I've been having a problem with my 95 altima and am hoping someone can narrow down the options for me. The basic problem is: The car runs fine when it is started cold. If, after driving it and getting it to running temperature, I start it when it is still warm (particularly if it has been sitting for about 45 minutes) the engine will stall as if it is flooded. Often it is hard to restart and won't keep the idle up. When it does restart there is a very strong gas odor. It reminds me of my old 55 Chevy pickup which had the manual choke... if the choke was left on too long the engine would die. In fact my Chilton repair book said to check the choke but I don't have one. On several occasions I have purposely started the car 45 minutes after turning it off and observed its behavior. Often it will begin idling high at about 1500-1600 rpm then suddenly it will 'choke' and die. Other times it may not die but the idle fluctuates quite a bit (400-900rpm). If it stays running it usually idles very low (200-300rpm). Like I mentioned, it only happens when the engine is still warm after sitting for 45 minutes. (If it's only been off for a few minutes I have no problem). My general feeling is that it's either some temperature sensor or perhaps the 'computer chip'. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
- posted
20 years ago