93 SE/Bose A/T

Sometimes my car won't start. It just makes a clicking sound. This happened once a day starting 3 days ago. Yesterday, I took it to a shop and they told me that the battery is weak and the positive terminal is severely corroded. They replaced the terminal and it worked perfectly until this noon. I went to Lowe's to look for a cheater bar and went back. Then this problem occurred again. What's the probable cause of this?

 

...seriously? there are approximately one trillion reasons for why a car won't start... you're gonna have to do better than that.

go buy a multimeter so you can actually verify the battery's voltage, rather than assuming it's fine based on having replaced a terminal
also, clicking sound from where? from the starter, or from the dash? Repeated clicks or a single click when you turn the key all the way?
how about your grounds and alternator cable? they corroded too, or are they OK?

 

Single click from the dash. Yesterday, the mechanic said that it's from a dead cell battery and a corroded terminal so they changed the terminal and it worked. They also said that the alternator works fine. This noon, same problem. Replaced the battery, no good. Jump start, nothing. Wiggle the terminals, same thing. Thunked the starter lightly, nothing. But 2nd jumpstart, shift from P to N to P again, turned the key, it started. I dunno if it has any relation with that or pure luck.

I'm also wondering, the positive cable is more complicated than the negative. It has a red connector with another two connectors connected in it. When I disconnected those two and inspected, it has some kind of grease, what is it for? Is there a special name for 93 SE positive cables?

 

If you move the shifter back and forth then its your shifter bushing. Order a new one from Courtesy I hear they're pretty cheap.

 

I'm not sure 'bout the shifter though. Because it only solved the problem once.

What will be the difference in malfunctions of the ignition coil and the starter?

 

probably ur starter

 

Could be... coil, battery, earth, starter, ignition switch, shifter bushing, shifter safety switch, not necessarily in that order and not an exhaustive list.

+1 to get a multimeter and start testing

 

shifter bushing would be the first thing to check. odds are it's either partially or completely missing.

the park/neutral & PRND2L sensor is on the tranny-side of the shifter cable (away from the hot exhaust), so when the rearward (right above the hot exhaust) bushing is worn, your shifter can move without the cable actually moving, making the sensor incorrectly read what position you want to be in. It takes 5 minutes to install and is $3 at the dealership.

jack up side of car, undo the 2 10mm bolts that hold the cat converter heat shield, and see if the cable has alot of play against the peg

in my case, my bushing was totally missing, so this is what it looks like in that situation (video)



to buy online (tho shipping is high for such a cheap part. better to buy at local dealer) http://www.courtesyparts.com/34552xa...4-p-48245.html

see 34552xa



if it were the starter, then why would moving the shifter around suddenly cause it to start like a champ? especially when one is $3 and takes 5 minutes to install, and the other is $100+ and takes a while (tho still not all THAT long) to install...

 

as for the positive cable, it's more complicated than the negative wire on pretty much any car, since the negative is just ground and most of the distribution/fusing/relaying/switching is done on the positive side. there's a fusible link in there, then there's the wire going to the alternator, one to the starter, and another to the main relay box under the hood. the grease is most likely there as protection to keep water from getting onto the wire.

 

i said the starter because when i first got my maxima it would not start and we ran a bunch of test to see what it was and it ended up being the starter. cuz the dash clicked but no start so thats what it was.

 

right but as soon as he said that moving the shifter from P to N to P again made it start, that throws the starter out the window, especially since the starter worked just fine after he did that. I had the same thing happen a couple weeks after I got my Maxima, called my brother for a jumpstart but then got it to start by moving the shifter. then i took the video i just posted above.

 

I had my starter changed in less then five mins once the splash guard was off.

Levatenien said the shifter movement only fixed it one time, may have been luck that the starter fired the next shot, may have been neither issue and without him testing stuff and examining parts none of these explanations can be 'dead on' accurate, only theoretical possibilities at the perspective of the beholder awaiting corporeal evidence.

I have spoken.

 

if i is your starter it would make one click sound but not do anything most of the time the starters go the all at once u can sometimes get under the car or pop the hood and tap on them moderatly hard while someone is turning the key to get one last start the continous clicking noise most likely means the starter solienod ... but im pretty sure this cars soleinod is right on the starter meaning it should be replaced as well ... good way to narrow it down is try to jump the car to start it if it starts then prolly not the starter it could be bad battery (which most parts stores will test for free) or the alt. could be dying and not charging the battery enough ... easy sign to know if the alt is bad do the lights dim down when at idle and brighten up as you increase rpm's .... it sounds like a starter problem to me but never 100 % good luck bud !

 

What's the relation of shifting and starting the car?

If this is the case, how will I check this bushing because I'm kinda lost in the instructions.

 

there's a safety switch on the tranny that prevents you from starting the car unless you are in P or N. If you put it in R, D, 2, or L, it won't start (assuming the bushing isn't broken/missing). But the sensor is on the trans, and is moved by the cable, rather than being on the shifter itself, so if the bushing is allowing for freeplay in the cable, then the shifter might be saying one thing while the sensor can be reading another. The exact same thing has happened to probably a hundred members in the 3rd gen section at one point or another... it's a common problem, and a cheap, correct, long-term fix.

as for how to check it, i already told you. a couple posts ago.. but to say it again...

jack car up
undo the 2 10mm bolts on the driver side of the cat conv heat shield
pull shield down with your hand
inspect the presence or absence of a plastic/nylon bushing between the cable and peg, that looks like this:

 

right but the shifter bushing is by far far far and away the most likely culprit, as it's happened to a huge number of us, myself included, with the exact same symptoms and resolution. the exhaust heat just bakes that bushing until it gets brittle and crumbles.

i really don't get why people are so ******* averse to just listening to people that know what they're talking about and checking/replacing the bushing... it's one of the top 5 most common problems for automatic 3rd gens, and it's $3 and 5 minutes to fix... no reason not to just go ahead and do it

 

i have heard of a nuetral saftey switch preventing the car from starting as well that and that bushing might help if its not the starter itself ...

