That should work. But I like the more direct route.

 

You gotta love this forum. It has saved me so much headaches not to mention money.

Well I had my tranny rebuilt about a month ago and it seems to have sporadic starting problems. I changed my battery to a Optima Red Top. Just had the Injection Cleaning service done and figured I'd take a closer look to see what everyone has experienced.

I've gone out to home depot and purchased some 10 gauge wire, 24 feet to be exact and some wire crimps. I think its supposed to rain for our thanksgiving so I'll have to wait till friday to try it out.

I felt bad after paying for the injection cleaning service until I read all the horror stories on this thread. I'm just amazed at how detailed this thread was. Great job to all the contributors...

 

I have the exact same symptom but I'm not sure if it is the exact same problem.

I have a 2000 SE AUTO and nothing has done to the tranny.

I will try this fix and see if it helps.

As well, on top of the hard to start problem, I also have the low power start problem. ie. when the car is warm, the tach doesn't rev up above 1000 and goes back down to normal. It just goes up to the normal idle speed slowly and there's no overshoot. I will try to take a video. Thanks everyone in advance.

 

Yesterday, I tried to ground everything. I was able to ground the tranny, but the starter was another story. No matter what I did, the bolts were not moving. So of course, me being an idiot thought to hook up the ground to the lower nut on the other side of the starter. Big mistake. Well, I was lucky nothing damaging happened.

So far, out of 14 or so starts since yesterday morning, there have been no failed attempts, even with just the tranny grounded. A couple of times it would crank twice, but with no hesitation, fire up. Is there anything I can do with regards to the starter bolts? I tried using a hammer lightly to loosen it, but no such luck.

So far it has been 1.5 crnks, before the second fire up, it's already turned over, and occasionally 2-2.5 cranks without the crappy out that it did until yesterday morning.

Interested in your advice...

 

I use a 2 foot pipe and slide it over the handle of the wrench and it breaks free every time. You will never get that thing off with just the wrench itself.

 

I need help - ASAP....

Tonight I was coming back from a mall and while merging traffic on highway I stepped on it hard (not full throttle but decent). Very moment later something hit the engine bay and everything started to vibrate. I stopped but it was too dark to see what happened. Engine was running the same way - smooth and strong. So I thought it was maybe my rear sway bar I put 2 days ago - but no - the rear is sitting tight. Then I realized that maybe it's an engine mount - before I used to get vibrations when accelerating hard at top revs (not always and not every gear). Right now everytime I accelerate I'm getting vibrations - stepping more it's harder, being easier on a pedal it's smoother. Also when I play with throtle while driving something is knocking with metalic sound. I assume it's the mount but which one? Where to get them fast - I have to fix the car tomorrow :-( Any write-up posted on the forums before?

Please help.... Thx.

 

I don't want to hack this thread, but related to the ignition switch thing somebody mentioned:
Is there a write up on how to change the ignition swith?

thanks

 

Very easy to change: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....gnition+switch

 

As an update, I think the grounding of my transmission has cured my starting issues. In the last 4 days, 30-40 cranks, not one bad crank. I used 2 10gauge wires from my negative terminal and grounded two points on the tranny housing. If the issue creeps up again, maybe I'll try grounding the starter as well, but so far, there has been no need to, thanks to this thread.

 

Wait, now by reading these posts, I'm a little confused:

Am I supposed to ground from battery to the mounting bolt on the starter, or to the bolt that connects with the original cable from battery?

help!
Going to do this tomorrow morning.

Not sure if it's the mounting bolt on the starter on the one by that little soldered black wire.

Also, where is that screw on the tranny located?
Do I run another line from the battery to the tranny or from the starter to the tranny?

PLease help.
Thank you.

 

I used the left bolt(top one in pic)that holds the starter to the car(easiest).That bolt will require a 3/8" connector and the negitive cable will need a 1/4" connector.





I went from there to the battery's negitive cable(that works best) I wouldn't worry about the tranny bolt...I don't like the idea of loosening bolts on the tranny anymore. But if you do These should be fine-



DO NOT CONNECT the wire where the positive battery cable bolts to the starter.


Different routes-
Starter mounting bolt to Neg battery cable(Best).
Starter mounting bolt to tranny bolt.
Starter mounting bolt to where the Negitive cable bolts into the front of the motor.

I have all of these connections. If this clears up your starts for awhile and then you have any problems come back later...add thicker wire.


For best results use the thickest wire you can find.

Let me know if you if you have anymore questions or I forgot to answer something.

 

Here's what I did which proved to be the easiest for me.

