200SX dies

oxygen sensor, fuel mixing valve, or that little pvc vacuum valve?

Or:

Could be that electronic ignition box? Had a 240SX convertable & leather bucket seats. VoDo stuff was happening on starting & keeping it running,

Replaced that little box of electronix and then it started acting normal.

Check to see if you have spark. If you do, it's a fuel problem.

How does it die??

Check the fuel filter inline....or the fuel filter inside the tank..

There is no spark, it is not a fuel issue, but thank you

No Spark, try looking for carbon (black) areas around the lead caps, or a breakdown from the lead to the body where it passes close to metal, when the engine warms up, those cracks will open and give you flash-over, cracked or burn marks on the cap.

Is the Ignition electronic or breaker (little set of points inside Dizzy)

If breaker, check the contacts are clean, and have the currect opening tolarence (and they do in fact close and open) if this is ok, or its Electronic, check the coil, try swapping out the coil for another and see if the problem remains, if it does, then the problem could be elsewhere, how are the plugs? are they getting oil fouled/wet?

Check the ignition module. I have had two fords that had the modules go bad. They warm up and there is a separation in the internals when it cools down is works....kinda to the liking of a bad solder joint. Us a little freeze spray on it... or check online there maybe a way to test the module.

I had 2 cars with similar problems...first try removing the catalytic converter.. they melt down sometimes and choke out the engine....especially if you're up around the 70000 mile range. most auto part stores sell a "universal cat" for about $150

hope this helps

Had a similar problem with my wife's Toyota Celica - it drove me nuts for a while. It turned out to be the pickup assembly ( Hall Effect Coil) under the distributor cap - it was thermally sensitive and "opened" when it got hot and then no spark. When it cooled it was normal. This assembly takes the place of the points of yesteryear. In cars with no distributor this sensor is usually mounted somewhere on the crank. Go to a good electronics part store and buy a can of a chilling spray that is made just for problems just like this. When the car quits spray the suspected component with the spray - this rapidly cools it down - then try to start the car - when the car starts you found the problem. Ed

You might want to consider a compression check when it dies.I've had a similar experience with a Hyundai scoupe, and the problem was the leaky head gasket after the engine got to run temp,it would be fine after a cool down and ran like that for some time before it finally blew out all together.

When your 200SX 'dies' as fast as you can check the Coil on the lt circuit, if it is hot to the touch then thats your problem.

Since you've confirmed no spark and you haven't mentioned any codes thrown, my guess is the coil. A dead coil (on your '98) will kill the engine without throwing a code. Bad wires, plugs, or distributer points will usually trigger a misfire code.

Once I had a car ( Chevrolet Chevette, Delux, 1988 model) and had the similar problem. Car would start alright and will take any where after driving many places and I will keep the car running. It was OK and I will come home. Once I stopped the engine, the car would not start and it will then start after cooling. I will open the hood and let it cool down. I was doing this all unknowingly, I will take to the mechanic and he will say, leave the car and I will check it out. In the evening I will go to pick up the car and like dctor he will say, results of the tests are OK and every thing is all right. Then I will tell the doctor then why I am hurting? Well, I will tell the mechanic did you check it and took the ride and he will say yes. By the way, the doctors are also body mevhanics and as a liar as the mechanics are. This gave me headache. I will have to keep the car running. With 15 cents a gallon of regular gasoline in 1988-1992 in Venezuela, it did nto bother me again.

Then one day I took the car back to mechanic and stopped the car and asked him to check it. I told him check it now as the car is hot. He did and car did not start. Then he checked it and found out the fan was not running. So radiator will not be cooled and high temperature will not let the car start. He changed the switch and for three years that I lived in Venezuela, I never had the problem.

So, have your mechanic check out the fan and the temp switch which is not very expensive. Before you do any expensive chek ups follow the process of eliminations. I read very knowledgable people givng valuable advices and I guess they are right in their determinatons but take the simple things first. I just gave you my exprience.

