Hi, first of all I'm french so if my typing look stupid don't laugh at me

First, my car is a Canadian 95 Maxima SE MT with about 225k on it (km)

My problem started about a year ago and it started gradually. Last year about at the start of the summer, my max would need 2-3 crank to start. Over the months, it got worst a little by little. When the winter and the cold came, it got alot worst. Typically it would need 15+ crank to start. And in the very cold days of winter, I could easily drain the battery attempting to start it.

Now the thing is, when it start, it will idle weird for about 3-4 seconds then will settle and run fine. If I stop the engine, and re-start right after, it will start fine.

This only happens when the car would sit for long period of time (like overnight). the longer it sits, the harder it is to start.

Now, what I have done/change so far:
-changed starter (I eventually killed the starter since it takes so many crank)
-changed injector (supposedly I had 2 leaking)
-changed fuel pressure regualtor (though it was loosing pressure in the line)
-changed coils
-changed CPS
-changed ECU
-added a ground body -> tranny and starter -> body
-fuel filter was changed about 25k ago
-changed sparks

There's no CEL codes, and we hooked up the car many time and there's nothing showing. Temp sensor are working fine too.

I'm pretty frustrated by this. My car is in mint condition and I love it but this problem makes me hate it. Now the summer is here so it's not as bad but I still need 5-6+ cranks to start

I've had 3 mechanics look at it and no one could fix it. I have an appointment tonight to another one who's suppose to be good with electronics so we'll see.

If anybody has a suggestion this would be very much appreciated and I will paypal 50$ anyone who help find my problem

thank you maxima.org, you're my only hope

 

I had a similar problem with my car when I bought it. my mechanic said the ignition switch was stripped

I don't know much about ignition systems but try mentioning that to your guy and see?

sorry I couldn't be more help

 

A faulty ignition switch causes a plain no start condition. What you'tre describing sounds like a bad CPS, but, you stated you already changed that. How is your ECTS?

How's your battery? That's a list from hell, so, did you change all those items, or did they tell you they changed them? How's the fuel pressure?

 

Hey there - Just another guess from Halifax - Look for any vaccuum leaks, like a cracked or loose hose and around intake. That could give hard starts, and get "better" when engine warms up and metal expands or hoses contract. . . I had that problem with another car years ago. Check all the air passages from scoop on back, for missing gaskets too.

 

Shoto925: the ignition switch was changed by previous owner, about 3-4 years ago. A mechanic did check it this winter and it "looked" fine by him

NmexMAX: yeah I changed the CPS with a brand new one and nothing improved. When we hooked up the max, the ECTS were reading fine so my guess is that they're working fine? My battery a about 3 year old and it look like it's fine. I could try another one though. And yeah that's a list from hell, and quite expensive too. I did not change that all at once but over the winter. basically a mechanic would tell me they thought that it was x problem and I would buy the part

Fasteddie01: great idea. I will have the mechanic look at all the vaccuums

thanks everyone

 

I was going to suggest the grounding - but it appears you already did that. Sorry.

 

I had an issue exactly like yours. I took out the stock ground and added about ten grounds(like an aftermarket grounding system) and it worked fine after. I see above you have tried adding more grounds, maybe there is a drain on the battery?

 

replace your batt if it is 3 years old, and clean your mass air flow sensor

 

Have you clean your existing grounds REALLY well?

 

My car is at the garage right now, tomorrow when I get it back i will try another battery. I have a new one in my other car. But I didn't know that a battery could but "useless" even if it's "working"? wow

Also I forgot to say that beside adding a ground to the starter and one to the tranny, I did also buy a grounding kit made for the max. Forgot who made it but there was an 4 additional ground like: body-> manifold, block->ground etc

NmexMAX: when I added the 2 grounds for the starter and tranny, I did clean the grounds really well for those AND the existing battery->body. I sanded everything well etc. I also changed the neg terminal to make sure.

But tomorrow when I get the car back, I will check every freaking ground on the car, re-clean them and also try another battery

I doubt the mechanic will find the problem lol. I told him to check the resistance on the ECTS to make sure

Again, thanks everyone and I will update soon


edit: subscribing to maxima.org was money well invested! this site has help me so much and I learn a ton!

