redrock5432

It is interesting that this awful solution worked as long as it did. If the cat is still good maybe the best bet is to seal up any leaks and see it the code disappears. I am not sure what you use to seal exhaust leaks.

edit 1

Found this stuff for sealing cat connections/leaks

PERMATEX® Muffler & Tailpipe Putty -- Permanently repairs holes and leaks in exhaust systems. Seals out fumes at temperatures up to 2000°F (1000°C). Safe for catalytic converters. 2-pouch bonus pack. --Suggested Applications: Mufflers, tailpipes, joints and catalytic converters.
Prod 80333 http://www.permatex.com/documents/td...tive/80333.pdf

There may be better stuff. This was just a quick search

remifenta

Looks great! I'll check under the car sometime to take a closer look. Unfortunately I don't have a lift in my garage, so I will try my best to inspect the entire system while crawling underneath.

redrock5432

I don't have a lift either but long ago bought some ramps which usually provides enough room underneath for most work.

remifenta

P1320 and P0132 made a comeback. D'oh!

redrock5432

1. Did you complete fixing and/or replacing all ground connections and straps?
2. Do you still have noticeable misfires?

remifenta

I think I am still getting misfires, just not as often as before. I have not replaced the ground strap on my exhaust yet, just too busy to get on the underside of my car just yet. I am however using Torque now with my car, an amazing little app for my tablet which lets me monitor every sensor available in the ECU. I am keeping track of my O2 sensor voltages, and logging them. Hopefully I can keep track of the data to see how the voltages change in response to the sensation of a misfire, then perhaps I can correlate how often a misfire is registered as a P1320 code by the ECU.

I still have lots of work to do, but not with much time.

remifenta

I had a lot of misfires on my way home today. A string of 6 or so in 45 seconds. First few misfires threw a P1320. The last few added in a bonus P0304, which is great news for me. I can safely assume my Cylinder 4 is faulty, either at the ignition coil, or the wires leading to the ignition coil, or a ground wire heading out of the coil.

I will replace this one as soon as I can, and I will see if I notice any difference.

However, there is no guarantee that multiple cylinders are not involved. For instance, maybe cylinder 4 was the only one with 4 misfires, triggering a code, but every other cylinder misfired once or so and thus not triggering a misfire code. Replacing one ignition coil is not too costly, and it will help test this hypothesis.

remifenta

Since I've had codes for P0132, P0133, P0134, could my Bank 1 Sensor 1 O2 sensor be dysfunctional? If so, should I replace it? I might want to try that after replacing the ignition coil.

redrock5432

FWIW, I would fix all the grounds first. Poor grounding is a basic issue common to many of the codes your are getting. The coil in 4 could be the most sensitive to poor grounding but still be good once grounding is fixed.

remifenta

I will swap the coil in cylinder 4 with the one in cylinder 2, and will see if I get a cylinder 2 code or still a cylinder 4 code. If 4, then likely grounding from that harness (or to that harness) is faulty. If 2, then likely bad coil despite intact resistances.



Regarding my O2 sensor codes, my broken exhaust ground strap could be the culprit. The purpose of it is debated, but a few people here say it could lead to problems with the rear O2 sensor, precisely the one that has error codes assigned to it.

remifenta

After switching the coil from cylinder 4 to cylinder 2, the error code went from P0304 to P0302, confirming a bad coil.

I will order a replacement coil and see if that fixes my woes. My part is labeled 22448-2Y006, but when searching a website, I found out that this part was superceded by 22448-2Y007. Does anyone know the difference?

remifenta

Also, if this does not fix my issues, then I will do a teardown of the area around the battery to chase the wires leading to the negative terminal of the battery. I'll probably have to take down the air filter unit and maybe MAF. I will decide once I get in there. Other topics mention getting a grounding kit from Stillen. I might have to do it if the wire condition is poor.

tetete

where you gonna buy the coil from man?

I'm thinking about advance auto parts or auto zone

remifenta

Southwest Nissan in Texas.

redrock5432

A week ago I purchased a coil for 2002 from Autozone. It was new unit as opposed to remanufactured or rebuilt or used. It replaced a unit I bought on Amazon (Beck/Arnley) which did not work for more than a few months. I think it was a rebuilt unit. It gets poor reviews on Amazon.

RR5

iTrader: (6)

Someone on here does a grounding kit, check in the group deal section.

-Edit and I found the link:
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...rder-form.html

redrock5432

remifenta,
update on issues?

remifenta

I replaced the ignition coil in cylinder 2, after it had given me numerous errors isolated to specifically that cylinder, including the time I switched it from cylinder 4 when that one was giving me a DTC code. Since then (2 days or so), I have been P1320 and P0304 free. However, I still have persistent P0430, which indicates to me that my cat is bad, or I have a dent, or a leak, all of which are highly likely given the shoddy job Midas did for me a few years ago. I will have to re-evaluate my options. I am considering an O2 spacer, but replacing the exhaust completely might be a necessary step to get me to decent working condition.

