Misfiring in cylinder three?

Tiny
KNEL
  • MEMBER
  • 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA
  • 2.5L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 170,000 MILES
It started 2 weeks ago driving on highway I started losing power. I parked car and connected the diagnostic tool it showed four codes. P0001, P0300, P0301 and P0303. I read that changing oil would most times take care of VVT solenoid code, and it did. Replaced two spark plugs in one and three cylinders fixed first cylinder but misfire in third piston stayed. From the start I could feel the car vibrating and shuddering when I was getting off the freeway. That was still there when idling, also after replacing the ignition coil and the electric plug it seemed to get better. It actually smooths out now when I'm accelerating, rough idling is still there and sometimes when I accelerate, I can feel the pedal isn't giving the engine power instead it starts rattling badly (only when engine is cold). So, that's why I think it's my fuel injectors need replacing. But it could be my catalytic which I replaced a couple months ago. I'm not sure if I did something wrong but the car was working fine until that day. Hope it's enough to get an answer, it could be so many things causing it that I'm not sure where to start.
Sunday, October 9th, 2022 AT 9:00 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
BORIS K
  • MECHANIC
  • 795 POSTS
Hello,

Your vehicle is fitted with a QR25DE engine which is not direct injection so accessing the fuel injectors is a lot easier.

How to test
FUEL INJECTOR

Description

The fuel injector is a small, precise solenoid valve. When the ECM supplies a ground to the fuel injector circuit, the coil in the fuel injector is energized. The energized coil pulls the ball valve back and allows fuel to flow through the fuel injector into the intake manifold. The amount of fuel injected depends upon the injection pulse duration. Pulse duration is the length of time the fuel injector remains open. The ECM controls the injection pulse duration based on engine fuel needs.

At injector 4, disconnect the 2 pin connector and check 12V supply using a voltmeter on the yellow/green wire. We should have 12V with ignition on. The control side of the injector is switched by the PCM via pin 2, light green/red wire from pin 29 on connector F14, see image below.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter

If the wiring and 12V supply is good, then next I would suggest fitting another injector to cylinder 4.

How to replace fuel injector:

https://youtu.be/dJikFHHSHi4

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Boris
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Monday, October 10th, 2022 AT 6:59 AM
Tiny
KNEL
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Hi, thanks for your advice. I want to ask if you have come across this similar problem and if you think changing our fuel injectors would help. I've read about so many issues, being a possibility, that I just can't really say for sure what is causing this. I was going to swap valve cover gasket next as well as PCM sensor and or MAF control sensor. Can you tell me if it's a head gasket problem or something like cylinder heads in need of repair? I'd love to have a solution for it no matter what it is. I will test the injectors tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning and will let you know what the reading is. Thanks again for your help.
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Monday, October 10th, 2022 AT 8:52 PM
Tiny
BORIS K
  • MECHANIC
  • 795 POSTS
Hello,

PCM sensors and MAF will not cause an individual cylinder misfire.
Faulty ignition, i.e. coil and spark plug, faulty injector, air leaks and compression issues will cause individual cylinder misfire.

Reasons for misfire:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-misfires-or-runs-rough

How to check for a possible air/vacuum leak:
https://youtu.be/BQUWXYJojUY

You could check engine compression using a compression tester:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/the-reasons-for-low-compression

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/symptoms-of-low-compression

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Boris
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Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 AT 2:39 AM

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