car cranks but won't turn over ...
 

Hello all,

I recently moved to Norwalk and suddenly my car 98-I30 doesn't start but cranks ... i got the car towed this evening ... want to know any good mechanics that you know of, who will do the best job without mis-diagnoze ... plz suggest ...

i got the starter replaced abt 4 months ago, and the battery is fine. Been having starting problems for a long time but when i got the starter replaced it seemed to go away .. It started again a month ago .. Funny thing is if the car is on a flat ground or slightlly down-incline, it'll start but if it's slightly up-inclined it will not turn over, however I can hear the starter rolling ... it just makess keeeesssss sound ... anyone had similar experience before like this ?

thanks

could be a number of things, first thing I would think of is cold start and go from there:gotme:

any codes? start there.

Crank Position Sensor! Its by the front motor mount, see if something happened to the plug for it? Don't know, but its possible and happened to me, search for more detailed instructions

I have the CEL on, and when I got it checked last time in autozone, seems it's the EGR related ... been having the starting problems the past month or two ...

hope it's not timing chain related, can it be ?!? i'll have to go thru the literature threads on testing the crankshaft position sensor ...

i was hoping that it'd start this morning but no it did not ... there were couple of very weak cranks, sounded as if it's gonna start but it gave up and i hear the starter rolling .. kssseeeee ..

it's just that i don't have garage and it's cold that i'm tempted to give it to a mechanic ...

is there anyone from norwalk ct area here plz ?

Very weak cranks, then you hear the starter 'rolling'? Sure it wasn't just clicking, i.e. low batt?

http://forums.maxima.org/forumdisplay.php?f=11

no clicking ... battery is fine, all lights interior dash n exterior heads glow, radio/cd works ... starter is turning and keeps on turning if I hold the key turned ... there were just 3 very weak cranks out of 15 attempts ...

i posted in the regional forum too but no response yet ... donno if there are no orgers from norwalk at all :(

Can a clogged fuel filter result in low enuf fuel pressure to cause "crank-but-no-start" situation ?

Can bad fuel pump cause this ? I believe fuel pump for A32 is inside the tank, true ?

any help appreciated ... plz ...

The issue is either the starter, or its a poor ground,
I'd place money that its BOTH. If the ground hasn't been upgraded/installed on the starter to the chassis you will be just shy on voltage to actually spin it fast enough. But after the constant cranking the starter is likely just about shot, or is cooked.

Get an OEM starter, junkyard or buy new.
Install a good 4G ground from the starter to the chassis.

I say it's a bad ground between engine and tranny. I had a similar problem, mine would still start, but it would crank forever and finally struggle to life. I ran many ground wires with little improvement...When I did my clutch, I sanded the mating surfaces on the tranny and engine. Problem fixed!

never thought of running a huge ground straight to the starter tho...definitely give that a try!

could also be crank sensor (there are 2) or cam sensor.

good luck!

"Funny thing is if the car is on a flat ground or slightlly down-incline, it'll start but if it's slightly up-inclined it will not turn over"

you guys think this could be the fuel pump... I'm having the same "crank but no start" issue, but I've narrowed it down to the injectors... They aren't getting a signal, now the mech. is trying to find out why they aren't.... I just did my fuel pump and it wasn't bad... other than that I had half a tank of gas....

u were right TumerMaxima3000 ... it was the starter ... I bought Bosche Reman starter on sept 5th 2007, and it went bad :( .. mechanic put up a new reman starter ... same bosch one but this model is different from the old one .... it's starting now like a charm ...

sorry for all the trouble ...

check your power to your coils and power down to the crank sensors. i have the same problem now. my ecu wouldnt send a signal to my injectors then i tested everything and found out that there was no pwer down to the crank sensors or the coil packs. I gave up after a while and took it to nissna and they found out all the same things i had told them. I first thought it was immoilizer issue which can be trigured if you put a different key in the ignition by accident. But it wasnt so my ecu was fried along with the wiring harness?? Dont know how those go bad but I replaced both just to make sure and now I am about to get the new ecu reprogrammed. So if all else fails sorry to tell you but you may have a bad ecu.

Check all of your fuses first, underhood ones especially.

I have the infamous "crank but no start" issue also. I just bought a 95 SE 5 sp. maybe about more than a month ago. Runs perfect, great car until one morning it decided to not start! Went ahead and replaced it, problem went away...fast forward 2 weeks later and same problem again! No start!

I replaced the starter AGAIN and the problem was solved, but now the car would not start unless you stepped on the gas pedal. The car would have no problems starting unless it was cold. I had the Max towed to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the camshaft position sensor needed to be replaced. (pulled the codes; CEL on) I got that replaced and all was fine until no later than 3 days later...it would continuously crank, but no start!

I have a red top optima which is discharged from continuously trying to start it. The mechanic checked all my grounds/ connections and they were all fine. The starter is new and turns over, I replaced the plugs with NGK plat's, checked all fuses and they were all fine...I am totally clueless to what is going on?? How can such a great car have so many start up issues that can't be simply fixed. I find myself guessing what is wrong with the car???

I do not mean to flood the posts with my same question, but I need the car to run!

Thanks

^If you took a moment to read you'd realize that your problem has been answered a couple times. Regardless of your mechanic 'checking' the grounds. Do what I stated and come back if it doesn't work.
But it will.