Thanks for all your help! I will still plan on getting a grounding kit at some point, in addition to taking down the battery and air filter housing so I can trace the grounds into the negative terminal of the battery. I'll post when I have updates.

remifenta

So far so good. I have not had a P1320 since I last checked in here. However, I have had persistent P0430 codes. This I can attribute to the bad after market pre-cat that Midas mangled into my car. I will get some O2 sims and replace the gas cap.

redrock5432

who is your preferred source (web site) for O2 Sims?

remifenta

I went with this:

http://www.zenboost.com/performance_.../O2_Simulator/

I'm going to install it on both the pre-cat rear sensor (P0430) and the 3-way cat rear sensor (P0420) just to nail this problem once and for all. I know I only have a problem with P0430 (pre-cat), and I know it's most likely dents in the pipe, but it's a decent, cheap temporary alternative while the rest of the exhaust corrodes away from the winter salt. I'll probably end up replacing my entire stock exhaust in 2-3 years.

unstopable94

Question. Can you inter change the coil with different name brand?

remifenta

The installation was... frustrating. The first O2 sim, for the bank that I didn't really need to install on, barely accommodated the corresponding rear O2 sensor. The bank that I really needed to install it on (pre-cat) did not fit. There was not enough room to fit both the sim and the O2 sensor. I'm stuck.

remifenta

To me, it's not worth it. What if the first one doesn't work? The money you spend on that will be lost when you need to buy another one that will work for your ECU. Don't waste money.

remifenta

http://store.42draftdesigns.com/O2-S...cer_p_306.html

I went with this option. Hopefully it will fit to accommodate the low clearance around the O2 sensor that needs to be spaced.

remifenta

Not even this would fit, but I took apart the original simulator, and it worked well. I have been very satisfied with the end result, and I have driven about 30 miles without a single error code. I will update soon if i'm continuing to be error free.

DataMan

I just wanted to thank the original poster for this awesome post.

I have an Infiniti I30 2001 with p01320 and the code for cylinder 2 misfire , bought the cheapest ignition coil from ebay for 27$ shipped brand new aftermarket brand
checked it with the ohm meter looked good
changed the cylinder 2 in under 30 min and code cleared itself right away.

lets hope it does not come back..

again thank you

P.S in infiniti i30 the engine cover is screwed in with 4 screws size 10 not size 4

also do not over fasten the screws , I broke one of mine. it was not a big deal though.

kurt1

Wat series maxima does this ignition coil proble
Come up in?

maxima dude

does this work the same way for 02-03 vq35 coils?

Topgear10

Hi
I am in the process of analyzing my p1320, p0139, and p0430 sporadic codes. Can someone explain what the 'grey dot' coils refer to? The coils I purchased new did NOT have any stickers on them, neither did the ones I pulled out of the car.
Thanks

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Coils with a grey dot are the updated coils from the MFG. I think the grey dot only applies to OEM coils.

redrock5432

On 2002 SE 3.5, I had OEM's with gray dot. I purchased new one from Autozone and it did not have gray dot. It fixed the problem. There are also part numbers on units.

My suspicion is that the gray dot allowed the engine assembly plant to distinguish the improved ones from the older ones during production, even if both met the original spec but something was changed that made the gray dot coils better than others they were using.

ralexand88

Can someone help me with Bigfatty's post? I am new to this and unable to determine what is meant by +1,-2 along with all the other test. Can someone explain so I can test my ignition coils?

redrock5432

"+1" or "-2" --- the number is the pin number of the coil. See his post for specifics. The + or - is the polarity of the volt/ohm meter. Typical meters have a ground(-) and the (+) markings where probes plug in. So a "+1 -2" means the "+" meter probe was connected to pin 1 of coil and the other probe was on pin 2.

These resistance tests are not conclusive. You might also try deactivating one coil at a time while engine is idling to determine contribution by each coil. If engine smoothness does not change then coil is suspect. Having a one new coil on hand is useful to substitute for a suspected defective coil to smooth out engine roughness and demonstrate the suspect coil is really defective (not contributing).

I urge you to solve these misfires soon as continued misfires degrades catalytic converter.

ralexand88

I am attempting to replicate what is seen here but unable to get any reading from my multimeter except at +3,-2 and +2,-3. I dont think this is normal.

My multimeter is set to 200k but I dont get any reading on the positive connections. Any ideas?

redrock5432

Look at others reports. notice that pins 2 and 3 report low resistance in one polarity and infinite in the opposite. this is also true for 1 and 3.

again, these tests are not conclusive as other faults will occur with coils and coil boots. The engine dynamic test is very helpful.

Also, looking at spark plugs and comparing across cylinders can the useful.

RR5

iTrader: (6)

Good info, adding to that Red is + and Black is - (most volt/ohm meters or multimeters.)

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Reviving the thread...I have the P1320 again. I changed out the spark plugs and cleared the SES code. It came back on second start up. While changing the spark plugs I tested the coils. If you have read through the thread you will see I had tested these same coils when I changed them out 6 years ago as they were new at that time.

See the differences. I think cylinders 1, 5, 2, and 4 have some differences from before. Not sure if it is enough to throw the code, but just wanted to see what others may think of my numbers.

Any thoughts?

redrock5432

Experiencing any engine misfires?
Any signs of misfires or oil burn on old plugs?

1320 without 030x codes is indicating ignition primary.

suggestion: Without other codes, I would check the ground wires emitting from wiring harness around coils. Primary circuit on coil draws high amperage for a short duration and grounds have to be well connected for current to flow (complete the circuit). Look for wires emitting from harness that connect directly to engine.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Ah yes, I left out that information. I experienced misfires yesterday. They went away after I pulled over, shut it down, and restarted. I checked the engine codes when I got home and it was only P1320. I have had the P1320 for almost two weeks now and only experienced the misfire yesterday.

I checked the ground wires last week, but looked at them again. I'm assuming the ones for the coils are these pictured below? There are only 4 of them, are two somewhere else? I went through all ground wires in FSM and it shows only these.



The plugs had no oil and my Maxima doesn't burn oil. They did show signs of heavy wear, maybe running a bit hot, but nothing major. There is a picture of the plus below. The picture quality isn't great because they all look dark, but there are no signs of oil and all plugs have a brownish hue to bits of whiteness.





I was thinking of checking the condenser next when I get home.