What the fudge man. I have problems starting in the cold or when it rains on my 5 speed. Cranks but doesn't start up the first time. When the weather is warm, it starts up fine. I guess i'll check for fuses, spark plug gaps, and everything else everyone mentioned.

 

my auto did it again tonight.Had to appply the gas pedal to turn on.

 

some one said something about having to wiggle the key before its starts iam pretty sure this is ignition cylinder lock i have done this before trust me it will get worse coz its worn out and dont mistake this with ignition switch.

 

my starting problem magically got better... strange. i cleaned the tb a few days ago, and it was still not starting well, but now its been starting great! *shrug*

 

so here's an update:
-patched the neutral position sensor wire that i mashed during my tranny drop and now my starter cranks just like it used to.
-replaced knock sensor
-inspected plugs (iridium with 40k) and they looked fine
-replaced fuel filter. old one had 40k
-new battery. old one was original
-cleaned K&N air filter
-checked all fuses and fusible links.
-tried waiting for fuel pump to pressurize before starting
after all this, the starter still cranks for more than 5 seconds before any hope of it turning over. It never starts right away-cold or warm.
sometimes i try pressing on the gas during startup and i haven't noticed whether that makes it easier or not.
no CEL or ghost codes.
i'm about ready to break down (haha) and take it to a mechanic.
definitely don't want to replace the whole wiring harness.

 

well cleaned my throttle body and wiped off the oil or whatever off the grounding cables..ill wait till tonight and see how it turns on..still havent replaced the fuse...

 

test your coil packs before you go to a mechanic.

 

Well, my starting problem is slightly different. 9 times out of 10, the car starts fine, but that one time I turn over the key, the ignition lights come on but nothing happens. I have to take the key out and try it again and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Happened today and I had to try to do the key in key out thing 20 times and finally success. I recently replaced the starter, so that's not it. Could it be the ignition switch? Is there a difference between the key switch and the ignition switch? If the switch is bad, would the lights on the dash still come on normally, but the car just wouldn't turn over? Any help is appreciated.

 

i fill you, im in the same damm boat... its been 1 1/2 mounths now that i've driven may max...

 

Drefog80, do you know if it's easy for the ICL to be changed out? I don't have to take it to the mechanic, do I?

 

same here 9 out of 10 times but it cranks just need to apply a little pedal to the gas to turn on and when let off turns rightoff and had to do it all over but leave the pedal to the gas for a bit to stay on..IM CLUELESSS

 

let me know if you figure it out danny. I tested my coil packs and injectors.....seem fine....yet starts like crap. dont get it.

 

For everybody who is still without a clue (like me):
have you guys all looked at the Service Bulletins in the stickies for the 4th gen hard/ intermittant start?
when i read them, there was a good flowchart to try to diagnose the problems based on fuel, spark, or ECU.
UNfortunately, i'm at the end of what i can test at home so i'm still pretty clueless.

 

Well today was the day that i fixed my problem to hard starts. With drefog80 as a guide, i looked at the ignition cylinder lock. For all of you that don't know were this is it's the part that you stick your key in to start the car. It's wrapped around the steering column. I pried the covers off to expose the ICL. (left side of ICL you stick in key, other side is harness that signals car to turn on and power everything up). Anyways, I used a ohm reader to figure out what the problem was. But no luck there. The only thing that the reader told me was that there was no power sent to the car when i turned the key. By this time i was frustrated, so i ended up taking off the harness on the other side of the ICL. Looked on the other side of the harness to see that the harness was worn out by the lock. So i replaced the harness with a new one from nissan, prayed and put on the new one. I turned the key and there was no hestiation from the vehicle. It started with only one turn of the key.

If anybody is having trouble starting their car and wiggling your key to get it to start, it could be the Ignition Cylinder Lock harness. It was easy to look for and the haynes manuel actually for once helped me out. Just thought i would tell you how i solve my problem today.

 

well the dealer is all out of opptions on fixing my car so they are going to replace the wireing harness...nissan will pay for parts and i will pay for discounted labor $320.00 part is $1,800

ill tell u guys what happens

 

Replace the ignition switch. See sticky on electrical/ignition switch

 

yeah i got it fixed guy. Read the long @ss post two before yours.

