WhiteMaxima9600

Guys, Im starting to really get frustrated here. My car has been down for 2 weeks now and im still having some trouble with this starter situation. Here's a quick rundown

Problem with intermit clicking at solenoid. Been going on for a year or so. Cleaned all connections, replaced battery post......same problem

Installed reman starter from advance auto, car spun over very fast 1st time considered fixed.

Car sat two days, battery dead as door nail. Tryed to charge battery on car but it would not charge at all.

Removed battery and hooked up charger for 1hr. Put battery back on car and it spun over fast and started 1st time. Second time....nothing..... held key and it sorta engaged.....stopped.....then started.

I ordered a new starter relay, will install on thursday and try that. Also when I place the hot post on the battery i get a "sizzle" and sometimes a small ark like there is something "on". But there is nothing on at all!! Is that normal??? I've never had any trouble with the battery, but it seems something is pulling the power from the battery all of a sudden.

Also, what does the clutch/interlock relay do?? Thanks for the help

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

You really need a multimeter and know how to use it so that you can check battery voltage and current draw. It sounds like your battery is being draw down but you need to measure that.



If you are talking about the starter relay in the relay box you can just swap it out with another of the same type for testing purpose.

The clutch/interlock relay prevents the starter from turning if the clutch has not been depressed.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Did the battery seem to die like this with the old starter? If not then maybe you connected the new starter incorrectly???? Although that is hard to do. Double check your connections.

ajm8127

iTrader: (8)

+1 on the multimeter. Start pulling fusible links until your current draw disappears, then pull the fuses behind the link (refer to your model year's FSM). That will lead you to the circuit(s) that are drawing power. Word of warning though, Your car will draw some power normally, its will be small, but there. You are looking for a much larger draw. Sorry, but I'm not really sure how much that would be, but I would guess on the order of hundred of milliamps.

WhiteMaxima9600

No the battery problem did not start untill AFTER the new starter was put on. Im pretty good with mechanics, and yes it was put on correctly for sure. there's only two connections to be made. I forgot to add mines an auto trans. so is that interlock relay for the D 2 1?

Reason im asking is the paper that came with the starter said to check the relays if there's any problems. It highlighted those two relays in bold print! I have a multimeter but in all honesty, Im a novice in reading those dang things! How would i measure current draw off the battery?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

If you can figure out mechanics you can also figure out how to use a voltmeter, Google is your friend:
http://flashoffroad.com/electrical/B...teryDrain.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_16767_voltmeter.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzjMIcER4EU
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/how...nt-draw-39535/

The antitheft and inhibit relays of the Maxima are probably OK but you can swap them out with others of the same type from another circuit such as the wiper relay. If your wipers start acting up after the switch (unlikely) you know something was wrong with the relay.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

get the battery tested. I had a battery that never gave me problems until I completely drained it trying to get the car started (non-related problem). Killing a battery repeatedly is hard on it, it's worth getting it checked out or trying a different battery.

the small initial spark when putting the cable on your battery is normal.

WhiteMaxima9600

Yeah, i figured up this battery is 5 yrs old, and was a generic brand so it's probaly crapping out. Im gonna pick up the relay tomorrow and probaly a new battery as well. We'll see how it goes

Shift_Knob

i would say that u have a weak cell on your batt if its 5 years old its shot even for a good name brand battery like a interstate.

WhiteMaxima9600

Yeah, im suprised it's lasted this long, usually when a battery goes out it goes all at once! I've had em start fine once then not even burn the dash lights the next time you try to start it?

Q8BallMAXIMA

Did you check out your alternator too? If your battery is not getting charged, you will have no juice to turn over a second time as well. I believe you could get your alternator tested if the new battery doesn't completely solve your starter issue.

cashoit

agreed...if its not turning over its either the starter, battery, alternator, or fuel pump. Any mechanic can check the battery or alternator.

If u have a multimeter u can check the voltage across the batter by touch the pos and neg leads of the battery it the leads of the mulitmeter. Make sure its switched to DC mode voltmeter. Using the ohm-meter function check the continuity of the alternator. IF its an infinity reading then u have a short in the alternator. Dont forget to check the wires and leads for corrosion or shorts.

Since u installed a new starter then i wd say its the alternator or battery bro...good luck

cashoit

oh and disconnect the amp and see if that helps...u may need a capacitor. How long ago did u install the amp??

WhiteMaxima9600

Currently it's not hooked up do to the problems. Im picking up a new battery today to see if that helps. Im pretty sure the alt is ok, but I will look into that next if the new battery starts draining.

