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Vehicle kicking at idle and stuttering while driving Forums > > Vehicle kicking at idle and stuttering while driving Vehicle kicking at idle and stuttering while driving
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  #1  
Old 07-08-2013, 02:29 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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2003 Altima 2.5S
 
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Default Vehicle kicking at idle and stuttering while driving

I've noticed this issue for several years, but never this sever as what happened today. Only in the mornings from a cold start i would notice a slight stutter going one block and all would be fine after (i.e. I would step on the accelerator pedal and it wouldn't respond but i would receive a slight push or kick then it would proceed). Today, i got to a stop sign and i thought i heard several broken pieces of glass coming from the front of the car, and from that moment on it was struggling really bad. It was kicking more than pulling when i pressed on the accelerator pedal from that stop sign. That first mile from that stop sign almost felt like the vehicle was going to just turn off. When i'm at an idle it would still be kicking. I even checked the rear exhaust and you could hear the air circulation cut off and on.
It's got about 127k miles on it and when i slam my foot on the accelerator pedal it has a major stutter before actually pulling. So far the spark plugs, air filter, Camshaft and Crankshaft position sensors, battery, and an engine mount has been replaced. So nothing major has been done to the vehicle that i know of. I still haven't noticed the SES light come on. Hopefully it is just a fuel injector and not a defected catalytic converter. Hopefully someone here can send me to the right direction. Thanks in advance.

UPDATE1: Even when the hood is up and the engine is idling the engine seems to have some sort of surge where it would shake and you would hear either the power going down or the rpm would drop. I actually forgot how the rpm read on the dash when i was at a stop light/sign when i felt the push or kick, but it has never done this before. So i could be wrong about the rpm dropping, it could just be the power of the vehicle. I have also tried hooking up the OBDII scanner on it and it reads nothing. The SES light still hasn't came on yet either.

UPDATE2: I went for another drive and this time i noticed that the SES light was blinking and the car was really struggling on the road. I finally got a solid SES light and it reads code P0302. So i guess i got my work cut out. How do you figure out the numbering on the spark plugs, coils or injectors? From right to left or from left to right (1234 or 4321)?

- Faulty spark plug 2
- Clogged or faulty fuel injector 2
- Faulty ignition coil 2
- Fuel injector 2 harness is open or shorted
- Fuel injector 2 circuit poor electrical connection
- Ignition coil 2 harness is open or shorted
- Ignition coil 2 circuit poor electrical connection
- Insufficient cylinder 2 compression
- Incorrect fuel pressure
- Intake air leak



Last edited by NissanAltima01; 07-08-2013 at 06:59 PM.
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  #2  
Old 07-08-2013, 08:29 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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Would a dry compression test be enough or would i need to do a wet compression test as well? Now when i switch the ignition coil's or the fuel injectors how would i find out if that is the culprit? If the code reads on the other cylinder? The fuel filter could cause an incorrect fuel pressure right? If one of the cylinders compression is less than others, what would that mean (180, 130, 180, 180)? When i have the vehicle on would taking the oil cap off be considered as a test for bad rings if the oil is spraying out? Any help would be appreciated and hopefully its just a ignition coil. Thanks.
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  #3  
Old 07-08-2013, 09:56 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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Do spark test on cyl. #2 ig. coil. It's the second from left when standing in front of bumper. That could be cause of misfire p0302.
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  #4  
Old 07-08-2013, 11:31 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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Would the Dorman Conduct-Tite - In-Line Spark Checker - Tester do the trick?
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  #5  
Old 07-09-2013, 03:41 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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Okay, so they didn't have the Dorman, but i bought the Lisle Ignition spark tester and cylinder #2 ignition coil has spark. The spark plug for cylinder #2 has alittle ash on the top, but didn't look to far from the spark plug from cylinder #3 that i pulled out. I did switch the spark plugs on cylinder #2 and #3 before resetting the code. What would be next is to try and test the fuel injector pressure, measure the fuel injector's resistance, and to listen to open and closing pulse with a long flat head screw driver. Also i found out that my vehicle is doing the same as the vehicle shown in the video below, but just wanted to be sure if i do have a bad ring or this is totally false of testing.


UPDATE1: Well, with the long flat head screw driver you can sure hear the pulse from all of the fuel injectors, just not sure if there is some sort of clog or weakening in that cylinder #2 fuel injector at some point or not. So you think i should also do a pressure test or just move on to maybe do a compression test on cylinder #2? Intake air leak, Incorrect fuel pressure, or it could be a harness issue at this point.

UPDATE2: Went to go and pick up a compression test and had to go to two different places since the first place was out of stock and didn't notice any issues with the vehicle or the SES light coming back on since the reset. Going to run the compression test either tonight or tomorrow and will post results.


