Maxima95GLE

I've looked at the previous posts, but none have a satisfactory answer to my problem in my 1995 Maxima GLE w/ auto transmission. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that my car's starter has been occasionally cranking slowly (usually on a warm start), but eventually the car will start.

However, on my way to visit family (8 hour drive), I was stopped at a rest area, and when I tried to start the engine, it did crank very slowly for ~4 sec, then there was no longer any cranking action. I tried to crank the engine again, and it didn't even want to turn over (i.e. NO cranking, no clicking whatsoever). I repeatedly tried to crank the car, but it would not crank at all. Nonetheless, about 1hr later, I found someone give me a jump, and my car jumped right away, with flawless cranking. So I'm thinking it must be the battery. The next morning (a cold start) the car cranks rather normally. Thus, I drive to the autoparts store to test the battery. They just went ahead and replaced it, which was covered under a warranty. Guess what? After replacing the battery w/ a new one, the car cranks right away on the first cycle. On the second cycle, no cranking action at all. I had to get a jump again to start up the car (black smoke upon initial start).

My problem is still persisting. Anyone w/ any ideas as to what may be going on?

Speebs

iTrader: (2)

I had a similar problem in my 95 GLE auto. It would turn over really slow, eventually not at all, but it would jump strat immediately with no problems. It turned out to be a defective starter. You may want to look into that (although I had no smoke coming out of my car - eek!)

Hope this helps,

Speebs

Daniel B. Martin

Thank you for the long and detailed report of symptoms. You did not mention the odometer reading or whether this is the original starter motor. This response assumes typical mileage for a '95 (upward of 80K miles) and that the starter is original equipment. It also assumes the man who installed the new battery cleaned and inspected the battery terminal clamps and they are in good condition.

Chances are the starter is shot. Here's an experiment you may make to confirm this hypothesis. Equip yourself with a hammer and a 16" long broomstick. Next time the engine won't crank, raise the hood and position the stick vertically, just behind the black plastic intake duct, with the bottom end touching the starter motor. Use the hammer to give the top end of the stick a sharp blow. If the starter then cranks normally, you need a new starter.

Maxima95GLE

I was looking to start up my car again today, but I noticed that the "MIL" light was on, thus this should help to diagnose things out. As I'm at my brother's house visiting, I don't have any fancy electronics to use to diagnose my car's condition. I scheduled an apptment w/ the local Nissan dealer to have them give me a read on the starter. I was wondering, what do you think of a bad starter solenoid--would this give me some of my symptoms that I've described previously? I'll have a report on this when I get it figured out, to let others know about this problem in the future.

As for the black smoke (only for about 5 sec), I'm assuming that it's just an initially rich fuel mixture from previous cranks that were unsuccessful? Otherwise, my car does not give out the black smoke (just initially after it starts, it just started to do this concurrent w/ the starting problems). Further, there is a "gaseous" smell that will persist after I started the car, but it doesn't linger for more than about 1 minute, but that may be somehting separate, as it only does it on cold starts. Any more help would be great--thanks again!

Daniel B. Martin

You need only a flat-blade screwdriver. You will find instructions to do a DTC readout and reset the Check Engine light at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

The DTC "translations" are found at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecudecoder.html

Yes.

That's a fair guess... but facts are better than guesses. Please do a Diagnostic Trouble Code readout and post the results here.

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

And be sure to read the "sticky" post for the DTC translation and explanation of further diagnostics.....

gabuchu

You said you were going to start the car and you saw the mil on. So the car was not running right? When the car is running and the mil is on, then you might have a code. Otherwise with just the key on, the mil is suppose to be on.

Maxima95GLE

Let me know of what you guys think on this. I just got my car back from the Nissan dealer, and they mentioned that my error code (using Nissan diagnostic tools, I'm assuming) was P1335, crankcase position sensor. Quoting from the service advisor, he mentions that it's "usually due to a bad battery (or connection) or a bad starter."

