ryan_green1337

My car is in good working order. The battery and all that is going strong. But what happens is when i turn the ignition, the engine doesnt crank at all. Sometimes when the first turn of the ignition doesn't work, the second time right after will and the car will start. But sometimes i have to push the shift **** up into park with my left hand and then i can start the car with my right. However, every once in a while it takes a good 2-3 minutes before i jiggle the park thing into the right spot before the car starts and I'm trying to fix this problem before the wont register being in "park" at all. Ive taken off the console piece and took a look around but found nothing out of the ordinary. Any suggestions?

snarf8008

This could possibly be a PRNDL switch or faulty wiring. But you should also check and make sure that the shift linkage is tight and in good working order.

DBear

Since you're not getting consistent results with the gear shift lever, that may not be the problem. When you turn the key and it doesn't crank, do all the lights on the instrument cluster go on? If so, you may have a problem with the ignition switch. Next time it doesn't start, keep trying. When I had the problem I sometimes had to try a dozen or more times to get it to start. Another way to check is to access the ignition switch, and use a screwdriver or key directly on the switch. If that works consistently, you may just need a little piece of electrical tape to fix it.

ryan_green1337

yea all the lights on the instrument cluster come on. how would i go about getting to the ignition switch?

NS2_95MAX

iTrader: (1)

heres the video hope it helps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ykT9uCJXSY

DBear

Pmohr also did an excellent how-to: http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...lots-pics.html.

SLASH

I am having a similar problem with my 95 AT GLE but the difference is that my dash lights dont light up about half the time when i try to start the car. What is weird is that the car will start with the dash lights not lighting up and will run and drive ok but my power windows and locks speedometer and some other electrical items including my alternator dont work or arent engaged. If i continue to turn the ignition switch to start and back to off repeatedly until the dash lights come on and the turn the switch to start the car then everything works normally... i have power windows... alternator charges battery etc.

I have just replaced my ignition switch and unfortunately i guess i wasted the $30 because the new switch is doing the exact same thing.

I have searched the forum but havent found anyone having this exact starting issue but i have checked several things based on the reading/searching i have done here on the site.

It isnt related to the shifter.. i have tried it in all gears. Car starts only in park and neutral and no other positions.

I swapped the theft relay with the wiper relay. Made no difference.
Have checked fusible links and fuses related to starting and all are in tact.
My Battery is fine according to my voltmeter and when the car starts correctly the alternator charges the battery correctly and maintains correct voltage.

Any ideas?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

So the car starts fine but you have these other problems? Are there any other things that don't work when this happens? AC/heat, sunroof, heated seats? Check as many items as possible that will help me to narrow down what may be causing the problem. How do you know the alt is not working? If your turn signals don't work when this happens then check the ignition relay, that may be faulty. It's located near the underdash fuse box.

cashoit

Sounds like u may have this issue...

Rough idle: Several problems (no-start, no A/C, rough running, etc.) can be traced to broken wires in the engine compartment where the harness bends near the right strut tower. (1995-97)

SLASH

I have just figured all along that it had to be the ignition switch going bad and not engaging maybe a relay that controlled basically all of the electrical components but somehow allowed the car to start and run off the battery.

It's basically the radio and the clock and the headlights that work when this happens that i have noticed anyway. The power seat, power locks, power windows, speedometer and alternator for sure dont work when this happens. Not sure about the A/C since mine doesnt work now.... hmm wonder if that could be related lol.

I know the alt is not working when this happens because there have been times that i have started my car and not paid attention to whether the dash lights lit up prior to starting and driven the car for a while then noticed my clock start to get dim or the instrument cluster lights getting dim and realized i needed to restart and make sure the lights were lit up prior to starting and then everything returns to normal.

I have actually done this driving down the road. I have noticed it and put the car into neutral and turned the key back and forth until i get the lights on the dash then restarted and put the car into drive and kept going.


Edited to respond about the turn signal working... they do not work when this happens. If i can find an ignition relay in stock somewhere i will go grab one if you think thats what it might be.

