Well my sentra has some problems that have been going on for a while now.

First things first, some info on the car:

2000 Nissan Sentra SE Non-PP
108xxx miles
Mods include: HKS Exhaust, Motor Mount Inserts, otherwise stock

Well I seem to have 2 problems, which may or may not be interconnected.

First off, my instrument panel has a bizarre property of randomly turning off. Lately this happens roughly 2-3 times on a half hour drive. I will be going down a road, and my speed, RPM, and engine temp gauges will all simultaneously drop to 0 completely without warrant. They always come back usually within a minute or 2. This happens completely spontaneously and randomly. It can happen while parked, while accelerating, while stopping, while cruising, ect. It does not happen specifically on bumps or other rapid changes of movement (that would suggest a loose connection in the IP). Also the fuel gauge is unaffected.

This problem has been going on several months ago, then stopped appearing, and recently became very prevalent again (happens on a daily basis). I have replaced the battery since this has happened with no effect.

The second problem is with the engine. I get horrible hesitation, misfiring, and slightly rough idle. Misfiring and hesitation happen mostly at large throttle. I can drive the car with virtually no problems if I keep under ~ 15% throttle, but as soon as I give it more gas, it bogs down and misfires like crazy. The SES light starts blinking if I give it full throttle. This is much more prevalent at low RPMs. The car is virtually undrivable under 2000RPM. Between 2000-4000 RPM it goes as long as I give it very little throttle. Above 4000 I can give it 75-100% throttle with fairly good response (1 or 2 hickups in the climb from 4000RPM - redline).

The most prevalent SES code is P0303

Things Ive looked at:
Spark plugs (have about 30,000 miles on them, checked and regapped them, everything looked clean)
Distributor (cleaned the contacts)
Changed battery
Used fuel injector cleaner several times
MAF replaced ~ 25,000 miles ago

Ordered parts:
Distributor Cap and Rotor
Spark Plugs
Spark Plug Wires
Fuel Filter

Anyone have any suggestions on what to look for next?

Thanks!

Sounds like your first prob might be some kind of wiring issue.. maybe weather related. The second prob sounds like your MAF, but could be an issue with your knock sensor.. is it raining/snowing a lot where you live? This kind of sounds like what happened when I got some water in the spark-plug cylinders. So it might be your plugs. What other codes did you run?

I seem to remember running O2 sensor codes months ago, but most recently it has only been misfire codes. Either random cylinder misfire or cylinder 3 misfire.

It definitely snows a lot here in michigan, and we are just coming towards the end of winter. I want to say the car acts better when its warmer out, but this may just be in my head, and the problem is definitely still there when it is warm out.

I have my old MAF which was bad that I could try throwing in there to see if it'll make a difference.

can you use the instrument panel from a 200sx on a b14 non se (ga16de) not the sr20 so you get the tach working?

can you use the instrument panel from a 200sx on a b14 non se (ga16de) not the sr20 so you get the tach working?

My first guess would be its not a problem with the instrument panel. More likely something with the connection to the panel, or with the ECU.

that was a unrelated question. it is about instrument panels though.? i want to put a tach instrument panel in my b14 that comes stock with none.

No idea. I would guess yes, but my guess is probably as good as yours.

The misfires were happening with mine as well, it was a faulty coil which Nissan was aware about, and my local Nissan Dealer has told me that they ran into that problem on the Sentra, E-Terra, and Maxima between 2000 and 2002.

The instrument panel is one I'm having as well, and my guess is that it is related to wiring, mine is so bad in fact, that it shut off my horn and airbag.

Totally forgot about this thread.

I got to the bottom of the problem: it was the spark plugs.

When I went to replace the spark plugs this time, I realized that I had 'cold type' spark plugs in there instead of standard type (as referenced by the manual). Apparently this was what autozone sold me when I just bought the car, and I was stupid enough to trust them. Switched those up, and all problems melted away.