Nissan Micra 998CC K11 (1999) - Warms up and then misfires ?

[Mike Presneill]

Our much loved Nissan Micra 998cc K11 (1999) broke down last week after going on a long drive for 60mins+

We drove for about an hour. We got to some travel lights, then waited at idle but when we tried to pull away the engine seemed to misfire and the engine would not rev. Every time I put my foot down on the accelerator the engine started coffin and spluttering and seemed to misfire. I just could not pull away.

With the engine running in idle we pushed the micra into a parked area and I phoned Green Flag for help.

When I pulled in I turned the engine off and tried to restart it again. It started first time but as soon as I put some revs on, the engine misfire again. I then turned the engine off.

After 40 mins of waiting for the Green Flag guy to come and I started the Micra up and everything sounded great and the revs were back.

I drove home with the Green Flag guy watching me and everything was fine.

Since then I have done several short 15min trips with no problems but can anyone tell me what might be causing the problem after driving the Micra for some time like 60 mins + ?

I did change the Distributor Cap last year because I saw a cheap new £12 OEM Distributor on eBay but I'm just wondering if I should of purchased a new Genuine Nissan Distributor Cap which is £40+ as they say a Distributor Cap could cause this sort of problem when the micra is warmed up ?

Are there any other parts I could change as I don't want it to breakdown again after a long trip ?

Many thanks
Mike

 

[pollyp]

check ur ECU coolant temp sensor is reading correctly.
sensor reading too high/low will upset the real mixture & timing.

not sure if facelift sensors are rated the same ohms but here's when I tested my pre-face sensors
https://www.micra.org.uk/threads/pollymobiles-rebuild.35251/page-119#post-704079

distributor cap with heavy oxide buildup usually affects cold start fire up.
dirty blocked injectors could cause idle misfires.

 

[Mike Presneill]

I thought I fixed the Micra by replacing the distributor cap, spark plugs etc.. I drove around for 30 mins without any problems and then the engine starting to run really rough (like it was miss-firing or having fuel starvation, although plenty of fuel in it). I then pull the car over to the side and wait 20 mins and then I can drive off again and repeat the whole cycle again!

I'm an amateur mechanic and can do things like replace alternators, belts, batteries etc. but this intermittent stalling problem really has me foxed.

Someone mentioned to me today, next time it happens try taking the fuel cap off and then putting it back on again to see if a vacuum has built up in the fuel tank because of a block fuel tank breather hose.

 

[frank]

sounds like the common dizzy failure to me mike, you could rule out a fuel starvation problem by wetting the air filter with petrol next time it plays up

 

[Mike Presneill]

Thanks. Is there some sort of test I could do to see if its the dizzy or not ?
Should I take the car to a Nissan Main Dealer to look at or would a normal garage have the diagnostic equipment to test it ?
Thanks

 

[frank]

the obd1 diagnosis system is very basic mate, its the coil inside the dizzy that breaks down when hot i believe, one guy on cisco,s micra files rigged up his screen washers to cool it down many years ago

 

[davyboy]

Hello Mike, I have a dizzy here you can have for a tenner + postage buddy.