Hey guys,
I have a code on my 2000 maxima and after YouTubing and digging around, I think I figured it out. Mostly. I don’t think it’s a bad coil. Every video begins with “check to make sure you have voltage on the wire going to the coil.” And, well, I don’t. I have voltage on all the other wires/coils but it looks like bank 01 on the middle coil (coil 2?) appears to not be getting a voltage. I can only conclude that there is a break in the wire somewhere. From what I understand, this wire is simply connected to 12v and nothing to special going on. I believe it goes back to the fuse box. I believe there is no concern about “other” failures aside from the wire itself or possibly corrosion on a connector. And, I’m pretty comfortable working with 12v systems.
The problem:
Where do I begin? I pulled back the conduit and as far as I can tell, there are no splices in the wire at that end. It appears to go straight into the harness. I also believe it is not an issue with the harness on that end. But then the wire disappears down behind things and I really cannot figure out where it goes. I dug around in the manual and the best thing I can find is a reference to “F5: GY/3” in the wiring diagrams but I really have no idea where that is. I’m also not certain if there are any connections between A → B. I think it is going through multiple harnesses possibly. And I am uncertain where the end connection point is. I would consider just running a new wire without running all new the entire way if I could figure out where the other end is. But, either way, I want to check what the other end plugs into. Is this a relay? A fuse? Where is it? Is it crazy to just run a whole new wire? Or should I be “doing it properly” and finding every possible harness between A and B and test/fix it there? And, is there a clear diagram showing me all the harnesses it may stop at and where they are under the hood so I’m not chasing this wire through the entire engine compartment?
Thanks
I hate to recommend something like this: get two clip on connectors and go back as far as you can… You may be able to probe into the wire properly with the pointy probe and test for current. Try not to jury rig first. Do that last.
Hey, thanks so much for the reply. Good news… sort of.
I sat there for a couple hours trying to figure it out and finally found where the wire comes into the fuse box. I got continuity to the end on the other side of the engine so it wasn’t the wire. After poking through the fuse box, I found a bad fuse. Which is really confusing because only ONE coil wasn’t getting voltage.
After removing the fuse to look and putting it back, the car wouldn’t start. !! I ended up pulling the 15amp audio fuse and using that (both were 15amps) and the car started. I drove it to the parts store and suddenly half way there it felt like I lost half the engine. If I accelerate too quickly or go up hill, it seems to struggle to the point of stopping completely (though the engine is still running).
Ultimately, when I got home, I popped the new fuse into place. The car seems to operate alright now… though after the engine turns over and I release the key from the starting position, the engine seems to be sluggish for about 1 second or so. Then seems to come to life. I haven’t taken it back out for a drive to see how it does with the new fuse but I can think of no reason the 15amp audio fuse would have any more trouble than the original 15amp fuse in there. I also am confused as to why this suddenly became such a problem AFTER I got in there and tinkered. I’m hoping I didn’t wiggle some wire loose or cause a short somewhere.
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For any referencing this thread in the future:
Ultimately the fuse #2 on Engine Control was blown. This impacted, apparently, only the middle cylinder on bank 01 (in the back).
The secondary issue with sluggishness appears to have been related to a mass airflow code which popped up only after I put the fuse back in. But, after clearing the codes the issue appeared to go away (immediately). I’ve driven around a bit since and I have had no further issues. The car is back in working order and feels great.
Thanks for the input. Glad I didn’t have to chase the wire through the entire engine compartment.
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Glad to hear you were able to fix it with a minimum of fuss. This is strictly a wild guess but it’s possible the car’s computer needed to do some “relearning” after you replaced the fuse. Regardless, I’d have the mass airflow sensor checked out on principle. There’s probably still a code stored.
I am happy to learn that my 1968 approach usually does not work very well. If life were that simple we would have a colony on Mars.