+ YouTube Video

Last edited by NissanAltima01; 07-09-2013 at 06:47 PM.
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  #6  
Old 07-10-2013, 06:03 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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Okay, from the IPDM Unit i took out fuse 15a in order for the fuel system not to function. So the vehicle never started, but just cranked which was suppose to be the case. I don't think i needed to disconnect the fuel injectors at that point. I think i got the compression tester installed right, but only getting 148-151 from cylinder #2 and #3. Isn't it suppose to be around 180? I did have cylinder #2 without a spark plug during my first test on cylinder #3, but didn't change much when spark plug was installed in cylinder #2. Not sure how to test it properly or the compression is really low.

UPDATE: Again today the vehicle drove normal with no SES light blinking or on. I don't think switching the spark plugs between cylinder #2 and #3 had anything to do with it, but i also did reset the code yesterday. If the compression test was accurate than there has to be something wrong with the engine. Getting 150psi on cylinder #2 and #3 is 30psi below what it should be at. Hopefully the test i performed with the compression tester wasn't installed correctly. I'll do all four cylinders again tomorrow and post back results.

Last edited by NissanAltima01; 07-10-2013 at 08:26 PM.
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  #7  
Old 07-12-2013, 05:00 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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I have taken a look at a couple of compression tests on the net and the only thing i didn't do was to take out all of the spark plugs while doing the test. Recently in the last two days i have replaced all four of the ignition coils, but haven't got a chance to do a full compression test. Most probably i have a cylinder head, valve, or rings that are either worn or need to be adjusted. I have heard if you have low compression on two cylinders that are close to each other than you have a worn valve or ring, not sure which one it was. Again the SES light hasn't came on or blinked today, but the pick up on the vehicle is not consistent every time i press down the accelerator pedal.

Last edited by NissanAltima01; 07-12-2013 at 05:54 PM.
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  #8  
Old 07-12-2013, 11:13 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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1. the reason i asked you to do a spark test on #2 cyl (p0302) was i had the same symptom when #2 ig. coil failed. this was 2 yrs. ago and 3 coils are still OE. i do keep 1 coil on hand just in case, its $190. from dealer and only a fraction on the net.

2. do wet compression test on #2. if pressure is higher its likely your piston ring. if pressure is the same then its likely your valve, v ring or v lifter.
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  #9  
Old 07-13-2013, 02:25 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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The four ignition coils i picked up were BWD brands. I know i should of just ordered a set of four on-line for much cheaper. Anyhow the compression test has been done and the only wet test i did was on cylinder #2. The dry test was 160,155,150,155 and the wet was xxx,157,xxx,xxx. What are the numbers i'm suppose to get, around 180, correct? There is probably more than just one piston ring, valve, v ring, or v lifter that has been worn if the numbers are this low on all four cylinders.

Last edited by NissanAltima01; 07-13-2013 at 02:27 PM.
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  #10  
Old 07-13-2013, 04:55 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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The Wet compression is practically the same as the dry test so I think your piston are ok considering you don't mention of excessive oil consumption. the next step is do a "leakdown test" to further isolate the problem. this will confirm if you have leaky valve(s).
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  #11  
Old 07-13-2013, 06:17 PM
NissanAltima01 NissanAltima01 is offline
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I need to take out all of the ignition coils, but take out only one spark plug. Does it matter which spark plug i take out for the engine leak down test? Now where is the engine bolt to crank up the cylinder for this 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5S?
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  #12  
Old 07-13-2013, 09:51 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NissanAltima01 View Post
Now where is the engine bolt to crank up the cylinder for this 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5S?
I'm not sure I understand your ?.
1. When doing compression test either w/d you crank engine like your're starting about 6x or the gauge no longer rising. Doing compression test, manual says to remove all plugs. EVeryone I know including myself have done same thing. I'm not sure what happens if you don't remove.....false reading? idk. I also disconnect ig. coil from harness connector cuz when you're cranking ignition coils are still energized with huge voltage that is not going anywhere but might backtrack to ecm or other delicate system, just precautionary.

2. Leakdown Test: You're not cranking the engine. If the head is already removed would be easier cuz all you do is pour some liquid like fuel to the intake and exhaust ports and watch if valves leak. In your case, you're going to pump air into the cyl. you're testing with air pressure gauge fitting and watch if pressure goes down and how fast. I have not personally done this cuz I opted for oil analysis. I'm sure you'll see a lot of videos on Utube.
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  #13  
Old 08-01-2013, 07:08 AM
Econman Econman is offline
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Sorry to add a potential curveball, but I have been experiencing all of the same issues on my sister-in-law's 2005 Altima. I've replaced both the cam and crank position sensors, spark plugs, fuel pump and cleaned the fuel system. I just had the ECM reprogram done and it did not fix the problem either...

What the Nissan service manager told me was that the timing was supposed to read from 0-3 degrees and it's reading 13 degrees. The car has 87,000 miles on it. So, next week I'll be replacing the timing chain, tensioner and guides...

Very frustrating vehicle!

Last edited by Econman; 08-01-2013 at 07:11 AM.
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