SLASH

Going outside in a few minutes to change the battery post terminals.. trying to rule out the little things. I will try to locate and check the wires you are talking about and will post what i find. thanks.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Since your turn signals are also out I would suspect the ignition relay is bad or something else in the ignition relay circuit is preventing it from turning on. Of course you already changed the ignition switch so that is not the cause of the problem. It is a simple circuit so there is only the wiring connections and the relay that can go bad.

You should hear this relay clicking when you turn the key to the on position. The relay may just be loose or if one of the other relays is the same type you can try to swap it with another. I think you turning the key on/of finally gets the ignition relay to turn on. Can't say for sure it's the relay but the problem is in that relay circuit. So you don't have a problem starting the car it's just that you don't have power to a lot of circuits/accessories?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I bet if you hear the ignition relay click on your car works normally if you do not hear a click it does not. You don't need to start the car just try turning the key to the off/on position a few times.

SLASH

Going outside to try it now and see if it clicks. There are 3 blue relays in the underdash fuse box. I think the middle one is the starter relay but not sure and also not sure what the other 2 are for so i dont know which ones to swap around to check if the relay is bad. Any idea?

SLASH

haha... you are the man!

After close inspection with a flashlight i found the relays were labeled next to each. The top relay i believe says ACC next to it. The center one says IGNITION and the bottom says BLOWER.

So... i swapped the ignition relay with the blower relay and the dash lights lit up everytime i turned the ignition switch from off to on. Bad ignition relay.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Glad I could help, I'm getting pretty good at this :-)

SLASH

Actually until just the other day i hadnt had any problem starting the car other than the relay not allowing the accessories to engage about 50% of the time. Then the other day i was at a friends house and after several hours went out to start my car to leave and the battery was dead... or so it seemed. He jump started me and i drove home. While driving home i noticed that the headlights didnt dim unless i pushed the brakes and then only dimmed momentarily then went back to normal. When i got home i turned the car off and tried to restart it. Didnt crank or do anything. Thought that was odd since the headlights dimmed only when applying the brakes and i had assumed the alternator would have charged the battery. Checked the battery with a voltmeter and it showed to have around 12.5volts but acted like it was completely drained. Next day since i assumed the problem was my ignition switch i used the 4runner and went and got one. Got back and figured i would go ahead and try starting the maxima for the hell of it first and it started right up and ran fine for about 30-45 minutes... ran around the neighborhood a bit came back home parked it and turned it off. Tried to restart it and got nothing... no clicks no cranking... like it was completely drained. Checked the voltage of the battery prior to turning off the car though and it showed 14+volts while running and about 12.5 volts after i killed it and it wouldnt restart again. So... i figured it had to be the ignition switch and changed it but that didnt solve the problem.

When i just changed the relay to check it a few minutes ago... that seems to have cured the lack of accessories and dash lights prior to starting but the car still didnt start however i did hear several clicks coming from the location of the relays under the dash when i tried to turn it over. Sounded like 3 back to back clicks.

Wife should be home in a little while and i will swap her battery out of the 4runner and see if maybe this battery is just bad even though it shows to have plenty of voltage.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

It would be unusual for you to have two electrical problems start at the same time. My guess is that anytime the ignition relay did not turn on your charging circuit was not working. I think if you get it started and allow the battery to charge you should be OK.

SLASH

No doubt. Very much appreciated.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I'd just jump start it with her car. Than let the battery charge for 15-30 min. Then try and start it again. Whatever is easier for you. Good Luck and good night.

SLASH

Ok. When she gets home i will jump start it and see if it will start and if so how it acts etc and post to let you know. Thanks so much for the help bud. Very nice of you.

SLASH

Just wanted to let you know i replaced the defective relay i had swapped so all should be good now.

Turns out the problem with the car not starting was due to a much needed change of the post terminals. Changed those out and changed the ignition relay thanks to Nopike's diagnosis and the car starts right up with all accessories getting power every time. Thanks again for your help.