The crank sensor was the one that made the biggest instant difference when I first started replacing parts, then it eventaully went back to crappy starts until I ran the ground wires.

 

Mancinco, just curious what else you've done besides the spark plugs and TB/IACV check. Make sure the battery is spitting out proper voltage. Make sure fuel filter is not too old. If you are saying it starts up better when the car is warm, consider an engine coolant temp sensor change. Personally, I wish I had not changed the cam/crank pos sensors with no codes and them testing out fine. I do not recommend that to anyone. You definitely should be seeing spark during cranking--not sure why you didn't. Does the car run fine when it does get started? Most of us with the grounding issue are fine once started. If not, something else is going on, ie. fuel pressure, coil packs, etc.

Also, I do not make much of your unplugging and replugging different sensors while the car is running. I see you have a 95...anything is potentially the problem at this age. Before you go with random parts swapping of costly parts (cheaper parts like ECTS is OK), check and fix what you can, make sure maintenance is up to date, and consider going to the dealer for analysis if you are still stumped.

 

Well, this morning, I cranked the car over and nothing.... no cough/sputter/pause or anything. I didn't do anything after my last post last night when i thought it was starting a bit faster. The engine is colder. I did put the airbox/etc assembly back together because I think i don't need to do anything more in that area. I did check the water in the battery and 5 of 6 cells I could see no water (funny how it seemed to crank over good though with RPMs aproaching 2000 in the tach). I had to add quite a bit of water to the battery, and am charging now.

So.... I am having problems finding my nice Fluke 77 meter, so I have not checked battery voltage, or any of the sensors.

The only difference between now and last night (when I could get the car to start with ~30 seconds or less of cranking) I can think of is the temp of the engine. (maybe lends credence to Mish's coolant temp sensor theory?) Funny it won't even sputter (first thing this AM or after reassembly of the airbox/etc.) Seems I could always at least get it to pause/sputter/cough before even if I couldn't get it to start.

I am going to look more for my meter, and see if I can figure out how to check fuel pressure. Where do you guys tap in to test? Fuel filter hose?

The car did seem to run fine after starting (except that (I think) with the airbox dissasmebled, it would not rev up and run smooth, but I had assumed that was because the MAF system was not connected/operational. It idled fine anyway. I am a little worried about that IACV stuff getting put back right. IfI recall, I am not sure about the setting of that plastic screw. Basically, I disassebled it as far as I could and cleaned and actuated everything....

Thanks for the help you are giving me!!!

On edit: I removed the bolt from the crank sensor and (with help from my lovely assistant) moved it around (side to side in the slop, rotated, etc.) in the hole while cranking and the car did cough/pause/sputter in various positions, but did not start. She did note that the tach was bouncing up and down (0-2000) while I wiggeled/turned the sensor while she was continually cranking. So... at least that was some "progress".

 

it worked for my car it starts like in 4 seconds yay finally and the dealership told me it wasnt worth fixing lol. I think i ran out of gas thou now cuz it still cranks fast but wont fire up and ive been on like empty for a while oh well i hope so ill put sum gas in it tomorrow or tuesday and see if that is. I used the grounding kit the bigest one is the one i put to the battery to the starter and it worked wonders i have yet to do the tranny one yet but will soon and keep u posted thanx everone for all the info i was almost gunna sell my car until i saw this post had a buyer and everything

 

Well, my latest update is I took the crank position sensor out again, and lightly sanded the end till the pickup/metal part was shiny. No difference.

It went back and forth between crank/cough/pause/crank to just cranking continnously with no attempts to fire.

One thing i noticed though, when cranking earlier, the tach was close to 2000. Later (and presently), it cranks at the same "ear speed" but the tach is readin much lower, like 200-300. I think that is pretty weird. Gas gauge seems to be acting funny too. I know there is gas in it, but it doesn' move when i turn the key on. If I remember correctly, the key has to be on for the gauge to move. It just sits at a little above E. I did finally get it started a bit ago for the first time today. (I put the airbox/etc. back together earlier today). It seems to run fine/great when I do get it started, and it does rev up nicely with the airbox/MAF sensor put together.

