i have a 95, and cycling the ignition on and off for even 20 seconds at a time does not do anything. i have a new fuel filter on it and my pump whines pretty good. and my batt has 700 cold cranking amps. but yet it is still a very hard start (20 sec) and a brief rough idle for 2 or 3 seconds

 

Codes? Miles? Replaced Items? Tranny? Cold Outside? HAppen all the time or periodically? How long it been happening?

U Need to be more descriptive. Or SEARCH. Chances are your problem has already been posted and solved.

That being sd, initally i wd say its the CKPS REF. Or u may need a TB, MAF, and possibly IACV cleaning. Need more info ...

 

i use to have this problem too with my 95... try grounding the starter to the battery.

 

i was just sayng "priming the pump" doesnt help with the bad start cold start. i should have quoted. sorry. but i didnt do anything, im going to clean the iac and tb once i get the gaskets. having problems finding iac gasket. but no codes other then a occasional knock circuit.



why did you say ground the starter?? thats interesting

 

mine is having a problem too in the morning. It turns over and catches but dies right away. sometimes it catches then wants to die, but starts on. Like it starts then next second rpm goes to around zero then stutters and rpm back up then rpm down then stutters then rpm up and it stays started. whats the problem?????????

 

 

Change the Idle Air Control Valve!!!!

 

i couldnt just clean it? im thinking my problem is the fuel pressure regulator. i dont have any idle issues really?

 

i said ground the starter cause thats what happend too me.. i would try to start it and it would turn over strong but it would take a long time to actually fire up.. and i thought the iacv too because when i bought it the guy said he tried changing that and cleaning the old one but it didnt help.. so after searching around on forums and asking people, ground the starter bolt to the negitive terminal is what ended up working on my "hard to start" problem

 

sounds good. did you move the ground wire off that tab to the starter or get another wire and "double" ground it?

thanks again

 

did you attempt to ground your starter to the battery ls1forlife? your having the same issue i did if that hasnt worked for you try turning the key ta acc and hear it prime,then turn the key so its just about to start cranking (do it very slowly so you dont actually get it to crank and you will hear the pump run again, let it run for another 3 seconds then turn her over, that works for me but its still an annoying problem im going to re ground my starter tomorrow

 

oh ea what gauge ground wire should i use????

 

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My theory is that at about 85000 miles something in the fuel pump wears out. are our fuel pumps made with a rubber impeller blade like an outboard motor? this wear allows fuel to flow back from the engine toward the tank, until the level in the engine area matches the level in the tank. And then its hard to start after sitting a while, or harder to start when the fuel tank level is low.
Mine is like this. Mine, when the starting is really bad, benefits from a throttle body cleaning. but the slow start / low fuel level or overnight sit problem returns.
They dont do this when new. . The real proof would be to have someone with this problem replace the fuel pump and then have the problem go away.
I think its an unsolved problem. I have a 1999.
This forum seems filled with hard start problems (and throwing code) problems.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I am having very similar problems with my recently purchased 98 Maxima. I was wondering if cleaning your throttle body helped out at all? Also, did it affect your gas mileage. I am having to crank for about 10 seconds before my car starts and getting only about 10-15 mpg depending on city/highway driving.

 

I cleaned my iac and t body and it fixed the issue. something is really wrong for that kind of mpg. does your car have power and running on all cylinders?

 

there are a BUNCH of threads on this topic. SEARCH!!
clean IACV,
clean throttle body,
clean inside UIM,
clean MAF,
check CPS sensor, both Crankshaft (POS + REF) sensors,
check your coil packs,
check your spark plugs,
check your ignition switch,
check your injectors,
do an oil change, don't use a fram oil filter,
use 93 octane,
use some fuel injector cleaner,
test your starter,
clean ALL your grounds and
make sure you plug everything back in nice and firm!

Did i forget anything?

oh yea,

SEARCH!! and let us know what if/how you fixed your problem

 

My car has power, but seems to be a little low in 1st gear and also shifts kind of hard into second gear. I just bought it last month and I assume it is running on all cylinders since I have no check engine light.

Thanks for the info, I have been doing alot of searching, just wanted to get some feedback from others with a similar issue. I also forgot to mention that on much colder days my trip counter sometimes gets reset when I startup.

 

do you use Premium fuel?

 

always. if the gas station is out of 93 then i will use 91 but that isnt around anywhere (north shore MA). if i am out of gas and have to use 87/89 then i will only put a few gallons in to make it to the next station.

vq runs better on premium gas. i get better gas mileage, better idle, better throttle response and power compared to 87/89

 

no one really mentions this in the hard/no start threads: dont crank the starter for more then 8-10 seconds at a time. if you do, you will begin to damage your starter. so if it doesnt start within the 1st 10 seconds, wait a min or so and try again.

i say this because i've burnt through 2 starters myself. the last one i had started to smoke from the heat produced, which is obv. not a good thing.

 

Yes, one of the first things I did after buying the car was fill up with premium after using some techron fuel injector cleaner. The mileage got better, but its still not where it should be.

Thanks for the info, I'll make sure to let it rest for a minute next time. I'm going to clean the throttle body/iacv/maf when it gets warmer outside. I hate doing any tedious work on a car on these cold Buffalo days. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress.

 

ok in cheanged out tb acv and put in new fule fillter changed spark plugs and still hard starts when i trun it on for the frist time in that day also i did the cam sensors all 3 of theme one beeing on the tranny im going to ground the starter to thr batarie and fule pump

 

I have the same hard start on my 99 so should i just spray throttle body cleaner in the throttle body with out taken it off ?just clean the butterfly off with a towel?just spray in it with the butterfly open,this is the first time dealing with this thanks

 

I have already reached out to users with symptoms matching mine to inquire about how or whether they resolved their problem since many people report their issue and not their progress... So could someone here who resolved this issue kindly share a link to a detailed walk through (with pictures) of how they fixed the problem? Personally, I have already checked and added more grounds so another detailed solution other than that would be helpful for me.



These two links pertaining to cleaning throttle bodies, but could someone with experience provide some feedback:

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...-cleaning.html
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ttle-body.html

So the second link is for 5th gens and I am basically asking for some guidance in finding a "correct" (popular approved) procedure for 4th gens.


Thank you.

Oh and Happy Holidays!

~M3