I bought a 103K mile 98 SE today from the original owner and he advised me of the "special" way it has to be started... He could "bump" the starter (turn the key to start very briefly so the engine only spins for 1/2 second- and then release) and it would start every time for him. He said if you crank the car over (like normal) it won't start. I tried it in his driveway and it worked for me too.

Now that the car is mine, I can barely get it started. I don't have the same "touch" that he did, apparently. I would like to fix it so any idiot can drive it (me included).

I searched through "starting problem" threads for over an hour and found a lot of different problems... but not this exact one. Does anyone have the solution?

Be sure that it's the starter. Disassemble it and take it to an autozone to get it tested. It could be the starter itself, or a low battery, which you can also get charged for free at an autozone. Hope that helps. And removing the starter is incredibly easy to do if you wish to have it tested.

I believe the battery and starter to be good because the battery spins the starter really fast and it sounds healthy. It just won't start that way... you have to "bump" it. It seems like an electrical sensor or ignition switch problem to me, but I wanted to see if anyone else ever had this same problem and fixed it.

I sort of have had the same problem... All things are good, starter, new alternator, well maintained battery, but at the most random times it just won't turn, crank, click, or turn over. For that I would check all the ground points, or lose/exposed cables to the starter if that's where the source of your stall is coming from...

Have the starter checked at AutoZone for free. If it's good, check the ignition switch.

does the starter crank the engine when you just turn the key without bumping it?

because that "special way" of bumping the starter is common knowledge among the mechanically inclined and is the way they temporarily get by on starter motors that are about to take a crap.

no reason to bump it if it cranks.. really fast doesn't mean anything. some starters are naturally slow new. i'd say turn your in for the core charge and get a rebuilt one.

His starter is working, it's just not getting the run signal.

Start by replacing the ignition switch, it's a common failure item.

The engine might be flooding. I have noticed on mine something similar - if it does not start in the first 1/2 - 1 second, after that I have hard time starting it. I usually press gently on the gas pedal to open up the throttle, so air goes in the cylinders and it starts. Try that.

ima hafta agree here i also think its the starter does it buzz like a couple teeth are grabbing and then nothing?

when my starter went it cranked all day but was soo weak it couldnt fire the engine then it just stopped making any noise at all.


just a little experience for you

+1 it's not a starter problem. Its gonna. Be fuel or ignition. I suspect ign switch or ground between motor and trans. The ground issue affects crank and can sensors and is exasperated duringcranking due to voltage drop. Might also be poor ground at starter mount.

sounds like a bad ignition switch to me

Changed the ignition switch at lunch-- no dice... But now the symptom has changed. Now when I crank it, the starter spins, then grinds for a split second, then continues spinning. Lightly pressing the throttle while cranking had no effect. Going to add grounds first, and failing that, pull the starter for a test at Vato Zone.

Pull the starter and check the teeth, i have a thread in the all motor section regarding this issue. The bendix on the starter is missing the teeth on the flywheel, causing the spinning grinding noise. I replaced my starter and solved the problem.

+1, exactly right.

Also, keep in mind that (and don't quote me on this) remanufactured starters have i think less teeth? Is that it? Or something like that, having either less teeth than the OEM ones? I doubt that's any problem, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Why would the reman starter have less teeth??????? If the pinion gear had one less tooth, you'd be in trouble. Improper gear mesh from a missing tooth would damage the ring gear of the flex plate (or flywheel).

I don't remember. I just remember reading something about the teeth quantity when I bought my remanufactured starter from autozone. Maybe it was more teeth? again, don't quote me! Just telling ya what I saw

Would explain y starters have destroyed 2 flywheels on me. Get an OEM starter from Dave B

Everything you have posted points to bad ground. Has the trans and motor ever been separated do you know? The starter didn't grind till you swapped the switch so don't worry about it. If you try ground wires make sure you clean the mount point very good.

+1 when he say good u have to do it good just a quick scuff will not work

Starter was Recently replaced as it was shiny & new looking & had the "rebuilt" sticker on it. It tested good at Auto Zone.