Still stumped.

 

What's your fuel pressure?

 

cheack your ignition key cylinder

 

Sounds like things are getting worse the more you mess around with stuff while the car is running. Somehow I don't think moving sensors around and messing with the car is helping it.

 

My '96 is registered, insured and I just passed smog last Friday so I now have my plates and stickers! After 3+ years my car is back on the road!!!! Yeah!!!! Gosh, what a great feeling.

Thanks again sooo much for this thread. I am very, very, very grateful.

 

nice im glad to hear it i should have my maxima on the road in a few weeks just waiting for my new intake, and then im bringing my car to the garage to address the power steering problem and im gunna center my muffler tip and ill be ready to go cant wait to have power again ive been driving a saturn for like 3 months

 

Cheap fix if you havent already checked - have a look at your grounding points. Just follow the negative battery cable - check the one under the battery (body ground) and the immediately after on the engine (just above and left of the starter. My starter problems went away after I checked these, cleaned/sanded/polished, and thightened them up. Funny thing is that I think I replaced a perfectly good starter a year ago because of this grounding issue. Hope this helps

 

I had a 'similar' problem back a few years ago.

It ended up that I had a bad starter motor.

The car would start and suddenly die after a few seconds. Restarting was only possible by pumping the gas several times while cranking. Once started, I would have to keep my foot on the gas for a few more seconds until the rpm steadied out. Also there was a big puff of black smoke off the exhaust due to the flooded engine starting condition.

This would happen sporadically... cold or hot... sunny or raining... day or night... you get the idea!

Apparantely the problem was due to a 'lazy' starter motor that drew too much amperage from the battery during starting. This condition, over a period of time, drained the battery completely. The battery would have enough juice to start the engine but not enough to keep it running.

I haven't read all the replies in this post, so I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned about this 'starter' issue. I'm at work and don't have web access at home. Anyways... a rebuilt starter motor did the trick for me.

Hope this helps.

PG

 

try this: https://maxima.org.nz/viewtopic.php?t=578
and this: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=461274

 

I recently replaced a starter that had a bad solenoid. The new one sounded horrible and would take a long time to crank. I did the grounding thing and now, like magic, it's like it sould be. Personally here's what I did: I used 4 AWG amplifier power cable and ring terminals. I ran a ground between the short (top) starter bolt to the chassis directly in front of the starter. I replaced the joke of a ground wire (18 GA?) that ran from the transmission housing to the chassis on the driver side with the 4 GA. Replaced the alternator ground with 4 GA. I ran a new ground wire form the engine block (motor mount bolt) on the passenger side to the same ground spot as the alternator and passenger headlight. Now it cranks right up on the first try every time. As an added bonus, it imporved the automatic transmisson immensely. Throttle response is fantastic now; when I floor it while cruising at 60 it downshifts to 3rd and then 2nd immediately with no lag. No hesitation when accelerating from a stop or while cruising. The downshifting is amazingly quick and smooth. My lights are slightly brighter as well. The only thing left to do in that department is to add one more 0 AWG negative battery terminal to chassis to engine block ground wire and one of the same size from the alternator positive to battery positive terminal. If you are having starting problems, do it! It was cheap and relly helped a lot.

 

Good to hear! Was this thread what helped you?

 

Immensely! I was going to upgrade the battery to chassis to block ground anyway for a stereo install but reading through all of the experiences form everyone else helped to save me tons of money that I would have spent on a mechanic that probably knows far less about the problem than I now do. The starter and transmission ground upgrades made an immediate huge noticeable difference. Well worth the $20 investment in the .org.

Nice sig, BTW.

 

Follow Up: It's been about a month since I grounded the crap out of it, and it's been great, starts right up everytime.

 

I grounded every thing. my car starts up a lot better but now it misfire's like hell what can cause that... Or what should I do?

 

Misfires while running or during start up?

Do you have any codes for misfiring in a specific cylinder?
Could be coils or plugs.

