the tests when the vehicle is stone cold like when you are getting the fault.<
I'm leaving it overnight. Thing is, if you just use the clutch for braking during maneuvering, or only lightly tap the brake, it doesn't cut out. It went OK this morning!
> they will plug a diagnostic machine into your car called 'console'. <
Its been on the diagnostics machine twice already -- nothing has flagged up, though.
>what is your car doing in milage to the tank. my 1.0l does about 300miles to 20 litres of fuel roughly 42/43 to the gallon but i drive it quite hard as im still young and in a hurry! watch dealers as they will charge hard for doing nothing.<
Good mpg -- 50 to 55 mpg.
Are you sure of your calculations -- 300 miles/20 litres is over 60 mpg according to my calculator!
Mike
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The Nissan main dealer has had another look at it and reckons it is the air flow meter -- £538 to replace.
I'm a bit sceptical. This is a cold start problem. Surely a dodgy air flow meter would cause problems when hot also?
Also, the guy at the desk was a bit vague/didn't know exactly what tests had been done. I got the impression they wanted to get rid of a customer with an intermittent fault who wasn't interested in their servicing "menus".
Mike.
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Did you manage to get the cold start problem fixed?
My son is having the very same problems with a very similar age Micra and forewarned is forearmed when approaching the local garage!
We had deduced it was a problem with the automatic choke, but is there a reliable fix?
Many thanks for your help in advance!
Janet
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Ok, i've tryed the new body didn't work was of £100, so i turn my micra in a smoke machine last week, a shot of redex in down each spark plug hole and some in the tank, I had tons of some for 10 min and now no problem and a lot of extra power and less noise no, just that the radio has given up now, well that isn't too big of a issue.
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