What the he!l is going on with this POS???

First it doesnt start, now antenna broke off, now the whole damn electrical system is going crazy. I'm so pissed off at this car right now!!!!!!

here is the story put in better words:

Few days ago, the maxima wouldnt start, so i got a jump from my mom's car and it started up perfectly, and worked for a few days. Today it wouldnt start again and made a machine gun sound when i turned it to "on". All the electrical things (radio, ac, windows, lights) worked perfectly. When i tried to start it, a sound would come from the starter like a machine gun firing(not loud, but very rapid). I read in a thread to lightly tap the starter a few times to make it start, so i did. Now the whole electrical system and the car is going crazy. The power antenna just suddenly broke off for no apparent reason, and whenever i turn the ignition to ACC, the electrical things turn on and off very rapidly. I got the CD player to start working, and only the right side speakers work now(BOSE). After a few seconds, i tried restarting the car, and i get a CD ERR message.
Whenever i lock the car, the lights don't flash and make the machine gun sound again. Opened the trunk, and the lock popped open about 10 times. My radar keeps turning on and off also.

Somebody please tell me what's going on with this car, my parents are going to kill me when if they find out about this. I really have no idea what the problem is since the car gets driven very little, maybe 2 miles a week tops.

 

well its not getting sufficient power is what it sounds like... Take it to advanced or autozone, or some place that does free charge checks.... I would bet that your alternator is dead, or your battery is crappin out...
Hope this helps,
Michael

 

It would be good if this was resolved without my parents knowing, so i'll go to walmart and buy a battery and install it to see if it works...******* im pissed off

any other ideas people may have?

 

My guess is the battery. Get a Sears Die Hard Gold, nothing from Walmart!!! I bought my 99 SE with 98k on it with the original battery in it. It took me a couple of months to realize that the car cranked kind of slow, but always started. I went to Sears and had them install a Die Hard Gold with lots of cold cranking amps and boy does it crank fast now! I feel very unlikely that it's the alternator. Hope a battery works for you.
Good luck man.

 

Im just getting a walmart battery to see if the car works. I'll return the battery if it works/doesnt work. If it is the battery then i'll buy a good one like Optima or Die Hard.

I REALLY hope its the battery thats causing all this, REALLY HOPE SO.

 

its the alternator man!! i went through the same thing! hahah and i did the same thing! went back to wal mart for a battery.

 

one day about 5 months ago, maybe more, as i was driving, my radio started to go out, come in, the sub i had started to not knock, then knock here and there and in about one minute, my car stopped running. i tried to jump start, it wouldnt. i got it home via tow, put my moms battery in my max and vroom, vroom is all i haerd. so i went to buy a new battery and here i am. plus the battery that died was the original. i checked my alternator and it was pushing what it should.
let us know what is 'was'.

 

Ok i have everything set up. Tommorow after school i'm taking a trip to walmart via my friend and getting the battery. I'll have about 3 hours in between the time i get home from school to the time when my parents get home, so i really hope to have this problem resolved.

What did you guys do with the antenna? mine broke off right at the core where it began and the whole cable just fell off and the antenna fell to the floor. Now the antenna stand is right there, but there is a hole right in the middle of it.

 

i REALLY hope it's not my alternator because alternators are around 250 bucks from what i remember

 

It's a faulty ignition switch under your steering column There IS a short in the stock one...the new ones from Nissan are completely re-designed...A new 20$ will make it start right up. Been here dont this MANY times.

Won't fix a broken attena though heh

 

Why don't you get the battery tested to determine if its faulty? Alternatively, just put your friend's battery in your car and see if it works fine. If the battery is fubar, then go out and buy a decent one. I can't quite see the upside of going the Wal Mart battery route.

And its not as though you've intentionally tried to mess up your car. There's either a history of trouble you have had with your car that pisses your parents off, or they are being unreasonable with you. Just my $0.02.

 

Hahahaha!! F U B A R = fCKED UP BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION!! I haven't heard that in years!!! lol. And parents just don't understand teenage boys and their cars.

 

Are you sure it's the switch? If so, is it easy to replace within 3 hours for somebody who's never done it before and is prone to breaking things?

rmurdoch:
I don't want to tell my parents because i get blamed for just about everything that breaks because in my lifetime, i broke 23 bikes, 4 gas scooters, 1 electric scooter and countless other things around the house, and i'm only 16. All of these things were broken by me because i modify them and improve them for a few days, and then they break...i made one of my stock 15mph scooters go 34mph without any aftermarket mods a few years back, then the engine blew up a few days later....