Thanks!!

cashoit

THere is someone else on a thread today that had trouble with their car starting and they sd they had installed a new alternator but when it was inspected again it was bad. Try the alternator again

asand1

iTrader: (1)

You said your terminal sizzles and arcs when you connect.

YOU HAVE A PARASITIC DRAIN. YOUVE BEEN TOLD HOW TO SEE WHAT COMPONENT IT IS. DO THE CHECK AND QUIT BLOWWING MONEY OUT YOUR ***.

Relays and alternators are not your problem READ ALL THE REPLYS AND DONT IGNORE THE ONES THAT LOOK TO DIFFICULT, THE EASY ANSWERS ARE WRONG

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

How does that sound like a parasitic drain to you?

That sounds exactly like a battery that is dead. Quit bossing people around.

WhiteMaxima9600

For your information I bought a new battery today and everything was fine when i connected the post! To date I've only payed for a new battery and starter, and considering the starter was put on before i even bought the car and the battery was over 5yrs old that's not considered "blowing" money

It's not the alt. the battery charges fine when the car is running. I picked up the new relay today and of course it was a 4blade instead of the 5blade. I returned it and now maybe considering the igniton switch to be bad.

I used the relay from the wiper terminal b/c there idenical for the starter and it would STILL not work everytime i turned the key, so it's either the inhibitor relay for the trans. or the ignition switch I suppose.

Again, thankyou for all your helpful advice I can assure you Iam not looking for the "easy" fix. For future reference if you don't have any helpful advice then please don't comment

WhiteMaxima9600

Gonna go ahead and check out the ignition switch next. Thanks pmohr for a awesome video on replacing this. I first thought it would be a horrible tasks, but looks like a 30min. easy fix!! I priced one for $28 at autozone, not too bad if that's the culprit.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

If you continue having issues with the battery discharging you need to measure how much drain there is from the battery. To measure you turn everything off and close the doors. Take off one the connections (red or black does not matter) from your battery. After setting your meter for DC current measurement, take one lead of your meter and place it on the battery post wher you removed the connection. Take the other lead of your meter and place it on the connecter that you removed from the battery. That way any current that flows from the battery has to go through the meter. That is how current is measured.

WhiteMaxima9600

K, thanks i'll keep that in mind if i do need to check. I have not checked to see if the battery discharged since yesterday but I'll do that shortly. I picked up a new switch and will install it probaly sunday. Thanks for the help.

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

You could also put a voltmeter on the two battery terminals themselves daily to see if the voltage goes down. I had a parasitic drain on another vehicle and it'd be down a volt or two every day. Just an easy alternative that doesn't take any time at all.

of course you wouldn't be starting the car between any of this or the alternator would put a charge on the battery and the test wouldn't be "accurate".

WhiteMaxima9600

Good news. I went out and it started fine this time. Lights all bright and everything so the new battery does not seem to be draining or anything. However, ive noticed when the car turns over sometimes the starter makes a clunking/grinding noise. Im not sure if the electrical problem is keeping the thing halfway engaged or what?? Since ive been tinkering with it, it has been sounding smooth but a few times ive gotten this noisy clunk/grind noise. Anyway, i pulled the ground wire completly off the car and it's pretty dirty. I wonder if a bad ground would cause that noise?

And yes, the starter is installed correctly!! Everything is tight and clean also

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

When my starter started getting weak, just before it crapped out it started making noise like that. Since your starter and battery is new the only thing I can think of is if your battery positive connection to the starter could be an issue, hard to tell. Yea sometimes trouble shooting can be a real b*tch.

If you have not already done so switch out the inhibit relay with the wiper relay. This will help eliminate that relay in the starter circuit from possible causing a problem. It's a good thing to do. The worse think that will happen is that your wipers will act up and then you know something was wrong with it.

WhiteMaxima9600

I actually tried that earlier and the wipers worked fine with the old relay so im gonna rule that out. The only other things I have not tried are the ignition switch which is next on the list and the interlock relay for the trans.

Also i removed my ground cable and all the connections so they can be cleaned up. I've read where others have actually added grounds to the starter bolts to improve starter function, not sure bout that one

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

The starter is bolted to the engine that is how it gets its ground, you can't do much better than that. I've read about people having grounding issues after changing/removing the trans, I guess that is possible.

That being said it's no big deal to run a single ground wire from a starter bolt to the negative of the battery or some other know ground, at least temporarily just to rule that out. If you still have issues and can't think of anything else give it a try.

Crusher103

iTrader: (10)

why dont u just stfu and leave if u are going to type **** like that, the easy answers are not automatically wrong what if it is just a blown fuse and due to ur "easy answers are wrong" BS he replaces $400 worth of stuff that he didnt have too, show more respect on the here these problem are frustrating. If its such an "OMG u are so dumb" issues to u then wtf is the problem smartass?

