Frustration joining a forum, I can log in, but am not allowed to post, don't know why

[NRBQ]

I recently joined a forum called "Altima Forums.com" for people that own Nissan Altimas and I can log in but evertime I try to post or reply it says I don't have permission and a list of possible reasons. That was less of a problem until yesterday when the "Service Engine Soon" light popped on. Got the code and the probable fix but I'd like to bounce the issue off the forum to see if others have had the same problem and what they did about it, etc. I've written them three times but no one ever responds and my status never changes. Just can't figure out why, one would think after repeated attempts they'd at least respond. Maybe no one is there to read the messages, or maybe they don't care, but it feels like being black listed for no particular reason.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Is it typical of many forums? Should I just give up already or keep writing till they get sick of seeing my letters? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. In the end, what good is joining a forum to discuss things if you are never allowed to participate after you join. Signed...Bummed out in Altimaland.

 

[Sin Nombre]

If you post the "probable reasons" someone may have advice.

 

[Beaver Creek]

Narby,

Sometimes there is a waiting period to make sure you are not a spammer, or the like.

I would give them a little time.

Lee

 

[Mattyboy]

Sell the Altima. Problem solved.

 

[Hack]

You are not allowed to talk about other forums.

You will be banned now.

 

[Ozzy Mandeus]

I used to be a member of a really good car forum called Autoshite. The best thing about it was that it was nearly impossible to get membership approval without knowing someone on the board already who could directly approach "the management" on your behalf to get you approved. This led to a core community of people who mostly knew each other, and new members were almost always "the right stuff" so no moderation was needed. Perfect for leisurely dicussion of the finer points of run of the mill cars from days gone by. Was once described as "an international hub of activity cunningly disguised as seven blokes posting pictures of Talbot Solaras"

Then one day a software update from the forum provider changed the approval settings to "auto" and no-one changed it back. Thousands of new members arrived, some with poor english skills trying to sell everything from WoW gold to Gucci bags and Ugg boots and some (much worse) who were just FUDs who wanted to laugh at old cars and talk about banger racing. The core membership left and started another quiet forum (I'm not telling you where though) and the good ship Autoshite became a popular extension to facebook.

'Course, you could save the nissan guys all that bother and just tell me what the P code was and what engine your nissan has, and I'll tell you what I think.

 

[NRBQ]

If you post the "probable reasons" someone may have advice.

Here is what it says:

NRBQ, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

I've been hanging around for a bit, just reading what I can, what do you think might me an average period of time before a forum feels you aren't a threat to society?

 

[Ozzy Mandeus]

^ I think he meant the probable reasons for the MIL light on your car being on

 

[NRBQ]

^ I think he meant the probable reasons for the MIL light on your car being on

Hmmm could be, but my stated issue here isn't the car, but rather the forum in question so I'm not so sure about that. Still.... The code is PO420 which is emmissions related. 8 out of 10 times on a third gen Altima it means the pre cat is going bad and if ignored the core will disintegrate and the blow back will ruin the engine, so it's not to be ignored. It could possibly be the cat itself or possibly the upstream or downstream O2 sensors, but at 160,000 it is almost always the pre cat for this gen Altima. I spoke at length with a Nissan tech and they are all to familiar with this issue as the problem is so prevelent that it should be part of a recall but isn't. I also have CarMD which is a code reader slash solution and cost service type thing and it also recommends the replacement of the pre cat.

For $68 I can just take it to my local Nissan dealership and have them confirm and diagnose the problem in real time which is worth it I think. I'm pretty on top of all the possible culprits, but it never hurts to talk to fellow owners that have had the same problem vs. people that while well intentioned, have never actually owned or dealt with the car and are speculating on the possible issues it might have. Because of the well known pre cat issues with this model I had thoughts of replacing it anyway, so I may just go ahead and pull the trigger on it regardless, as this engine must last the duratin of the cars life. If I install it myself (which I will) I can do it for somewhere between $350 to $450 complete, so it isn't a death blow money wise although it isn't ideal either.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Here is what it says:

NRBQ, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

I've been hanging around for a bit, just reading what I can, what do you think might me an average period of time before a forum feels you aren't a threat to society?

You understood what I was suggesting.

My guess is that the mod has not seen your sign up info yet and has not ok'd you yet. It is probably a less active forum with volunteer mods who are not always present. It is a problem now because you are anxious about your issue and don't want to wait which is understandable.

