[tksmr2]

Hello,

Well, my 03 Sentra Spec V sat outside for the past 7 months or so w/o being run with an exception of a few startups within those 7 months. I let is sit the last 1.5 months w/o starting it up, and the battery died. I had to put it on a slow charger b/c it would not jump start.

I got the car to fire up, and everything seems normal except for one thing. The idle goes form ~ 2,000 rpm and drops down to ~ 1,200 rpm, then jumps back up to ~ 2,000rpm, and just keeps doing that over and over.

I don't have a CEL ,and the car seems to be running perfectly fine otherwise. No odd sounds or anything like that.

So, could this possible still be a CAM and/or crank position sensor, or could it be related to my battery, which has started up fine ever since I got it fired up this past Friday night.

?


Thanks!

 

[Buddhaman]

How much have you driven it since you charged the battery? After the battery goes dead/disconnected it normally takes driving it like 10 miles or so til codes pop up.

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[tksmr2]

How much have you driven it since you charged the battery? After the battery goes dead/disconnected it normally takes driving it like 10 miles or so til codes pop up.

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I've driven it around 25 miles since I changed the battery. The battery is fine, as I had it tested and the cold cranks are up to spec.

The shop I took my car to said it just is not from driving the car for 7 months or so. They put some Lucas fuel stabilizer in the tank, and said to drive the car for ~ 50 miles. I have my doubts it's going to work, so I'm going to try the idle relearn process tonight.

I've only driven the car 10-15 miles since the idle problem started happening.

Thanks!

 

[tksmr2]

Drove the car about 10 miles during my lunch break. With the A/C on it idles at a more respectful 1100-1200 rpm steady.

But, when I turn the A/C off it starts jumping from 2000 rpm down to 1300rpm.

No CEL yet.

 

[tksmr2]

Okay, CEL finally came on. I got a P0507 code twice and a P0300 Random mult cyl misfire.

I replaced a bad coilpack less than 50 miles ago, so maybe the code is still in the system from that.

 

[Buddhaman]

Do you have a code reader or is there a way to self check the codes with the cluster? If you used a code reader, does it tell you current/pending fault codes? Where do you live? The misfire could be a condensation issue from it sitting so long and there could be a number of reasons for the idle issue.

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[tksmr2]

Do you have a code reader or is there a way to self check the codes with the cluster? If you used a code reader, does it tell you current/pending fault codes? Where do you live? The misfire could be a condensation issue from it sitting so long and there could be a number of reasons for the idle issue.

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I went to Advanced Auto tonight, and they put a code reader on it, and it said P0507 twice and the P0300. The P0300 may be there just b/c I just recently replaced one of my coilpacks which was really bad, and that fixed the blinking CEL I had.

The car sat all winter, and I had to put the battery on a slow charger b/c it wouldnt' jump start, and the battery is good now.

Could be condensation, I guess.. well I hope, and could just be bad gas.

I tried the Youtube video on the idle relearn, and couldn't get the MIL to blink, so I gave up on that for tonight. Must be doing something wrong, but I can hear the tap tap tap sound the car makes up front when you are doing the testing.

http://youtu.be/M62kkenI_Ro

 

[i68k]

hopefully youve changed all your fluids before driving it if you let it sit for that long.

as for your idle, your car sat for a long period of time with a dead battery, so even the ecu lost power and its settings over time. an idle relearn alone may or may not work, you will need to do all 3 relearn procedures, each one multiple times if necessary until you get it right. you should be doing:
1.accel pedal released position learning
2.throttle plate closed position learning
----warm up motor to operating temp (let it idle bounce, or a/c until temp needle is in middle)
3.idle air volume relearning

you can get these procedures by searching, or going thru the fsm.

EDIT: a random multiple misfire may have been there for a while, its ok to clear it and see if it comes back then address the problem. this is what you should be doing:
http://www.b15u.com/sentra-specific...learn-throttle-body-relearn-idle-relearn.html

 

[tksmr2]

hopefully youve changed all your fluids before driving it if you let it sit for that long.

as for your idle, your car sat for a long period of time with a dead battery, so even the ecu lost power and its settings over time. an idle relearn alone may or may not work, you will need to do all 3 relearn procedures, each one multiple times if necessary until you get it right. you should be doing:
1.accel pedal released position learning
2.throttle plate closed position learning
----warm up motor to operating temp (let it idle bounce, or a/c until temp needle is in middle)
3.idle air volume relearning

you can get these procedures by searching, or going thru the fsm.

EDIT: a random multiple misfire may have been there for a while, its ok to clear it and see if it comes back then address the problem. this is what you should be doing:
http://www.b15u.com/sentra-specific...learn-throttle-body-relearn-idle-relearn.html

Just changed the oil.

THanks.. Yes.. I will try the steps. I was able to hear the throttle plate move when doing the throttle plate test. I couldn't get the relearn to work, but I was watching a video for an Altima and it was very confusing. So, I'm going to try the steps in the link you posted, as it seems easier to understand!

thanks!

 

[i68k]

the pedal and tb relearn are fairly easy, you can do them like 10 times each if you really need to. the link i posted just reiterates what is in the fsm, hopefully you are going to download the fsm, its free around here somewhere, try allsentra.com/fsm. the fsm contains all the prerequisites for these procedures, like turning the load switch off before doing an idle relearn

also, i would consider flushing your hydraulics, and testing your coolant to make sure your fluids are ok. fluids that sit for a long time tend to let water evaporate and condense inside the motor, which can cause rust. so it might be a good idea to flush the fluid from the hydraulics, as it may have watered down. definately flush them if the fluid is brown

its possible your timing was off when youre trying to do the idle relearn. some cars are a little different. sometimes when it says 3 seconds, it could be 2.5 seconds, or 3.5 seconds, etc. so just be patient, and try it a few times, noone gets it right the first time. how far along are you? did you get the ses light to blink and return your codes?