Will a decent diehard/optima battery at Sears cost me under 100 bucks? I don't think my car had the 60k tune up done to it, so i might have to replace some other things like spark plugs. Is there any way to find out if the tune up has been done?

 

OMG!!!! Dude, you are a menace to your parents!!!! Damn, no wonder why they blame you for everything going wrong under the sun!! Break 23 bikes??!! Are you 250lbs or something? Or are you just like Beavis and Butthead and like to break stuff for your own personal entertainment? Thanks for the laugh man, I really needed it today. I hope all goes well for you and your parents don't put you in a juvenile detention center for your overactive hormones. Good luck.
Peace

 

Tell them that its training for your career as an engineer and they will be so glad that you are worrying about your future that they won't mind a broken something. Tell mom that you will buy her something pimp with your six figure income... That always worked for me. Now I am a teacher, so no pimp car for momma.

Also, I had a companu GLE back in the day and the same thing happened. Luckily the alternator was under warranty and I got a new one.

 

Oh yeah, Die Hard Gold, their best battery, $79. installed.

 

You're quite right about that one. It's known as "snafu".

 

How long have you owned the car? What mileage did it have when you got it and what does it have now?

Look in the stickies for whats required at 60K or alternatively your owners manual if you have it. I would buy a Haynes manual if I were you; they're relatively cheap.

Focus on the fluid replacement that is necessary: oil, radiator coolant, power steering, transmission fluid or transaxle if a 5-speed, brakes etc.

You may need to replace the air filter, fuel filter and spark plugs as well.

 

I had this car for about 4 months now. It had around 69,140 miles on it when i got it, and now it has 69,211. I don't drive much because i love my car and want it to last a long time, i just hate that when i take care of it but it does **** like this to me. I'm going to be buying a Haynes manual in a few days or whenever i get the chance to.
I looked at the air filter, and it looks almost new. Oil was replaced at 67,952 miles, so the next replacement is in 2-3k miles for me. I'm going to check the spark plugs, i really hope they're not Bosch. Brakes/tranny felt perfect and i had no overheating problems with the car, but then again i havent seen hot weather with it. I'll probably be buying NKG Platinums in a few weeks if i get this problem resolved.
I was going to mod the car, then doodfood talked me out of it, so now i guess i'm going to spend as much as i need of the 500 dollars that i have on a tune up.

 

I realize that this is your first car, and you get quite worried that smthg is wrong with it. The truth is that your car does not need a tune up, and dont try to spend on things that you dont need to get it fixed. Guys like you are the easiest customers to get riped off. If you come to a mechanic like that all worried and everything, the mechanic will be glad to take advantage of you and charge you an arm and a leg. Go to your nearest Autozone store and get your car's charging system checked up for free, and then go from there. Save your money.

 

alternator is going bad.

 

Not driving your car is the worst thing you can do. Cars are made to be driven. It's not good to let a car sit around. Things get old and dry rot from not being used. An example of this, my friend and myself both had 3rd gen Maxs. Both 93 SE's. I drove mine to work everyday, 60 miles one way. When I sold that car last September, it had 198k on it and I only did routine maintenance. My friend on the other hand, only drove his to work 2 miles a couple of days a week and he replaced more things on that car, because it just sat around. For example, belts constantly and 3 exhaust systems!! BTW, his car he still has 44k on it!!! The more you drive a car, the longer it will last. A car sitting in a driveway or in a garage is not good for it. So I've heard.......

 

Yeah, i knew that this is not good for it when i drive it only a couple miles a week, but i didnt know it was THAT bad for it. Ive been very busy with school work, but when school is out,i'll be driving quite a bit more.


Y2KMaxGXE-R:
I would love to go to the nearest autozone, but my car doesn't run right now.

So far, people said its either:
A. Battery ($80)
B. Alternator ($260+?)
C. Ignition Switch ($20/installation)
D. Starter ($ no idea)
I really think its my battery because it has A LOT of white corrosion under it, its also all greasy, and overall it just looks to be in crappy shape. I guess only an experiment tommorow will help! Thanks for all the input to this thread, you guys really helped me calm down and not break something of value.

