Hi guys,

I have 97 Maxima with 140K miles. I can't start the car from jump start. But with a brand new battery, I was able to start the car without any hesistation. I don't know if this is a battery problem because the battery was less than a year old. It looked like something might have happened while I drove it out after first jump start.


Here is a full story.

Last week, I can't start the car due to a drained out battery with unknown reason. After jump start, I drove 2-3 miles. While I was driving it, I smelled something burning like electrical component.
So I pulled into a parking lot, and I try to restart the engine.
The car couldn't start, so I tried to jump start again. But this time, it was very hard to start. Once I finally got the engine start, but I lost it when I depress gas on drive gear. I was able to depress the gas under Parking gear.
I thought it may be something to do with an alternator. So I ended up tow my car to my garage.
First, I picked up a new battery, and I was able to start the car. I removed the both Negative and Positive cable while it's running. It was running good, so alternator is ok. Voltage measurement came out to be little bit over 14.

Do you think this is a simple battery problem? Then, how come I can't jump start anymore?
I am afraid to take it out the car because it may be stall again. Does faulty starter need extra boost from a new battery?

 

sounds like a battery problem... i had the same issue my battery was about 7 months old so i didnt think it to be the problem so i first changed my alternator and when i tried to start it it wouldnt start so then i went and got my battery tested and it turned out to be bad changed it problem fixed. hope this helps

 

Thanks, I hope it's just a battery problem.
But based on the fact that I couldn't jump start without a battery, it makes me have a doubt, it's more than a battery issue.

 

if you do get a battery get a optima or interstate. where i leave there is a store i got a 1000CA/800CCA red top for $125. i have had 2 duralast(autozone) batteries go bad, each lasting 2yrs and each costing like $70 each. im done with does batteries. im happy with my red top and i dont think ill be left in a parking lot waiting for a friend/family to jump start me.

*edit*
change out the ground cable, its like $8. My bro max had a similar problem and it was the ground cable from the battery to the engine.

 

My guess is battery and a bad connection at the alternator

My guess is that funny smell was a lot of unburnt fuel coming out of your exhaust due to the low power situation. First I would check all the connections to the alternator and make sure they are clean and tight. If this continues to happen chances are it is your alternator on the way out. I had an infinity that had a similar problem to this where it would only work about 70% of the time and i couldnt figgure out what it was, then one day it went and it all became obvious.

 

I agree....battery. And good advice on the autozone batteries....i've wasted $$ on 2 of them. Good Luck!

 

It sounds to me like more of a starter problem. The drained battery could be due to a possible fault in the starter or more likely the starter solenoid. The starter may have stuck on and overheated which would explain the burning smell. Take your starter out and bring it in to Advance or AutoZone or some shop and have them test it. Even if they say it's just the solenoid... I'd go ahead and replace the whole starter assembly just to be safe.

 

Based on the fact that I can't jump start off from a running car which provides 14 volts or higher, I think it might be a starter problem too. I remember some of Maxima owner from here ended up replacing Autozone starter every couple months. I will keep it update it once I took it out the starter and take it to test.
Thanks

 

I am sorry if I wasn't clear but I don't think the smell is unburt fuel. It is like plastic or rubber burning smell when you short circuit. But I didn't notice any white smoke from inside of my car, so it must be from hood.
Quick question related to Alternator, can Maxima run from alternator only if car is in drive mode?
I can run the car in idle no problem but I am afraid to take it out because my drive way is in slope. Three guys had to push my car into the garage, and it wasn't easy at all.

 

it's your starter solinoide .... common problem

$30 / Autozone .... 2 - 10mm bolts and the studs are 12mm .... disconect the + side of the bat prior to doing this ... or it could be a "shocking" experience

 

Driving the car around on the alternator without a battery is asking for trouble. The slightest glitch and the voltage on the electrical system will spike and burn out every damn computer on the system

 

^^^ wtf are you talking about? The car will not run without a battery. All the altenator does is "recharge" the bat. The main current pull is from the bat, not the alt.

 

agreed, my old 97 max also had the same prob. had to change the starter.

 

Yesterday, I took the starter out and take it to Autozone. They ran some test, and couldn't find out if this is a faulty one. But they ended up replace it under a customer satisfaction. So, I put it back, and ran a 4 gauge cable from the battery(-) post to a starter mounting bolt.
Just to see if this ground had improved the flow, I tried to jump this car from a running car without going through a battery. Still, can't start the car like before. So, I installed a fresh battery, and ran it for while. Then, I disconnected the battery. Like before, the car didn't die. I ran A/C, and radio yet, alternator was able to maintain it until I turned the headlight. So basically, whenever I turn a headlight, it ended up stalling the car.
Is this a legit test for an alternator?
I ran same test on other cars.

Failed: Pathfinder(01) with 75K, Everything worked except the headlight. IF I turned the headlight before disconnect the battery, the alternator seems to pick up the current draw. But if I turn headlight during test, it would stall.

Success: Accord(03) with 105K, this car is the only one it passed my test. I was able to drive around the block without having a battery. Despite of high draw from highbeam(both Low and High on Honda), didn't stall the car.

So, I am not sure if my Maxima alternator is good or bad. I guess I will see if this new starter will drain out the new battery.

Thank you all for your inputs, and I wish I read this post earlier. Hope I didn't damage the any of three car's computer system.
Let me know if my test was legit to determine a faulty alternator.
BTW, the voltage measurement with alternator at idle was 14.1 for all three cars.