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Motor not starting up

Tiny
NSSVTR
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 NISSAN SENTRA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 113 MILES
I had my car on the highway the other day and it just shut off in the middle of the road. The car was making a knocking sounds so I pulled to the side of the road the oil was low and now the car won't start at all what could be wrong?
Monday, July 4th, 2011 AT 11:47 AM

105 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
There are many possibilities and the knocking noise and low oil level does not bore good tidings.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

The above link shows what to check for if you are able to crank.

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Monday, July 4th, 2011 AT 1:36 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
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Well I have narrowed it down I got 2 codes P0300 and P1111 now the one that concerns me atm is the Intake Valve Timing Control Solenoid Valve. This is a $200 part that I can only find at a dealership how can I tell this is bad? Now we checked my timing and the timing lines up fine but. The marks on the chains dont line up with each other every thing else lines up like the mark on the crank and the dot tot he side but the chains have 2 yellow lines on them and they wont line up is this a problem? Thanks
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Thursday, July 7th, 2011 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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I do not know how many turns of the crankshaft is required to make the timing marks lined up but it can be between 30 to 70 turns.

Remove the spark plugs and keep turning the crankshaft to check if the timing marks are correct. If they had jumped tooth, you can have the )1111 code.
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Friday, July 8th, 2011 AT 7:10 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
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  • 18 POSTS
Well the timing is Fine now and its down to the P111 code the Intake Valve Timing Control Solenoid Valve. I found one on a website for sale but its for the 1.8L is this safe to use in my QR25DE model? Or do you know a place I could try to get this part for cheaper besides the dealership cause a $200 fix and not positive if this will make the motor run or not is a big price.
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Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 AT 10:01 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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  • 41,814 POSTS
Unless they are interchangeable (have the same prt number), otherwise I would not recommend using a 1.8 component for a 2.5 engine.

Sorry I am not able to help on getting the part. How about trying the junkyard?
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Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 AT 5:08 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
  • MEMBER
  • 18 POSTS
Yeah we tried junk yards everywhere around here and none have my car go figure my luck there.I got it all put back together last night and it wants to turn over it almost does everytime but it just wont turn over can you possibly think of anything else besides this solenoid that would cause that? I was possibly thinking my fuel pump but it sounds like it's working I just never checked yet if you can think of anything at all please let me know
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Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 AT 9:08 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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I would sugggest checking the fuel pressure and main relay.

Have you checked the compression?

The solenoid would cause difficult or non starting as it changes the valve timing and can result in compression losses.

Did you test the VTC solenoid operations?
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Thursday, July 28th, 2011 AT 5:54 AM
Tiny
NSSVTR
  • MEMBER
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We just checked the VTC it does work but when we had it in the plug we left it out of the motor and try to quick roll it over to see if it would work then and didnt I assume the plug is bad. Or the harness if you will. Is there a fuse for the VTC? Or do I need to replace this plug and if so do you know of a place to get one. One other question where in the hell do you find a Fuse diagram for the my car the 04 nissan sentra SE-R Spec V cause there isnt one in the manual and we checked everywhere online and we cant find one at all
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Saturday, July 30th, 2011 AT 6:02 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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It is strange that our database does not have the labelling of the fuses.

Go through the following and see if you can come up with anything.

DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURE

1. CHECK IVT CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT

a) Turn ignition switch OFF.

B) Disconnect intake valve timing control solenoid valve harness connector.

C) Turn ignition switch ON.

D) Check voltage between intake valve timing control solenoid valve terminal 2 and ground with CONSULT-II or tester.
Voltage: Battery voltage

OK or NG

OK: GO TO 3.

NG: GO TO 2.

2. DETECT MALFUNCTIONING PARTS

Check harness for open or short between intake valve timing control solenoid valve and ECM relay.

Repair harness or connectors

3. CHECK IVT CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE OUTPUT SIGNAL CIRCUIT FOR OPEN AND SHORT

a) Turn ignition switch OFF.