The neg batt cable was original and crusty, as was the metal mount that bolts to the block. I used a cordless drill with a wire brush attachment to clean off all the surfaces.

Once I get out of work, I'll add the new grounds to the starter and trans & replace the batt cable & cross my fingers...

[QUOTE=The neg batt cable was original and crusty, as was the metal mount that bolts to the block. I used a cordless drill with a wire brush attachment to clean off all the surfaces.[/QUOTE]

Make sure you don't have corrosion that traveled inside the covering on the battery cable.

Installed new neg. batt cable, grounded starter and trans to it, buttoned it up and...

Same problem. The teeth on the starter were good but when I crank the starter, it spins, grinds, spins. I hope the flywheel isn't cashed.

Running out of things to try. I have the day off tomorrow, so any other ideas before I set it on fire or take it to the stealership?

The starter has a bendix drive that has a sprag clutch in it. My brother had a starter on a 626 that would slip this clutch constantly. To start it he would bump the starter as it would pass maybe one compression stroke before slipping. You need to verify that the engine is cranking, not just the starter making spinning noises. Have someone watch the accessory belt and see if it keeps turning.

I verified that the belt turns while cranking.

Had a thought: When I replaced the negative battery cable, I didn't get one from Nissan, I got it from Auto Zone. It does not have the mount in the center where it bolts down to the car near the battery tray. Is that the grounding point for the chassis? If so, I completely removed it by using an non-OEM batt cable.

Also, I have been following the other "starting problem" threads and saw that some people were using 4AWG wire to ground the trans and the starter to the battery. I only used a 12AWG wire, thinking a ground is a ground. Is the 4 gauge wire necessary?

4AWG is necessary. You could try doubling up two 8AWG wires. But be sure to ground the chassis near the battery tray, as well as on the engine in the original grounding location (below the head).

12AWG???

i cd see if u used 8awg at least man. 4 or 0 awg would be best.

A ground wire needs to be capable of carrying the same electrical current as the hot wire(s).

It's not like I replaced the negative battery cable with a 12AWG cable. I used the same gauge battery cable as original. Only the "Extra" ground wires I ran were 12AWG. Nissan didn't use any cables in these locations at all and they called it good.

So is the center bolt (mount) of the factory Nissan negative batt cable the chassis ground?

Update... After installing a 2ga grounding kit and still having the same problem... I took it to the local stealership. My wife is getting pissed that I spend every minute that I'm not at work messing with the car, so I thought I'd let them fix it... until I found out what it would cost.

You know, I've seen guys post about dropping the trans and cleaning the mounting surfaces to restore a ground... but I thought that was kind of extreme-- until they told me the exact same thing at Nissan. They wanted $1500 to drop the trans and clean the corrosion from the bellhousing... and replace the starter. Their reason for replacing the starter was basically, "It's not a Nissan starter". Uh huh.

So the car is back at home and the driveway trans drop will commence this weekend.

Pardon my ignorance, but instead of dropping the trans (and cleaning the mating surfaces), wouldn't it be easier to just install a heavy AWG wire between the engine block and the transmission (and to the battery)? I believe you already done this (you purchased a 2AWG grounding kit.

Yeah, that fixed the problem for a lot of people on the org, which is why I tried it first. Didn't work in my case.

Its a band-aid fix that doesnt always work.

I haven't read through this thread for a while, but it sounds like it's related to the ignition switch. Take the switch out and try to start it with a screwdriver in the slot on the switch. If it works consistently, you've got an issue with the lock cylinder. Come back and we'll talk about it...

Success, Finally!

The car starts like a champ. Once the engine was separated from the trans, it didn't look like there was enough corrosion to cause a ground problem.. but after it was all cleaned up with a scotch brite disc on an air drill & put back together-- it fired right up like a new car.

Big thanks to my buddy Mike for doing the work (and installing the Tokico blues and drop springs while he was at it).