2005 Nissan Sentra stalling

[yh125d]

~110k miles, 1.8SE auto


My brother can go to work in the morning (10 miles) without problems, and it will start fine when he leaves to come home, but along the way it will start to sputter and then stall. When he tries to start it again, it turns over fine but doesn't even sputter or start to fire. If he lets it sit for a couple hours then comes back, it will usually start up and get him home.

So I was thinking fuel filter. But I looked it up and it's an in-tank non servicable filter, so it's probably something else right?

 

[DesiPower]

I have a 03 Maxima SE and had the same problem... it was a case of bad cam sensors, i ended up spending around $350. Its V6 so not sure if urs is the same case...

 

[punjabiplaya]

no CEL?

 

[BigSmooth]

Check the battery and alternator, maybe?

 

[LTC8K6]

Fuel pump failing?

You need to narrow it down to fuel or spark.

I'm betting fuel pump beginning to go.

Possibly a FP relay failing if you're lucky.

 

[exdeath]

Could be anything. Best bet is to check fuel pressure the moment it enters the "cranks but doesn't start" state and while cranking to isolate or completely rule out the entire fuel system.

Then pull plugs and check spark condition. This one is tricky without a scope because you can have a visible spark, but it isn't necessarily a good spark.

No starting again when it happens is a good thing; makes it very easy to troubleshoot.

 

[yh125d]

Just talked to him, the CEL does come on when it dies (i thought he had said it doesn't, I'll tell him to go get the code read)

 

[exdeath]

All the lights come on when the engine stops, may or may not have a code stored.

 

[yh125d]

It stays on

 

[BigSmooth]

You know, I thought about it and I had a similar issue on my 2000 Sentra at one point.

Random stalls, CELs, and occasional problems restarting. It seemed like a mechanical issue at first but I ended up having to get the ECU replaced. I think they actually had a recall on some Sentra ECUs but my model year was not covered, you might check to see if you have any open recalls for your VIN.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

You know, I thought about it and I had a similar issue on my 2000 Sentra at one point.

Random stalls, CELs, and occasional problems restarting. It seemed like a mechanical issue at first but I ended up having to get the ECU replaced. I think they actually had a recall on some Sentra ECUs but my model year was not covered, you might check to see if you have any open recalls for your VIN.

My 2002 Sentra SE-R Spec V did what the OP is describing. It was a faulty ECU that was replaced under warranty.