B) Disconnect ECM harness connector.

C) Check harness continuity between ECM terminal 11 and intake valve timing control solenoid valve terminal 1.

Continuity should exist.

D) Also check harness for short to ground and short to power.

OK or NG

OK: GO TO 4.

NG: Repair open circuit or short to ground or short to power in harness or connectors.

4. CHECK INTAKE VALVE TIMING CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE

Refer to "COMPONENT INSPECTION ".

OK or NG

OK: GO TO 5.

NG: Replace intake valve timing control solenoid valve.

5. CHECK INTERMITTENT INCIDENT

Refer to "TROUBLE DIAGNOSIS FOR INTERMITTENT INCIDENT ".

INSPECTION END

COMPONENT INSPECTION

INTAKE VALVE TIMING CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE

1. Disconnect intake valve timing control solenoid valve harness connector.

2. Check resistance between intake valve timing control solenoid valve terminals 1 and 2 under the following conditions.

Refer to diagram.
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Saturday, July 30th, 2011 AT 3:59 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
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Well we did all that and found that yes the solenoid works but the plug does not. Where does the wires lead from the back of the Intake valve timing control solenoid valve lead too? A diagram would help too or if you could explain where it goes not just a part cause then I gotta figure out where that part is too thanks for the help
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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 AT 3:55 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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It leads to ECM terminal 11 and goes from the solenoid into the firewall harness.

Sorry I do not have any diagams to show you but you need to note the color of the wire and back track it to the ECM.
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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 AT 7:59 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
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Yeah the wire is 2 green wires one with a yellow stripe and one with a silver stripe but I see them leading into my coil packs for some reason unless they have multiple wires the same color idk
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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 AT 10:37 PM
Tiny
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Also where is the ECM located in my car?
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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 AT 10:38 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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There will be a bunch of components that has the Green/White (silver) wire as that is the common wire for these components and the coil packs do uses the same wire.

What you need to check would be continuity between ECU terminal # 11 the solenoid for the Green/Yellow wire.
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Thursday, August 4th, 2011 AT 12:44 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Right side of firewall
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Friday, August 5th, 2011 AT 11:45 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
  • MEMBER
  • 18 POSTS
Thanks man that really helped a lot and its all fixed still would not start though =( just my luck huh? Took it to the shop and they told me that only 1 out of 4 cylinders are working that 3 of them need pressurized back up? Not really sure what he ment by this could you possibly explain how this is done?
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Saturday, August 13th, 2011 AT 5:00 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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Compression could have dropped due to non starting for extended periods. Remove the spark plugs and test the compression. If they are low, pump a little engine oil into the cylinders via the spark plug holes and crank the engine for a few seconds without the spark plugs. Retest the compression. If compression has increased, reinstall the spark plugs and try starting again.

Ensure the battery is strong and you have good cranking speed.
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Saturday, August 13th, 2011 AT 11:20 PM
Tiny
NSSVTR
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Are there any type of special tools you will need to do this? And how do you one test the compression and do you know what it should be at?
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Sunday, August 14th, 2011 AT 12:03 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
You need a compression pressure gauge which can be loaned from parts stores that provides such services.

Compression pressure should be between 154 - 181 psi.

With spark plugs removed, install the pressure gauge onto one cylinder and with accelerator fully depressed, crank the engine foe a few turns and seee the reading. Repeat with all other cylinders, keepng the cranking similar for each cylinder.

There should be no more than 15 % of compression pressure between cylinders.
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Sunday, August 14th, 2011 AT 12:40 AM
Tiny
NSSVTR
  • MEMBER
  • 18 POSTS
Alright I got to be getting annoying by now but I like I said I have to pressurize the cylinders none of them are near that psi they are all 90psi or 30psi so how hard is it to take off these heads? Do you possibly have some step by step instructions to do this with some pictures please?
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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 AT 11:57 PM

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