7th Oct 2008, 22:20

I think this is really funny, but really frustrating. I too have a 94' Nissan Altima and it dies on me sometimes. I have come to no other conclusion then the wire that connects the alternator to the battery is messed up some how, since I've gone through 2 batteries; thank goodness I have them in warranty.

Also the alternator 3 times. One time it would test fine at Auto Zone, 3 times passed, then 3 times failed, so I am going to check those wires, and I heard that if you bypass the wires and make a ground straight to the battery, that might bypass the wire issue, so I'm going to try that, and hopefully it is the wires, cuz I don't know what else to do.

6th Jan 2009, 09:22

I also have a 94 Altima GXE, and recently had the same problems described... the car started running rough, losing power at highway speeds, dying unexpectedly and starting again a few minutes later. I spent many hours researching this topic, and found that there are MANY possible answers to this problem, but the most common is the answer given above. The crank seal that keeps the oil from passing the distributor shaft is prone to failure in this model car, and causes the optical sensor to go out when it fills with oil.

However, there are a few other things you will want to check before you go with distributor (Once you pop the dust cover and see its filled with oil, theres a 99% chance that's the cause of your problems), you also want to check the Transistor found on the air filter, and make sure it Ohms out correctly. The wiring harness that connects to the coil is in a bad place also, and is prone to fraying and corrosion. Check the wires coming into the plug to see if they are still connected fully. Check your air/fuel filters, plug wires, plugs, all the easy stuff. If you check all these items, and still have the problems described, it is fair to say it's your distributor. And if you had it replaced with a junk yard distributor, and it still has problems, you may have gotten a bad distributor. The KA engine is notorious for having that seal go bad.

5th Mar 2009, 09:56

Wow so many common problems on the 94 Altima!

My radio has been out for two years. The antenna goes up and down ghostlike when it wants to.

My alternator, starter, and battery have all gone to crap over the last winter.

I am @ 199,020 miles. I really just want another year out of my beast!!!

Tonight's project - distributor.

14th Mar 2009, 11:09

I also have a 1994 Altima, same problems! But the difference between mine, is it would die just about every day a few times over the past year, since I've owned it... I've read about the oil in the dist. Sure enough I have oil in there. I changed the 2 dollar o-ring on the end, and it still does the same thing, but my problem has gotten extremely worse over the past 2 weeks... after 3 miles the car will do some extreme jerking motions, check engine light flashes, and then the car dies... cam sensor and knock sensor show up on the ECU... I know for a fact the knock sensor has been disconnected for a year, and have never had problems with that.. is this the cam sensor taking its final crap??

Here is the mind boggler... now after I drive it for 3 miles, and it dies on me, I will turn the key, and NOTHING will happen, not even a click, or a single light, not even my automatic doors will lock.

I plan on replacing the DIST today... but is this a ECU, IGNITION SWITCH or GROUND issue?? Now when it dies too, my wipers will wipe by themselves... weird. I have a hard time believing the oily distributor would make your car not even do anything...

The battery is 1 year old, just replaced a bad fuel injector last week, they test fine now. Fuel pump is whining like it should, and replaced all the plug wires.

6th Apr 2009, 13:28

I just bought a 1994 Altima and the speedometer doesn't work or the temp gauge.

I have changed the speed sensor and the temp sensors to no avail. I'm suspecting the wiring harness, but I can't find a wiring diagram with pin out to check continuity.

Does anyone know where I can find one? Or has anyone had this same problem? Other than that, the car seems to run fine.

12th Jun 2009, 21:31

I have a 97 GXE and been plagued with issues. After rebuilding a transmission that has a known issue of eating up 2nd gear. I ran into the infamous idle shut downs. Here is the rundown: New distributor, new plugs, new ignition coil, new wires, new cam position sensor, new coolant temp sensor, new ECU, etc.

I will try and change the distributor transistor unit and let you know how it goes. Spent too much on this car.. Luckily I know enough to rebuild the engine and transmission, but not even the dealer knew what was wrong on so many issues. They will just try and change parts guessing and would have cost me major $$$ if I listened to them..

15th Aug 2009, 13:07

I purchased a new 1994 Nissan Altima 16 years ago. Besides normal maintenance items (brakes, exhaust, oil, filters, etc.), I have put in a new transmission, had some engine work done many years ago, and put in a new alternator last year.

Now for present day, I drove approximately 20 miles on Wednesday and everything was running as usual. Then Thursday afternoon, I got in my car to drive to the grocery store. Immediately upon turning the key and starting it up, it began running extremely rough. My Altima only has four cylinders, and it felt like only three were firing.

After reading all the above postings, I am bewildered. So many different things could cause this problem. My first thought was new spark plugs, but there are so many things that could have caused this problem.

I am disabled and my husband is still looking for work after being laid off last December. Performing expensive repairs is out of the question. After my husband puts in the new spark plugs (and if that is not the problem), is there a definite course of action that should be taken?

15th Jan 2010, 03:19

I have a '94 Bluebird SSS, and it has terrible gas mileage and produces a lot of black smoke from the exhaust. I have had all the sensors replaced except the O2 sensor, which it doesn't seem to have.

The other issue is that it idles very unevenly, but it runs just fine when you drive (but with the black smoke).

26th Feb 2010, 00:13

95 Altima pops "other electrical" fuse and radio fuse. This causes the car (automatic) to go into limp mode. Checking and rechecking wires for damage. Anyone??