 

[tksmr2]

the pedal and tb relearn are fairly easy, you can do them like 10 times each if you really need to. the link i posted just reiterates what is in the fsm, hopefully you are going to download the fsm, its free around here somewhere, try allsentra.com/fsm. the fsm contains all the prerequisites for these procedures, like turning the load switch off before doing an idle relearn

also, i would consider flushing your hydraulics, and testing your coolant to make sure your fluids are ok. fluids that sit for a long time tend to let water evaporate and condense inside the motor, which can cause rust. so it might be a good idea to flush the fluid from the hydraulics, as it may have watered down. definately flush them if the fluid is brown

its possible your timing was off when youre trying to do the idle relearn. some cars are a little different. sometimes when it says 3 seconds, it could be 2.5 seconds, or 3.5 seconds, etc. so just be patient, and try it a few times, noone gets it right the first time. how far along are you? did you get the ses light to blink and return your codes?

First off, thanks for helping me out with your suggestions. I haven't been able to get the SES light to blink after doing this procedure. I have all the accessories turned off, etc.

I only noticed today when I first started up the car the idle was slightly better, but then it started going up and down. I turned on the A/c to position 1, and it calmed down for a short time, and then acted up, so I turned it up to 3, and it calmed down, then started acting up, and it did this for about 5 minutes, then I cranked it up to 4 and eventually the idle went down to normal when the car was fully warmed up.

But, as soon as I turn the A/c off it's starts acting up again.

Anyway, I'm trying to sell this car, and I really don't have money to spend any more on it, and the coolant looks fine. It's not like I let the car sit for a few years, and I did drive it around 3,000 miles this past year. I just let it sit over the winter.


I'll download the fsm. I tried that 10 step relearn procedure over and over, and can't get the SES light to blink.. just stays solid. All I hear is the tap tap tap sound like it's trying to read a code or something.

Thanks!

 

[i68k]

out of the 3 relearns, only the idle relearn requires the ses light to blink. make sure you are using a stopwatch or you will never time it correctly. really it could be one of a few sensors that could be throwing your idle off. from the sounds of it, its most likely your maf needs to be cleaned, regardless, you should still be able to get the light to blink when attempting an idle relearn, or pedal dance. im not sure if you have access to other code readers, some of the nicer code readers will do an idle relearn for you. but it is a good idea to just take a look at the fsm, it shows the prerequisites, procedure, and even a graph for the procedure, that might help you do this procedure yourself instead of paying for the service. i know it is very difficult to do it right, but be patient, and keep trying, make sure you wait at least 10 seconds with keyOFF if you need to try again. maybe this will help:
http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=177132

ultimately, if you cant get the ses light to blink, its mostly user error, but in some cases if your pedal or ecu are bad your ses wont blink, but these dont sound like your case, as you have throttle response and some previous ses codes.

 

[tksmr2]

out of the 3 relearns, only the idle relearn requires the ses light to blink. make sure you are using a stopwatch or you will never time it correctly. really it could be one of a few sensors that could be throwing your idle off. from the sounds of it, its most likely your maf needs to be cleaned, regardless, you should still be able to get the light to blink when attempting an idle relearn, or pedal dance. im not sure if you have access to other code readers, some of the nicer code readers will do an idle relearn for you. but it is a good idea to just take a look at the fsm, it shows the prerequisites, procedure, and even a graph for the procedure, that might help you do this procedure yourself instead of paying for the service. i know it is very difficult to do it right, but be patient, and keep trying, make sure you wait at least 10 seconds with keyOFF if you need to try again. maybe this will help:
http://www.b15sentra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=177132

ultimately, if you cant get the ses light to blink, its mostly user error, but in some cases if your pedal or ecu are bad your ses wont blink, but these dont sound like your case, as you have throttle response and some previous ses codes.

Yea.. I thought it might be a dirty MAF sensor as well, so I cleaned it with CFC MAF cleaner, and that didn't help.

I have a stop watch that I'm going to try and use tonight to time it correctly. I was counting in my head, so you're right, I was probably mis-timing it.

Thanks!

 

[tksmr2]

Another thing I realized that I haven't changed my Injen air intake filter since I bought it back the summer of 2003!

Maybe that has something to do with this problem, and the fact that I ran the car with a bad coilpack for awhile, until replacing it with a good OEM one right before I got the car going again.

 

[i68k]

i believe the injen filters are washable, so just get yourself a wash kit with lube.

hopefully you dont have the stock precat header, a bad coilpack will dump the fuel into the exhaust and cause extensive corrosion to the precat, and could cause premature precat failure. hopefully youve read the precat and butterfly faq in the tech section.

 

[tksmr2]

Update..finally able to get the idle reset.

Now have to fix my right rear abs sensor.. Anyone have any luck taking one off and cleaning it?

 

[i68k]

great job!

if you havent looked at the sensor yet, go take a look at it, sometimes they just build up with a lot of shavings from the brakes, it is a magnet, in which case you could clean it off and see if it still works. follow the wires a while, just in case a rock or something pinched the wire on you, or maybe the connector filled up with dirt. just check it out before you spend the money on another one.

there is also an abs diagnostic in the fsm, maybe you should take a look at it. its kind of seperated from the fsm, as the abs/airbag stuff is a different system. it should tell you how to pull your abs/airbag codes, which is different than pedal dance.