Limp mode without engine light illuminating

[jonney]

thats a bummer mate i would have thought the scv would have done the fix .
you said you have cleaned the MAF sensor ? did you do it as Tony suggested?
also is the Aircleaner Element nice and clean ? you checked all Vacumm hoses for leaks ? sometimes it pays to snip off the last 10mm of the vacumm hose incase it has a split and you can,t detect it. re cheack all of these. also some Contact Cleaner on the plug ends is a good idea just incase theres a not so good contact. theres nothing worse than what your going though with this elimination repair but you will find the problem. this is what we get when we decide to drive a car and leave the pushy behind.

 

[happy john]

What an annoying issue, I've heard of faulty crank angle sensors causing the same problem without throwing any codes, alas that's just a stab in the dark. Hope you get it sorted!.

 

[Old.Tony]

That's a shame it didn't work. Let's try getting some more information about what's happening before spending any more $.

You say you can put an analyser on it? Can you monitor the ECU's reported boost pressure value? What psi are you getting when accelerating moderately, and what about when accelerating hard? What boost levels are you getting once the car "limps" ?

There's a chance it may be the actuator control, but watching those boost pressures will reveal that. It will not show the CEL for a faulty actuator controller.

 

[geoffm]

Hi Old Tony,
My mechanic has the analyser. I am considering getting a bluetooth device and hook it up to my iphone.
Can you recommend a blue tooth device and an App for Iphone?

 

[Old.Tony]

No idea about iPhone apps sorry, although Torque may be available for it. Any ELM327-compliant OBD-II bluetooth adapter will do, my own cost me less than $5 from eBay.

 

[geoffm]

Hi Jonney,
i cleaned the MAF using the the special spray cleaner.
A new air cleaner was fitted last service. about 2000KLMs ago. I have double checked it and it looks like new.
The mechanic checked vacuum lines and I double checked it last night.

I will go over all of the electrical connectors tomorrow.

Where is the ECU? I'd like to check the connections for that.

 

[Old.Tony]

ECU typically sits on the right side of the engine bay near the rear. In my garage is a pic of the engine bay and I've labelled it "ECM". It's sometimes referred to as either the Engine Control Unit or the Engine Control Unit, depending on the mood of the person I guess!

 

[Black_Outlaw]

Fuel rail pressure sensor?

Fuel Filter blocked causing the pump to under supply and the SCV to go outside it's parameters?

EARTH POINTS need removing / cleaning / tightenng? (this is a D40 special!) THere is the one for the battery to block, one for the ECU, one for the Alternator. Any one of these will create a bad earth and cause limp.

 

[geoffm]

G'day black outlaw,
Thank you for the input & suggestions.
After a fun weekend driving from Sydney to Lithgow return in Limp mode. with the occassional stops to reset the limp, I am totally pissed off with Navaras.
As soon as I get this fault sorted I am going to sell the Nav. and get something more reliable. yesterday I heard from a mate who has a 07 STX. His car has just started going into limp.

Yesterday I called Nissan to ask if they have any records for parts that were changed under warranty/recall. I was told that they do not keep those sorts of records! Typically not helpful!
I then asked if there were any recalls for my NAv. I was told that in 2013 there was a recall for the EGT's. Not knowing if my EGTs were changed during a normal Nissan service I've decided to change out the EGTS. I read in one of teh forums that someone experienced limp mode without MIL coming on. They replaced the EGTs and it fixed the problem.
Anyone know where to buy EGT's except from Nissan?

Anyway, yesterday all electrical plugs and sockets were inspected and sprayed. Liqui Molly put in. Fuel rail pressure is 5600PSI. Is that the correct pressure?
Does this mean that the FPS is working OK?

So, the car went into limp, yesterday within 5 mins. of doing all of the work!
Today I shall check the earths as you suggest and disconnect the battery to reset of the ECU.

Thanks everyone for your help to date. I shall make sure that I keep this blog up to date. Perhaps it will help someone else to solve the problem with their Nav.

 

[Czechmate]

Turbo boost pressure vacuum solenoid is another possibility, they're known to malfunction
I replaced mine, about $160 from nissan with the part matched to the vin number

 

[Black_Outlaw]

I both understand and feel your pain. I myself had an issue with mine from purchase that took 6 months and 15 different mechanics to sort. In the end mine ended up being a dry socket / Moisture in the ECM terminals. The Auto Electrician is not sure exactly what - all i know is it never happened again. Mine was throwing a Cam Position Sensor fault.

