goventu

1998 nissan maxima while driving engine cut off. Tried to start car and the starter sounded like I had a low battery. Lights radio electrical acted as normal. Tried to jump the battery same thing. when key is turned to start the starter makes one or two attemps to start then nothing.
Checked battery and it is good
Replaced the starter and still same thing.
Is there a starter relay or something that would prevent the starter from getting full power?
or would this be in the ignition maybe?

Any and all help I will be very thankful for.
Thanks

jholley

iTrader: (13)

The NEG (ground) and/ or POS wire need cleaning. First check and clean the battery terminals if necessary. Then clean the NEG wire were it mounts onto the bracket. If that doesn't solve it then clean the POS wire that mounts onto starter solenoid switch. The one last problem could be either one of the cables could be corroded.

Read this thread for guidance

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...w-battery.html

goventu

Thanks I cleaned the posts and cables that go to the posts already but will check the rest of the cable ends...
Also I noticed that when I try to start it after holding the key to start for a couple seconds then stop then again for a couple seconds the starter itself is very hot. Also I was checking if everything else had power and had the radio on and the hazards and i could hear the blink blink noise the hazards make through the car speakers.
If that helps any ..
Thanks again im going to check the ends of the cables now.

Chad_m

The starter getting hot is a clear indication of a short. Double check all the wiring and make sure the positive/negative wires are not touching a similar piece of metal. Or, get out your multimeter and check continuity between the positive and negative wires (WITH THE BATTERY DISCONNECTED!!)

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Whoah there buddy! That temperature observation says that there's a whole bunch of current going through the starter. Stop right there!

Since you changed the starter, I would suggest you replace the ignition switch.

Chad_m

I would not replace the ignition switch. The very first thing you should do, is rule out a short. Disconnect the battery, and check the continuity between the positive and negative wires. Easy test, and you don't spend any money.


If there is a short, it could possibly be in the ignition switch, but don't jump straight to replacing it. It is a simple switch that opens and closes the gap from battery to starter. Verify that it is broken before replacing it.


But that does sound like a likely culprit for where a short could be located.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

If the starter is getting hot, it is the starter that is drawing too many amperes of current from the battery. The ignition switch is not the problem.

The starter cranking slow could be several things. The battery is not capable of providing all the current needed to crank the engine. The battery voltage while cranking is usually no less than 11 volts. If the voltage drops below 10, something is definitely wrong. But this voltage checking will not tell you if the battery or starter is bad. You need to get a current draw test done on the battery. And if the battery were to be bad, I'm pretty sure the starter would not get hot.

The engine has too much resistance for the starter to overcome. This is rather unlikely but possible. This would make the starter draw a lot of current and become hot. This could also be caused by the starter being mis-aligned when it was installed.

The starter is fubar. Having an internal short of some kind would make it get hot.

PH98I30

^^^^^^^ The starter probably is the problem. Some of the replacement starters for this car do not have the correct number of splines as the original so they don't line up with the flywheel very good. It is best to count the splines and then try to get a starter with the same as the original. There are other threads on this issue.

CS_AR

Where did you get the starter? Is the starter made in China? We have seen a bad bunch of new starters arrive from China that will not disengage after the first start attempt. Most likely other electrical problems are present with those starters.

Another member had the problem with a starter he bought from Amazon.com and I got a bad one the next day from Advance. Both were new starters from China. I exchanged the new China starter for a Remy rebuilt that works fine.

If you noticed some chipped or damaged gear teeth on the old starter, there is a good chance the metal gear fragments wound up being caught in the rear Crank Shaft Position Sensor (CKPS) magnet. Sooner or later the metal fragments will cause an inaccurate reading by the CKPS that will make the car hard to start and run. It is a good ideal to clean and inspect the CKPS when you change a starter -- especially if you see some damage to the starter gear teeth.

LuminousX

Not sure about 98, but I know for a fact that there's 2 types of starters made for these cars, same goes for alternator's, so get the right one

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The pinion gear in the starter has had the number of teeth on it changed. Originally had 8 teeth on it but that caused starting problems. It was changed to 11 teeth, which is what you should get. But it never hurts to check. But this is not the op's problem.

goventu

I made sure the starter has the same amount of teeth as the old one. When I took the old one to get checked they said it passed but sense it has a warranty I went ahead and got a new one while at Oreilly auto. Then new one did the same as the old.
I am going to try all the help ideas now and hopefully get this taken care of.
One thing if I didn't say it before is when I did try to start it I was checking how the power was to all the other electrical system parts . When I turned the key I turned the lights on , radio on , fan on , hazards on , and they all seemed to work fine . But I could hear the very loud sound of the hazards blinking through the speakers like engine noise but click click click click. turned the radio off sound stopped and only heard the normal click click that the make when blinking ..
i have cleaned all the connections from the battery to the starter pos wires and cleaned the neg wire from the battery to the engine.
Thanks for the ideas I'm starting on them now and will let you know what happens.
Thanks again

Chad_m

The sound of the blinkers coming through the speakers is probably a ground loop. Did you recently change your stereo or add a sub? Try changing where your stereo/sub is grounded at.