 

It misfires while running it idles rough like it wants to cut out.

 

Well, I don't think you have a ground problem then. Maybe ignition coils?

 

The first step would be to pull each coil connector off one by one, aka a 'voltage drop test', and make sure it is running on all 6 cylinders. If it's not, then start checking for a fuel/spark/compression problem related to the cylinder/s that aren't firing.

 

Well, I went at it again today. (I found my volt/ohm meter and got a fuel pressure gauge rigged).

I removed and tested the engine coolant sensor, cam sensor, crank POS sensor and crank REF sensor. They all tested within the ranged given by the manuals. (The crank POS sensor is a bit tricky... it is the white and black wires you have to probe, and it is supposed to "latch" between 0 and 5V depending on the speed you move the screwdriver away from the magnetic tip). I took the coolant sensor in the house to warm it to room temp and heat it with water etc, and the resitance changed as the books indicated it should. The cam and crank REF sensors were within the specified resistance.

Also, the fuel pressure after the filter was a little more than 40psi. (I did not test the regulator/regulated pressure, gonna need some different hose barbs/etc for that). I also took the main engine ground and bracket apart and cleaned/sanded them. (I had previously run the grounds to the 12mm tranny bolt and the 14mm starter bolt, and greased the starter and cleaned the mounting surfaces.

I am wondering.... how do I check/test the ignition switch/cylinder/no-start signal?

I cranked a bunch today. I did get it started once but it barely ran. I could barely keep it running and could not get the RPMs up to "blow it out a bit". The funny little "dead end" air box was off though. Every time I have gotten it started before today, it has run normally/good once started. Never did this before.

I am going to swap a different battery into it (even though it cranks pretty good once charged after a long cranking session). The battery voltage is 13.5+ after charge (without charger hooked up)and about 12.5 after a long crank session.

I have not jumped the +12v up to the injectors yet, or checked the ignition switch/etc. (again, can someone help me with how to do this?).

Does anyone know what sensor the tach (in the dash) is triggered by? I noticed a couple times that when the cranking hangs/pauses (like when it is trying to fire at the wrong point in the piston stroke?) the tach seemed to jump up a bit momentarily.

I also had a timing light hooked to the loop in the wiring harness, and the strobe did fire (although it was definately irregular it seemed.) I did not take a coil pack out today and look for spark. I did do this previously, and saw no spark when cranking and not starting, and also took one out when running and it had good spark. Today (based on the timing light flashing) it seemed like it should have had spark. Maybe I will check yet tonight.

Getting pretty frustrated. Currently thing about parting it out and taking the remains to the crusher....LOL. My reputation as a fairly decent shade tree mechanic is going downhill fast.

 

check the air intake temp sensor i had the same problem where it would start and then shut down , the air intake temp sensor works with all the crank sensors to determine the ignition timing its in the a factory service manual and the haynes you should of checked all componets of the ignition system people think coils plugs will give you an hard start you be surprise. when i had the problem i would get p1320 primary ignition signal at fault (so the computer is telling you some where in the ignition system theres a disruption in the signal being supplies to the ecu, like coils, plug crank sensor pos, ref, cam sensor, engine coolant temp sensor and sending unit, air intake temp sensor, They all help determine the igniton timing which is totaly electronic also there a small black square box with tape around it with red and black wire its buy the knock sensor cant miss it. it also part of the ignition system,
i replaced every thing until i check the air intake temp sensor it took it off and tested it in hot water with an ohm meter read the manual hanyes or factory

 

did you check the mass air flow sensor, also the fuel pump module

 

your getting no spark then could be bad igniton relay check all relays

 

Just wanted to say thanks to all the people who posted in this thread. After a couple of months of tinkering trying to get my car to start without the embarassing 10 second cranking, i have finally got my car to start good. I did a combination of the ground wires and ECTS (also had a loss of power when car was warm) and its running great. Still have a few gremlins to deal with but i can take starting off the list.

