now the POS won't start
05-02-2006, 08:27 PM
#1
now the POS won't start
Even though i have NEVER EVER gone to an automatic carwash in my life, my friends convinced me that it will be ok because all of them go to automatic carwashes and its fine. I went though, i must admit the car looked pretty good after the wash. I parked in a parking lot about 20 ft from the carwash, turned it off, and went outside to talk to my friend for about 10 minutes. Got into my car, started it, and it died after 5 seconds. Tried starting it again a minute later, it started but died in 3 seconds. Then tried again, and this time i pressed the gas, and it just died. Seems like it wasn't getting any fuel at all because the battery is completely fine because it sounds like its about to start but never does.
I'm going back tomorrow morning and trying to fix it, but i have no clue. I'll check all the hoses/fuel lines first, then i'll check the fuel pump fuse. I hope that it just dries up by tomorrow morning and just starts up without me having to fix it.
Another terrible thing is that my parents are both in England at the moment, so even IF i was willing to have my car towed to a shop, i wouldn't have any money to do that.
Anybody, PLEASE help me out, i really need to get this fixed tomorrow. Anybody maybe had similar problems? Anythign helps.
I'm going back tomorrow morning and trying to fix it, but i have no clue. I'll check all the hoses/fuel lines first, then i'll check the fuel pump fuse. I hope that it just dries up by tomorrow morning and just starts up without me having to fix it.
Another terrible thing is that my parents are both in England at the moment, so even IF i was willing to have my car towed to a shop, i wouldn't have any money to do that.
Anybody, PLEASE help me out, i really need to get this fixed tomorrow. Anybody maybe had similar problems? Anythign helps.
05-02-2006, 08:46 PM
#2
hopefully it dries out. if you need a new starter i have one for sale but it sounds like yours is fine because it's turning over. make sure you have some way to jump it cranking it drains the battery rather quick. generally cars don't start because it isn't getting one of the 3 main things:
fuel
spark
air
also check your car for codes...
good luck hopefully something just got wet that shouldn't have...
a bad MAF can act funny and in similiar ways. if your maf goes bad i have one of those for sale too.
again good luck let us know how it all works out!
fuel
spark
air
also check your car for codes...
good luck hopefully something just got wet that shouldn't have...
a bad MAF can act funny and in similiar ways. if your maf goes bad i have one of those for sale too.
again good luck let us know how it all works out!
05-02-2006, 09:46 PM
#4
something similar happened to me, i was washing my car and sprayed water on the splash guards inside the wheel wells. afterwards, my car wouldn't start at first and started rough for a while after that... i don't know if something just got wet or if the water knocked something slightly loose, but i'd say check all the electrical connections under the car, get a jump, and if none of that works just give it a couple days and try again.
05-03-2006, 04:23 AM
#5
k thanks guys.
keep the replies coming, i skipped school today to try to fix the car. I'm gonna go down there in our other max and try to fix it, i'll come back online in a few hours to see if there are any more useful replies.
keep the replies coming, i skipped school today to try to fix the car. I'm gonna go down there in our other max and try to fix it, i'll come back online in a few hours to see if there are any more useful replies.
05-03-2006, 04:59 AM
#7
Senior Member
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Location: Alexandria, VA, & Central Jersey
Posts: 2,647
Originally Posted by njmaxseltd
The car wash has nothing to do with the reason your car isn't starting.
You do drive in the rain without any problems, don't you????
You do drive in the rain without any problems, don't you????
05-03-2006, 07:13 AM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 821
at least where I got to get my car washed the underbody spray has less pressure than the overhead, to avoid damaging anything. I pay 30 bucks for a single wash+wax (that incluides clean interior but not shampooing the carpet for that it's another 30) but I'm happy with it once it's done, like the saying goes Quality over Quantity. 
05-03-2006, 04:58 PM
#11
Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
Did you look out for the security light like I told you too? If not, time to look....
This might be a lot to read, but i would really appreciate somebody wiht knowledge about this to respond.
I got some starting fluid and sprayed it into the intake, and the car started and reved up and everything, but as soon as i stop spraying, the car dies. It's a fuel problem for sure. I unscrewed the fuel filter top line to check if the filter is clogged, but it was fine. Cranked the car with the fuel line off, and the fuel started coming out pretty rapidly, so im GUESSING the fuel pump is fine. Now the only things that could be non functional are the following:
1. Injectors-Although its doubtfull, but it COULD be the problem. The reason i say its doubtfull is because if one of the injectors was bad, it would still start, or at least sound like its making an attempt. Its really unlikely that more than 2 injectors went bad at the same time, unless there was something in the gas that i filled up with before the carwash right there.
2. The line going from the filter to the injectors. This is pretty doubtfull as well because the filter should of stopped any large particles that could even have a chance of clogging up that line.
Now i can just guess that the fuel pump is not putting out enough pressure to feed the car, but it should still at least try to start, right? Or maybe my fuel pump was going to the point of bein too weak to work when i started it first after getting the carwash and it died, since it ran for a shorter amount of time everytime i started it. I bought a fuel pressure tester to hook up to the fuel rail, but nobody had one for nissan, and i couldn't really find the valve where i could hook up the tester anyways even if i got the correct one.
Guys please help me, the owners of the store said that i need to get it fixed by this weekend or they'll call a tow truck. Both of my parents are out of the country, and i don't have enough money to call a towtruck myself, and even if i did, i would much rather fix the problem on the spot. Thanks to everybody who replied so far, keep the replies coming.
