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Car shut off

2548 Views 76 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  snaggz7
Hi! I drive a 2014 Nissan versa note it’s got 170k miles but only 50k miles on the tranny I do doordash in it and I was leaving a customers house and it shut of and I started it again and it shut off again I started it a 3rd time and turned the A/C off and it drove home once I got it there I cranked the ac all the way up with the headlights on to see if it was a bad battery and it drove fine it makes noises and stuff when the ac is on I have had codes for a bad MAF but changed it 2 times does anyone know what I can change or check I have a parts versa with 89k miles I can’t loose my car it’s all I got lol thank you I’m just hoping it isn’t another transmission issue
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Is the check engine light on (now)?? If so, what are the codes??
Did you have to crank it for extended periods to get the car to start??
(1) Did you reset the computer after installing the new MAF?? (disconnect the battery for 10-15 minutes)

(2) Have you changed the engine air filter lately??

(3) As far as running rough, have you changed the spark plugs lately?? how about fuel injector cleaner??

(4) Can you elaborate on the statement, that you pulled codes for "cat bank 1"?? Was this a P0420 code for the catalytic converter??
I pulled P0420
The P0420 code is "low catalyst system efficiency" which (usually) means the catalytic converter has gone bad or your downstream 02 sensor is bad. Most of the time it is a bad cat and with 170K on the car, I'm thinking your catalytic converter is worn out or clogged.
The hard starting and general decline of the car has me thinking the catalytic converter is clogged causing back pressure.
Where you live, do you have to take your car through any periodic inspections?? Emissions or general inspections?? Anything like that??
I didn’t I drove it because where I bought it said it would auto reset..
I'm not 100% sure that is right or wrong. Since it doesn't cost anything, I'd disconnect the battery for 15-20 minutes and let the computer reset itself.

You will lose your radio presets, but you can put those back in, just write down the stations.
I drove it for about 45 minutes today and it didn’t have any problems
OK... so it appears you have an intermittent problem. You don't have a current "check engine" light, but there may be some stored codes that could shed some light on the problem.
(1)Do you have access to an OBD2 scanner?? (borrow one from a friend??)

(2) When you drove the car today, was it hard starting??

(3) Did you try disconnecting the battery for 15-20 minutes (to clear the computer)??

(4) Anything different you did today, as opposed to the day when it was acting up??

(5) When you turn the key on and before you engage the starter, can you briefly hear the fuel pump (listen carefully, it isn't very loud)??
The fact that your gas mileage has gone down significantly, worries me. It does sound like the car may be running rich. From what I understand, when you disconnect the battery, the car should attempt to re-learn on its own.

It will also reset all the monitors, (which may help) as the car will run a "drive cycle" and look for problems. It will communicate any problems it finds in the form of a "check engine" light and associated codes. With those codes, we'll attempt to use parts off your "parts car" to repair your ride.

When you borrow your father's OBD2 reader, try to get the fuel trim numbers. I'm pretty rusty on fuel trims, so I'll need to re-educate myself.

And yes... I know what it is like to be down to my last $30. I'm hopeful we'll figure this out and be able to utilize parts off of your "parts car".
Yes... glad to (attempt) to help. For the record, I'm an "old school shade tree" mechanic, I was an accountant for over 30 years, so "wrenching" on cars was a hobby that I enjoyed with my Dad. I still do most (but not all) of my own car repairs, although my Versa has just needed maintenance... so far.

It seems I do more wrenching on my girlfriend's old Dodge Neon than anything else. She loves that car, so I'm doing my best to keep it alive.

Yes... back in my day, when the car ran rich, you adjusted the mixture screw on the carburetor. Those days are long gone.
The FLI% jumped out at me. It should be 14.7
I do think you are dealing with a rich condition. I did some research on rich conditions and there are a few items that could cause it. My first thought was a vacuum leak.

Personally I use propane and a long hose to test for vacuum leaks, but if you don't have a torch to meter out small amounts of propane, it won't work. You also said you changed the plugs so I am assuming you removed the intake manifold. So there could be a vacuum leak there or any of the vacuum hoses.

"Eric the car guy" on youtube has a video using brake cleaner or carb cleaner, which only costs a few bucks for a can of it. Maybe watch his video and see if you are comfortable testing for vacuum leaks using his method. You need to be very careful when using his method, watch the video and make sure you understand before trying it. If you are not completely comfortable trying it... don't do it.

A faulty oxygen sensor can also cause a rich condition, so if you have no vacuum leaks you might want to swap upstream and downstream Oxygen sensors from your parts car.
But let's think about vacuum leaks first.

I'll crunch the rest of the numbers you provided after dinner and see if anything sticks out.

As far as the battery, a weak battery does cause havoc with these cars. I'm not sure it could fool the computer into adding more fuel, but we'll just keep that in the back of our minds, for now.
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I looked at the rest of the numbers last night.
(1) The oxygen sensors voltage is a bit high, so it could be that
(2) The VPWR is low (voltage), which reinforces the fact that your battery is getting weak, but you already knew that (from the Advance Auto guy). I'm not convinced that a weak battery could upset the computer enough to cause a rich condition.