The mechanic was from Morocco and repaird every thing instead of replacing like his counterparts in USA. I was very pleasantly surprized to know how honest he was. The mechanics in USA are actually part changers and not mechanics. Thus they should not call themselves as machanics. Also they are as dishonest as the doctors and as greedy as the doctors. I know you all will agree deep down inside with mu conclusion but refute me and I may get many angry messages from mechanics

Nadeem

07252008

I doubt that it is temperature related - he only drove it 2-3 miles - then it quits. Most vehicles take a bit longer than that to reach to reach normal operating temperature.

It is possible that he has a different problem. All I was saying that my car also did the same thing that after running if it was stopped, would not run until it was cooled to a certain temp. I hope he finds a cheaper but effective solution otherwise if he leaves to the mechanics to diagnose, they, the mechanics would take him to the cleaners.

Regards;

Nadeem

put a bullet in it, its old

Dear 200 sx 1998

From MrGilbertGonzales@hotmail.com

Most problems of this sort are catalitic converter of emmissions control related.

As excess gaseous {i.e. back pressure} pressure builds up in your engines exhaut head and cylinders this excess pressure after a few miles will move into your intake and over come your engines sensors. The sensors and computer technology availabe on a 1998 did not allow for bypass pressure release at either point of trouble, so diagnosis of this issue is very diffcult please refer this problem to a qualified emmissions control expert for possible catalitic converter replacement. Their are a couple of home remedies you can make however they are not recommended.

He said that he has NO SPARK - so explain how the cat converter causes it.

You have recieved several good suggestions. Some are easy to check on and some are 'replace it and see if it works now' kinds of things. You may end up replacing several things that weren't bad before you find the thing that does the trick. The first thing you should do if you really want to fix it without a lot of trial and error and with less expense is to get the failure codes off your car. Many of the codes can be pulled from your car by yourself (check your users manual or repair manual) Usually this is done by inserting the key, turning it to on and off twice (don't start the car, just turn to where the radio comes on), and then turning it back on. At this point the blinkers (generally) will start flashing. It will flash some number of times (count them) pause a second and then flash some more. This will typically give you one or more 2-digit error codes that you can look up in your users manual or at least in one of those $15.00 repair manuals for your car. If this doesn't give you the codes you need (it is somewhat limited), I would suggest taking it to a mechanic and having them scan the codes. They will charge you $50.00 to do the code scan, but then you will know what is wrong. If it is something you can do yourself, thank them and go fix it. If it is something you can't fix, have the mechanic take care of it and they usually apply the $50.00 checkout fee to the repair itself.

Another possible cause to add to the list is that it could be a head gasket. I had a car that started doing the same thing. When the car was cool I opened the radiator cap and smelled the coolant. It had an oil smell to it. I then pulled the dipstick and the oil was milky and frothy. Essentially, the head gasket had gone and the two fluids were mixing. There was still enough seal to drive the car for short periods before dying. Once the head gasket was replaced - no more dying and no more overheating. Verifying that this is the problem or, hopefully, ruling it out is easily done as described above.

Good luck.

Check to see if your sx200 has a thermostat, they used to use them in cars to regulate the liquid radiator pressure and the thermostat would open and close. When the go bad they no longer open and close and if you do have one and it went bad closed this would lead to the kind of problem you are having. I have had this exact problem with other vehicles.

Thanks to everyone. I have a lot to go over and will report back what I find.

Thanks again,

Dennis

I do not know if this unit has a coil with a distributor, but your problem is exactly what can happen with a faulty coil. we proved the coil to be the problem, by mounting another coil right beside the original, and temperarily moving the wires to the new coil. If you have a solid state spark system, look for a condenser that is warm to the touch, one in good condition will not be to hot to touch. Retired Troubleshooter, Carl.

Hi,

Do you have an electric fuel pump? Is the car fuel injected??

What tests have you done after it's failed? Got spark??

Steve

I doubt it is fuel pump related- he has no spark - it dies when it begins to heat up - my bet is one of the solid state components in the ignition system.

Agreed, it was my first post & I didn't read all the previous posts that explained all that. The author even stated that he was still getting gas and no spark so you are correct I am sure.