Now is: 1) the factory error code correct, as the second set of numbers is WAY higher than the ECU decoder lists, or is it propriety information when the dealer decodes my car? 2) is what the service advisor is telling me true? They mention that I need to get my starter replaced (which I can get at $210 (discounted about 20%) from the local dealer w/ some haggling) as they know that it's not the battery (it's 2 days old).

Currenlty, I can start my car off and on w/o any glitches, and all that they did was read off the ECU w/ their equipment. Once again, thanks ahead of time for the advice. I won't replace the starter just yet, and will wait to see what happens after I've driven my car around and have it warmed up. Looking back, I shoud have done the ECU analysis myself and saved $70--but the getting early is not my forte--future MIL lights will be checked BEFORE I bring it in to them.

Daniel B. Martin

P1335 = 0407 = Crankshaft Position Sensor (REF).
See http://web2.airmail.net/scutchen/max_faq/engcodes2.gif

Maxima95GLE

Daniel: Thanks for the cross-reference code link! However, what do you think about question #2 (about the dealer replacing the starter to remedy the problem or is my crankcase position sensor really out of commission)? As of today, my car will crank "faster" but not quite as fast as it normally does (but definitely faster than previous episodes) and the ignition doesn't catch immediately (but it does start up eventually after about 4s of cranking), but I don't have the problem of the starter not cranking at all (yet), as I had the previous few days.

Lastly, for anyone, is there a way for someone to pass me the information (via scanned page or typed in text) for the P1335 code (crank position sensor [ref])? Looks like the reference page is EC-298 in the factory shop manual, based on the link that Daniel posted.

Many thanks!

Daniel B. Martin

The Crankshaft Position Sensor (REF) is located immediately below the crankshaft pulley.
- Remove the electric connector.
- Remove the two mounting bolts.
- Remove the sensor from the vehicle.
- Visually check the crankshaft pulley and the sensor for chipping.
- Check the resistance of the sensor. At 68 degrees F the resistance should be 470-570 ohms.

For more information about the CPS(REF) refer to the Chilton repair manual (page 4-21) or the Haynes repair manual (page 6-12).

Maxima95GLE

Thanks so much for your help Daniel! I'll look into purchasing either a Chilton's or Haynes at a local autoparts store here (a factory service manual would be better though!), so I can figure out where the sensor is exactly--w/o a new part handy to compare to; right now, I'm guessing that it's on the upper portion of the front V-bank (immediatley below the injectors; facing the passenger side of the car, on the face where all of the belts are), and it's the only thing there, and looks like it's circular (about 1" in diameter w/ the harness sticking up) and goes straight into the cylinder bank. I truly wish I brought my digital camera from Seattle w/ me to share the picture of what I think the CPS is located and to confirm the part.

Daniel B. Martin

The aftermarket manuals are a good choice for most home mechanics. Haynes is better than Chilton. For a detailed comparison of manuals, see http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/manualcompare.html

Wrong guess. Go back and read my previous post. It tells you exactly where the CPS (REF) is located.

Maxima95GLE

After looking at some of the differentials, the solution ended up being replacement of the starter.

I did think that the crankshaft position sensor (REF) might be the problem (as the MIL light code was 0407 (which I read off the car today), and CONSULT code P1335 (obtained from the dealer a few days ago at $70--OUCH!!!); both codes meant a problem w/ the CPS(REF) circuit and/or sensor), but then, the MIL light didn't come up for the car while I was driving (except about 3 weeks later) after I had the initiation of the starting problems (recap: occasionally, starter would either crank very slowly and then die, or not crank at all, as time progressed, the frequency of starting problems increased; my car could only be started by using a jump-start or letting the car sit for about 30-40 minutes). That likely ruled out the CPS (REF) sensor (about $60 retail)--although it could have been checked by measuring the resistance of the sensor. What tripped off the MIL light to read that the CPS(REF) sensor was faulty was more than likely that the starter was causing the ECU to get erroneous readings from the engine as it turned at variable cranking rates (speculation on my part).

