Started my car the other morning to go to work (4:45 AM) with no problem and drove about one mile. Not wet weather. The engine dies, all lights that come on at start up (engine, alt, etc.) come on and I glided to the side. Tried starting it again - engine tried but did not catch. Tried a few more times and called AAA. Towed it to a mechanic. Waited about 2 hours for them to open. They were able to drive it the rest of the day with no problem but they had the same thing happen the next morning (yesterday). Then it didn’t happen to them today. One more try tomorrow and I hope they can identify it then.
2000 Nissan Altima w/150K miles, gas was less than 1/4 mark, no system lights on. Thanks for any help.
This will sound like a silly question but was the AC on at the time?
The AC avaporator’s reservoir has a hose at the bottom of that reservoir that is supposed to drain that water outside of the cabin, under the car.
If that hose is clogged, that water spills over the edges of the reservoir and right onto the ECM. I’ve seen it twice on two different Altimas (mine and my in-laws’) where this was the cause of weird stalling problems.
If you don’t ever notice water under your car after running the AC, there is a chance that this could be your problem. It is apparently a common problem with Altimas of that vintage.
Go under the car with a pipe cleaner, find that drain hose and clean it out. It costs nothing and takes no time.
The AC was not on, unfortunately. Happened to mechanic when left overnight but did not repeat on next 2 mornings. So I took it back and, of course, it happened today. Hasn’t started all day. Tried at one hour intervals.
I’d sure suspect a full pump. They can be pretty intermittant. Ask me how I know. I’ll never put another fuel pump in a car and will trade first. Next time listen for the pump to go on for a few seconds when you turn the key. If no noise, no fuel pump and no start. Or use a fuel pressure gauge. If the pump runs, then you’ve probably got a spark problem-coil, crank sensor, etc. Didn’t these guys check this?
I think Bing may be on track. Even more than the fuel pump I would suspect the fuel pump relay as the trouble maker. If there is a fuel delivery problem and the engine isn’t starting then you easily verify that by spraying a small amount of starter fluid into the intake. If that makes the engine fire up then you know what area is causing the trouble.