Intermittent 'cold' starting
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 21
Intermittent 'cold' starting
I mentioned this in someone else's post, but it seemed off-topic.
I have a 1999 Maxima with 113,000 miles. With the exception of a bad O2 sensor we have never had any probalems out of it.
Recently it would not start. The starter turned over and over, but made no hint of starting. The car was in the middle of a parking lot and I needed to get it home. It may be wrong, but I sprayed some starter/cleaner in the plenum. It kicked off and ran.
Over the last month the car failed to start 3 or 4 more times. Each time playing with the gas pedal position seemed to help get it going.
I read several posts about cleaning the plenum. I will do this today. The plugs are new, so I don't think this is the problem. I may be wrong, but those times it is having troubles starting and we finally get it going the exhaust fumes smell as if the fuel mixture was very rich.
I also read the sticky on TSBs. One mentioned POS not 180. How do I get the 'POS count'?
Another says Start Signal stays "OFF". How can I tell what state the start signal is in?
Anyone had this problem before. Any help would be appreciated.
I have a 1999 Maxima with 113,000 miles. With the exception of a bad O2 sensor we have never had any probalems out of it.
Recently it would not start. The starter turned over and over, but made no hint of starting. The car was in the middle of a parking lot and I needed to get it home. It may be wrong, but I sprayed some starter/cleaner in the plenum. It kicked off and ran.
Over the last month the car failed to start 3 or 4 more times. Each time playing with the gas pedal position seemed to help get it going.
I read several posts about cleaning the plenum. I will do this today. The plugs are new, so I don't think this is the problem. I may be wrong, but those times it is having troubles starting and we finally get it going the exhaust fumes smell as if the fuel mixture was very rich.
I also read the sticky on TSBs. One mentioned POS not 180. How do I get the 'POS count'?
Another says Start Signal stays "OFF". How can I tell what state the start signal is in?
Anyone had this problem before. Any help would be appreciated.
best 15 bucks you'll ever spend on your car.
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
iTrader: (19)
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,024
There are two crank position snesors, REF and POS.
REF is located on the crank pully and POS is under the car on the transmission bell housing, it looks at the flywheel. You can check them with an ohm meter.
Ignition switches are also a common failure with similar symptoms.
REF is located on the crank pully and POS is under the car on the transmission bell housing, it looks at the flywheel. You can check them with an ohm meter.
Ignition switches are also a common failure with similar symptoms.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 21
Yep. I missed that one. I also see the troubleshooting info, too. The REF and POS sensors show I can troubleshoot with the on-board diagnostics with either code 0407 (REF) or 0802 (POS).
If these codes are not present is it safe to assume this is not the problem?
Also- While cleaning the plenum I noticed what looked like resistance wires in the airstream between the air filter and plenum. I cleaned these, too. It appears to be going to the attached wire harness plug. What sensor is this?
If these codes are not present is it safe to assume this is not the problem?
Also- While cleaning the plenum I noticed what looked like resistance wires in the airstream between the air filter and plenum. I cleaned these, too. It appears to be going to the attached wire harness plug. What sensor is this?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
97_GXE
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
5
Sep 15, 2015 06:47 AM
QueensMAX
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
7
Sep 15, 2015 04:14 AM
trungg86
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
7
Sep 4, 2015 04:58 AM