05-03-2006, 06:05 PM
#12
Ummm I still think it's the immobolizer, watch for the light as you crank, what it does is cut off the fuel to your car so nobody could steal it. If I'm right, all you have to do is get your keys reprogrammed.
05-03-2006, 06:26 PM
#13
Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
Ummm I still think it's the immobolizer, watch for the light as you crank, what it does is cut off the fuel to your car so nobody could steal it. If I'm right, all you have to do is get your keys reprogrammed.
05-03-2006, 06:46 PM
#15
BTW if you are curious why I am limiting it to this problem is b/c you are a 99, and this has happend to me before, it cost me $85 to get the keys reprogrammed, and it could ONLY be done at the dealership.
05-03-2006, 06:47 PM
#16
Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
BTW if you are curious why I am limiting it to this problem is b/c you are a 99, and this has happend to me before, it cost me $85 to get the keys reprogrammed, and it could ONLY be done at the dealership.
05-03-2006, 07:25 PM
#20
check your fuel pump
your symptoms sound like a fuel pump problem. if you crank the car you have to give it gas to have it stay on right? and if you do, do you see jet black smoke fly out the exhaust? if you do then most likely your not getting enough pressure out of your fuel pump. all cause you see gas shoot out of the line does not mean your getting enough pressure through the fuel system.
this is just my suggestion PLEASE DONT TEAR APART YOUR CAR AND THEN BLAME ME IF ITS NOT FIXED
what i suggest you do is check your fuel pump fuse and relay, and if you can get your hands on one of those fuel pump pressure reader guages to test it, check it. a fuel pump can go dead at any time regardless of wether your at a car wash or crank it in the morning to go to work.
worst comes to worse if that car wash had that under-chassis wash then something that was not intended to get wet got wet from underneath and caput!
check your fuel pump pressure
if its not that......
?!?!?!?!
then maybe it is the immobilizer
good luck man
god bless
your symptoms sound like a fuel pump problem. if you crank the car you have to give it gas to have it stay on right? and if you do, do you see jet black smoke fly out the exhaust? if you do then most likely your not getting enough pressure out of your fuel pump. all cause you see gas shoot out of the line does not mean your getting enough pressure through the fuel system.
this is just my suggestion PLEASE DONT TEAR APART YOUR CAR AND THEN BLAME ME IF ITS NOT FIXED
what i suggest you do is check your fuel pump fuse and relay, and if you can get your hands on one of those fuel pump pressure reader guages to test it, check it. a fuel pump can go dead at any time regardless of wether your at a car wash or crank it in the morning to go to work.
worst comes to worse if that car wash had that under-chassis wash then something that was not intended to get wet got wet from underneath and caput!
check your fuel pump pressure
if its not that......
?!?!?!?!then maybe it is the immobilizer
good luck man
god bless
05-03-2006, 07:27 PM
#21
and by the way dont let anybody tow your car. its cheaper to pay $50 and have it towed to your front yard or parking lot than to have to pay some schmuck $250 to get it out of the towing yard without (hopefully) any damage
05-04-2006, 08:00 AM
#26
Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Alexandria, VA, & Central Jersey
Posts: 2,647
the fuel pump is actually in the gas tank. What you're gonna have to do is take off ur back seats and there should be like a circular cap taht u can open. Thats where the fuel pump is located. Doesn't seem hard, but just a pain in the *** because u can damage soemthing in there that's costly. At least thats what i've been told. Goodluck, hopefully it's just your key. lemme know whats going on wit ur car...
05-04-2006, 11:35 AM
#27
i jumped the car cause the battery is dead now, and after about 5 seconds of cranking it, the security light turned on and stayed on, so its the immobilizer
i'm definatly donating to maxima.org after i get my paycheck next friday, thanks guys!
i'm definatly donating to maxima.org after i get my paycheck next friday, thanks guys!
05-04-2006, 04:07 PM
#29
Member
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 147
Same exact thing happened to me about 2 years ago. What's frustrating about the whole thing was that the dealer couldn't give me a logical explanation as to why the immobilizer needed to be reset. It's not like I stuck a different key into the ignition, or anything.
05-04-2006, 06:26 PM
#31
This ORG has saved me $$$$$$$$
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 665
I was going to say my 93 currently has a bad injector and starts and runs. In fact I've been driving it for a week now with the bad injector. Of course you can tell something is wrong but nothing like what you were talking about. I'm replacing the injector this Saturday though.
05-04-2006, 06:48 PM
#32
Originally Posted by 99grnmaxgxe
Since it's the immobolizer, I will say "You're Welcome!" 
Tomorrow im going to try to get my friend's AAA to tow my car to the dealership where they can reprogram it for 35 bucks. I thought it would be way more because its the dealership, but only 35 bucks.
Anybody know if AAA will tow my car if my friend says that he was driving it? I absolutely have to get this thing towed now, the owners of the store im parked next to are getting pissed.
05-05-2006, 11:13 AM
#34
The tow truck is on its way, but i just thought of something though.
The car was starting up for a few seconds at first then dying.
If the immobilizer was messed up, wouldnt it not start up at all?
Maybe the engine had some fumes in it to help get the car started?
I just dont want to have my car towed to a dealership and then find out that its not the problem. Please respond ASAP!!!!!!!!!!
The car was starting up for a few seconds at first then dying.
If the immobilizer was messed up, wouldnt it not start up at all?
Maybe the engine had some fumes in it to help get the car started?
I just dont want to have my car towed to a dealership and then find out that its not the problem. Please respond ASAP!!!!!!!!!!
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