Yeah yeap interestinly troubleshooting here. After read out these all wise suggestions I will only say that I will go for that compu scan first hand and keep on working from there, definetly. A good battery and alternator should be in good order too. Those are great cars absolutly and very sporty ones strong puppys -(200SX)- for sure. It will come to ya' with some good knowledgable application there. But what ever you do bring it to a nice under a tree shadow a nice fan and an orange juice by the side oohhuuh.. and a nice radio station and you'r be on business in no time, absolutly. Also one last tip, visual check it out at nite time in the dark for any spark shorts circuits ground out due loose or frying strip out wiring which are better to catch it up in the dark as well. Then you be able to follow-up next day around with some more clues. Easy does it...Bring a bunch of rags and hand cleaner on your way back. You have the technology...!

Open that Hood,

MC

MAGWER,

This is my sons car and tomorrow is his first day off work.

Thanks for the sound and sage advice...

One last question.. Can I add a little something to the Orange Juice?

I will let ya'll know the results.

Dennis

All good so far with all these great advicement here at CR-4 it will come back to standars soon. You have the technology... I used to bring some orange juice or instead two beers and a nice radio station around to complement the project. But haheheha.. Yes the orange juice with a little touch of -Gin- do help sometimes, definetly... Hahaheheii.. But no for real it will come to you with all of these well presented knowledgeable post from our fellows here before at CR-4.

I did had the chance to drive one of those it was my brother car some time ago and they are gorgeus cars and well performance output, wish I still have it with me sometimes as they are more expensive today, unbeliavable how much the price went up now. Waaoouhh!

Allset then good time and enjoy the task upfront there you'll get it.

Great Cars,

MC

Intermittent stall with no spark spells Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKP). It is a hall effect sensor mounted near your main crank pulley. It provides the pulse to the computer that gives it the timing of the engine. It tells it when to fire fuel and when to fire spark. Without it you would get no spark or fuel injector spray.

Granted it could also be the ignition coil(s), power and ground problems, or other sever issues. Assuming the following from your statements: Fuel pressure is good or is at least present (pumps rarely go bad on Nissan's), your car isn't overheating (head gasket, cat converter), and you still have main power to other systems.

Unless you have a lab scope that you can hook up when the car dies or leave hooked up until the car dies, there is a less efficient way of determining coil or CKP.

Car dies, repeated attempts to start. Pull a spark plug (quickly) and see if it is wet with fuel or smells strong of gas. If so I would suspect you are getting fuel injector pulse and the crank sensor is not bad. Time to dig into the ignition system (coil, power, distributor). If the plug is dry and does not smell like fuel, I would suggest CKP replacement or diagnosis. No fuel injector pulse + no spark + fuel pressure = CKP problem 95% of the time.

I took the readings from the little sensor box on the floor boar4d and got a 7-1 and a 7-2.

(7-1)Intermittent ignition and (7-2) Catalytic converter issues.

I will have the catalytic converter replaced this week and see what happens.

Thanks to all of you again,

Dennis

STOP.

Do not spend your hard earned money on a guess. If your cat con is bad it will be one of two ways; 1) coated with carbon, and no longer converting the emissions. If that is the case why is it dying, and then coming back to life when cold? 2) the cat con is clogged, and causing the exhaust to build up back pressure as you increase the throttle. As the back pressure builds up, it will overcome the incoming fresh air and fuel, causing the engine to run with less power and eventually die. does that sound like your 200SX? If back pressure is building, it will show on a vacuum gauge. As you drive, the intake vacuum will diminish as you try to drive faster. It may peach the pressure side of the gauge. If you have no vacuum gauge, create an exhaust leak. Find the easiest way to create the leak. Remove the O2 sensor, loosen the exhaust manifold at the head, or at the exhaust pipe. Remove the EGR valve and block the vacuum side. ( exhaust recirculating valve) If your cat ic clogged enough to make your car die, a small 1\2" exhaust leak will make a dramatic improvement. That is a "no cost" test.

