Jump to content
SAU Community

PNM35 dead on the road

Hertz Donut

By Hertz Donut,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

 Share

Recommended Posts

Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
Posted (edited)

PNM35 dead on the road

I've tried searching but I suck at teh forumz so my keywords are probably all wrong. I beg your forgiveness if there's 400 threads I've missed on this topic.

This morning our '04 PNM35 died while my wife was driving the kids to school and would not restart. It turns out it's been hard to start for the past week or so and she's been doing a carby-style start - pump the throttle once it catches but I'm not sure this has been doing anything for it. Today she was driving the kids to school and the revs dropped off to about 1000rpm before coming back up, then a short while afterwards it was game over and she had to coast it out of the traffic.

I can hear the fuel pump priming but when I turn it over only the first cylinder will fire before it shuts down again. I made the fatal mistake of calling out the AA (NZ version of the RACV) and the old guy kindly sprayed brake cleaner all over my air filter (remind me to buy a new one) before removing that and spraying it directly down the intake pipe (I'm sure this is awesome for the MAF) before declaring it was the fuel pump. I remain unconvinced.

I got the car home on a tow truck but I don't have any diagnostic tools to check codes, is there a sequence to get them from the engine check light? Or is this one of those "mate it's definitely the xyz" faults that are common with PNM35s?

Edited by Hertz Donut
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/471668-pnm35-dead-on-the-road/
Share on other sites
Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

And I'll quickly answer my own question here:

Mate it's definitely the MAF sensor. Probably.

I pulled the MAF sensor wire and it struggled to start before firing up cleanly. Plugged it back in again and it'll start first pop but has a check engine light now. Time to buy a new sensor I suppose.

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

BTW the AA guy did exactly the right thing.  Dirty intake or AFM was a fair assumption on the side of the road, and brake cleaner is the best thing to clean a dirty AFM with.

Of course cleaning a failed sensor won't fix it, but their job is to fix what they can quickly without tools and diagnostics so it was a fair decision.

It would seem most likely to be either AFM or fuel pump and neither is expensive to swap. So change over whichever you think is more likely and see if it sorts it :) If you want to spend more money on it you can have the fuel pump tested by a decent mechanic, keeping in mind they tend to fail gradually which means a failing pump will still seem to pump by ear or on a bench but may not make enough pressure when required.

Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I thought brake cleaner killed MAFs? Maybe it was some other product, or some other sensor. I should really start keeping track this kind of thing.

I'm 90-ish% sure it's the MAF causing the issue, idle was rock steady once it fired up with it plugged back in, the check light was the only abnormality. I might try driving round the block a few times and see if it happens again. A new sensor is $NZ316 from Nissan (seems a little rich but meh) and I'll throw in a new air filter anyway, this one's over 50,000km old now.

Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

no, brake cleaner is fine. degreaser on the other hand isn't because it would leave a residue on the AFM.

and your car isn't killing the AFM, the AFM is killing the car. so if you do have another AFM just swap it across

  • Like 1
Equilibrise Community Regular

Equilibrise

Posted
Posted

The engine trouble shooting codes are the same as v35. Search for that and you will find what you're looking for.

Sounds like your maf is toast. I buy mine from fleabay. Cost $25 or so. It is interchangeable with pulsar, xtrail, wrx, etc. I previously bought an expensive oem maf from Nissan which only last a year or so. The cheap one performs better and will be outlasting the nissan one soon. Worth buying 2 at that price and keep the spare in the boot.

This is what I buy:

MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR FOR Nissan ALMERA PRIMERA 226806N21A 226806N210 226807J500

  • Like 1
KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Equilibrise said:

The engine trouble shooting codes are the same as v35. Search for that and you will find what you're looking for.

Sounds like your maf is toast. I buy mine from fleabay. Cost $25 or so. It is interchangeable with pulsar, xtrail, wrx, etc. I previously bought an expensive oem maf from Nissan which only last a year or so. The cheap one performs better and will be outlasting the nissan one soon. Worth buying 2 at that price and keep the spare in the boot.

This is what I buy:

MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR FOR Nissan ALMERA PRIMERA 226806N21A 226806N210 226807J500

Is that from AU or the US?

  • 3 weeks later...
Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I swapped out the MAF sensor the other day and it started easily enough but it was a little rough on idle. Once it had warmed up though the idle speed dropped to the point it stalled and wouldn't restart so I'm back to square one. Looks like it only restarted after unplugging the MAF because the engine had gone cold.

I've decided it's high time I bought a scanner. Does a regular OBD2 scanner work on these? Like http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Bosch-Auto-Scanner-OBD2-Can/411137

Thanks.

Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Update: Got hold of a mate's scanner, all it showed was "emissions-related codes" so that suggests all sensors are fine. When I can be bothered I'll start checking relays and power to the fuel pump etc. Sigh.