Mine "at idle" fuel rail pressure is 4300psi. and runs up to approx 25000psi under full throttle.

What makes it go "into limp". Normal driving? Under load? Under Boost?

Other things that can make it limp is a faulty alternator - giving out noise and causing sensor issues.

Check and clean all earths. Do a "reset" and also make sure there is no leaks around your fuel filter.

 

[Old.Tony]

Black Outlaw has the fuel rail pressures right. A pressure of 5600psi at idle is a little high, and way too low to make the car boogie.

 

[geoffm]

Czechmate,
Thank you for teh reply.
What year model NAV. did you have problems with the Turbo boost pressure vacuum solenoid?
Mine is a 2012 and apparently it has an electronic boost soleniod, that are not known to fail.
The earlier Vacuum soleniods did have problems. Happy to be corrected but that is my understanding.

 

[geoffm]

Black Outlaw & Old Tony,
yesterday I did an ECU reset. Fault returned within 5mins.

Also yesterday teh MIL. illuminated. I shall take it to the mechanic today and check fault code. Also will double check fuel pressures and get him to check the earth points.

Car goes limp under all conditions. yesterday driving in city traffic 40klms. On the weekend driving at 110klms. It is always after I back off and them put the foot down there is no power. My gut feeling is that it is more likely when accelerating up a hill (big or small) and then back off. I cannot tell if it goes limp when I back off or when I put the foot down.

Standby, I will have more details to the saga tomorrow.

 

[Czechmate]

Hi geoff
Yes youre right, mine is an 07, the new nissan boost solenoid that came was an updated unit
I dont think the 2012 models had the same frequency of failure
That said its still a very remote possibility
You have my sympathy with this issue, electronic problems with your rig can drive you bananas
I have an older mazda ute with intermittent ecu issues that occasionly show up still
I reckon ive put 50+ hours into the diagnosis and repair over the years
Crazy

Sometimes i long for a carburettor

 

[Black_Outlaw]

That MIL Code will hopefully point it in the right direction.

Im also thinking that it could be EGR valve related.

 

[geoffm]

Hi Everyone,
The fault code was for EGT bank 1 probe 1. last Wed. I fitted a new EGT. and the problem has not returned. However it is early days and I have only done about 50klms. Fingers crossed that was the problem.
It's got me stumped why the MIL was not coming up originally. I would have thought that if the EGT was faulty or the Exhaust gas was high the MIL light would have illuminated.
Whoever wrote the logic for the ECU. should be shot.

In my rush to get this car fixed i bought a new EGT from Nissan. Lucky they had it in stock. I also ordered an EGT on Ebay and it arrived yesterday. Therefore I have a new EGT Nissan p/n. 22630-5X00D for sale $110. Let me know if anyone needs one.

How do I put this post as "Solved"?

Thank you for all of your help. Without this forum I would be still scratching my head. Cheers and have a good Easter.

 

[ericcs]

G'day black outlaw,
Thank you for the input & suggestions.
After a fun weekend driving from Sydney to Lithgow return in Limp mode. with the occassional stops to reset the limp, I am totally pissed off with Navaras.
As soon as I get this fault sorted I am going to sell the Nav. and get something more reliable.

hopefully its sorted now, and you can forgive the car and learn to love it again and not go to the dark side!
good luck!

 

[Black_Outlaw]

Great news on the issue being sorted. When i was having random faulting with mine and no one could sort it, i was actually considering burning it.. haha.

Some 2 years (and a few hiccups, but all solved thanks to this forum) I'm still plodding around in it. Each time something new happens to it I get all "IM SELLING THIS POS". Then I fix it and forget to sell it.

I am now at the point where I am going to sell it .... For an ST-X 550 . Those V6 engines are glorious and the leather appointment will make for a nice everyday driver.

I'll still want to burn it if it breaks down though!

 

[Czechmate]

All brands are common rail, super electronic, expensive sensor chaos machines now anyways
Better the devil you know and stick with nissans

Plus they make skylines and z cars so gotta give em the love