Get a 19" 2 gauge battery cable from Autozone (or equivalent), make sure it's the one with the eyelets on both ends. Cost under $6 and no need to crimp anything. For a couple of bucks less, you can get a 4 gauge instead.

Attach one end to the 14mm starter bolt. For the other end, instead of going back to the battery negative post, affix to the end of the battery cable on the engine block. Actually, to the bracket if you have one.

As some had questioned or observed, I did not see the need to go all the way back to the battery since the existing negative cable is a one-piece. Therefore, connecting the extra ground cable at the eyelet would be quite decent.

For routing, I ran the cable on top of the transmission out of the way of everything else. There was some extra length, so I just looped it at the 14mm starter bolt (orient it towards the firewall then do a 180 towards the front where the battery cable fixes to the block).

 

Thanks to both for your help.
Really appreciate it.

 

I believe it is the mounting bolt. I couldn't get the mounting bolt off the one time that I tried, but based on the previous posts here, either of the mounting bolts will do. As far as tranny, there's a few pics in this thread on the previous pages that will show you the bolts that others used. Basically any of the bolts running along the bottom that join the two halves together. That's what I did and problem solved...

Edit: Sorry, didn't see the final posts...answering the question.

 

I started it!!
Another one solved!
WOW, am I happy or what!
Like a two year old! heheh
Ran one 42' long 4 awg cable from the negative post to that screw in the back of the starter.
Still hesitates a little, so I might add another one.

I think I stripped that little starter mounting screw - 14 mm one. It is kinda short, now with that ring terminal on. It is still tight and holding, but stripped.
How safe is that? is it something I should do asap? Also have to have longer screw on that battery post if I want to add another wire.

Now I have to install JWT ECU that I just bought from Tort, and a new tranny mount - recently arrived as well... and Im good to go..

Thanks a lot for your help everybody.

 

Thats great! But how did you strip that bolt? Those are big bolts!

You could add a wire that runs from the starter to the body somewhere. I ran one up to some sensor above the drivers side headlight, looks like a sensor that detects weather the hood is open. I put it in one of the two 10mm bolts that hold it.

 

Well, its the shorter one that I kinda stripped. Since that ring terminal is thick, I don't think that bolt reaches all the way in, now with the ring terminal on, like it should. So maybe its not stripped, but its passed that tightened point heheh...
Will think about doing that as well.

 

The only ring terminals I've seen are the thin ones. I didn't have any problems with those.

 

Ok, since finding this thread yesterday morning, I've been reading non-stop to finish it just now. I have a 2001 3L GLE automatic with 100K and I've had this going on for the past nine months and now this week twice it wouldn't start until I waited about 3 minutes and tried it again. Symptoms sound the same but I took it to the Stealership anyway last night.

Unbelievably, they told be the starter needed replacing....(HA!) $440 is what it would cost me. And, I being a woman and never trusting a mechanic, had hopped on the Org to see if I could find some answers and low and behold, here it is! I explained how I would be a much happier customer only spending 1/2 hour labor running a few wires rather than $450! You should have seen the look on their faces! So I insisted on checking into the grounds so this is what the mechanic did: He connected a spare battery cable from the negative battery terminal to the engine. Now I was thinking about this later cause he said it would test the grounding but after more reading, it's not the battery grounding I'm concerned with but the starter grounding, right? Therefore, the test he did would not result in testing the grounding. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So what my next question is this, where can I take my car to have this done and not be raped in high prices? I know you're all thinking, don't you have a friend that can help....I hate to ask these favors so would rather pay a few bucks to get it done.

Also, everytime I see someone mention see pictures I don't see them. What's up with that? I could really use some cause I like to learn and look halfway intelligent when I walk into a shop. Thanks much.

 

Well, it could be your starter. You don't know for sure if they were lying to you (although, yes they were raping you at $440 - why does it not feel right to say "raping you" to a girl? - forgive me, just using your words). Anyway, most auto parts stores have free starter testing. I know a bench-test is better but I believe they can come out to your car and test the starter on the car. Try that. Did you have any transmission work down recently on your car? That's a tell-tale sign that it is probably a grounding issue. To answer your other question, no it sounds like the Nissan tech. did not do the test correctly. Run (at least) one jumper strap from the driver side half of the transmission (choose either of the 2 starter bolts) to the passenger side half (any of the umpteen bolts will do). Optionally (but recommended) run one more wire from any point on the previously mentioned jumper strap to the negative battery terminal. This whole thing is a hodge-podge fix (don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it!) and it really is so easy to do, it falls outside the scope of paying a mechanic. I would try doing it yourself or have a friend do it for you. I would offer but we're thousands of miles apart. Good luck.