Another thought, power takes the fastest route to ground, is it possible the power cable is being unintentionally grounded somewhere? Therefore cause the starter to get virtually no power.

goventu

Battery good, installed new ignition, cleaned neg and pos leads at battery starter block. Same stock radio have not changed or added anthing to the sound system.
I do have a question. The sound from the hazards in the speakers I turned the lights radio hazards on again and turned the key to start and it did the click click through the stereo then I unhooked the alternator and did the same thing. key turn to start radio on hazards lights and no sound coming through the speakers.
Would that mean bad alternator? Taking it up to auto zone now. If any other thoughts I welcome the help,
Thanks again

goventu

alternator test passed
battery out of car now, is there a place to start when checking for a short or is it just luck in finding where it is.?
I started pulling relays and fuses under the hood one by one checking if the short is still showing and so far no luck.

Chad_m

Well, shorts can be checked for rather painlessly with a multimeter. Do you know how to use the continuity function on a multimeter?

After that I would double check the other end of the ground cables.

goventu

ok last post before giving up.
tested bat, alt, and starter all good
put in a new ignition switch
tried a jumper between 6 and 7 on the inhibitor relay and had the same thing tries to start but has the sound of a battery on its last crank crank
tried to go through all the wires but not seeing much of anything
and still has the sound of the hazards coming through the speakers when i turned on the air stereo lights radio hazards.
tried to jump the starter with a screw driver and from what it sounded i could hear it spin but it didnt sound like it was spining the flywheel like when i turn the key it just has the higher pitch winding sound .
what I did notice was as before when I try to start the car it sounds like the starter is using the last of the battery but everything is working that is everything electric. just no start.
also when I first turn the key to on before actually turning it to start there is a humming clicking sound from what I think is the neutrual saftey switch on the trans. to add to that i can remove the key from the ignition in any gear.
So would that be a bad ignition lock cylinder assembly or would that be signs of a bad neutral safty switch?
Sorry if this is all runing together I'm not sure if im more frustrated at myself for not getting this yet or more frustrated that i didnt just take it to the shop.
Hopefully without having to go buy both and it not being either one someone has an idea?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Maybe your ALT is slowly dying. How did you test? When the engine is running, if you put a voltmeter across the battery terminals measuring DC volts, you should read 14.2 volts. That number indicates and ALT in very good shape. Anything less than say, 13 volts then I would suspect the ALT.

The possible scenario is this: as the ALT slowly dies it cannot charge hte battery properly. The battery is working properly but not getting filled up enough with charge from the ALT to start the car. Also, with the ALT dying, inside the ALT may be a failing voltage regulator. Usually when an ALT goes bad, often it is the regulator that goes 1st. When the regulator goes, the ALT can't provide a stable voltage to all your electrical components, the ECU being one of them, or perhaps, your crank sensors. Any slight hiccup in voltage to those components, the engine dies.

Don't give up, man. The symptoms may be complicated but the solution is probably very simple.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

Put a socket and breaker bar on the crank pulley and see if the engine will turn by hand.

Frank Fontaine

I had a weird experience with my starter....I think it was late 2012 that I replaced the original with a "new" AC Delco/lifetime warranty. It lasted months and the car was dead. Got a replacement, and the first start the starter would not disengage until I removed the battery. Then, it would "bang" every 2 or 3 tries. I finally decided that's not right and got another replacement. This one has been fine for a year, EXCEPT I noticed the field wire cracking so I taped it with electrical tape.

I doubted at first the part could be bad, but after reading posts here I decided it's a possibility. I was looking at the relays to see if that were the culprit.

Too bad, someone said I should never had gotten a replacement, should have rebuilt the original, as nothing out there even the "new" ones would be of the same quality....

goventu

Thanks for all the ideas what to try on this little problem.
After the hours and hours and days and days of killing myself over this I found the issue..
I had taken the tires off so I could have more room to look around and move aunder when I saw that there was a crack in the timeing case by the cam pully.
After taking the cam pully off I could see it was more than a crack there was almost a hole in the case . Looking more into it now I saw that the timeing chain had broke and lodged itself under another part of the chain on the sproket behind the pully itself ...
Now come another problem I need to figure out..
To scrap it myself or sell it to the junk car guy and let them scrap it.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Holy smokes Batman! The previous owner or mechanic must have done some nasty engine work.
If you have the space in a yard or something, and the time, you can put it up on blocks and sell parts here on the org in the classified section, or even craigslist. That way, you can get some money back on the car. The junk car guy will low ball you because he has to make money on the parts too.