N16 Nissan Pulsar stalls / idles rough after changing battery.

[LeWidget]

Hi all,

Really hoping someone might have an idea on this issue. I've tried Pulsar specific forums but no luck.

(backstory)
Car wouldn't start, got NRMA (roadside assistance) out to jump start, and he tested the battery while car was running, to check alternator (14.## volts), he said alternator was OK, so we drove it home. Next morning, went to get a new battery, car started OK, but at autoparts store, they tested battery and came back 'bad'. Bought a new battery, installed it....

Basically car is idling/stalling, which I 'think' might have to do with replacing the battery. Starting the car, it would start, then die. Only way to get it to start is to apply a little accelerator. After a few seconds, remove acceleration and car would idle, poorly (probably around 500rpm +/-). If I accelerate (1-2k rpm), and release foot, rpm would drop right down <500rpm, almost stalling, then it would pop back up again.

I thought maybe fuel was dirty, but Mum said she fueled up a few days ago, but didn't notice any issues.
I checked air filter in case blocked, didn't seem to bad, a little dirty, but nothing suss.
Checked oil in case was low, and maybe causing friction in cylinder.. probably very unlikely, or pointless, but figured why not, while I had the hood up. (oil was 50% full, but needs changing)

I have heard that replacing a battery can turn the ECU dumb, causing it to have to relearn. I've come across a few procedures, but none seem to work;

http://afiaustralia.com.au/images/stories/N16_pulsar_idle_fault.pdf
https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/nissan-idle-relearn-procedure/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR-AjHCslhs
https://forums.nicoclub.com/how-to-ecu-relearning-procedures-t445702.html

Following the steps in the 1st link, step #6 says to "disconnect Throttle position sensor (brown in colour) connector", but there is no brown connector, just a single green one. A service manual I found shows a diagram with a brown (throttle position sensor), and a Grey (closed throttle position switch), but our Pulsar just has a single green connector. When I disconnected / reconnnected that one, the accelerator went limp, couldn't rev the car. Had to turn car off for several seconds, then on again, now back to square one.

I tried an OBDII reader too, just one of those ebay jobs, with the Torque (lite) Android app, but I got an error in Torque,

still loaded into Torque, but pretty much nothing would connect (except acceleration, which maybe ran off protocol 3, which I think Torque said was OK). I tried OBDLink, but wouldn't work unless I had one of their readers. Also tried BlueDriver, but wouldn't detect my reader :/.

Note: i just found this entry on wikipedia regarding the QG18DE engine;

OBDII – On-board Diagnostic System (codes can be read/erased by a variety of readers, e.g. Actron blaZt). Nissan Pulsar N16 Models without EuroOBD in Australia do not have OBDII.

If the car doesn't have OBDii reader.. what does it have? It has the port under the dash that connects a reader, so it must take something ?

Vehicle is a 2003 Nissan Pulsar N16 Auto 1.8L QG18DE engine.

Thoughts ?

Thanks in advance.

[junkie]

Pretty sure its still running Nissan Consult protocol. As for the rest hard to say, used to have a similar issue with the old V6 Magnas, and was generally resolved by cleaning the throttle body

[LeWidget]

6 hours ago, junkie said:

Pretty sure its still running Nissan Consult protocol. As for the rest hard to say, used to have a similar issue with the old V6 Magnas, and was generally resolved by cleaning the throttle body

Thanks for the reply.

I had a look at the port under the dash, and it appears to be an OBD2 style connection. Looking at the Consult cables/adapters, its port connector appears to be a different style. Could it still be using a Consult protocol but with a 16pin OBD2 port? or is the car likely to be some sort of EOBD (euro?) connection ?



I'll try giving the throttle body a clean too, and maybe check for vacuum leaks while I'm at it.  

Edited January 29, 2020 by LeWidget

[Duncan]

I don't think it will help too much towards resolving the stalling, but yes, Japanese cars in general, and Nissans in particular, can have an OBD port physically, but not support the OBD protocol. Sometimes that is generically called J(apanese)-OBD but it is not even a country wide standard, each manufacturer and potentially model made decisions about how to implement it. OBD is only standardised in the US, and even then it only requires a specific set of functions, not all the information that might be available within the CAN

[niZmO_Man]

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for about an hour? It should give enough time for the ECU to "clear" itself.