 

[edit] On the plus side he also dropped off a 370Z exhaust I bought for $50 last year that disappeared for a while. I'm hoping the Y-pipe and maybe the cats fit on the PNM35 without too much coaxing. I'll also do this when I can be bothered. Having 3 cars to choose from and nowhere to work on them has made me pretty slack.

Edited by Hertz Donut
  • Like 1
  • 3 weeks later...
Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, being the master mechanic I am, I got round to looking at this and fixed it this morning. I lay awake all night pondering what order to do things in and decided to employ Occam's Razor. Should anyone else experience this issue I have the answer, and fortunately it takes less than 5 minuets to fix.

Solution is...don't believe your wife when she tells you she filled it up. Yup, it was out of petrol. fml.:banana:

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Hertz Donut Proficient

Hertz Donut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh, and before anyone asks, no, the fuel gauge doesn't work, because when you run these cars too low on petrol the sender gets mucked up and the gauge stops reading properly. I know this because it's happened to both PNM35s we have. Sigh. Yes, I did miss all the clues, what a champ.

  • Like 1

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      From Japan and back to Europe, my sh*tbox R34 GTT

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Welcome back brother 
    • GoHashiriya
      From Japan and back to Europe, my sh*tbox R34 GTT

      By GoHashiriya · Posted

      I got back to Japan in January and was keen to get back on track as quickly as possible. Europe is god-awful for track accessibility (by comparison), so I picked up a first-gen GT86 in December just to have something I could jump into right away. The Skyline came over in a container this time and landed in early January. It was a bit battered after Europe, though—I refused to do anything beyond essential upkeep while it was over there. The clutch master cylinder gave out, and so did the power steering. I didn’t even bother changing the oil; it was the same stuff that went in just before I left Japan the first time. Naughty. Power steering parts would’ve cost double with shipping and taxes, so knowing I’d be heading back to Japan, I just postponed it and powered through the arm workout. It took a solid three months to get the car back on the road. Registration was a nightmare this time around. There were a bunch of BS fees to navigate, and sourcing parts was a headache. I needed stock seats for shaken, mistakenly blew 34k JPY on some ENR34 seats—which, of course, didn’t fit—then ended up having the car’s technical sheet amended to register it as a two-seater with the Brides. Then there’s the GT86. Amazing car. Does everything I want it to do. Parts are cheap, easy to find, and I don’t care what anyone says—it’s super rewarding to drive. I’ve done a few basic mods: diff ratio, coilovers, discs, pads, seat, etc. It already had a new exhaust manifold and the 180kph limiter removed, so I assume it’s running some kind of map. I’ve just been thrashing it at the track non-stop—mostly Fuji Speedway now, since I need something with higher speed after all that autobahn time. The wheels on the R34 always pissed me off—too big, and it was a nightmare getting tires to fit properly under the arches. So I threw in the towel and bought something that fits better. Looks way cleaner too (at least to me)—less hotboy, less attention-seeking. Still an R34, though. Now for future plans. There are a few things still outstanding with the car. First up, the rear subframe needs an overhaul—that’s priority one. Next, I need to figure out an engine rebuild plan. No timeline yet, but I want to keep it economical—not cutting corners, just not throwing tens of thousands at a mechanic I can barely communicate with. And finally, paint. Plus a bit of tidying up here and there.  
    • The Bogan
      NC MX5

      By The Bogan · Posted

      Nope, needed to clearance under the bar a little with a heat gun, a 1/2" extension as the "clearancer", and big hammer, I was aware of this from the onset, they fit a 2.0 with this intake no problems, but, the 2.5 is around 15mm taller than a 2.0, so "clearancing" was required  It "just" touched when test fitting, now, I have about 10mm of clearance  You cannot see where it was done, and so far, there's no contact when giving it the beans Happy days
    • GoHashiriya
      From Japan and back to Europe, my sh*tbox R34 GTT

      By GoHashiriya · Posted

      It's been a while since I've updated this thread. The last year (and some) has been very hectic. In the second-half of 2024 I took the R34 on a trip through Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland - it was f*cking great. I got a little annoyed with the attention the car was getting around Europe and really didn't drive it that much. I could barely work on the car since I was living in an inner-city apartment (with underground parking). During the trip, the car lost power steering in France - split hose - and I ended up driving around 4,000kms with no power steering.  There were a few Nurburgring trips here and there, but in total the R34 amassed just shy of 7,000kms on European roads. Long story short, I broke up with the reason I was transferred to Europe for and requested to be moved back to Japan. The E90, loved it. It was a sunk cost of around EUR 10,000 and I sold it to a friend for EUR 1,500 just to get rid of it quickly. Trust me, moving countries f*cking sucks and I could not be bothered to be as methodical as I was the first time around.
    • MBS206
      NC MX5

      By MBS206 · Posted

      I assume clearances were all a-okay?
×
×
  • Create New...