engine problems

[darkblue]

hey, i own a 95 se, and recently, i've been having some engine trouble. i was on my way from san jose to san diego, when my check engine light came on around bakersfield. i didn't really notice anything wrong with the car at the time, and i couldn't just turn around, so i just drove the rest of the way down; and there were no problems. however, it's been a couple days since then and the check engine light is still on and i've noticed that it's having some trouble accelerating. for example, no matter how fast i'm going, if the engine's at about 2800-3000 rpm and i try to accelerate (not very hard), it will jump immediately up to 4000 and will only drop back down to about 32-3500 if i let up on the gas a little. i know close to nothing about engines, so i was wondering if anyone could tell me what could be wrong, and if there is any way i could fix the problem myself. and if there's no way i could fix it myself, an estimate on how much it would cost to be fixed. thanks in advance.

[darkblue]

also, when the car is idle, the rpm will jump randomly from about 600-700 rpm to about 1100 and then back down again, but it never dies, it was a problem i had before this one though, but i don't know if it's related.

[HaLo]

check the ECU for error codes.

[Natty]

Wow, that sounds just like a slipping clutch. I doubt it is though, becuase it wouldn't throw a code. I agree, check the code and then go from there.
Jeff

[darkblue]

i read the guide on this forum about locating the ecu and reading the codes, but i still can't figure out where exactly the ecu is. i know it's somewhere underneath the passenger side of the dash, but i don't want to mess with anything unless i know exactly what i'm doing. is there anywhere i can find and acutal picture of the spot where the ecu is located?

[darkblue]

also, if it IS a slipping clutch, would i only need to get my clutch adjusted, or would i have to get it replaced completely?

[tnord]

TPS???

[darkblue]

what does tps mean

[drift freaq]

TPS= throttle position sensor. it basically tells your ecu where your throttle is so your ecu can adjust the air fuel mixture accordingly.
Ok , the idle going up and down could be a number of things clogged aiv being one. improper fuel delivery being another i.e. bad fuel filter, leaking fuel lines, leaking injectors etc...
What you should do is get your self a factory service manual or a haynes manual . Read up on your engine and the codes . It will also show you where your ecu is . Then you just trouble shoot the codes one by one.
I had the idle issue you were talking about . I replaced and leaking fuel filter and it all but went away. Clogged AIV will cause the same issue.
Oh ya aiv stands for air injection valve;)

[misnomer]

From what I'm getting out of your questions, you should probably take the car to a mechanic. If you DO want to get your hands dirty in it, the ECU should be in the passenger side kick panel, you'll need to remove a few pieces of trim to get to it. I've never had an issue where my ECU threw a code, so I've never looked for it myself :P

Diagnosing anything is never an "exact" process.

[LexusRules]

my suggestions would be take it to nissan, let them tell you whats wrong and then decide what to do. If its simple stuff (fuel filter) you could change it yourself, or if its more complicated (damaged clutch) you could let them do it. Good luck! :)