bl513

sometimes in this cold weather(not only when it's been sitting out all night) the car is hard to crank...this morning i started the car and went to school..everything was fine..i go out to the car afterschool to start it up and it dies right after i crank it...it does that 2-3 times until i revv it after starting it the 4th time..it also did this 2-3 other times..i dunno what's up with this but i don't like it!!!

Eric L.

I think it's normal for Maximas. We all have that problem here. I bet the starting problem happens mainly after you've let a warmed up car sit for a few hours and then try to start it right?

There is a theory floating around here that the Maxima's temp sensor isn't correctly reporting a cold start condition to the engine, so the ECU leans out the fuel mixture for a warm start. But since the engine is "cold" after sitting for a few hours, the starting is difficult due to lack of fuel. It happens to my car occasionally too, like maybe once every few months.

A quick fix to this is to try turning the key to "on", wait two seconds. You will hear a hum, then a click. That's the fuel rails pressurizing up. Then start the car. It should start fine then. If it doesn't, try stepping on the gas ever so slightly as you start the car. If the car stalls even if you are stepping on the gas, then you have real problem. Other than that..there's nothing wrong with your Maxima..it's one of those quirks that Maxima owners consider to be normal.

Daniel B. Martin

You may want to test your Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. This is easy enough, requiring only an ohmmeter.

On the 4th Generation Maxima engine the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor is located in the water outlet tube close to the engine end of the upper radiator hose. There are two sensors in that area. The one nearest the hose is for the dashboard temperature gauge. The ECTS, the one you're interested in, is right next to the the gauge sending unit. There is a good picture of these sensors in the Haynes manual on page 3-7.

With the engine cold, disconnect the ECTS and measure its resistance.
Reconnect the ECTS, start the engine, run it until fully warmed up. Stop
the engine, and repeat the resistance measurement. The "warm" reading
should be a much lower value than the "cold" reading.

The Chilton Maxima shop manual gives these specs:
Engine coolant temperature 68F, ECTS resistance 2.1 - 2.9 Kohms
Engine coolant temperature 194F, ECTS resistance 0.24 - 0.26 Kohms
(Roughly a factor of ten difference.)