knight71

I'm stumped...I usually have to depress the clutch to get the car started..today I didn't and to my surprise the car started!!!..What???why??
I don't mind,,just curious!

southeast_first

iTrader: (3)

sounds like your clutch position sensor, maybe. the car isn't supposed to start without your depressing the clutch.

knight71

Should I replace..or not to worry?

Jade95Maxima

my friend did that on his toyota, someone rewired it so he didn't have to do press the clutch down to start the car....but for it to just randomly do it is weird....have you taken you car to a shop or anything recently, maybe they did something without knowing?????

Tony

southeast_first

iTrader: (3)

i'm not sure if it would hurt anything, but if it were me, i would replace it. better to do that just in case than to have all kinds of ignition problems later on.

GodFather

iTrader: (10)

dude, keep it that way, you can then add the alarm with the remote start, but make sure to keep your clutch neutral when you park the car.

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

Your cruise control will not work in this condition. It is most likely that the clutch interlock relay has shorted. If you don't mind not having cruise its not harmful at all for the car. Simply start the car in nuetral or clutch in. Its not a big deal. Cars didn't start having these lockouts until the 70's and 80's anyway. Even if you do forget its not that big of a deal. Car will jerk and not start but its not extremely harmful to anything.

knight71

My cruise does work!!I tried it..maybe this has been ongoing and I didnt know.

tynant

i dont have to push in my clutch to start my car either...and my cruise also works! I didnt even know you others have to push in the clutch!

MAXRB8

iTrader: (19)

Me too exactly same as tynant

99se5spd

i do that to every 5 speed ive ever owned...it annoys me to have to push it down, like when i want to start the car up to warm it up but im too lazy to walk around the passenger side. just a personal preferenc.

tynant

wait yeah if you are trying to start the car in gear, you of course have to push in the clutch! But I never start my car in gear, I leave it in nuetral with the parking brake on when I park....I have owned cars where you have to push in the clutch to start the car, even in nuetral....

MAXRB8

iTrader: (19)

Honda's huge on depressing the clutch before starting, so's the dop(m)estics, 99% of the time I depress the clutch out of habit because I always park my car in gear, incase the parking brake slips on a hill etc, but it's nice not having to if your not actually sitting in the drivers seat and you need to start the car.

knight71

Okay!..now im confused...if car is in neutral, its normal for the car to start by not depressing the clutch??.today my car was in gear and I did'nt press the clutch and the car started and then It stalled.....this normal too?? i know the stalling part is but the car started!!??

southeast_first

iTrader: (3)

mine won't even crank without the clutch down, and neither will any other manual i've ever driven. i'm pretty sure that's "normal." as for what's best, it's up to you, i really don't know enough to help you there.

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

Let me clarify. All new cars have a lockout relay on the clutch pedal. There is a switch down there that tells the ECU if the clutch is depressed. There are only two reasons that I can think the switch is there for. It is there 1. to stop accidentally starting the car in gear and jerking foward into the car/wall in front of you. 2. to disengage the cruise when you depress the clutch. The second reason is a rare occurance. If you on the highway and downshifting you shouldn't have the cruise on anyway. If this switch is malfunctioning Cruise Control will either not turn on at all or will turn on and the engine will rev up when clutch is in due to the cruises efforts to maintain vehicle. It is not normal for the car to start without depressing the clutch. If it does it means that this lockout is not working on your car which is not a big deal. Actually, now that I think about it, this may only be true on later 4th gens. The only 5Spd 4gen i've driven is a 99 so... Whatever, I know that I'm not going to bother with this lockout when I do my swap because the switch adds an extra hour or so of work to the swap, I don't use cruise control and it costs money.

tynant

I think you must be right....this must not apply to earlier 4th gens....I have driven 1 997 5 speed max, a carmax testdrive, and it started right up without depressing the clutch.....also my 1996 I30 is the same....I am sure if the 97 max was broken carmax would have fixed it.....knight71, yes I believe it is normal for your car to start without depressing the clutch (as its a 95 max) in neutral, and it is also normal for the car to start in gear, although it will jerk and immediatly stall, hence the reason for starting in neutral....

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

No it is not normal to start the car WITHOUT depressing in the clutch pedal, ask any mechanic, that is common knowlege when driving a Manual, you must engage the clutch pedal in order to start the car. it may seem good to not have to do that, but then just get an automatic if stepping in the clutch pedal is that much of a bother. Not flamming, just saying.