Thus, from the other differentials to the problem, I checked the battery terminal connections (neg. terminal and cable was corroded from leakage from the old battery), but the both terminals checked out to be fine. As I got a replacement battery a few days ago (free under warranty), that was also very unlikely a cause of the problem. Further, I had Schuck's Auto parts test my charging system (a free courtesy test they do for the asking), and they found nothing abnormal--everything was working normal, except for the starter cranking problem.

Thus, I finally realized that the starter would probably needed to be replaced (I tried to set this option off, unless no other fixes were viable or pertinent). After I changed the starter to an OEM remanufactured one ($210 from a local Nissan dealer, about $40 off full retail; I told them that I'll buy off the internet if they can't lower their full retail price and parts manager complied), all of the aforementioned starting problems disappeared--the car cranks up fast (within 1s) and without any of the slow cranking or non-cranking symptoms of the old starter.

After reading the code, I did reset the MIL light as well. From the 5 separate errand trips today, there has been no reoccurence of the MIL light. Thus, the problem is fixed! (well, keeping my fingers crossed).

Hope this information helps out others in the future.
For those that replied--thanks for the help, it's been much appreciated.

tha_kwak

Well, I am truly sorry that I didnt get to this post SOOOOONER.

You stated that there was no Clicking or cranking right?
Yet, the lights and such would come on.

Then, instead of replacing your starter, you SHOULD have checked the SOLENOID first. I am 99% sure that it was your STARTER SOLENOID, not your starter in whole.

Could have saved yourself some cash. 8^)

Maxima95GLE

tha_kwak:

Thanks for the post--but it's too late now that I've returned the core starter (my original one)! Anyways, it's been replaced, and should last me for a few trouble-free years. Next time, I'll look into the solenoid replacement (yes, definitely cheaper than replacing the whole starter), if I get the same symptoms again.

Funny thing was, earlier this week when I took my car in to get the MIL light read, the sevrice manager (Jeff, I believe) at the Nissan dealership that I went to have my car looked at (Dennis Dillon in Boise, ID) mentioned that I needed to have the WHOLE starter replaced, and there wasn't anything else that could have been done. As I work to fix people, not cars for a living, I figured he might know what he was doing and trusted the guy, but then again, he did mention that I had a non-Nissan starter in my car, and that if they replaced it, I wouldn't be able to get my core charge back ($60) and would have charged me an install fee of $140! I told them I'd do it myself, and once I did replace the starter, I found that the SM had blatantly lied to me, as my starter was the original OEM Nissan starter. I wonder if these guys get some sort of comission trying to charge excess services and parts, and further, just because I'm visiting from out of town does not mean that they can try to ream me more.

Live and learn. I'm happy my car starts and have this problem squared away.

Daniel B. Martin

This is not possible. Service Managers never lie. It must have been an honest misunderstanding.

Maxima95GLE

Of course not

MikesMax1

I have 95SE (80K miles) Maxima with the same problem as stated in this thread except I do not have any black smoke. When the check engine light came on I brought it to my local mechanic, who told me the code indicated the (0407) crankcase sensor, he replace the sensor, but about 3 months later it came on again. I brought it back and it indicated the same code. He told me to bring it to the dealer because they should be able to get to the bottom of it. I brought it the dealer who also told me it indicated code P1335. However they told me that there may be a short in a wiring harness somewhere in the car. They said they need to trace the entire wiring system and the sensor may have to be replaced and wanted me to commit to a minimum of 7 hours of labor. After 7 hours they would call me with an update and ask for a commitment of more time if they didn't find the problem. I did not like the answer and I did not have the time to commit to leave the car. I had the pleasure of paying the dealer $85 for this information. A friend told me about this website, I am glad he did. Do you think the dealer was incorrect in there diagnosis, I have never used that dealer before. Should I have my mechanic replace the start selenoid, and / or the starter. I am hoping that this will solve my problem.