As far as vacuum leaks, the car is used and you don't know who has been there before you. A pinched gasket here or there and you have a small vacuum leak. I'd also check around the intake manifold and ALL the vacuum hoses.
I imagine the minimal charge for any diagnostic work will be $75-$100.

As far as Oxygen sensors, all of these components talk to the ECU, then it makes adjustments to fuel trims, etc. If the oxygen sensors send erroneous data to the ECU, then it could be adding fuel when none is needed, thus you get a rich condition.
Does any of that “fix in a bottle” work?
Nope... The few people I know who have tried it were not successful.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but a vacuum leak would cause a lean condition.
I'm not 100% sure. I think it depends where the leak is and if its before or after the MAF. I started doing research and attempting figure out this vehicle's symptoms. The poor gas mileage, rough running and hard starting. I stumbled across three possibilities that would meet that criteria.
(1) Vacuum Leak
(2) Faulty Oxygen Sensor(s)
(3) Faulty IAT sensor (I don't think his Versa has an IAT)

Being that this poster was down to his last $30, I thought testing for a vacuum leak would fit in his budget and answer some of the symptoms or at least we could rule that out. We needed to start attempting to rule out some of the possibilities, without firing the "parts cannon" at his Versa.
Something is telling the ECU to add more fuel, thus his FLI% is high (should be at 14.7% - approximately). He has changed the MAF twice, so I can't imagine both MAF(s) were bad. I guess that could be a possibility, just unlikely.

As I have stated numerous times, I'm a "shade tree" mechanic at best. I learned to fix cars with my Dad as a hobby when they had points and condensers and carburetors. Attempting to keep up with the latest technology is quite taxing.

I'm sure the original poster will welcome any and all help to fix his Versa.
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Dang how do unclog it then?
You don't unclog them... you replace them.
Personally, I've had good luck with catalytic converters I purchased off of ebay. (One on a Pontiac and one on my GM work truck) I sold the Pontiac, but still have my truck. The one on my old GM work truck came from Canada, but I don't remember the manufacturer.
I hesitate to recommend ebay cats as some people have NOT had good luck with them.
You might also want to look at rockauto for a catalytic converter.
At this point, I think its prudent to attempt to rule out other possibilities, before firing the "parts cannon" at the car, as you said you don't have the cats from the parts car.
I didn't really focus on the MAP sensor, as you didn't mention a P0107 code. Upon doing some further research a MAP sensor can go wonky without throwing a code. I guess if you have one on the parts car and its easy to change... maybe??
In regards to batteries, my 2016 Versa came with a battery where I had to add distilled water to the cells. The desert heat (that I live in) kills batteries fairly quickly, so I've already had to replace my battery once.
The TPMS light will be on because the sensors (inside the tires) aren't matched with the sensor numbers in the computer. Check your air pressure (for the time being) and have the computer reprogrammed to match the sensors (when you get money)

In regards to the dimming of the lights, I'm thinking the alternator should be able to keep all that OK while the car is running (unless the alternator is going bad, also). A bad alternator will cause a battery to go bad quicker, as well. Some auto parts places will have a battery load tester which also doubles as a alternator checker. My load tester checks both alternator and battery.

I don't know about TCS light.

Maybe call a couple of auto parts stores and see if they will test both the alternator and the battery.
I think your car may have multiple problems. It does have a 170K miles and was not given proper maintenance by the previous owner. You need to run some diagnostic tests or have your mechanic run some tests. Do you own a multi-meter??

I don't completely understand your posts. So lets start back at square one.
Here is what we know, you have a weak battery (which is explains the VPWR being low), your FLI% (Fuel trim) is high, and your Oxygen Sensor Voltage is high. The car runs rough and sometimes is hard to start.

I'm also confused about your serpentine belt that it may or may not be slipping?? I don't understand your post about the car dumping all of its coolant, did it run hot?? Now you are saying your water pump has gone out, is it leaking from the weep hole?? Is the car presently running hot?? I'm very confused.

I can't advise you on the CVT transmission question, I know nothing about automatic transmissions, all of my vehicles are manual transmission.

Batteries do not self heal, when a battery is weak, it has to be replaced. I would also check the alternator when replacing the battery. A new battery will not last, if the alternator does not keep it charged up.
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And yes I do have a multimeter
Great... Set your multi-meter to read DC Volts.
After the car has sat overnight, before you start it take a reading on the battery. (post that result as pre-start battery voltage)
Then start the car and with the car running (all accessories off) take a reading at the battery. (post that result as post-start voltage).
it ran hot one time since I’ve had it and that was when the water pump seized up I’m assuming (now) because of the belt the water pump is still good as is the motor (I had it checked back when I had money)
Let me see if I understand this post...
(1) Your car ran hot.
(2) The water pump seized up

So you took it to a mechanic...
(1) Did your mechanic change out this seized water pump??
(2) How did he check your engine to make sure no damage was done when it ran hot?? Did he do a compression check??
I know for a fact I have a exhaust leak
An exhaust leak can cause your oxygen senors to report erroneous values to the computer, thus it will make incorrect adjustments to the fuel trims or (FLI%).
The newer cars are not like the old points / condenser and carburetor cars.
The computer obtains values from various sources and makes adjustments to the fuel trims. What you have anything wrong with that intricate system, the car's computer makes the wrong call.
Do you know where the exhaust leak is??
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