I had the exact same problem as you and I went through a 3 starters, and an ignition switch and the problem keept coming back. Then i had the crank sensor replaced and it fixed the problem for good. So just keep my experiece in mind because it sounds like you could be in the same situation.

 

i hope not, and to that noob with 11 posts: READ THE WHOLE THREAD

 

well, that's good that you got it fixed. I'm glad that you didn't get stranded like I did when mine went bad.

 

i almost did, i was on my way home from work and needed to stop by a gas station to take out some cash from an ATM, at night. Went back to my car and crank crank crank, im sitting there like DAMN finally, but , please baby start, dont do this to me now.....i guess she listened - good girl

 

Hi,
I am also having a problem with the starter lately, and it might be time to replace it.
Can someone please explain to me how to remove above items from the picture?

Square: Does this piece come off? How? Which way should I pull?

Circle: Does this metal piece comes off as well? I don't think I have enough clearance to remove the bolt.

Arrow: How can I remove this cable? This also hinders me to access the longer bolt.

I am just afraid to damage any electrical parts. Any advice?
Thanks in advance.

 

^^^ The square holder is a clamp. It's basically a circular band, and one end goes under the other and hooks to a little lip. I can't tell if yours is exactly like mine, but on mine I take a flat head screwdriver (pointing towards the wheel) and slip it under the clip, then lift up (gently). That raises the lip high enough so the end of the band can slip out. The only reason to take this off, though, is to get to the clip that holds the trigger wire, which is underneath. I don't see that wire on yours, so I'm not sure it's the same. If it isn't, you may not have to mess with the square clip at all--just unbolt the wire from the starter.

Circle: You can just pull the cable out (towards you), and the metal holder is failrly flexible, so you can bend it out of the way a bit. But I usually don't have to do that. There should be enough room to get a socket extension in there and get the bolt out.

Arrow: Once the starter is out, just twist it around and it'll come out. I ususally end up taking it towards the firewall, then bringing it out above that wire, IIRC.

 

thats a great picture, and the above instructions are 100% correct about the 3 items..

Since its my thread i own that picture now and can discuss it all i way HEHE

If i was to put an extra 4 gauge ground cable on the starter which bolt should i use ? its been a while since i replaced ,my starter and don't remember the upper bolt's location (and there is no way i am playing around with that lower biatch bolt again !!! ) can i just use the easy to reach bolt thats beside the upper right hand side on that square in the picture ?

 

Andrei3333, I would use the bolt that is closest to the arrow. That is the bolt that I used when grounding my starter. From what I have hear from others on this board I would ground the starter to the block and the tranny. I would also check the tranny ground, the ground on my max was completely shot so if it is bad on yours you might as well change it. Check out the picks form my post on this issue.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=541629&page=2

you dont need to remove the bolt on the starter completely, I just backed it out far enough to slide the spade connector in and then tighten down. Good luck

 

DUDE that is a GOLDEN LINK

Those pictures and instructions are EXACTLY what i was looking for, i really hope this solves my problem,. Search on this site is not the greatest because i have searched the heck out of it and still missed your golden thread... THANKS i hope it works this Saturday

BTW ONE point i should make, you should disconnect the battery when working on the car, especially when connecting new grounds like this and doing any electrical work!

its hard to tell exactly , but how long (in inches) do both wires need to be not to have too much slacking cable laying around zip tied or whatever ?

 

Andrei3333, thats a hard one. I can check tomorrow and get back to you. I really didnt have any "extra" wiring hanging around. After I was done you cant even tell the ground has been replaced, it is all tucked away under the airbox. I will probably choose a better grounding bolt, maybe the intake plenium bolt closest to the starter. I think that is a better ground point then the fender. I will let you know tomorrow.

 

Mine does this too. I have to wiggle the key around the ignition and find that sweet spot for it to turn on. Start works perfect, just sometimes the ignition dont flip.

 

Thanks DBEAR,
I was able to remove those two bolts from the starter. The upper bolt was easy with your instruction, but lower bolt took most of my time(2-3 hours). I didn't have enough clearance to move a breaker bar. I ended up removing a strut bar, then I got some clearance. Thank you once again, I will post you update.

 

I added more grounds today. one from the frame to the tranny and another from the starter to the frame, the idle is stronger all of the sudden by about 50-75 rpm. but the problems persists.

It seems that if i am standing at a red light and if at that time the lights come on and i play wit hthe shifter putting it in N or R or 1, 2 and P it affects the lights, sometimes they turn off and come back, sometimes not, also if i accelerate hard and the tranny downshifts it seems the lights MAY sometimes turn off...another thing i notice is lets say i am at a red light and the ! and batt lights suddenly come on. my idle increases from about 600 to about 800, at what time the lights MAY sometimes turn off and the idle lowers itself back to 600. its like the car is trying to raise the RPM to create more voltage...

I understand that the higher the rpm the higher the voltage being produced by the alternator. but the lights can also come on while i am on the highway doing 120km/h...

i have been waiting for 3 months for this problem to get worse and my battery or alternator to die so i could finally figure out this problem and it has NOT gotten any different no matter how many ground cables i put on it...