- Josh

 

Ya, sorry about the terminology but that's how it felt. As a woman, you never know when it comes to vehicles if you're getting the true answer. That's why I like the Org so I can have some info before throwing myself to the wolves! They supposedly tested the starter but I saw nothing hooked up to it. He was going more on sound when turning it over. Maybe I'll go to Autozone. I understand they do tests like this for free.

I didn't think that test was what they said it was. I didn't even think about it till later
Should I buy one of these grounding kits I hear people talk about? Maybe I can figure it out from there. I'm thinking of using the 8 guage wire people have mentions. Sounds like that's middle of the road. I guess I'll be investing in a Haynes manual. Had one for my other Max but that was a 4th gen.

The car is starting now. It was just those 2 times it wouldn't start right away. But when you're not at home a no-start is never good!

No previous work on the tranny that I know of. But I bought it last February at 87K so who know what went on before that. The only work that's been done since I've had it is new exhaust from the cat back, couple of new tires and 2 O2 sensors and of course, oil changes.

 

Don't buy a grounding kit, they usually don't include a starter ground. If your starter is not grounded good you will need more than one 8 gauge wire or if you can get your hands on some 0,2,or 4 ga wire, do it! I have at least 4 wires on my stater(problems came back but were eliminated with more wire). There is a video somewhere in this thread of someone trying to start thier car. Have you seen this yet? Is your car similar to that? I made my own ground wires using 3/8 ring terminals that I slid over the front starter mounting bolt and ran the wire up to the negitive battery terminal using a smaller 1/4" ring terminal for the bolt on the negitive terminal. This took me a few hours the first time I grounded my starter. Now I could probobly do it in my sleep from re-doing and improving the grounds so much. The starter bolt is a pain to do if you don't have the right tools, they are on there tight. I see you are in WI, how far are you from St Paul? I have a mile of wire, an extra starter and some ring terminals. You are the only person anywhere near my area to have this problem(in this thread). Maybe I could help? As my user name states that I am crazy, I am not really...

 

Here's some more pics-

Rings terminals 3/8" size for the starter,1/4" size for battery terminal.


A ground wire will have to have the bare wire exposed at the end of the wire like this-


Slide that end in and crimp it with one of these-



Finished product

 

Starter mounting bolts that ground wires should be attatched to. I used the one towards the front of the car.

 

is having oxidation of the negative batt terminal the best indicator that the grounding on the car sucks?? i noticed this solved problems for most people who have starting problems with that is cranking. my car doesnt crank. its a 5 speed. i only hear 1 click. and someitmes a little hissing sound. 1 oout of every 20 or so attempts, the car will crank a little, i add gas and thats how i start the car every monrning.. will grounding solve my problems?

 

Not sure about your grounds but if your negitve cable is corroded I would look into changing that. Your battery may be weak also. Your battery may be weak because of the bad battery cables. How old is your battery? I would check those 2 things before add any grounds.

 

I think those red, slimely lubricants and little green and red foam 'donuts' that you can get at any auto parts store or Wal-Mart work pretty well in eliminating corrosion on the battery posts. I've head lemon juice works too (and even Vasoline) but I'd stick with the automotive specific items mentioned above. Buy those, also buy one of those little metal battery post cleaning tools (one side is a male wire brush, the other is a female with stiff bristles inside). Clean everything real well and stick on the anti-corrosion stuff. The white, powdery corrosion shouldn't come back.

 

Well said ptatohed... For some reason I was assuming the cable was corroding from the inside. My neg cable did that. By all means clean up your terminals and spray some protectant on them. Badly corroded battery cables will cause poor starts. Not sure that corrosion is a result of bad grounding, corrosion is common, you just have to keep it off your terminals.

 

hopefully thats my problem..there is a bunch of corrosion on mine...

my resting rate voltage(car not turned on) is like 11.9 to 12.1.. i think that is considered almost a full discharge of the battery. can this just be error from the corrosion..or is my battery fried. i think 12.65 is a full charge.

 

It sounds like your bat. is bad.

Battery:
<11.75V = dead
11.8 - 12.35V = Reacharge your battery
12.4 - 12.6V = good/charged


Alternator:
>14.8V = too high
13.4 - 14.75V = O.K.
<13.2V = too low

 

Here is what I did when daughters car would crank but not fire. Car has 127,000 miles on it she bought it at 105K and does no maintenance.