Thank you all

 

I grounded the points, and the problem seemed to go away, but it came back. I'm using radio shack wire and crimp on connectors. it's a 10ga wire. Right now the problem has come back with a vengeance. I've noticed my tranny is covered in oil and dirt, because i don't have my spash guards on. Could the ground have gone bad? I'm going to buy some grounding wires from ebay (4 ga) and try with those. I've sanded down all of my grounding points, and still the same starting issue.

 

If you definitely noticed an improvement--even if it was short-lived--I would definitely look into thicker grounding wire. Just go to wally world and pic up pre-terminated auto battery wire. Make sure you clean up the contact points well.

 

Sorry to hear that, but don't give up yet. I had the problem return when I first ran 14 gauge wire, I then replaced that with 10 gauge, then added another 10 gauge wire to the starter, then added a 8 gauge wire to the starter as well and ran the 8 gauge to where the the neg cable mounts on the engine. So I have 3 wires running to the starter. Now I might have a hiccup every 2 or 3 weeks.

What condition is your Negitive Cable in? Is it corroded where it bolts to the body? That cable may be worse than you think. Look and see if it's turning green or blue. I know it's a pain in the *** because you have to remove the air filter and the battery to see it.

 

AHA! I've had the exact starting problem on my 5TH GEN since . . . . I changed my clutch!

I'm going to do the grounding this weekend and see what happens. This should be a sticky on the 5th gen site as well.

 

You could not have more accurately described my starting problem . . . unless you inserted "and one out of every 10 times it starts right up"

 

Best of luck with this, the most important ground is the one from the starter to the negitive cable. Glad to see this is still helping people!

About my sig....Done and done.

 

It worked!!

Ran 4ga 32" cable from neg battery to 14mm starter bolt and 4ga 19" cable from tranny bolt (connecting to bell housing) to engine ground (didn't have a long enough one to get to the battery).

The starting problem is almost completely gone. I thought it was COMPLETELY FINE but once yesterday it gave me a very brief stop in the starting cycle then started right up - so I'm going to see how it does over the next week. If I get any more problems, I'll get a longer cable and go to the battery or add a ground point.

I used 4ga battery cables from Pep boys. About $4-$5 each.

Thanks again - I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to start my car. I'm going to post about it in the 5th gen forum.

Now for the $64,000 question - how does this happen and how do you avoid it? I changed my clutch myself but the bell housing went back in exactly the same place? What's the trick to prevent this from happening??

 

Yeah, it is a big relief to get a problematic starting problem fixed in a not-so-obvious way. To date, my car starts beautifully each and every time since I performed this fix.

To prevent this problem when dropping your tranny, some have suggested buffing the mating surfaces to rid it of any oxidation that would prevent a good transfer of ground.

 

Great to hear! You are also the first 5th gen to get in on this thread. Makes me wonder if there are going to be a lot of pissed off 5th gen owners in the next few years that have this starting issue.

I would give it some time, mine had an occasional burp every now and then but hasn't done it in over 3 weeks.

 

I just bought a 1996 Maxima GLE, auto, with a "no start" problem. I towed it
home late today and then found this awesome Thread!

From just cranking the engine I noticed the engine turned over VERY
slowly. It didn't fire at all but did turn over. Sadly, it was dark when I
got the car home so I can't do anything until tomorrow. However, I
will apply the grounding FIX on this Maxima first thing. I realize the ground
issue may not be "the" problem but from the posts I know it WON'T hurt.

I want to say this has been one of the best Threads I've ever read.
I look forward to getting my new Maxima up and running. I'll
keep everyone updated on my findings.

Thanks from Texas,
usa_2001

 

Another one solved-

http://forums.maxima.org/oldthread.p...=1#post4996278

 

Hey guys,
My 97 Max is having troubles starting. It starts every time but i have to hold the key for about 5 or so seconds. I was thinking about doing this grounding fix but I also have some codes. I have the 0304 (knock sensor) and the 0903 (EVAP canister valve) codes. Would these codes cause my car to have trouble starting or should I try grounding first? Any help would greatly be appreciated!

 

your problem sounds more like a faulty ignition switch. pretty cheap and easy fix