 

Here is the update on my maxima. The dealer has installed a new wiring harness. They called me back and they say the car starts up like it should. But they told me the check engine light is on and they wanted to know if I want them to diagnose the problem. I agreed for them to do that. Then they call me back a day later and tell me that the car will not start anymore and they're back to square one. But he says it's like that have not done anything to the car. So now they have to consult with the technicians at Nissan Corp. I already have put $1200 into the car so far. And I don't know how much more money I want to dump into the Maxima. FRUSTRATED!

 

Any updates? I've dumped $600 at the dealership trying to fix this problem and still no luck. They now want to try to swap ECU's and see if that does anything. But no way i'm buying an ECU from them, i'll have to wait and do this myself.

Andy

 

My car starts hard after my check engine light went on. I got thre codes out of it:
0704 - EVAP control system pressure sensor
0304 - Knock Sensor (does this mean its broken? i have never put premium in the max...)
0215 - EVAP canister vent control valve closed

But the codes don't relate to the the starting of the car. What should i do? Anybody had this codes?

 

MY CAR IS FIXED!!!!!!


The dealer found that the bad ground between engine and transmission was the cause of the problem. Almost a year ago we had AAMCO do transmission repair. The dealer says that aamco did not put all the bolts back into place which caused bad ground between engine and transmission. HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEBODY!

 

has anyone ells fixed ther car?

 

My car wont start at all now and its been sitting in my carage for a week. A nissan tech said he sees this porblam often and said that there is something inbetween my trani and engine causing a bad ground, ie. greese, silicone who knows. but what the hell kind of sense does that make? It worked for a while and its aluminum anyways.....beat.

 

i guess a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes. i went to check the crank position sensor on the tranny bellhousing. i unplugged it, checked the resistances then put it back together again. one of the bolts holding the tranny to the engine near the sensor had worked a little loose (i guess my torque wrench was a little off from my tranny rebuild).
she started right up again like nothing ever happened.
at least i now have new fuel filter, plugs, etc.

 

can you guys post pictures of the bad grounding point between the tranny and engine? I'm clueless.

My car is throwing Crankshaft position sensor (p0340) and ignition (P1335)..........I've tested and replaced teh 0340 sensor and tested the harness....i cant figure it out.....
Also, my plugs were black, not oily, but probably since it takes a while to start my car, alot of fuel must be dumpe dinto cylinders. Compression at 195 to 200 in all cylinders

 

I still haven't found the problem with my car as well as my dealer. They are clueless as well. They have basically checked all wiring, grounding, battery, starter, fuel pump, injectors etc.. and still can't find the problem. I'm also out $700 to them and the problem is still not fixed fock.. All i know is they are thieves and dont know what they are doing. I also was suggested to check my ECU, but it is fine. I am getting 3 codes which are

0304 Knock Sensor
1008 EVAP canister purge volume control valve
1302 MAP/BARO SW Solenoid/Valve

I dont think they have anything to do with my hard/bad starting. Does anyone konw about the 1302 code? Also do you guys think the knock sensor was triggered by one of these other codes? So many problems ahhh..

 

Problem fixed. After about 2 years and changing virtually every damn sensor, it was the starter. Went to autozone, got a remanufactured one, put it in, and it starts like a dream. I was about to sell the car too if I didn't fix it soon. I suggest everyone with a starting problem test their starter with another starter (perhaps a friends maxima or something)........

 

OK, here is a pampered 95 Max. Never had any real issues with it that I couldn't fix. Recently I had my check engine light come on. Went down to autozone and they read a code P1335 (Crankshaft Position Sensor). I went ahead and replaced both POS and REF, just in case.
I disconected the batteries negetive terminal and changed out the two sensors. Buttoned everything up and reconnected the battery and notice that the check engine light was still on. So I manually reset by ways of the ECU. Then a week later. Same code. So I took the sensors off again and had them replace them. Swapped them and still having the same problem.
One of my symptoms was that the car would not start at all. Then by changing the sensors I was able to get the car started. Still starting pretty hard.
I'm stumped. Any suggestions

 

If u have replaced both sensor then its not the sensors. It either the connectors, sub-harnesses, or bad grounds for the sensor.

