My '97 Maxima won't start. Newish battery, fully charged. All lights come on as normal but no clicking when I turn the key to engage the starter. No nothing.

I picked up a rebuilt starter and, when I opened the box, it contained a paper that said the most common reason for starter failure is failure of the starter relay. It said this relay must be replaced when installing a new starter.

It also said if the vehicle is equipped with an inhibitor relay, that needs to be replaced as well.

Now I'm wondering if the starter needs replacing at all. Maybe I just need the relays. After all, the car stopped starting suddenly with no indications of a failing starter.

Any words of wisdom on this?

Thanks

PS - It's a manual trans and I've tried actuating the clutch switch manually.

 

I just had the exact same problem, I did a whack of stuff, tests, jumping relays, etc.
First thing I did after replacing the starter (the motor was shot, armatures f'd up, and it also showed no real signs of failure)
take a test light or a multimeter and put it on the trigger wire for the starter, try to start the car, see if you have power, this will tell you right away if you have a bad connection or a bad solonoid on the starter. If you have no power there let me know I'll let you know what I did after that.

 

Hey, thanks.

I checked the voltage, and there's no power going to the positive connection on the starter either when the key is on or when turned to engage the ignition. There's also no drop in power when measuring the voltage at the battery when the ignition is engaged.

Edit: Doh! I checked on the wrong terminal. There is power to the positive connection on the starter, but not at any of the other connections or terminals when the key is turned.

 

ignition switch or the solenoid...

i had the same problem this weekend... replaced the solenoid brushes and stator... starts faster than it ever has....

 

Hmmmm... In the winter, I hear the starter 'sticking' for about an extra second or two. Now that it's warmer, I'm noticing that the car takes a second or two with the key turned. I bought a 'rebuilt' starter but there are a few things I'm worried with the new starter. One of the cables I can see since the rubber covering is completely ripped. Also, the nuts that hold the actual motor do not look like they were moved. They are full of brown rust with no blemishes on them which would indicate that they did not inspect that part... any suggestions?

I'm thinking I'm going to return it to the guy who I bought it from (someone from work) and pick up a proper starter. Also, what should I do with my original starter?

1998 SE w/128k miles

 

ur probably gonna have to give it to them as a core

 

Well, I think I've narrowed it down to a starter relay or the ignition switch. I've bypassed the clutch switch and confirmed that the starter works.

I'm going to need help figuring this out. Here is the relay box.

 

my solenoid went bad and the symptoms were that it cranked slowly if i hit it with pipe or hammer or something it ran fine... for a while...

 

Resolution

It wasn't the starter or the battery or any obvious relays.

I started the car by rolling down the hill from my house this morning. It bump started easily and ran great. I dropped it off at the dealer.

He called this afternoon to say that after a couple of hours of checking this and that, it suddenly started working. He's not sure why. He doesn't know what was wrong or if it's really fixed. Go figure.

The bright side is he wouldn't let me pay him for all his trouble.

 

LOL thats funny, but mine did the same thing, I'm pretty sure it was just loose wiring however, and in checking around it was fixed, also very likely that it was a crappy ground, I replaced the main grounds, cleaned all others, installed one from alt to chassis(good ground not the 14G that was there), and its good so far.
PS the wire you were supposed to check was the trigger, which is the plug in harness with only one spade inside the plug, when you turn the ignition to START with the clutch in you should have power there.
anyways happy to hear you're running again too, keep this in mind though in case it happens again, as am I.
Also I'd reccomend upgrading and adding grounds, I went with 1G, but you can find that info around the website or on others search for 'the big 3' and hit er up never hurts to know you have a good ground.

 

Per the earlier suggestions here, I checked the ground wire as part of my troubleshooting. I even took it out for a good look. As far as I can tell, it was the original, but it was still in great shape with good connectionS and no corrosion. Go figure.

 

Yeah until I fully inspected I though so too, the main ground from bat - term goes to the chassis, but is grounded through a bracket that had a layer of rust under it, and the ground from there to the block, the block also has a bracket the is somewhat corroded where the bracket goes in. I'd replace it anyways and clean all connections, removing the brackets as they are not neccessary they dont hold anything but the ground connection. Alternator is the same deal and is only grounded to chassis through a 16 G wire.

 

+1 for all the other guy ssuggesting grounds.

This happened on my 87 Corolla.
It wouldnt start but radio etc would turn on, and i could kick start it as well.
I took off the ground from the battery to the frame, cleaned and reconnected it, and didnt have any problems with it since then.

 

My GLE 97 Maxima died on me. I got the starter replaced, now it starts fine, but dies down the moment I press the gas paddle. Looks like the moment it gets lots of gas, it shuts down. Would anyone know why and how to fix it?

Also the "Check engine light" says replace O2 & Knock sensors