N
ninja_jim
Guest
I had my air mass sensor replaced in Switzerland during Summer 2008 after the old one went duff on me. As I was returning home through Holland I hit torrential rain and the car developed the same symptoms as when the air mass sensor went previously - understandably I was a bit put out by this since it had only just been replaced, however I pulled over, let the sensor dry for a bit, unplugged it, reconnected it, and tried starting the engine. Happily it ran fine and has not missed a beat throughout the rest of the year.
I again went over to the continent for Xmas and New Year - the car performed superbly in all conditions including deep snow and thick ice on narrow mountain roads. I drove back from the French Alps on Saturday - 770 miles on motorways at a steady 80mph. When I got off the ferry I was greeted with torrential downpours. Once again, after a few miles in these conditions, the engine lost power and demonstrated all the signs of the air mass sensor packing in. Again, I thought it was due to the sensor effectively 'drowning'. I pulled over, allowed the sensor to dry out, restarted the car and she ran fine. Unfortunately the downpour continued and I had to pull over several times on the way down the road. On arriving in Southampton the car was performing fine, then, when pulling away from traffic lights there was a massive reduction in power and I stalled. On restarting the engine there was no problem. This happened several times until I was back on the motorway. Upon arriving on base though the same thing happened - I parked the car, thinking the problem would resolve itself once the sensor had dried out.
I went to shift the car today. There were no warning lights upon start-up (apart from the windown washer indicator coming partially on), and the engine started fine, apart from a slight hiccup, which I put down to the engine being cold. I depressed the accelerator and was rewarded with the engine speeding up (as would be expected). I engaged reverse (in 2wd mode), turned the wheel, gave it some throttle, let out the clutch and... she stalled. I restarted the engine, did the same thing again, only this time, when I depressed the throttle the engine remained at idle. Understandably I was concerned. I restarted the car, managed to get her moving purely on tickover, such that I could see how markedly bad her performance was - she was showing no power from the throttle and little drive from idle (even when we all know those engines pull strongly even with the throttle at idle).
I then disconnected the air mass sensor to see what the difference was - there was no discernible difference, leading me to suspect the sensor was once again duff. I reconnected it and the car's performance immediately returned, though only momentarily - I had full power for a few seconds and then lost it again. She is now sitting, looking forlorn, while I try to figure out what the problem is - I'm an engineer so I'm not sitting here guessing!
The car has only done around 6,000 miles since the sensor was last replaced.
Has anyone else encountered this problem, and does anyone know what the solution is (either to the obvious problems encountered in torrential rain (not generally an ideal problem for a 4x4 which is supposedly built for those conditions), or to the overall problem with the air mass sensor) - I'd really rather not replace the sensor (though nissan would receive the sharp end of my tongue!), mainly because it only postpones the problem.
Many thanks.
I again went over to the continent for Xmas and New Year - the car performed superbly in all conditions including deep snow and thick ice on narrow mountain roads. I drove back from the French Alps on Saturday - 770 miles on motorways at a steady 80mph. When I got off the ferry I was greeted with torrential downpours. Once again, after a few miles in these conditions, the engine lost power and demonstrated all the signs of the air mass sensor packing in. Again, I thought it was due to the sensor effectively 'drowning'. I pulled over, allowed the sensor to dry out, restarted the car and she ran fine. Unfortunately the downpour continued and I had to pull over several times on the way down the road. On arriving in Southampton the car was performing fine, then, when pulling away from traffic lights there was a massive reduction in power and I stalled. On restarting the engine there was no problem. This happened several times until I was back on the motorway. Upon arriving on base though the same thing happened - I parked the car, thinking the problem would resolve itself once the sensor had dried out.
I went to shift the car today. There were no warning lights upon start-up (apart from the windown washer indicator coming partially on), and the engine started fine, apart from a slight hiccup, which I put down to the engine being cold. I depressed the accelerator and was rewarded with the engine speeding up (as would be expected). I engaged reverse (in 2wd mode), turned the wheel, gave it some throttle, let out the clutch and... she stalled. I restarted the engine, did the same thing again, only this time, when I depressed the throttle the engine remained at idle. Understandably I was concerned. I restarted the car, managed to get her moving purely on tickover, such that I could see how markedly bad her performance was - she was showing no power from the throttle and little drive from idle (even when we all know those engines pull strongly even with the throttle at idle).
I then disconnected the air mass sensor to see what the difference was - there was no discernible difference, leading me to suspect the sensor was once again duff. I reconnected it and the car's performance immediately returned, though only momentarily - I had full power for a few seconds and then lost it again. She is now sitting, looking forlorn, while I try to figure out what the problem is - I'm an engineer so I'm not sitting here guessing!
The car has only done around 6,000 miles since the sensor was last replaced.
Has anyone else encountered this problem, and does anyone know what the solution is (either to the obvious problems encountered in torrential rain (not generally an ideal problem for a 4x4 which is supposedly built for those conditions), or to the overall problem with the air mass sensor) - I'd really rather not replace the sensor (though nissan would receive the sharp end of my tongue!), mainly because it only postpones the problem.
Many thanks.