Or perhaps the IACV is stuffed/clogged/whatever, and the ECU trimmed it to be fully open, but now that it's been reset it doesn't know to open it (I'm just guessing).

https://www.justanswer.com/nissan/63g7y-idling-stop-light-2000-nissan-sentra-gxe-will-loose-rpms-try-stall-un.html

Might have to head down to a workshop (e.g. Mycar, Midas, or even Lubemobile) that can scan your car.

[blind_elk]

Sedan or hatch?

I've just got mine going again (hatch) after fixing a broken valve. It was without a battery for several weeks, but fired up and ran fine when it was all back together.

In Skylines, poor idle is quite often related to the IACV valve being dirty, could be the same in the Pulsar.

[LeWidget]

On 1/31/2020 at 10:40 AM, niZmO_Man said:

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for about an hour? It should give enough time for the ECU to "clear" itself.

Or perhaps the IACV is stuffed/clogged/whatever, and the ECU trimmed it to be fully open, but now that it's been reset it doesn't know to open it (I'm just guessing).

 

On 1/31/2020 at 3:11 PM, blind_elk said:

Sedan or hatch?

I've just got mine going again (hatch) after fixing a broken valve. It was without a battery for several weeks, but fired up and ran fine when it was all back together.

In Skylines, poor idle is quite often related to the IACV valve being dirty, could be the same in the Pulsar.

Sorry, it's a Sedan

I ended up cleaning the throttle body, was quite filthy, however, I couldn't clean the IAV as it was riveted to the throttle body.

Started car, started good. RPM went to around 1k, then slowly came down to 800rpm. Good!. Let car sit few minutes, no problem. Turned car off, started again, but, now it go upto 1500rpm and sits there. Turned off / on, same thing, tried again, same thing, 1500rpm :/. I might have to try and drive around a little, hopefully it'll adjust itself again, or maybe disconnected battery to reset ECU, and go from there ?

Still haven't been able to find a service manual for this one other than going to supercheap :/. I found this video (U.S I think), talking about relearning. The throttle pictured in the video looks the same as the one in the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1bsUedze5M

Another thing, I found this hose, doesn't seem to be connected to anything, can't see where it might connect to either. Is it suppose to be disconnected? Maybe a breather hose of some sort ?

 

[GTSBoy]

Is the hose sucking air in when the car is running? If so....problem.

As to the idle valve. Buy some Subaru upper engine cleaner or similar and spray it in through there.

[LeWidget]

On 2/2/2020 at 4:46 PM, GTSBoy said:

Is the hose sucking air in when the car is running? If so....problem.

No suck. I've been told it's a breather hose.

 

On 2/2/2020 at 4:46 PM, GTSBoy said:

As to the idle valve. Buy some Subaru upper engine cleaner or similar and spray it in through there.

Through the IACV or into the throttle body? Would spraying into the idle valve not cause issues? I read a few posts saying that TB cleaner, if it get's into the IACV, can damage it, though I tried to keep the IACV upright, so TB cleaner didn't run into it, could that be an issue ?

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, LeWidget said:

Through the IACV or into the throttle body? Would spraying into the idle valve not cause issues? I read a few posts saying that TB cleaner, if it get's into the IACV, can damage it, though I tried to keep the IACV upright, so TB cleaner didn't run into it, could that be an issue ?

2 points here.

1. I did not say TB cleaner. I said Subaru upper engine cleaner. Not the same thing.

And 2. Regardless, carby/TB cleaner can't really harm the IACV.

And I meant for you to spray it into the IACV. You may need to have a few goes at getting some stuff in there. The best way would be to have the hose feeding it ready to pop off. Have engine running, pull hose and squirt some cleaner in, then put hose back on if it sounds like it wants to stall.

[LeWidget]

3 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

1. I did not say TB cleaner. I said Subaru upper engine cleaner. Not the same thing.

I know. I was just saying that in reference to spraying a chemical in the general area.
 

4 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

I meant for you to spray it into the IACV. You may need to have a few goes at getting some stuff in there. The best way would be to have the hose feeding it ready to pop off. Have engine running, pull hose and squirt some cleaner in, then put hose back on if it sounds like it wants to stall.

I had a look but don't see any hoses going directly to the IAC

[GTSBoy]

Shitty modern FWD crap. Take the TB off and do it manually.