 

this sounds very similar to my problem when it was my Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS). (I know you said the temp sensors are working fine sorry if you've already replaced this) Its a cheap little part that sits on top of the coolant "log" connecting the heads to each other. There's two plugs going to two different little sensors on the log, one of them is for the gauge, one is the actual sensor.

When mine was bad the car would only start easily if I kept the car warm. If the car cooled off I had to crank the HELL out of it and when it finally did start it would rev VERY strangely until it warmed up.

anyway its worth a shot, the part wasnt more than 20 bucks I dont think. I'll look and try to post up a picture in here.
here we go: They are anywhere from 10 to 20 bucks on rockauto.com and from Nissan around the same price I believe (at least the one I bought mine from). Make sure it looks like this one with the harness connector and not the one pin connector one (thats for the temperature GAUGE)

i'll try to upload a video of how my car acted when it was bad too.

people were telling me it was my ignition switch as well but I had replaced that in under a year.

 

On the coolant temp sensor. That will definately give you a very hard cold start if it's not working correctly.

 

Like Chillin014 said, replace that ECTS if you haven't already, they can do some funky things when they aren't functioning properly, and they're only about 20$, (Ontario was about 26$ IIRC)
It may just be adding to the list but definately for the price a good thing to replace because it'll crap out on you soon if it hasn't already.

Next, I didn't see air filter on your list, its about 28$ from the dealer, if you haven't got one in the last 10-20,000 KM, go get one.

The main thing I would be checking for is grounds, and after that, load test the battery (autozone, etc. will do this for free usually) to make sure its still good. As well check the positive battery terminal, take it right apart and clean all the connections.

After that, you mentioned changing the fuel regulator, but have you actually checked fuel pressure? you could be losing pressure through a line, etc. (not common but not impossible either)

Hope that helps.

Lastly, because no one has asked, how does it run when you get it going? Any hesitation at all through the RPMs, any thing like that?

 

Devast8,

I would suggest getting a hold of the factory service manual from www.phatg20.net. There are flow charts in the troubleshooting section that walk through all required tests to determine the specific cause for a general list of problems. These flow charts require quite a bit of patience to get through (and probably a multimeter and an osccilliscope), but you WILL find the problem eventually. Most importantly, don't replace any electrical parts (sensors, valves, etc.) unless you can correctly run the diagnostic for that specific component (also in the FSM) and have verified that it is for sure defective. Also check with auto parts store about tool loan programs, you might need a fuel pressure gauge and code reader. Good luck. rsmacman

 

Now that is a GREAT 1st post.

 

Ok just a small update.....mechanic called me and said that the downstream sensor had weird readings. he unhooked it and tried to start it and it was hard to start. Could this sensor cause this trouble? What are the symptoms of a bad downstream sensor? I know when my upstream sensors died I had a CEL, wouldn't it do the same thing to this one?

My car is ODB1 btw...

Also, he checked the pressure in the fuel line, and for some reason, it loose it's pressure little by little when the car is off. He blocked the return line and everything looked fine after. Now, I did that test about two months ago and that's why I had changed my FPR....I wonder what could cause this again?

I did order a new ECTS...only 24$ so it's not bad....I had a few parts to order anyway

and on top of that we found out yesterday that my water pump died.....more problems

 

rsmacman: thanks for the tip

 

on your car being OBD I.

Downstream O2 sensor will not cause any ill effects on the car's performance, it is there solely to monitor the condition of the main catalytic converter.

 

so in other words, even it's not there, it will not affect the car in any way?

for some reason I though 95 maxima were odb1. we learn something everyday I guess :-)

thanks NmexMAX

 

It's been highly debated until recently:


Courtesy of pmohr

 

The downstream 02 wont cause the issue you're having, even if its removed completely. But it should light up the SES

 

YOU JUST FIXED MY CAR.... THNX lol

 

better send me some money!!!!

jk. glad i could help

 

devast8, did you ever find your problem? a buddy with a strange starting problem found
the cure in replacing the small hose that joins the fuel pump to the module. the hose had basically dry rotted. it was very old and porus and allowed the fuel pressure to bleed off over time. because the pump worked and would build pressure, it was hard to detect. hope this is not too late and a help.