WhiteMaxima9600

Well, yeah that's what i was thinking Had a buttload of rain today so hope to change out the switch tomorrow and clean up that ground wire also.

WhiteMaxima9600

Well, today I cleaned the ground and changed the ignition switch and would'nt ya know it, It's fixed!!!!!!!!

Esmug

Hi! Glad To hear you finally fix it. After reading the entire thread, I question whether or not your initial starter was bad (this is the repair to fix click solinoid). If ignition switch fixed the starting and electrical issue, could it be at fault from the begining?

cashoit

Whitemaxima...do u mind posting pics of where the ignition switch is?? Or anybody else. Thanks.

WhiteMaxima9600

More than likely the old starter was in need of replacing anyway. But yes I should have checked igniton first. Honestly I thought it would be more costly and difficult to change the igniton switch. Man was I wrong

Thanks pmohr for an awesome howto vid!

WhiteMaxima9600

Here ya go cashoit

http://www.boredmder.com/howto/ignitionswitch/

WhiteMaxima9600

Just a little more info here..... Since I replaced my ignition switch my car turns over great now no more turning the key back and forth 10 times or anything. But sometimes like every other day it seems to make a grinding sound when the starter engages. Tonight leaving work in turned over but the engine didn't fire the first time and I heard this slight grind as the motor turned. I had to try to start it 4-5 times before it actually cranked and everytime i got this clunk/grind noise coming from the starter.

My old one never done this, not once. So im pretty sure the flywheel is ok. Only diff. is the new starter is a 11tooth and the old was a 10 tooth. Could that make a diff. in the gear catching the flywheel?? Everything is nice and tight so I dunno. It don't do it everytime, so im just not sure. Has anyone else had this issue when changing starters?

chillin014

iTrader: (67)

When you say "clunk" do you mean the motor is locking up while starting? Ever since I changed my starter a few weeks ago I will frequently get this symptom while starting. Its like when i initially turn the key the motor/starter will spin fine and then CLUNK to a stop (as if I let up on the key) and then continue to start and the motor will fire up then. It feels very unnatural and irritates the hell out of me.

I didnt even think about the teeth on the starter, I just replaced it under warranty so I assumed they gave me the correct one.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

11 tooth starter should be fine that is actually better than 10 tooth. When my starter was failing it would make those grinding noises. My starter was too weak to turn the engine and was not engaging properly. My guess would be that either you are not getting enough voltage/power to the starter or the starter is defective. I would take the starter back and tell them it's defective and try to get another one under warranty. If the problem continues then at least you can be certain it's not the starter.

Otherwise if you may have a bad connection and you are not getting enough power to the starter. Take your voltmeter and measure the voltage across your battery, then take the meter lead off the positive terminal and measure at the starter positive wire, the voltage should be almost the same. And you swapped the inhibitor relay with the wipper, and left it swapped out, right? Only other thing I can think of is next to the battery there is a fuse box check out Fuse Link "h" which is 30 AMP, just remove it inspect it and the connection an put it back see if that helps. I would try that first.

cashoit

I kno what u guys mean....Its only happens once in awhile. Every other time tha car stars fine. But there is a time/event when its like "the starter teeth doesnt catch the flywheel smoothly" and i have to hold the key in the "on" position longer than usual. The car still starts up no matter what so im not really sure how to proceed and what to really fix/change.

WhiteMaxima9600

It seems the phrase "the starter teeth doesnt catch the flywheel smoothly" sums it up i guess. Today it seemed to start smooth, so Im not gonna worry bout it. As far as my problem with the electrical it seems to be fixed so im happy about that. My stock flywheel has over 200k so im sure it has some grooves wore in it from the previous starter teeth. More than likely it has a worn groove that the new one just don't wanna fit into hince the grind noise. Thanks to all for the advice!

WhiteMaxima9600

Dang, i hate to ressurect this thread but last night after work my problem just got worse! That slight grinding noise has slowly gotten worse and worse and last night I barely got my car to even crank!! Sounded like the starter teeth are just skipping over the flywheel teeth or something. One time it just grinded and did nothing, i kept trying and after a few rough spins she finally fired. Im just annoyed with this, this is a brand new reman. starter that i paid $120 for. Im gonna remove it tues and see if they will give me a new one.

Anyone else had issues with this?? My old one had a 10 tooth and this one had 11 teeth but I got a paper with this starter that said the 8,10, and 11 tooth were interchangeable.

cashoit

Maybe need to replace the flywheel??? Any transmission issues?? Like, does the car sometimes take a while to engage a gear? 200k is a lotta miles.