Chickan

iTrader: (12)

no, it is on darn near all manual cars produced over the past 20+ years.
The switch at the bottom only shows if the clutch is fully ENGAGED, that is, you are NOT touching the pedal, therefore when you TOUCH the pedal, it kicks off your cruise control, that is all that that button does!


Now then, the device you are after is called the Clutch Interupt Relay, which often goes bad on Nissans (had one go out on my 300ZX, friend's mom's pathfinder, etc.). What this relay does, is only allow power to the ignition if the clutch is fully disengaged (which is by a different switch all the way at the bottom of the throw, not the one that controls the cruise control). If the relay goes bad in the open position, you are stuck and can't start your car. If, on the other hand it goes back in the closed position, you can always start your car, even with the clutch engaged and in gear.

What this means for you? Not a whole lot really, unless you go to a track. Many tracks try to start your car in gear on purpose without pressing in the clutch, and if it starts, they often will not let you race/run there.


Here's how to test this (and to see the difference between the switch for the cruise control and the switch/relay for starting the car):
1) put your cruise control on, and BARELY tap the clutch, it should kick the cruise control off, that is the first switch.
2) try to start your car without pushing in the clutch, if it doens't work, go to step 3, if it does turn on, replace your Clutch Interupt Relay (~$20 from Nissan)
3) try to start the car with the clutch pedal pushed halfyway in, notice it still will not start!

Viola, two switches and a relay.

Chickan

iTrader: (12)

Also to clarify, it is very rare for the switches themselves to go out, most likely they are either not being fully depressed (if you adjusted your clutch pedal travel, or put in a new clutch, and did not adjust the switches) or it is the Relay (which often goes bad) that is the cause.

tynant

I am positive that not all car manufacturers produce vehicles that require a clutch depressed to start the vehicle! Some models require it and some do not. Mu 1986 honda accord required it. My 1990 toyota camery did not. Are you saying the clutch relay was out on the camry, the 97 max i drove (see prior post) AND my 1996 I30? It just seems like an unlikely coincidence to me.....

tynant

obviously our disagreement does not help our friend here, so to knight71, why dont you just have a mechanic check to see if there is a problem with your relay, and let us know whether your car should be starting with the clutch depressed only....

Broaner

iTrader: (10)

I said current vehicles. Whatever, I'll just back out of this thread. Its pointless to argue over something as miniscule as this. If the car starts without the clutch in it doesn't matter. I clearly said in my previous post that the only 5Spd max i've driven was a 99. Obviously 99's are different than your previous Nissan products.

knight71

Just curious!! , how many other 95 5spd's out there that don't require to press the clutch? Chickan and broaner thanks for the info!!

Batxel

iTrader: (1)

I have a 97 and I have a haynes manual and it shows the same wirirng diagram for 95 - 99 models. Prior to shorting the switch my 97 would not start if the clutch pedal wasn't all the way down whether in neutral or not. My old '90 mazda 626 was the same exact way.

The cruise control switch in completely different. It's on the other side of the pedal. The cruise switch is setup where the clutch pedal only needs to be tapped to turn off the cruise as opposed to the starting the pedal has to be all the way down.

You can test the switch/ wiring by looking up near the top of the clutch pedal. There's a harness there see if its even connected or has been tampered with. Otherwise I don't see any harm and leaving the way it is. I rewired mine on my max. I did this to my old 626 too. One wire going to harness will show 12V when the key is in the start position and the other wire will only show 12v when the key is in the start position and switch/button is pressed in.

As is it'll be easier for you to install a remote start. Assuming you NEVER leave the car in gear.

knight71

I've decided to leave it the way it is..I don't think any harm can be done...Thanks for all the info!!

bearded

hmm now I wanna try and see if my car will start without the clutch pressed.

Chickan

iTrader: (12)

As I said before, the relays, especially in Nissan's (as most use the same/similar parts) are prone to failure.

Think about it, is an electrical part that gets used every single time you push in the clutch (whether car is on, off, starting, etc.), its bound to wear out over time. Relays are not made to last forever.

bearded

Well you cant start my car without the clutch pressed all the way....YAY I guess my relay works

maximaseefu

iTrader: (4)

mine won't start without the clutch either. it is normal.