Changed plugs $30 walmart
Read this thread bought 2 - 4ga cables grounded tranny and starter $10 walmart.
Since I had the air intake replaced the air and fuel filters. $15 walmart.
Test for spark with fuel pump fuse removed - looks good.
Replace fuse car turns over maybe twice and stops - solenoid just clicks. Remove air intake remove starter. It is covered in carbon dust take it apart brushes are gone. Take it to rebuilder two hours later new brushes installed and starter is cleaned and greased. $35
Notice that neg battery cable has some corrosion internal pick up a new one at Napa $50.
Put starter in and new cable on and air intake back together turn key and starts and runs better than ever.
Total spent $140

Thank you I know any where I took it they would have just thrown parts at it and would have cost me 10 times what I spent and then it may not have started.

THIS THREAD NEEDS TO BE STICKY.

 

It will when it happens to a mod!


Say what the hell happened with 200KStrong's car?

 

Yeah, the concept should at least be a sticky (or placed within a sticky). This particular thread is too out of control to be a stand alone sticky. But, yeah, when it happens to a moderator - lol. crazy97, I would ask one of the moderators to at least link it from within one of the existing troubleshooting stickies. Also, you might contact GTRider at VQPower, he's always willing to post new info., especially if you had a write-up.

You scarred her away when you told her you weren't crazy! lol



jharriss, I didn't follow you exactly there. It didn't seem like this thread helped you, it just seems like you had a bad starter. No? I also don't like the "$30 spark plugs" from Wal Mart. You shouldn't be using anything but OEM NGK platinums ($16 ea. at Nissan, $8.25 on one of the discounted Nissan web dealers). Anyway, glad your daughter's car is running fine.

 

i think im gonna give up and just buy a new car. i spent the whole day tryign to fix this thing.

got new battery

regrounded the car.(sanded down factory ground points and added a ground frmo the starter to the negative chassis ground. and tranny to neg bat cable) this didnt help much although on one of the few times the car did start, it only cranked once and started great better than it use to.

checked the starter and tested the starter solinoid at kragen autparts. all test passed.

egr has alraedy been replaced

checked tb for extra buildup.

no check engine light

still no good. when i hit the ignition, i hear the starter hiss alittle like its powering up. there is a little click. no turning, no cranking. injectors working cause one of the times it did start, i smelled alot of super rich combustion, some smoke even made its way into my car.

ngk iridium ix plugs are less than 6 months old.


helllpppp

somoene said IAVC. what it this, what does it do, how does it relate to starting. and please link me up to a nice faq.

 

Ignition switch? Its only a $30-$35 part from the dealer

That hiss is the fuel pump turning on - you're probably flooding your engine with all the failed starts (I think you have to push down the gas pedal all the way and then try to start it up in order to unflood your engine)

Check your plugs to see if they're fine - maybe your coil packs?

 

its IACV, idle air control valve.
it controls how much air is going into the engine with idling, when the TB is completely closed.
i wouldn't think it has a whole lot to do with starting particularly, but its a good thing to clean

theres a good how-to on how-to clean it in the stickies

 

a very BIG thanks to this thread. my cefiro started as it should be.no more long cranking. i should have read this thread first before i changed my ECTS.also coming from a clutch job last february.and thats only on 8ga wire going directly to the starter bolt from the negative battery terminal.but tomorrow i will put in some 4ga wire and use the remaining wires for my DIY grounding kit.thank you very much maxima.org for this fix.really brings back the pride in owning a cefiro.

 

Who wants a sticky with 350 posts? How about someone goes through and makes a single post or write-up and I will stick THAT?

I am not sticking a thread this long. No one wants to read that many pages.

 

Agreed, I have to go back and make my grounding look cleaner and nice. I may take some pictures and do the write-up. I have a camera now I didn't back then.

 

UPDATE!! I just finished my 3.5 swap and did NOT re-install my grounding kit and yet my car starts up INSTANTLY! Here's what I did, obviously this is the move when the trans is out....

3M makes these flexible foam sanding disc's that attach to a 4.5" grinder, I think it's part of there somewhat new 'sandblaster' serious of products, but I'm not positive, anyways this one was the pink flexible one. I took one of these, attached to my '$20 special' grinder that has seen more abuse than anything I've ever owned and shouldn't still be working perfectly like it does, I quickly blasted around both mating surfaces, took less than two minutes and they looked brand new. Just be careful to hold it flat and have the center of the grinder on the inside as close to the surface and flat as possible, when they dig in the wrong way the grinder 'jumps' and it makes the pads wear fast. Anyways, after using the 3m sanding disc to quickly and easily get that polished brand new metal look on both surfaces, I tossed a wire-wheel onto my dremel and blasted up both mating surfaces for the starter itself, both on the tranny and the starter, this took another two minutes tops. Well, this definitly made a huge difference, even with grounding wires I still had it the tiniest bit, but now my car starts quicker than it ever has with nothing but the stock grounding set-up.