Oh yeah BTW, if i tell my parents about it, they'll say that i tried to modify it and will take the car away from me for a minimum of 1 month...so i have to get this resolved without them.

 

So you have driven a grand total of 71 miles in 4 months. No wonder the battery is shot. It's never had an opportunity to recharge. I doubt that your car has ever been properly warmed up during the last 4 months. Do it a favor and at least take it for a decent run on the weekend.

 

yah dude wtf why dont u drive ur shiit.....i live in cincy too we can meet up this weekend and cruise around if u want if ur not in trouble with ur folks

 

What are you afraid about your parents for?? Perhaps you dad can give you good advice as to what to do. Running to Walmart and getting a new battery might help you for the meantime but what if it is the alternator or regulator??? You are going to kill a brand new battery.

 

1. Don't worry so much...

2. Alternators aren't that much at all, you can get bosch refurbished ones with a big ol' warranty for under $100....

3. Instead of buying a battery, clean your battery first, the OEM Nissan batteries are pretty good ones... Just clean the terminals real good, and make sure both of them clamp down good...(Or you could just get a metal rod and bridge both terminals... if it shocks you so bad yoru body jolts and you throw the rod/wrench/whatever about 30 feet........that's a good sign the battery is GOOD) Oooorrrr you could just gank your friends battery that was going to drive you to walmart... doesnt take but a minute to swap em out, see if it cranks and runs good.... But since your mom jumped your car, and it was fine for a bit makes me pretty convinced that it is the alternator...

4. You sound like me man... I always broke stuff... been through 7 cars since I was 15(Not because I broke em, but because I get bored, and can't keep anything long at all...) But with what you said, i'm not surprised that your parents are a lil up-tight about stuff going wrong with your car...I always pulled the, "But i'm learning something in the process, and i'm going to be doing stuff like this when I grow up"... Well, it wasn't just a line for me, cus that's what i'm doin..... buuuutttt, it worked!!!

5. DRIVE YOUR CAR MORE!!! If it was an old collectable car or something, yeah, don't drive it.. but sheesh man... You really need to drive a car to keep it running good... Could be the reason your car is doing this, because the car needs to run so it can charge the electrical system, and keep things lubricated..... and... it wasn't made to just sit all the time... heck, I sold my first max with 165K miles, and it ran just as good as my new one does( There are some things that are ALOT nicer on this car of course, but yeah... it ran great).........sooo, moral of the story... drive it... don't let the dang thing just sit!
There's my book for the day....

 

maybe it doesnt like only being driven 2 miles a week. its calling out to you, to drive it like it was meant to be driven.

 

Im gonna take it for a drive when i get the chance to, but im busy for the next couple weeks with exams/family things. I should be good to go in like 3 weeks, i'll drop u a PM.



I just connected a battery charger to it, and it turned out to be only about 1/10th charged, which im guessing isnt good. I'm going to leave the battery charging for 3-4 hours and hope it works!

 

Just tried to start it, and it worked!!

looks like all this fuss was about a drained battery, thanks for all the help though!

 

great, glad you got it to run. you said something about not really ever putting miles on it? and someone suggested that you give it a good ride on the weekends? i agree.

 

So you don't have the time to take the car for a decent drive on the weekend, yet you start another thread about messing around with the snorkel on your airbox. How many hours did you take out of the day to do this?

Do you understand now why the battery ran down in the first place? By the time you get that car out on the highway it will be carbon locked!

Have you ever driven it on the highway or are you afraid to go above 40 MPH?

 

Sheesh.... Hey dad! Go easy on the poor boy.We all don't need to him.

 

I drove it nearly 150 miles today actually, mixed driving. This non-driving-during-the-week will be over once school gets out, which is on friday.

 

I'm glad to hear that! I didn't mean to rag on you, but your car will love you for it. I wasn't thinking about 150 miles, more like say 50 miles. Good luck on your exams!

 

but theres nothing wrong with 150 miles

 

I know, but he could have perhaps saved the 100 miles until after his exams are done this week.

To put things in context, the 150 miles he just put on is more than double what he put on in 4 months, lol!

 

I don't know why people haven't asked this yet, but why aren't you driving to school?

 

i don't have a parking pass for this year, so my friend drives me

school is under a mile away from me anyways

 

Just as well you aren't driving it to school. To start it up and drive it less than a mile and turn it off, isn't particularly good for the engine. It wouldn't even be warmed up and your fuel economy would be terrible.