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'03 Sentra 1.8 liter engine check engine Misfire Forums > > '03 Sentra 1.8 liter engine check engine Misfire '03 Sentra 1.8 liter engine check engine Misfire
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  #1  
Old 09-25-2013, 01:49 PM
decolores decolores is offline
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2003 Sentra
 
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Default '03 Sentra 1.8 liter engine check engine Misfire

A few weeks ago, my check engine light came on. I had the code checked and was told it was a misfire cylinder 2. I took it to a mechanic who said nothing specific was found on his computer so he switched out the coil on cylinder 2 with the one on cylinder 3, cleared the code and said if the check engine light came on again and the code read misfire cylinder 3, we'd know it was a bad coil. Sure enough, a week later, the check engine light comes back on and the code is misfire cylinder 3. We bought a new coil at Auto zone that was listed as a premium part [only coil they had in stock] and replaced the coil on what we THINK is cylinder 3 as it is the 3rd from the left if you are in front of the car. I understand, however, that the car fires in a 1-3-4-2 sequence. Does this mean we do not change them in the 1-2-3-4 sequence? I know this sounds stupid, however, when we place the coil on the 3rd cylinder, it made no difference, the car still ran ruff. Switching it again to the 2nd cylinder made no real difference either. Thoughts?
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  #2  
Old 09-27-2013, 03:19 AM
bennyb53's Avatar
bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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2019 Sentra
2002 Altima
 
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1. First mechanic said a misfire on cyl.2 (p0302). Second mechanic said nothing specific on the misfire (p0300 random).
3. Second mechanic swapped out ignition #2 with #3 after which the SES is lit and trouble code points to cyl. #3 with ignition coil from #2. You replaced the #3 coil which is originally from #2 with a new one and problem persist.
3. Firing order is not a factor. The cyl. order is 1,2,3,4 and you are correct.

A. Do a power balance test. With engine at idle, disconnect the power supply starting with cyl. #1. If engine stumble or even stall, that is normal and re-connect the power supply harness. Do cyl #2. When the rpm do not change on cyl. you are testing after disconnecting the power supply circuit, that is suspect. Further testing is needed if there is spark. If no spark, it's likely the ignition coil is dead. If there is spark, may be spark plug is not firing. You or your mechanic should have done this before buying a new ignition coil.
B. Since your new ignition coil did not solve the issue, it is either: (1) the new coil is DOA, (2) or you need to do more testing as mentioned in A. Happy troubleshooting.
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  #3  
Old 10-30-2013, 12:36 PM
decolores decolores is offline
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2003 Sentra
 
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Thanks so much for your responses. The trouble only continues I'm afraid. I took the car in and had the coil changed by the mechanic. The check engine light was still on when I picked up the car. they put it back in the service bay and cleaned the throttle plate as it was "gunked up". This was on Tuesday afternoon. I drove the car to work on Wednesday without a problem, but when I started the car that night...SERVICE ENGINE SOON popped up again! I'm NOT a happy camper!!!!!!! Any other ideas before I take it back to the mechanic??
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  #4  
Old 11-09-2013, 03:25 PM
Freed Gerdes
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My engine problems began exactly like yours: first error signals about misfire cyl #2. we switched coils, got error for cyl #3, eventually replaced both coils, but after a short time again got error signals, which the local mechanic shops could not diagnose. You won't like this, but try this experiment: with the engine cold, crank it up and run at idle for 15 seconds, then shut it off and go open the radiator cap. If it is pressured up, you have a blown head gasket. (But read on...)

After replacing the head gasket, and while attempting to start the engine, the chain tensioner failed, allowing the timing chain to slip and the exhaust camshaft to retard versus the crankshaft, until the #1 exhaust valves hit interference with the piston (left small mark on the lifter caps), and then sheared the camshaft gear centering casting. I obtained a replacement camshaft and installed it, but there are no timing marks on the gear, so I had to estimate the exhaust valve timing. The engine runs a little rough, and lacks power, so I am assuming the exhaust valves are a little late opening; I set them to begin opening at the bottom of the power stroke. Can anyone provide a more specific relationship? One would think that to avoid losing power, the exhaust valves should not open before the piston reaches bottom, as you will surely lose power if you let the hot gas out before extracting all the expansion possible, but the valve opening duration seems really short on these engines, so maybe I am not accounting for the lag in the valve opening? Alternately, with short duration, the exhaust valve is closed before the piston makes much upward progress, so maybe it leaves too much volume, which then pressures up and blows back against the intake valves. Exactly where in the exhaust stroke does Nissan consider the exhaust valve duration optimum? Any help here would be appreciated.
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  #5  
Old 11-10-2013, 07:30 AM
Freed Gerdes
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Dear Monitor,
Thanks so much for posting my message promptly. This will greatly improve my chances of getting a response in time to be of some value to me...
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