While we were driving my black 95 maxima coming home from the gym all of a sudden all the dash lights flash on and the steering wheel locks up. We coast to the side of the road and it wont restart. It will turn but wont crank up. Has anyone experienced this with their maxima if so what was the problem? This is my wifes car so I need all the help I can get.

 

Any codes?

 

without any details and jus readiing the OP post...sounds like timing chaing broke. Engine gone

 

I havent ran any codes. I dont have a code reader. I usually take it to autozone to get the codes ran. I thought about the timing chain thing but its a timing chain. I know I sound a little naive about that. I pushed the car into an oreilly's parking lot but I believe they dont do free code readings. Im searching the forums now. Ive been fearing the timing chain thing since last night. Im going to see if I can get a code reader.

 

check your battery and both drive belts first. the belt might have torn and you were driving on the battery and didn't notice it.

 

Belts are shot. Get good year gatorback belts. And a new battery or recharge it.

 

code reader prolly wont tell u anything about the chain as there are no sensors for it. U may get CPS code.

I have had a timing belt pop on me with 3 different cars. Basically, u are driving along and the engine seems to bog then, pop!, the belt snaps, car comes to a stop, antifreeze everywhere on the ground (this depends on the car). U try to start the car and it jus dosent catch and sounds horrible tryin to crank. U got full electric power, car jus wont start. The more u crank it, the more likely u bending valve stems.

I had a chain pop on my old 3rd gen. Before it broke, the chain and tensioner was makin so much noise it sounded like a helicopter lol.

how was the car before the incident?

 

agreed.

this is another good possibility

 

I doubt the chain broke. Very rare.


If you wanna check the codes, use the ECU screw method...

 

Did the steering wheel lockup like when you try turning it without the key and it locks?

 

I highly doubt the chain broke too.

And it could be something like a crankshaft/cam position sensor, or some other complications that you could get from reading the codes.

And you can use the screw method to pull your codes from the ECU.

 

Went out to the car this morning. I was actually hoping for a belt but belts are fine. Battery is good, I totally forgot about the manual ecu reading Use to do that with my old 88 maxima I had years ago. I know what a broken belt is like it would turn but then after a while it would turn but stop. That happened to my old 88 maxima. This one still turns like its wanting to do something but doesnt. I checked the fuel pump fuse thats fine. I know its not the alternator because when I tried the jump method the car still wouldnt start and battery is fine.

 

How do you know the battery is 100% good?

 

check your crank sensor that is on the bell housing. If that got hit by a rock or went south you would not be able to start the car even though it would crank.

 

Oreillys tested it. Its parked near an oreillys close to where I live for now. I have some spare bellhousing crank sensors Ill try that too.

 

Check for codes?

Maf dead? TPS loose? Any wires corroded?

 

Alright did it the manual way, Very easy. Didnt have my screw driver so I used my illumina adjustables key I had on my key chain. Two codes, Camshaft position sensor and knock sensor. So, Id say the culprit was the camshaft position sensor malfunctioning while driving.

 

test the camshaft sensor impedance per FSM.

 

Yupp, it is likely the cam sensor. Check the harness too. They get pretty brittle near all that heat.

 

always remember to check the ECU codes manually, and its free.

 

So, I replaced the Camshaft sensor. Car still wont start. Rechecked the ECU codes now it is spitting a new code. Camshaft sensor and knock sensor codes arent popping up. Now its 0505. Checking to see what this code is.

 

that's the code that indicates there is no code lol.

 

Hows that harness look? I know mine was cracked.

 

Now thats a dissappointing code when you are looking for a code. Kevlo the harness looks pretty good. I cleaned the battery connectors and looked through some other things. I think there actually might be something up with the engine. I just did a full tune up on this thing months ago. Time to start taking it apart

 

time for a PART OUT lol... dude sorry to hear about the car.... if the car just died i doubt it would be the engine unless there was a loud bang of some sort or maybe you blew a headgasket which is rare once at operating temp.... check all your fuses, is the car an auto or stick?? iff auto maybe you got a bad p/n switch... check compression and see what it reads, thats whered id start if you suspect bad engine, if its bad buy a used 4th gen engine for a few hundred and swap it out

 

Unplug the maf and see if the car turns on.

got aim? Hit me up Kevlo911

 

Did you check your johnson rod?

I vote for wiring or electrical issue.

 

I know this will sound stupid, but try swapping the battery to test if its bad

I had a Tiburon that refused to start all of a sudden. Turns weakly, all lights and electronics work but it just wont start
I brought the battery to Walmart, they checked and said it was fine and just needed a recharge. Brought it back fully charged and the same thing
Eventually I got it towed to the mechanic, he replaced the battery and everything was working again

 

If your timing chain broke, youd know it lol. Pistons hitting valves tend to make some nasty noises. If you heard no horribly sounding noises, it didnt break.

 

Q....are you out of gas? I know that may sounds stupid, but something that some times gets over looked. If you do have gas do you have fuel pressure?

 

Cardana I did not have gas. It was over looked. But I filled it with about a quarter tank of gas and still nothing. Haven't taken the engine apart but tried some of your suggestions today but the battery is dead until my wife comes home with my car. Jeclo I don't have aim.

 

Cardana I did not have gas. It was over looked. But I filled it with about a quarter tank of gas and still nothing. Haven't taken the engine apart but tried some of your suggestions today but the battery is dead until my wife comes home with my car. Jeclo I don't have aim. Sent you a PM

 

dude???!!! u didnt check to see if u had gas on the first time lol

like an earlier post...if the chain is popped the engine will definitely sound like crap when u try to crank

 

Did u run it completly out of gas then? That could have plugged your fuel filter or something? lol, no gas is not good for starting an engine

 

I think u didn't check the gas because my wife said there was a quarter tank. But guys even though I added gas the car still doesn't start. Yes it was a bum thing to do lol. Or not do for that matter. I don't think the car is getting spark. Going to test all coil packs too. Disconnected the mad too and it still didn't start. Going to search the peg for more answers.

 

Remove both crank sensors and clean them.

 

This.

__

OP,

If u can post a video of cranking

 

I had same symptons, kept turning over, no start.

• I had a bad electrical ground in the batt area, from the ECM apparently, or so I was told. I believe it's the wire attached to the inside of the driver fender with a bolt.
• Take a plug out, smell for gasoline being pumped?
• Relays are always a suspect, but I'm not sure how to test, the Haynes manual isn't real helpful that way.

 

Did you check the fuses in your engine bay..Not all of them pop, some of them burn or corrode. I know a person on nycmax his 3rd gen wasnt turning over period, it ended up being the Eng Cont fuse. we looked at it and it was burnt completely..He replaced it and it was on. So check all of them again, because looks can be deceiving.

 

Theoretically speaking if you ran the car till it was completely out of gas, it would take a few attempts before the fresh gas you poured in cycles through your fuel lines.

I don't see where it's mentioned if your gett'n anything when you turn the ignition. Is it even trying to start? If not look to your starter.

The only times I've seen dash lights at cut off have been when my battery connectors weren't seating correctly due to corrosion and....when i pushed the limits on my tank and ran out of gas.

Keep us posted,

Capitone