Any insight would be appreciated!
I have a 91 SE, no mods to speak of. I have been experiencing a grinding noise from the starter. Searched and read the post regarding this and undestand that the starter is probably my problem. However, despite the grinding, she has been starting. I used the car yesterday morning with no problem. Did not use it for a few hours and when I went to start her up again, nothing. No grinding, no pull on the battery, nothing! The lights ( exterior and interior) work as does the radio so I don't think it's the battery (I checked the battery cables and they are tight and no corrosion is present). I checked the fuse and it is fine. I read that there is a relay associated with the starter, but can not locate it based on the markings. I do see four relays right next to the fuses under the dash but don't know what they are for. I don't have a FSM so I have to ask for this basic info.
I'm trying to rule out everything else before I replace the starter.

Again, any insight would be appreciated.

 

daamn dawg - that's pretty heavy. i'd reccomend before you take it to get the stater replaced, ask one of the "not so high class" grease monkeys to take a look at it. they know a shi+ load. best hopes to you and BTW - GET SOME MODS!!

 

there may be something here to help you, http://www.geocities.com/bracecraig/maxima/eccs.html

good luck

 

Thanks for the good wishes! Right now I need them since I can't figure out what the @#$% is wrong.

Would love to mod, but with a mortgage$, wife$$, two kids and one on the way$$$$$$$$, I just want her to keep running. She's been good to me for the past 100k miles. Want to keep her running good until I can mod. Right now only pop charger and FSTB.

 

I'm having a somewhat similar problem, and I thought this might be a good place to post it...

Last winter, I noticed that when it was very cold outside (damned New England winters, I thought), my '91 SE would have some trouble starting. Not a big deal, obviously.

This winter is a different story. When the temperature is below about 40 degress (F) I usually need to crank it a couple times before it starts. That's maybe not so unusual, either, but what's weird is the progression I have to go through to do it...

The first turn of the key typically yields only one noise: the sound of something spinning VERY quickly in the engine compartment. The second and sometimes third or even fourth turn yield little more except maybe a couple VERY short pre-start grinding noises (um...can you tell I'm a bit new at this?). On the following turn the grind seems to "catch" and the car starts.

Until yesterday, that is...The last turn seemed to have gotten some of the cylinders started but not the others. So while I was originally concerned with only the starter, now I'm thinking distributor or rotor? Today I plan on checking out the ignition coil to rule that out (I had a similar problem five years ago that was fixed by replacing the starter), but beyond that I'm not quite sure what to do next...

I should perhaps add that when the weather is nice or the car is warm, I have no problems starting it...And that I, too, have no mods to speak of (to change when I get a job...).

Any ideas or assistance appreciated.

JAH

 

Hagan,
From what you describe it is your starter! The spinning noise that you hear is your starter not making contact with your flywheel. The starter is a small gear ring attahed to a rod which extends and makes contact with your flywheel to crank your engine. If you just hear spinning then your starter is not making contact.

Worst case scenario your flywheel ring is stripped.

 

as for the grinding and what not i'm not too sure, but as for the car not starting but accessories still coming on try this.
if its a five speed i can't help
but if its a auto: push the gear stick all the way up past P. this happened to me right after i got my car. i brought it home and parked it, went back to move it a lil further up the drive way and it wouldn't start. thought i got a lemon lol... stepdad told me to make sure it was in park, sure enough it worked. now its a habit when i park i i tend to push it up a lil.
the actual problem is that the shifter brushing needs replacing
sorry if i'm rambling... the simpsons is on

 

Thanks! Tried that, even tried starting her in neutral.

 

BMaxin --

After testing the ignition coil yesterday and finding that its resistance values (while NOT matching those given in the Maxima book I bought...pffffft!) practically matched those of a brand-new ignition coil, I replaced the starter motor...Problem solved! Thanks for your help!

For anyone with a similar problem who might read this later, the motor cost me about $120 (Pep Boys) and took about an hour to replace (highly untrained mechanic that I am).

Hagn

 

You starter motor consists of two parts. The motor itself and the solenoid. When you turn the key, the solenoid pushes the stater gear into contact with your flywheel. Then the starter motor spins and this starts your car. Once you release the key, the solenoid lets the starter gear retracts.

When the solenoid fails, as yours has, the starter gear spins with no resistance. Thus, you get a high speed whining sound. Therefore, you need to replace the entire starter. I got mine from Advance Auto Parts for $100 with core exchange. Changing it is simple. Disconnect the battery cable, remove the driver side splash guard, disconnect the two electrical connections on the starter, and unbolt the starter. Have fun!

 

Well, the car was starting fine for a couple days after I replaced the starter, but starting yesterday morning it was having minor issues again...Namely, that it "ground" a little bit before catching to start.

I had this car in for service over the summer (although I haven't driven it much since then), and they told me that it needed a clutch replacement (125k on the orginal...not bad) and mentioned something about the flywheel, although I don't now remember what it was.

Would like to replace the clutch and flywheel myself, but doubt that I have the toolage or expertise to handle it (understand that clutches can be kinda tricky? something about proper alignment?). Called the dealership where I had the car serviced (have always been pretty good to me) and they said if I wanted to go out and buy the parts for the clutch replacement they would use my parts for the repair, no problem. From Pervis's post it sounds like I overpaid a little for the starter, and would like to avoid that on this rather major repair, so, my question is this: What's the best way to go about acquiring the following parts?

Clutch master and slave cylinder
Clutch
Pressure plate
Release bearing
Pilot bushing

As for the flywheel, I think I'm going to let them take a look at it before deciding it needs replacement. Is it possible that it simply needs an adjustment of some kind (tightening?) to come into better contact with the starter? I'll add that when I pulled the old starter, I took a look at the starter motor gear and it did NOT really look chewed up, so it seems to me that my starter problem was really with the solenoid.

Any guidance for this rookie greatly appreciated!

Hagn

 

Sorry can't be of any help with the clutch! I have an "autotragic". But, for the grinding noise, it sounds like the starter and the flywheel are not mating poperly. Like you said, have the flywheel checked out to make sure that it is not chewed up. Also, in the searches that I've done the grinding noise is common during the cold if you have an aftermarket stater.