Troublesome misfire

Tiny
SANDAVE88
  • MEMBER
  • 2017 NISSAN VERSA
  • 1.6L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 66,000 MILES
I have a Versa Note that I purchased new. It now has 66,000 miles so barely out of warranty of course. It is misfiring but only after driving for around forty five minutes. It is not throwing any codes. I originally thought it was bad gas and ran two tanks of fuel with a can of Seafoam in each. After that didn't work I took it to the dealership. They replaced the catalytic converter saying it was melted but something else probably caused it to go bad but they can't figure out what. Any ideas. It runs great the rest of the time. I also have noticed some spark knock that I haven't noticed before. It does the spark knock even when cold but only under load.
Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 9:58 AM

26 Replies

Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
  • MECHANIC
  • 52,796 POSTS
Good afternoon,

Did they check the compression?

The catalytic converter melted from excess fuel in the exhaust and it overheated. That is common with a misfire.

Did they check the injector to see if it is allowing too much fuel?

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-a-fuel-injector

Odd, that a dealer cannot figure out a simple misfire issue. In most cases, you start with a compression test, look for a vacuum leak, verify fuel pressure and that the pressure does not drop with the key off. That would indicate it is leaking and allowing too much fuel.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-misfires-or-runs-rough

Roy
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:07 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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They did not check that as far as I know. How can they check the compression? The intake completely covers the spark plugs. Wouldn't it misfire all the time if the compression was off? I drove it 85 miles the other day before it started misfiring. It doesn't have any codes but when I ran a "test" on the Torque app with a wireless OBD it said cylinder 1 had 3 misfire and cylinder 4 had 98 misfire 2 and, 3 cylinder had none. I will take it back to the dealership probably Thursday but was hoping to figure something out sooner. What about the ignition coils?
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:24 PM
Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
  • 52,796 POSTS
Did they replace the plugs? When you have them out, you insert the tester for the compression.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Torque app does not check the compression.

If you had a coil issue, it would code for it. Anything electronically controlled will code when there is a failure. There are no codes for mechanical failures.

Roy
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:30 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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  • 14 POSTS
I will have them check that next. What would cause the compression to be wrong and what would the fix be?
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:35 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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  • 14 POSTS
Also would it only misfire after it had run along time? What about the spark knock?
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:37 PM
Tiny
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If it has low compression, they need to do a leak down test to see where the compression is leaking.

The head would have to come off after that for the repair.

The spark knock is from unburned fuel in the cylinder and it creates detonation.

Roy
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Sunday, April 14th, 2019 AT 2:43 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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Just got it back yesterday. They did a compression test with results being 149 on three cylinders and 150 on one cylinder. Can't remember which but they said it was good. They did not do a leak down test cause they said I didn't ask for one. But I did. I told them if it looked okay to replace all coil packs and all plugs (NGK iridium). Which they did. I picked it up and drove 110 miles with the AC on in 80 degree heat. No problems no misfires. Until 111 miles. It just cut off while driving no warning. Will turn over but won't start. It now has it's first trouble code of p0304. I noticed a slight scent of antifreeze but didn't see any leaks and it is almost full. And the engine felt relatively cool considering how far I had just driven it.
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 8:24 AM
Tiny
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Okay, It needs to be checked for spark and fuel pressure to see which system has failed.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-fuel-system-pressure-and-regulator

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-an-ignition-system

Roy
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 12:59 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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I was already thinking fuel problem. Just a hunch. But I will have both checked just to be sure.
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 2:43 PM
Tiny
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Sounds like a plan.

Keep me updated.

Roy
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 2:59 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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I will thanks for the help.
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 3:09 PM
Tiny
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You are welcome.

Always glad to help.

Roy
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Saturday, April 20th, 2019 AT 3:12 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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  • 14 POSTS
The shop just called and said there is no fire to the coils and they don't know why. Any ideas? The engine turns over fine and the dash is all lit up but no fire.
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 10:15 AM
Tiny
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OK, got it.

I attached a wiring diagram for you. The voltage for the coils comes from a fuse. I circled it in the diagram to be checked.

It sounds like this guy does not know what he is doing is he cannot figure something this simple.

Roy
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 3:43 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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  • 14 POSTS
They just called and said one of the new Aftermarket coils melted and several fuses we're blown. They replaced the fuses and now it runs but they recommend putting the old original coil packs back in as that doesn't seem to have been original misfire problem and the new coils are crap. So back to square one. But at least it runs again.
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 3:57 PM
Tiny
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That's not good. If they melted that means there was a high current draw. My feelings are that mess may have damaged the PCM.

Roy
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 4:20 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
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He said it runs fair.A little rough cause of the coil. But I don't think they have driven it. He also said they were checking for bad grounds that may have caused it.
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 4:24 PM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
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I do not believe that. Something happened while he was diagnosing the engine.

Replacement coils do not melt without a reason. You said he had no fire to the coils. I think he jumped power to the coils from an outside source and jumped the wrong wires.

Roy
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 4:29 PM
Tiny
SANDAVE88
  • MEMBER
  • 14 POSTS
It died while I was driving it after the new coil packs. It was running fine and then cut off and would not start back up. He is telling me that it would not start because when I was driving it the coil melted and blew several fuses that kept it from firing again.
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 4:35 PM
Tiny
ASEMASTER6371
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You never stated that part.

If that is the case, then you have a claim against him for any damage from inferior parts he installed as he stated.

He needs to replace with Nisaan original coils at his expense.

Was the check engine light on? How many miles on the motor?

Roy
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 AT 4:39 PM

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