98 Sentra: Wants to start but won't

It's most likely flooded, very common problem.

hold the pedal all the way to the floor and crank it till she starts.

Well, it started first thing this AM after the car sat all night. So, if it's flooded, won't holding the peddle to the floor make it worse? And, this car is fuel injected. so will holding the peddle down do anything?

Thanks

In some cars with computers, the computer sees that's it is starting and the pedal is floored, and that causes the computer to turn off the gas supply during starting to help clear a flooded condition. NissTech knows this sort of thing, I'd believe him on this (most anything Nissan).

Tried flooring it and starting. No help. It only increases the sound like it wants to start.

Towed to the dealer this morning. Thanks for the help.

Hope I'm not too late . . .but that fuel pump sound, a slight bump? It should be a steady hmmmmmm for like 7 seconds then the pump stops. I just confirmed the sound on my 98 Sentra.

If you towed it aready I'm sure Nissan's going to tell you that your fuel pump died.

Have you been regularly changing your fuel filter? How many miles on the car?

If you haven't towed it yet, check the fuse for the fuel pump. If its OK then replace the fuse and try starting again. IF it still gives you trouble then replace the pump. The pump is located right under the back seat, immersed inside the gas tank. There is an access cover under tha back seat to give you access, but space is tight. You can change the pump from there, or you could drop the entire fuel tank from under the car and replace it.

CD

Ok, so took the car to the dealer (actually, it was towed). When they went to start working on it, they turned the key and the car started! We decided to leave the car overnight and the car also started this morning.

They said that it was probably flooded (as was mentioned here), but this problem started first thing in the AM after it had been sitting all night. I even tried it a number of times during that day and it wouldn't start (even with holding the gas peddle down).

Any thoughts as to what would cause it to flood and then be fine? Something get stuck and then freed itself? Any suggestions on what to do from here? Don't want the car to not start in some inopportune time.

Thanks Doug

"Doug" wrote in news:HCF0j.21460$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net:

leaky fuel injectors;they get gummed up over time and then stick partially open,allowing raw gas to drip into the engine.

run a few tank-fillups with some good injector cleaner,see if it improves.

As I posted previously, the car started fine at the dealer. Figures.

So my question is, can you tell me where the gas filter is and how difficult is it to change? The car has been fine since and my son put in some good fuel injector cleaner. Btw, my injectors were replaced less than 10K miles ago. It's been about a week now and no further problems.

Maybe just a piece of gunk that clogged up something? I would like to replace the fuel filter. I'm sure my son lets the tank get really low.

I would believe this is where the problem is, fuel filter. If there is a magnet filter then that's where one should look, usually metal junk blocks the flow of the fuel. Insufficient fuel will not allow the engine to run, I tested it by simulating this action.

The fuel filter is on the firewall, just below the brake master cylinder. Its' a metal cylindrical container. You can tell you've found it because the rubber hose that comes out on top of it goes to fuel rail that sits just under the intake manifold, where all your feul injectors are housed.

CD

Thank you! Is it easy to replace? Anything special that I should know? I'd imagine that air gets in the line when it's replaced.

Is it easy? Kinda sort of. The process is easy.

1. Pull the fuse for the fuel pump. It's inside the car with all the other fuses, in the panel with just past your left knee if you are sitting in the driver's seat.
2. Once you've done that, attempt to start the car a few times. By turning over the engine, you are relieving the fuel pressure within the fuel hose. I tend to change my fuel filter in the morning before I first start the car. The overnight sitting loses all the pressure nicely.
3. Once you completed those preparation tasks, all you have to do now is remove the old fuel filter and replace it with the new one. This is the fun part because twisting off the rubber hoses(the one on top and the one below) in that small area can be quite a hassle.

Once you've switched the filters and made sure you hoses are on tight, put the fuse back and start the car.

Take note: if you have to replace a busted hose, make sure you use a fuel injection hose. It has to meet specs SAE30R9.

Good luck.

CD