I have a 1991 Nissan Sentra with 151,427 miles. The past several months I will be driving along and suddenly the car will stop working and it won’t restart right away. The following parts have been replaced within the past 2 years: 2nd transmission, new starter, new alternator, new fuel pump, new battery, rack & pinion steering, and a complete tune-up just last fall (2012). What would cause my car to suddenly lose power when I’m driving? Help! I want my Nissan to come back to life!
A whole lot of things, how many parts do you want to buy and try before finding someone who can locate the problem and only replace what is needed.
Fuel pump
fuel pump relay
fuel filter
ignition module
distributor center shaft bushing
coil
rotor
distributor cap
ECU
and the list goes on.
When you state that it will not restart right away do you mean the starter motor will physically crank the engine over with no engine start, or do you mean that everything including the starter motor is dead?
Any dashboard warning lamps illuminated with the key on and the car in a no-start condition?
The list of possibles is long and there’s not much to work with on the guessing part of this.
ok4450: Thank you for reading my post. In answer to your question, yes….the starter motor will physically crank the engine over, but the engine will not start. Also, no dashboard warning lamps are illuminated. Any feedback you have would be appreciated. Thank you.
You need to find out wether or not you lack spark or fuel when it cranks without starting.
Next time it does that, spray a 3 second blast of starting fluid into the air cleaner. If it starts up and runs briefly, you have a fuel problem. If not, you have an ignition problem.
Since I still drive an 87 Pulsar, you probably have the same look under-hood that I do. While I have other problems with Nissan (too many to list), I haven’t had your problem with my car. But I DID have this problem with my first car - a 1957 Ford with 312 V8. I think your problem would be one of theses: 1. A bad ignition coil that opens when the ambient under-hood temperature reaches a certain temp. A short cool-off period and vroom it starts right up. 2. A similar temp related intermittent with either the ignition transistor cluster (located driver’s side just behind the battery, or 3. a defective sender unit (which replaced the points in older cars) under the rotor cap. All of these items can be obtained at your local wrecking yard for cheap and you can be 99% sure that they are still functioning. Easy to replace, too.