Ignition switch on end of lock cylinder in steering column is relatively inexpensive and very easy to replace. Did mine in about 30 min.

 

PLs I have similar problem. I bought my 97 maxima last February. It had starting problem, but not too bad. Starter was spinning slower compared to my friends 95 maxima but car would start after awhile. Car would run great when running. Problem escalated until year later when car would not start at all. Towed it to nissan, they told me that ecu and coils needed to be replaced. I ordered used ecu on ebay and cheap coils (can not afford at the moment to buy good once) The problem remained the same. It would crank all day but no start. I cant push start it because it is auto. Bought new starter and replaced it (it spins same speed as old one) Replaced coolant temp sensor, replaced all plugs to platinum ngk. checked all fuses, Code was showing P1320 (ign primary). But now all codes are cleared and not showing up again. It has been 3 month trying to start it . pls help.
Reading the post I understand that starter spinning slow maybe due to bad ground to the tranny. Also nissan told me that starter could be replaced but not the cause of the problem. If I unscrew front 3 plugs and check for spark, I get really random weak sparks. Exhaust smell like gas and spark plugs are wet.

 

check your ckps ref sensor, ckps pos sensor and your cps sensor for continuity and clean them all.
check all the grounds for corrosion, especially the main engine ground and the entire neg battery cable. mine was corroded under the battery tray. add a ground wire to the 14mm starter bolt and one to a bolt on the transmission.

see if that helps and only crank the starter for a few seconds. you can burn them out very easily by over-cranking.

 

and read, you have a lot of reading to do, there are a ton of threads on this, here's a good one http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...verything.html

 

Ty for the fast reply. ckps pos sensor and cps pos sensor. do you refer to crank pos sensor and cam sensor? Sorry I am an amateur at this, but capable to follow instructions to replace or check. Also I cleaned the ground from bat to engine on both ends. I will add ground from starter to neg battery. Next I want to check ign signal. Also I want to take my coils to my friends maxima to make sure they are OK.

 

yes, there are 2 crankshaft position sensors (ckps) - ref and pos - and there is one camshaft position sensor (cps). they are all easy to get to and check/replace.

coils could be the culprit. i need to replace mine with new ones to see if it helps

 

ok i added 0 gauge ground from starter bolt to neg battery. Did not help. Spark plugs get flooded and backfires through air intake. But it did tried to grab, ALMOst started, then nothing again. Recharging battery

 

If you haven't done so already, check for voltage drop while cranking the engine. I have found anything less than 10V on this engine will result in poor starting such as you're describing.
Also, check for voltage on the Red wire with Blue stripe coming out of the ignition switch.

 

I did not find red with blue stripe out of ign switch. I got Red, White with red stripe, black with green, black with yellow, blue, green, black with white stripe. I have to wait for my wife or my son to come home to crank the engine so I can check battery voltage during crank.

I also checked ignition signal voltage to ecu; it was showing 9. something during crank.

I also tried cranking with the battery booster no help.

P.S Checked battery voltage during crank = 11V, no prob there, but starter cranks a little slower compared to my friends maxima (or other cars for that matter)

 

Sorry, my bad, but the Black with White stripe is common to the one I had in mind which is on the schematic as R/L which must be the Red with Blue stripe. Testing these wires is still useful to ensure that the contacts inside the ignition switch are not introducing some errant voltage drop due to bad contacts.
I noticed that when I strt my car with the key it sometimes turns over for several seconds without firing up but when I use the remote starter, which effectively eliminates the ignition switch, it fires up immediately.

 

OK I put my coils to my friends maxima one by one and checked them. All work fine, so it is not coils, what next?

 

A slow cranking starter is most likely caused by either a lack of voltage or dried up grease.

First check the battery voltage.

You already added a GND to the starter so now check the POS wire bolted to the solenoid switch to see if it's loose or corroded.

If that's not your problem remove the starter and test it with jumper cables just to see how fast it's turning. Hook the NEG clip to the mounting side of starter frame. Hook the POS clip to the solenoid switch bolt were the POS wire was mounted. Apply the other clips to the battery. Using a screw driver temporarily connect the POS clip (the one attached to the solenoid switch) to that small solenoid switch connector.

Now try regreasing it.

If it still doesn't turn faster then try cleaning the solenoid switch were it mates with the starter frame using 600 grit sandpaper.

Back in January I had to tap the starter to get it working. After installing a new duralast solenoid switch it then started without a tap. But that caused another issue: I had to hold the key in the start position a second or two longer than before because the starter gear was turning slower. I also coudn't remote start it because it didn't applies 12V to the inhibitor switch long enough.

I then reinstalled the OEM solenoid switch after sanding down that dirty surface that mates with the starter frame. It now starts quick and quiet. Being a well known customer at Autozone they gave me a full refund for the solenoid switch I purchased 105 days ago .

 

Don't mean to hijack the thread. I am having the same problem of "slower turning". I am going to try the OEM solenoid switch. Do you happen to know the part number for it?

 

OK It finally started. It runs really ruff with new computer, Code showing P0325 which i believe is a knock sensor, but I thought knock sensor doesn't effect idling speed. Car would not idle, stalls???? any ideas?

It feels like some cylinders are misfiring but it is not showing on codes, (Only showing P0325) if I unplug first or second cylinder coil (passenger side front and pass side back) while car is running, engine runs the same, so I assume those 2 cylinders are not firing. shouldn't the ecu show code?

............I checked spark plug on one cylinder that is not working and its black, Is it a fuel injector problem?

 

Before spending $80 + S/H on the OEM solenoid switch, 23343-31U00, I would first try checking what I posted earlier.

 

I had the same starting issue. At first i thought i solved the problem by changing the ground to the battery and adding a ground to the starter & transmission. It helped my starting a little bit. Finally, I took the car to nissan and they checked it on their consult. I was told that the timing of the car was jumping while trying to start. They figured like the rest of us that it was a grounding issue. They replaced the ground wire with a new factory one, removed the starter, and sanded the block and other ground points. After that, my car starts perfectly.

 

i have a 96 maxima that i just had the throwout bearing go out so i drove it into the garage and replaced the clutch. i just got it backtogether and i also cant get it to start, i tried putting a negative battery cable to the tranny housing and it did nothing, i was able to push start it and it runs perfect but i can get it to start by itself it just cranks and cranks till the battery goes dead, any ideas?

 

Did you sand the mating surface where the tranny and block meet up. Thats a major grounding point and the cause for much trouble for alot of people on here. Also check your Crankshaft position sensor (POS). Its the one that reads the flywheel. Make sure its pointed straight in. If its cocked to the side, it will act up.

 

Change your crankshaft sensors. I had the same problem this year. Word for word. If it doesn't fix it, take it back.

 

This makes a lot of sense. The starter is grounded through its body. If its not properly grounded, you gonna have issues.

Last year sometime, i cleaned all my grounds and made some new ones. I think everyone shd do the same.

 

lesson to all.... when a motor turns over but wont start it means the starter is working. may be turning slow but most likly thats a power issue (- or +) so starter is out. mine did the same thing... had to replace my egr did that and started fine but ran rough. check all your eletric plugs one of mine had a bent prong in it i could unplug coils and it would runthe same. your literally gonna have to review all your connections.. sounds like a grounding issue but may be a loose wire. good luck with it man.

 

i tried to do a cheat to getting the ground to the starter to make sure it had enough ground and it did nothing