 

Thanks for the info. I guess it really is the bushing because it happened again earlier today and shift from P to 2 to P again then it started.

Anyways, I once did turn off the car, parking brakes engaged, and gear on D then started the car successfully.

I'm also not sure if this has any correlation with the problem. When I back up my car and shift to D, sometimes it won't catch the gear and will only revv until shifting to N to D again will engage the D gear.

 

Yup, 99.99999% it's gonna be the bushing. Since there's free play, when you shift do D, the transmission will still be in the N position which explains you "starting it in D" and no gear on D.

 

You might as well replace the bushing, it's only 3 bucks, it probably is gonna need replacing even if that's not issue and worst case you only spend 3 bucks instead of over a 100 for starter. As you can see I'm in total agreement w/CapedCadaver on this, good wrenching my dude.

 

yeah, that's more symptoms of the same problem (bushing) .. the shifter moves 3 positions (P to D) but the cable only moves 2 due to the freeplay, so the shifter says D but you're really in N.

 

it's basically the same thing as trying to start a stickshift car without pushing the clutch (assuming the factory switch hasn't been bypassed). Not all countries have that switch (like the UK doesn't) but US does. I don't know if the UK automatics are also made without the safety switch and brake pedal shifter release.

 

hmmm good to know ... i would part time at a local parts store and really love to try to diagnose all kinds of problem simaliar to this and i kno i have sold Neutral saftey switches that have solved similar problems ... i never would of thought different countries would remove those saftey features ... although i guess it is one les thing to go wrong :/

 

Awesome. Most of the time when I shift from P to D I have to go down to 2 just to actually shift into D. Pretty damn sure I know why now.

Sounds like a bushing!!!!!

 

Actually I don't think thats what he meant. I think he meant thats what they do over in their country. US regulations are more strict. So foreign cars over here still have the safety switch.

 

lol what dude ?

 

For those who bought a shifter bushing, where did you buy it? Nissanpartszone has $11 just for shipping. Or do any local shop like Autozone, Oreilly, or Pepboys have those?

 

as you'd have seen if you'd have clicked this link, this is a regular Nissan dealership who also sells stuff online, and they are only charging $2.24... same as what they'd charge a walk-up customer. Your local Nissan dealership probably doesn't cost much more than that.

 

what maximo said. in other countries, those safety devices just don't exist.. American-market cars have them, but in places like the UK, there are no such safety devices (as seen in the Top Gear episode where Hammond is hypnotized and forgets how to drive a car, and actually starts the gar going in gear using the starter)

That is to say, a USDM Jaguar would have the safety switch, and a UKDM Ford Focus would not. It's where the car is sold, not where the carmaker is from (nevermind that Ford owns Jag.. pretend Jag is the Jag of old).

 

I'm still looking for a bushing but I'm not sure if which one (or any) of these will fit?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=632341 or http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=632342 Anyone?

 

.....

what part of "buy one from your LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP" did you not understand? that is the ONLY place you will find it. it is FOUR DOLLARS. both of those rockauto parts are 100% wrong. seriously. we've literally spoon fed you the exact solution, and you can't seem to figure out how the **** to follow basic instructions...
















actually, i apologize, i was wrong, and i'm truly sorry, i just realized i made a mistake -- it's only $1.60, not $4. http://www.nissanpartszone.com/parts...552-d4000.html

 

What part of buy one from your local nissan dealership I didn't understand? Nothing. And I already figured out how to f*cking follow basic instructions I'm just asking if any of them will fit. There are only two choices: yes or no.
I already requested the part online from a local dealership 3 days ago and I don't know when they'll contact me.

 

then walk your azz up there (or drive there) and ASK FOR IT IN PERSON!!! Don't wait for them to stop picking their nose and read their emails. To them, if you don't care enough to stand in front of them and make them look for the part, then they can't be bothered to give you a timely response. Even calling them on the phone would be better... Last time I checked, SoCal had MILLIONS of people, so there should be several dealerships in your area, with at least one fairly close by.

the point is that you already know the exact part you need and can go pick up in person, instead of trying to find an "alternative" part online and having to pay shipping... you'd end up paying twice as much with one of those rockauto "alternatives" (none of which will fit, i already told you that, hell the thing on there even says "for vehicle with RWD" and is listed in US-SAE sizes, not metric) besides the point that it's pretty damn obvious that they don't even look alike... the rockauto ones have barbs on them and the Nissan one does not.

vs

we told you 2 weeks ago exactly what you needed, and where to GO (in person, not online) and you could have had it by now (from a person, not from online), instead you're just goofing off (online, and in person) trying to reinvent the wheel to avoid walking up to a parts desk at Nissan (in person, not online), buying a $2 part, and spending 5 minutes (in person, can't do that part online) installing it.

 

Got it. Thanks

 

ouch

 

dang +2