Car runs very rough it idles terribly and it wanders anywhere from 600 to 1,400 RPM's while idling

1997 NISSAN ALTIMA
130,000 MILES • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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JORTMAN926
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Hello, my name is Johnathon Ortman and I have the car listed above. I used an OBD2 sensor because the car runs very rough it idles terribly and it wanders anywhere from 600 to 1,400 RPM's (while idling). OBD2 reads tons of bad sensors if i put it in drive/reverse (it's an automatic) it revs so low that it sometimes shuts off and the obd2 came back as a bad "catalytic converter, evap, o2s and a bad EGR" I was wondering if i really have that many bad sensors or if it is something else causing it to think that all those sensors are bad.
Aug 18, 2020 at 11:45 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,373 POSTS
Nope. You're interpreting those codes incorrectly. Diagnostic fault codes never ever say to replace a part or that one is bad. They only indicate the circuit or system that needs further diagnosis, or the unacceptable operating condition. When a sensor or other part is referenced in a fault code, it is actually the cause of that code about half of the time. First we have to rule out wiring and mechanical problems associated with that part, or, as in this case, look for what they might have in common.

The first step is we need to know the exact fault code numbers. There are over two dozen codes related to oxygen sensors, and they mean very different things. The same is true for the EGR system. It takes a properly-working sensor to report a defective condition. It's that condition we need to know, then we can figure out where to start the diagnosis.

The catalytic converter's efficiency is calculated by comparing the rich / lean switching rates of the oxygen sensors in front of and behind that converter. That means it takes two properly-working oxygen sensors to determine when there's a problem with the catalytic converter. If a defect is detected with either O2 sensor circuit, all tests on the catalytic converter are suspended since valid readings aren't available. It is also possible to detect a problem first with the catalytic converter, then that code is in memory when an O2 sensor defect is detected later. Here too we have to know which fault code was set so we can figure out what type of defect we're diagnosing.

Once you know the fault code numbers, you can start by looking at this list of definitions:

https://www.2carpros.com/trouble_codes/obd2/p0400

We can help with explaining what it takes to set those codes.
Aug 18, 2020 at 12:24 PM
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