REmove the CKPS POS and check for fouling. THats the one on the tranny side of the engine.

U can also try adding a ground from the battery to transmission houising. THat helps with hard starting. 8 awg is fine.

 

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

similar thread and st8rider this would have helped you out if I had seen this post earlier. page 4 has a description of what to do. Had the same problem and grounding fixed it. If you have ever taken your transmission and engine apart and are having starting issues, most likely cause is grounding. Hope it helps.

 

Hey Cashoit

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it. Funny you should mention the ground, I got a 4 gauge sitting right beside me waiting for me to put it in.

I too suspect grounding but before this happened I had no issues, it was running real sweet. I did notice something odd other than the hard starts. Driving yesterday down the highway and my acceleration seemed irratic. Like the car was sputtering, but not losing power put giving me more. Up down, Up down. Notice it after trying to put my foot through the floor after the little G35S. I usually have a lot of fun with those.

I held on just a little tighter when this started to happen. Usually I just put the hammer down and away I go.

Any thoughts?

 

OK, the fellow that says you should try to add grounds first before changing anything is the best first remedy attempt for this problem. This is a long story but I think it is worth it.

In a nutshell, assuming the cause is not a sensor malfunction (or broken sensor wiring), the engine is behaving with at least two of these initial conditions:

1. Over the past few months or more, the engine cranking before start has lengthened. "It doesn't start like it used to"
2. The engine acts as though it is resisting the starter and actually stops the starter dead in it's tracks at times.
3. The engine runs great after it starts.
4. You recently changed out a tranny / clutch ie: you disassembled the bell housing from the engine.
5. your starter doesn't have the pep it used to.
6. The car is older (don't tell that to the car)

All or some of these conditions is caused by a weak or high resistance ground somewhere in the path between the starter and the battery. Contrary to what may seem intuitive, the electrons that flow in the battery circuit actually flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal in a battery. The positive terminal is + Positive because it has fewer electrons than the - Negative terminal. When the circuit is completed (starter turns on) the circuit wants to go to equilibrium and the excess electrons flow to the positive terminal from the battery negative terminal.

OK so now how do these electrons get to the starter? Well in the infinite wisdom of trying to save money on car costs by manufacturers, the manufacturers decided many years ago to do away with the negative wires on cars (in many general cases like lights, horns, sensors and the like). This led to the idea for the car manufacturers to make the body of the car and engine, tranny etc) the negative cable from the battery. In essence the car itself acted as one big wire from the battery negative cable to the devices in the car. Connect a bulb to any + power wire in the car and the other terminal to any metal body part and the bulb will light. This confirms that there is a direct connection to the negative terminal of the battery.

As a car ages, the connections to the car body or engine or transmission degrade and become corroded. This corrosion impedes the flow of these powerful electrons from the battery to the device being operated (sensor, starter, light, horn, etc). Couple that to the inherent properties of corroded, poor conducting aluminum and you have the beginning of a slow but ever increasing problem.

Now the best part: The car runs fine but the engine has a problem only during starts and sometimes intermittent at that....This 'only during a start' tells you that the starter is involved in the problem - but it is not the cause. You see when the starter cranks it draws a relatively enormous amount of power (amps) through the ground of the starter through the motor of the starter through the positive battery cable. In most cases, the path of electrons is from the negative battery cable to a point on the engine block through the bell housing seam on the engine to the flange of the starter motor (bolts included). Just think, if I were to place an electrical insulator between the engine and the bellhousing joined to the engine would there be a negative path for the electrons to flow to the starter? No not at all (excluding bolts).

So, when your starter is acting sluggish or burns out (because it was designed to operate with a full clean connection to the negative terminal) it makes sense that the reason is a poor connection to the engine - the place where the connection to the negative battery - electron source is made via the engine block to negative battery terminal.

Phew! we are almost there hang in!

Now with a poor or highly resistive connection to ground (through the engine block to bell housing to starter motor flange), the starter "hogs" all of the available electrons to turn the starter motor over. So what about the sensors? What is left for them to tell the ECU when to fire or which cylinder to fire or which cylinder to inject, or when to inject, or when is Top Dead center? The answer: too little. It gets even worse in cold weather when the engine is stiff and the starter takes even more power to turn the engine over. Even more power is robbed and the sensors have even less to work with.

