Thread: After a long road trip: review and issues with b14 SE-L

Howdy fellow forumers!

I just got done with a 1000 mile trip from Denver to Chicago. Of course with my luck I ran into some shitty issues. Wanna hear it, here it goes...

I initially attempted to leave Monday morning. About 60 miles into the trip the brake light and battery light began flashing. I exited at the next exit and was able to coax the car almost into a truck stop. Thanks to the kindness of some strangers who pushed me in I was able to make it to the tire shop adjacent to the gas station. Now, the battery and alternator on this are new (previous owner also had them replaced before I did) but yet again the alternator was not charging the battery according to the tire shops voltage meter. Fuck my life.

I call for a tow to take the car back to the shop that did the work as he said he would do all repairs no cost due to the fact that work was done very recently and had just over 1000 miles on it. Drop the car off, curse copious amounts, get a hotel room, then proceed to drink copious amounts of booze. Cursing and booze are balms for the soul. He tells me the car will be fixed first thing in the morning.

Fast forward to Tuesday late morning. Mechanic calls to tell me car is ready. I go to the shop and pick up the keys. Walking to the car I notice the fob isn't working. Ok. I start the car then try to roll down the windows with the switch. No windows, no power locks, no radio, no turn signals. WTF?! I go back into the shop and he comes out and we start trouble shooting. Nothing out of the ordinary except for a fucking blown 75a battery fuse! Ok, auto parts store down the street, so I can get one there. Wrong! I find out its a Nissan specific part. And Nissan wants $30 bucks for it! But I had a stroke of genius. A little further down the road there is a u pull u pay yard. So I drive down there to find one. On the drive down, my windows, locks, turn signal, etc start to work again. Really? What is that about? (Seriously this is question #1: to my knowledge the fuse was ok before. Or was it. Would a fuse cause the alternator issues? Would that cause the power accessories to not work, then work randomly? Any input on this?)

Make it to the junk yard and the guy working the door is gracious and comps me the $2 entrance fee after I explain my story as he is printing me the list of Nissan cars which share the same fuse in the yard (maxima sand sentras I know for sure). He was a nice guy. I trudge through the yard in sandals because my shoes are all packed. I like to be comfy on road trips and I was too lazy to dig for my shoes. Unsafe, but whatevs. Also note I am a grown man who says whatevs. I find 3 fuses and buy them all. $1.77 was the grand total. Piece of mind, check.

Go back to the mechanic and we go through the rest of the fuses together. Everything works EXCEPT the power door locks on the door switch. They work fine with the fob. (Which leads to question #2: is the switch toast? I don't think so because the windows work. Why wouldn't the locks work via switch anymore?)

We scratch our heads. Discuss theories on my cars shitty nature, then I head off into the sunset. Actually away from the sunset. I just always wanted to say that. Won't bore you with details but I make it Nebraska but am noticing shitty gas mileage. Like 8-10 mpgs worse than normal. *sigh* About 300 miles in my CEL comes on. At this point I am fuming mad. Like hulking out. What else can go wrong? I make a note to stop at the next place that has a truck stop or service station to pull the code. At this point I am praying its nothing to do with the charging system and that it's an o2. Ended up being o2 and catalyst. Mechanic says they may be related. I have no fucking clue but I am happier than a pig in shit. I high five the mechanic then hit the road.

Next fill up I notice 2 things. Gas in Nebraska is cheap as shit, and that my average mpgs went from 24.9 to 33.2. How does that happen? Especially with the o2 being wonky. (Question #3: is the increased mileage because of the lack of altitude? Ecu relearning since it was unplugged so much? O2 going bad? Any input on this?)

I make it through Nebraska without a hitch, and into Iowa with great mpgs and the car. I do notice that gas is even cheaper in Iowa! Holy rural states batman! Now I used to live in Omaha so I knew that already but being away for 3 years you forget how much cheaper gas is. Wowzas!

Next and last fuel up in Iowa before I get to my hotel for the night went ok. I washed thousands of dead bugs off the windshield and headlights. Fucking gross. When I start up again after fueling the CEL went off. WTF? At this point I am too tired to care. I make it to the hotel and pass out like a college girl at a frat party.

Wake up refreshed and go to hit the road again. Begin driving, then about 100 miles in CEL comes on again. (Which leads to question #4: the o2 is a newish Bosch unit replaced by previous owner. Could the electrical charging issues have caused the failure? Normally I have never had a car where it goes on and off but this has now a few times. Any input?)

Rest of the trip was pretty ok. I will give my review in the next post. Tune in!

Review time of the SE-L!

Outside of the mechanical issues the car was great. I owned a b15 SE w/pp and outside of the obvious disadvantage in the room department (which I have to consider, I am 6'2" 210) and more modern build quality (a little quieter and in stock form a little more rigid feeling, and better stereo) the car was a PLEASURE to drive. A little droney/loud at highway speeds (70-80 mph with rpms at 3500+) but that was my biggest and only complaint. Ride was smooth enough, handling and feedback were solid, and the DE, although a dinosaur and only having some bolt ons was a willing and ready dance partner.

Oh yeah! The seats, to me, are solid! I would even dare say good considering many feel the b13s are better. Now, please take note that I did some spirited runs, but was not doing anything truly performance oriented. For a 1000 mile trip, and being a not small man, the seats were surprisingly comfortable. No lower back pain or fatigue.

Now the stereo leaves a bit to be desired. I'm not an audiophile or anything, but I do love music. I have one of those tape adaptor things and it sounded turrible (Barkley). Next mod will be a touchscreen double din of some sort with Bluetooth or some direct AUX connection for better sound. Anyone have any recommendations approx $300?

The car though, does feel underpowered compared to modern cars. After this trip I am SERIOUSLY considering selling my uninstalled bnib poncams and just buying a ve and required parts for swap. This car, plus 50 or so HP, would be a dope DD. Knowing that a basic ve set up could produce even more than 50 plus hp on what a basic DE (assuming 120 whp) puts out is exciting.

Oh yeah, after the whole leaving Colorado bad mpgs thing I averaged 33.xx mpgs the remainder of the trip. Timing is upped to the 16-17 range according to my roommates uncles 20 year old timing light. I have been running 89 as 91 is too pricey to justify the 1-3 hp I am missing.

So all these issues caused by a 1.77$ part? Could be worse lol

Did you drive around with the 75a battery fuse blown? If so...I'm blown!

Next time the MIL/CEL comes on, pull the codes so you know what it is for sure

I have pulled the codes. P0420 smoke weed everyday code. J/k it's catalyst efficiency below threshold. And p0135 for heated oxygen sensor. I am on vacay so tomorrow I will tear into the front sensor and see if, hopefully, the connection or ground is jacked up. Otherwise papa needs a new o2. I'm hoping the o2 is causing the other code. Same codes both times I pulled them.

Also does anyone know the best price for oxygen sensors? Rock auto?

Technically no. Read it all. Also I got 3 fuses for 1.77. $0.59 per fuse! Dunno when the fuse blew though. It could have been blown since the previous owner as far as I know. Just glad I got it done with and worked out.

I did. Mechanic said it was ok, but now I am wondering if that affected the o2 sensor.

I just don't understand how something so small costs so much. I called locally in Illinois and the cheapest I found was $20 plus tax! That shit cray.

OEM parts are pricey, I dunno what else could be plaguing since I am horrible at electronics.

Where is the cheapest site to buy a new o2 sensor for a 99? Do any other makes or models share the same one? Thanks in advance.