But yeah, if you start another thread here with your actual question you may get some usefulanswers.

 

[Ozzy Mandeus]

Ah, CSE bank 1 efficiency below threshold. Personally, I hook a storage scope to both HEO2 sensors and watch the waveforms - HEO2 1 should start to show a rough sine between rich and lean, HE02 2 should show a permanant lean mixture. Flatline on HEO1 is a faulty sensor, switching (sine) on HEO2 is a blown cat.

If cat and not sensor at fault, further scoping of the engine to detect misfires or injector faults is necessary to avoid burning up the replacement cat.

PS, destroyed cats do not fly back up the exhaust and wreck the engine, but they do sometimes melt down and set the underside of the car on fire.

 

[chasenblues]

You PRE-angered the mods,So they PRE-banned you....Ask the NSA they'll explain it all to you.

 

[NRBQ]

You understood what I was suggesting.

My guess is that the mod has not seen your sign up info yet and has not ok'd you yet. It is probably a less active forum with volunteer mods who are not always present. It is a problem now because you are anxious about your issue and don't want to wait which is understandable.

But yeah, if you start another thread here with your actual question you may get some usefulanswers.

I think you may be right, normally waiting wouldn't be an issue as I'm happy to put in the time and pay those dues but now that I've got an issue the lack of ability to participate becomes more of an issue. By now I've got a pretty good handle on what it is most likely so I'm not too bent over it. Thats's life ain't it.

 

[NRBQ]

PS, destroyed cats do not fly back up the exhaust and wreck the engine, but they do sometimes melt down and set the underside of the car on fire.

Apparently in this case you are wrong as even the Nissan tech said that is exactly what happens with this engine and the reason is the pre cat is too close to the engine with the pre cat known to disintigrate causing the debris to get sucked back into the engine and puff, done. There are countless tales of just this scenario happening to third gen Altimas over and over again, it's a very very well known flaw with this particular car. The problems were very severe in the 02's and 03's but in some cases with the 06 as well. I wish more than anything that you were right, but all evidence points otherwise.

 

[NRBQ]

You PRE-angered the mods,So they PRE-banned you....Ask the NSA they'll explain it all to you.

I highly doubt that, I'm a really fine fella. I just wrote them and said how much I loved the forum and would love to participate and asked how could I make that happen. I didn't come on strong, or inject anything negative into the letter. The two others I wrote were after waiting a while and they were also positive in their tone. The next one might be less upbeat though.

 

[cherryles]

Is this forum that you speak of, a free forum, or subscription based?

 

[kevinpaul]

Buy GM! We have one of them foreign jobs and the forum is in GD German. We are Carl and Velveeta there.

 

[NRBQ]

Is this forum that you speak of, a free forum, or subscription based?

The forum has the same exact format as this one visually and it has a "premium membership" tab to click, but when you do it says there is no pay money membership on the forum.

I'll post a link for shites and giggles

Altima Forums.net - The Nissan Altima Enthusiast Talk and Discussion Forums - Powered by vBulletin

 

[Ozzy Mandeus]

Apparently in this case you are wrong as even the Nissan tech said that is exactly what happens with this engine and the reason is the pre cat is too close to the engine with the pre cat known to disintigrate causing the debris to get sucked back into the engine and puff, done. There are countless tales of just this scenario happening to third gen Altimas over and over again, it's a very very well known flaw with this particular car. The problems were very severe in the 02's and 03's but in some cases with the 06 as well. I wish more than anything that you were right, but all evidence points otherwise.

Still seems very odd from my perspective, which is that of a professional auto technician of almost 20 years with both autoelectrical and gov't mandated emission control testing qualifications. Main worry is that the cat is below the engine and connected to the exhaust ports, making it quite unlikely for material from the cat to find its way into the engine. Some failed cats blow their guts into the rear silencer, others melt and block the exhaust entirely. I've never found bits of catylist material in an engine.

There are plenty of cars where the cat is bolted directly to the end of the manifold without trouble, and I've never heard of this issue on a european nissan.

Of course, I could be wrong. It just doesn't sound RIGHT.

 

[ArrogantBastard]

How in the hell does the engine suck something back in? You're not talking intake. You're talking exhaust. It EXHAUSTS. This makes absolutely no sense. While I'm sure that it has happened, because God only knows car manufacturer's have a way with f*cking up even the simplest of things, it just makes absolutely no sense to me.
Would love to hear how this actually happens. The actual cause.
Baffled.