CriticalCommonElectrical

Nissan Pulsar: Crank position sensor solder joints break down with heat — engine cuts out without warning

Crank position sensor solder joints break down with heat — engine cuts out without warning is a common electrical fault on the Nissan Pulsar on the 2000–2006 cars, and we rate it critical. Putting it right costs $200 to $600 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 21 documented faults on the Nissan Pulsar.

Vehicle: Nissan Pulsar
Years: 2000–2006
Fuel: petrol
System: Electrical

This page covers the Nissan Pulsar as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Nissan Pulsar faults21 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Steering rack yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

The N16 Pulsar's crank position sensor has a small circuit board inside it, and the solder joints on that board deform under engine heat, made worse by flux residue left behind in manufacture. As the joints break down the sensor loses its signal and the engine simply stops, almost always once everything is hot and usually at low speed or idling. Many of these cars are now on their second or third sensor. The real danger is not the repair bill, which is modest, but a stall in traffic — when the engine cuts, the power steering assistance goes with it.

What you would notice

Engine cuts out with no warning once hot, then restarts after it cools down
Long cranking or a no-start when warm, but starts fine from cold
Engine warning light coming and going
Stumbling or surging for a second or two just before it dies

How to check it

Where to look. Crank position sensor at the gearbox end of the engine block, near the bellhousing

This fault only shows itself hot, so a proper test drive of fifteen to twenty minutes matters far more here than a lap of the block. Feel the bonnet when you first walk up: if the engine is already warm before you have driven it, ask why, because a seller who has pre-warmed the car may be hiding a cold-start or a hot-stall problem. On the drive, come to a stop at lights or in a car park, sit with it idling in gear for a minute or two, then pull away again, and repeat that a few times. Ask the seller whether the crank angle sensor has ever been replaced, and look through the service book for a sensor invoice.

Parts involved: Steering rack.

What it costs to put right

$200 to $600 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Has the crank angle sensor ever been replaced?”
“Does it ever cut out, or refuse to restart, when the engine is hot?”
“Was the 2003 crank position sensor recall done on this car?”

Now check the Nissan Pulsar you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

Australian Car.Reviews — 'Recalls & faults: Nissan N16 Pulsar sedan (2000-05)', March 2003 crank position sensor recall (solder joint heat stress, flux residue)
Nissan campaign R3022 / NHTSA recall 07V-527 — crank and camshaft position sensors, early-2000s Nissan models
Whirlpool Forums thread 'Crank Position Sensor - Nissan' — N16 Pulsar owners reporting hot-stall and sensor replacement

Nissan Pulsar buyer questions

Is crank position sensor solder joints break down with heat — engine cuts out without warning serious on a Nissan Pulsar?

We rate it critical and common on the Nissan Pulsar. The N16 Pulsar's crank position sensor has a small circuit board inside it, and the solder joints on that board deform under engine heat, made worse by flux residue left behind in manufacture. As the joints break down the sensor loses its signal and the engine simply stops, almost always once everything is hot and usually at low speed or idling. Many of these cars are now on their second or third sensor. The real danger is not the repair bill, which is modest, but a stall in traffic — when the engine cuts, the power steering assistance goes with it.

How much does it cost to fix on a Nissan Pulsar?

$200 to $600 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Nissan Pulsar years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2000–2006 Nissan Pulsar. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.