Don't spend your money on someone's guess. Someone is telling you the correct answer. WHO? The poster that mentioned using spray cold to isolate the ignition components was the best advice I heard here. I once had an old slant six with a bad motor mount. When we were racing this car the mount would lift, only on a left turn, and die because the coil to points wire was too short. Maybe that is what is wrong with your Nissan. I don't think so, but it could be. Many people are trying to tell you what was wrong with their car. But you need to know what is wrong with your car.

Listen to all the advice, but use your good judgement to diagnose the car, not your checkbook. Go slow and logically, and you will have a great learning experience with your son, that will last you and him a lifetime. Good luck. Bob C.

If cat con is covered with carbon from a over rich condition, many times it can be cleaned by running the engine lean by means of a vacuum leak. Another two ways are ingesting small amounts of water through a very thin vacuum hose, and chemical cleaners designed for that purpose. Would you throw away your windows if there was dirt on them? Good luck. Take small steps and keep us informed. (Back on my computer now.)

Your intermittent Ign will give you Cat problems

Snaketails you are real good at the restatement of other peoples posts.

Do the ignition troubleshooting first. The cat conv can very easily be damaged by an ignition problem - if the ignition is intermittent it allows unburned fuel to go out the exhaust. Some if not all of this fuel burns in the cat conv - this causes severe overheating of the cat conv and coats the catalyst with carbon (soot). So you really don't want to replace the cat before the problem is solved and risk damaging the new one. There is always the chance that after you clear the codes the cat code may not return. Ed

How does it die, does it make a noise, from where? Does it chug or jerk?

Davah said

"How does it die, does it make a noise, from where? Does it chug or jerk?"

READ THE THREAD - and then you will have your answer !!!!

On some older engines having carbon built up especially in the area where the fuel pump push rod moves up/down then heat and oops! is stuck until cool down.

Very few if none modern designs have "fuel pump push rods" most all are electric and in the fuel tank or next to it. Your theory is perfectly valid circa 1972 give or take a few years. I'm surprised to meet a guy like you on an ONLINE FORUM.

Actually, not 100% correct.

Diesels (ok not the same fuel as in the original article) use a CAM & pushrod mechanism to take the delivery of duel to dose the injectors with enough pressure to defeat the sealing mechanism.

So, no, not circa 1972, cam and pushrod pumps are still used.

By now after reading so many different ideas to solve your issue, you're probably realizing that CR4 is not a good resource for troubleshooting simple car problems that a good mechanic could solve in 5 minutes.

After quickly skimming most of the posts, I think there are reasonable solutions and some real "amateur" replies. How does one expect you to decipher which are the good ones? My suggestion is to find a Nissan forum. Auto specific forums usually contain people fanatical about their cars, and who know too much for their own good. Anyone posting a clueless reply will usually get flamed by those who know their stuff.

Good Luck!

Guest is right. Some of the folks offering advice here obviously don't know their...from their elbow.

You can and should, if the answer I, and others, offered does not solve the problem, go to a dedicated site.

Engine does not have to heat up for internal resistance and short to heat the solid state ignition device which is usually a ten dollar device. If you live near an Auto-Zone they will be happy to test it for you for free.

Odds are very high that is the source of your problem.

Alternatively, you know you have an ignition failure. Disregard all the B.S. about catalytic devices, etc.

Tracing a heat related problem with a cooling spray is an obvious analytical tool which should reveal your problem right up front.

Otherwise take the advice and go to a site with devotees of your machine.

Ten to one most of them will immediately zero in on the ignition switching device. That is the device that replaces the ignition points and produces the d.c. pulses necessary to the operation of the spark coil, i.e., high voltage transformer which requires pulsing of d.c. in order to function.

j.

Snaketails said

"So, no, not circa 1972, cam and pushrod pumps are still used."

Pushrod driven / cam driven fuel pumps bit the dust over on this side of the pond a long... long time age. Just about every car has a pump in the tank or near the tank. We really have very few diesel cars on the road over here. The last engines to have a rod driven pump were the small block chevys and fords in the days of carburetors ( yikes .. now that really dates us)