mAdD MAX

I have a '99 Max GLE with only 25K kms on it. Recently the car doesn't seem to start in the winter when its really cold. The lights work, the heater/radio works, but the engine doesn't start. You just hear a clicking sound.

It happened a few times before too, but I thought it was just because the battery had drained. But now it happens more often. We also have to jump start the car (using those jumper cables which connect to the battery of another car) to start it.

This is has never happened to my '91 Corolla which has over 130K kms on it.

The Maxima has had all its scheduled oil changes so its been maintained.

So what could be the problem and what is the solution?

I did a search and read the other threads regarding it, but it only occured on older cars and also none of their accessories were working. In my case, the accesories work, but the engine won't start.

Daniel B. Martin

If the starter cranks and the engine starts every time you use jumper cables, that means the starter is good and all the associated circuitry (ignition switch, interlock safety switches, inhibitor relay) are good. These symptoms point to
- a discharged or defective battery
- loose or dirty battery terminal connections

Please clean both battery connections. Remove the terminal clamp and use sandpaper or a wire-brush battery post cleaner to thoroughly clean the post and the clamp. Do one terminal at a time, to avoid risk of making big sparks.

Disconnecting the battery will cause your radio to lose its station presets. Make written notes of those presets, to facilitate restoring them afterwards. The clock will also suffer "amnesia".

If this connection cleaning doesn't fix the problem, the fault is probably with the battery or charging system. Many auto parts stores offer a no-cost charging system test. This is done with an electronic instrument and takes only two minutes.

BlackMax62

Do a search on this topic cuase there have been several topics about this in the past couple of days.. everyone seems to be having trouble with their starts since its been cold. Dan you seem to know lots of stuff about the max that has helped me out so far. Thanks for all the input..peace out

saber

smokin96se

Here's a trick my old man taught me...

Take the battery out of your car and bring it into your house. Let it warm up to room temp(my dad put it in a halfway filled bucket of warm water,) put it back into your car, and try starting it again. If it starts up it's just your battery. It doesn't put out as much juice when it's cold outside, so when the battery starts going bad you notice it in cold weather first.

The same thing happened to my '90 SHO two years ago. I ended up having to walk four blocks to a pep boys and buy a battery. Boy it sucked carrying it home in the freezing cold...

Daniel B. Martin

Cranking power decreases as temperature drops. That is a characteristic of the lead-acid storage battery. Your Dad's idea works, of course. However, even if your engine starts you don't know if the battery was partly discharged because of unusual loads, or because it has an internal defect, or because the charging system is deficient. You've got to get that electronic charging system test done.

gooseman

Hey mAdD MAX,

I have the same problem with my 98 SE. I replaced the battery 3 months ago so I know it is good. Now that the cold weather is hear (London, Ontario, Canada) the car stalls out when I initially start it in the morning. It fires up for a split second as the RPM's climb to 1500 then the Tach needle drops to below 500 RPM and the car stalls. If I give it some gas (for about 2 seconds) it stays lit. Post here or email me if you get to the bottom of your problem because I think it is the same thing.

Gus

kratz74

I've got the same problem on my 95 Max 5 spd and it's not the battery (i have a new one). Only when it gets really cold like below 20 or so. Then I just put the accelerator to the floor once and let er up and she starts. Don;t know why but its always done that. Also, it only doe sthis if the car has sat for several hours in the extreme cold...

cliffp

warranty is the answer to your question, if it's only got 25k and under 36 months( 3yrs ) bring it to a nissan dealer, they'll be more than happy to fix your problem.

humaras

I am not sure if anyone here also is getting this but I have noticed that my car idles a bit low--toward the 500rpm mark when it is colder. I have no problems starting the car in the morning but when it does warm up and is idling, with the heater and all the other accesorries on, I see it dip to about the 500rpm mark and sometimes that causes steering wheel vibrations.
I know that in warm weather my car has idled higher--and thus--none of the steering wheel vibration.

anyone else having this?

Nick Robinson

Heres another trick:
put your car to the on position, but dont start it, so your radio wuld be on, etc. Wait a minute then start. Thats what i have to do in the cold

Daniel B. Martin

This "brief delay" technique gives the fuel pump extra time to build pressure in the fuel rail. If you find you need to do this in cold weather but not in warm weather, that could be a clue that you have a collection of tiny ice crystals trapped in the fuel filter and obstructing flow. The filter can't distinguish between a tiny ice crystal and a tiny particle of sand. Both look like solid particles.

Try a can of DryGas or equivalent.

Nick Robinson

I didnt know that!Im going down to the gas station now and getting some dry gas! thanks a lot.

mAdD MAX

ok...here's an update:

I took the car to the Nissan Dealership and they said they'd check it. They changed the battery. However I dont think they looked at the other things I told about.

I told these things should be looked at::
1) The battery since the car won't start without a boost
2) The transmission..sometimes its slips when you floor it.
3) The heavy driver side door....it's pretty hard to close and open.
4) The passenger side heated seat button ..the light doesn't come on when the passenger side heated seats are heated.

They only fixed problem 1). They said the tranny was fine. And they ordered the part for the passenger side door.

Guest

If you need jumper cables to get it started then you have a weak battery. This problem becomes more sever in the winter.
It could also be having corroded battery terminals or a weak ground connection.

Eric L.

Unless the dealer pulls an error code from the ECU or TCM, they won't fix your transmission.

BTW, how much does the dealer charge for the new battery? One thing I've found is that the Maxima comes with a pretty weak battery...360CCA or something like that. Even a WalMart battery has 500CCA. If the dealer sold you a stock battery (360CCA), it will prolly die again in three years and you'll have to buy a new battery.

gooseman

I have not yet tried Dry Gas but I have noticed something else with this cold start issue. I put in the clutch to start the engine and I have to blip the throttle to keep the car from stalling. Once it is running on its own I let out the clutch and the rpm's fall even more. I am just there idling so there should not be that much load on the engine. Weird huh?