It's like trying to do 50# curls while running uphill...the curls and the speed of the run both slow down.

In an engine system, the sensors typically detect around 0-5 volts. But as the poor connection 'robs' the sensors of say 6 volts, it makes it much harder for the ECM to "see" the intended signals from the sensors resulting in wrong signals. This is the voltage loss in the starter circuit.

It is like two people taking a shower in a house from the same hot water tank. The fellow with the bigger pipe or closer to the tank (first floor) gets all the hot water while the other on the top floor freezes because his shower is too far away.

What happens when the first floor shower is shut off? Does the guy on the second floor get hot water? Of course he does. And just like our engines, the moment the car starts and the starter is shut off, all returns to normal and there are plenty of electrons / voltage for the sensors.

Have you noticed this problem often happens after a tranny or clutch job? What happened? Easy: the engine to bellhousing / tranny joint was not properly cleaned and reconnected to make a good electrical contact and chances are cleanliness was not even on your mind when you bolted everything back together! Tell me who cleans their hands under a tranny!

OK OK enough already I believe you got the picture. So how do we solve this?

I would do this in this order (do one at a time) and try each step to see if it works before going to the next:

1. Put a new negative battery cable in the car. If the battery cable is highly resistive due to green corroded crimped ends it may 'rob' the engine block of electrons needed to operate the sensors and the starter simultaneously. Put the cable in - in 2 sections: from the battery to the body ground then from the body ground to the engine block.
2. Run a ground to the larger bolt of the starter from the body ground in step 1.
3. Run a ground from the body ground above to the Bell housing bolt at about the 10 o'clock position looking at the rear of the engine. Stay away from the Crank POS sensor because of EMI (another long story not for now).
4. So now you have four wires under the bolt at the body ground - no problem - be neat and make sure they are all laid flat against one another.
5. Lastly, run a smaller wire - say 12 ga to the engine sensor / ECM ground on the air intake collector (FSM 118 and 119 grounding points) where there are 4 black wires under 2 screws - 2 each screw). This shouldn't be a problem but it is easy. Connect this right to the negative battery terminal bolt.

OK, so this should work if you have a grounding problem due to old age. In fact, what you just accomplished is a one, two, three or quadruple bypass surgery for grounds. In each case you "bypassed" the original ground path - but who is counting?

Of course the best way to solve the problem is to completely disassemble the engine, tranny, bellhousing, starter, alternator, etc etc, clean and reassemble - but com'on who does this?

Remember: Aluminum is a great conductor but only when new and bright clean! Aluminum oxide does not conduct and this is the root of the problem that we need to deal with.

I have run out of words....good luck!

PS use NO-OX-ID A Special conductive grease on your ground connections - good stuff - electrical supply places should have this.

--

 

OK guys, I did the grounding thing, got two new connections. I made one connection from the starter bolt right to the negitive terminal of the battery and the other right on the bolt of the POS Crankshaft Position Sensor (this one may have been a mistake).

This is the image of the ground from the negitive battery terminal to the starter bolt:


I also notice this fraide cable to the starter (HUMMM?):


Here is an image of the second new ground to the sensor:


This was done last night after reading the new post on this problem.

Turned the car on expecting to see an improvement, same problem no improvement on the restart but the shifting improved.

This morning even a harder time turning over and some smoke from the starter area. I think its comming from the tape I put on the fraide cable.

Any other thoughts?

 

My bad on the pictures, sorry they did not come out. Don't know how to post those...

 

for most people that cant find answers with the 4th gen startup problem, i had it, but i got it fixed, i had the temperature sensor replaced, i guess sometimes it goes on the fritz and will kill the startup process.

but i now have a different problem, when i turn the carn on, it makes a loud knocking sound like u would hear on an old car or that sound u her on tv when a car runs out of gas...

 

***fixed***

The fuse was switched when I was trying to diagnose what was a bad starter. Replace the starter, car would crank endlessly without gassing it a bit. Put the fuse back in the right slot and it cranks like a dream!