Hello all, I'm new here but longtime lurker. This issue started in December after a cold snap, the car was working fine until after I parked and went into the store. After I came out and went to start my car it tried to crank but didn't turn over, the battery then quickly died on me and it stopped cranking at all. AAA came out and tried to jump start the car, it cranked but didn't turn over before something started smoking under the hood. The AAA guy said it looked like the alternator was bad, so I towed it to a mechanic to get their opinion. They said the alternator was bad as well and then quoted me $1000 (!) to replace the alternator along with the serpentine belt (turned out belt wasn't even in bad shape), so I decided to tow the car back home to try and fix it myself. My dad has been a mechanic for ~50 years and has worked on this car many times before so I figured with his remote guidance and the power of the internet we could figure out the issue. Well here I am 6 months later, after a lot of troubleshooting and many parts replaced, the car still cranks but doesn't start. Despite replacing so many parts, I still haven't spent half of what that mechanic quoted me for just the alternator so I definitely don't regret doing it myself as I've learned a lot.

My current symptoms are slow cranking, battery voltage drops to ~8 volts when cranking, and the engine occasionally misfires while cranking but never manages to turn over. I've tried spraying starter fluid in the air intake and actually managed to get the car to start ONCE before it died again after a few seconds, haven't managed to replicate it since.

Here's every part (w/ brand) I've replaced so far:

• Alternator (Remy)
• Battery (Duralast)
• ECCS fuse
• Starter motor (Remy)
• Camshaft Position Sensor (SMP)
• Crankshaft Position Sensors REF & POS (SMP)
• Fuel filter
• Ignition switch (SMP)
• Split/corroded wire segment (~4 inches) on right rear of engine that goes from ECM terminal 4 to ECCS relay/fuse, now cranks at ~10 volts instead of 8 (learned where to look from this Nissan bulletin I found in another thread).

Here's all of the troubleshooting I've tried so far:

• I've gone around with my multimeter and checked for voltage and continuity on all of the circuits for the parts I've replaced and they check out.
• I've hooked an in-line spark light up to each ignition coil & spark plug, the light's brightness seemed weak and the timing inconsistent.
  • I checked the circuits for each ignition coil for voltage and continuity and every harness checks out.
  • I checked resistances on each ignition coil and they were all within range.
  • I pulled out each spark plug (NGK iridiums), 3 of them were fairly gunked up and all of them had some carbon buildup; I cleaned them up the best I could with some electronics cleaner, checked their gaps, and reinstalled them.
• I've checked every fuse under the hood and the dash to make sure there weren't any blown or drawing any voltage when the car's off, the only fuse that was blown was the ECCS fuse and I'm not sure if it's a symptom of the original problem or caused by AAA jumping the car.
• I've sanded and wire brushed the engine grounds to assure they have good contact and have even tried cranking with a jumper cable hooked directly between the battery negative and main engine ground.
• I tested the amperage with the car off for parasitic drain and it was fluctuating around ~250mA so I started pulling fuses and found that if I pulled the BCM fuse under the hood that it dropped to ~30mA, so I checked all interior lights to make sure that they were off and tested the door controls and everything seemed to be in working order.
• I don't think the theft warning system has the immobilizer engaged since the security light on the dash is behaving the way it should.
• I checked the MAF circuit and the power wire seems to be ~0.4 volts below battery voltage, the MAF sensor is only a few years old so I wouldn't expect anything to be wrong with it.
• I can hear the fuel pump engage for a few seconds whenever I turn the ignition on.
• I tested the TPS and the sensor portion seems to be in working order and smoothly changes ohms when manually moving the throttle, however I checked continuity on the switch portion and there wasn't any continuity, should I replace the TPS?
• I pulled the IACV out to test it while turning the ignition on/off and it seems to be functional. I tried manually controlling the IACV before pulling it out and when it's about halfway open it starts clicking so it may not be opening completely.

I guess I should also mention all of the past issues with my car that have gone unaddressed but also haven't worsened. The car has a leaky cylinder head gasket that gets some oil in the coolant (probably why those spark plugs were gunked), a tiny chronic oil drip on the right of the engine (I end up putting in a quart of oil every couple of months), the AC doesn't cool but the heat works, cruise control doesn't work, antenna doesn't always retract, rear right subwoofer is blown but unplugged, and many months or even years before this issue I've gotten DTCs for knock sensor, O2 sensor, and cylinder 3 misfire and I ended up clearing each code as they appeared without thinking much of them.

I managed to get the Nissan DataScan I software connected to my car's ECM via a USB to CONSULT cable and logged some data while trying to start the car, it's also what I used to manually control the IACV position and could also assure myself that the ECM isn't fried. Here's a snippet of the data I logged, I don't really know how to interpret the data since I don't have much of a baseline to go off of. The most I can take away is that the MAF value is below what it should be and the timing seems off however I don't have an oscilloscope to confirm.



I'm fairly convinced that this is some sort of electrical issue so I haven't checked things like the injectors, fuel pressure, or compression. I'll be dragging my car down to my parent's place this weekend since we're moving and my dad and I can hopefully tackle more troubleshooting with his plethora of tools to be able to check things like fuel pressure, compression, injectors, oscilloscope readings, etc. I just feel pretty stumped at this point, I've painfully dredged through the FSM in search of any cause and have followed the FSM every step of the way and I'm not sure what steps to take next. I feel like I'm getting closer to solving this, so any suggestions as to what could possibly be causing the issue are much appreciated!

 

Warm start problems can be many things. I'd look at the ECTS (Engine Coolant Temperature sensor), a $30 part and will take you no more than 15 minutes to replace, if determined to be bad. Use a multimeter and test it and see if it's within OEM specs. What you described happened to me about a year ago.

Proper tranny grounding is critical for starting. Run two new grounds off the tranny bellhousing. Any cheap wire (even cheap 50 cents speaker wire) would do the trick for testing purposes.

 

Might be worth to look into the ignition switch as well, i was having cranks no start issues a few years ago and replacing that part solved my crank no start issues.

Here is the one i installed

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...n-maxima?pos=1

 

I ordered a new NTK engine coolant temp sensor and will be doing some more work on the car over the weekend. I'll also try grounding the tranny to the engine with some jumper cables to see if it helps. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

Unfortunately the ignition switch is a part I've already replaced, I got a Standard Motor Products brand one off RockAuto and it didn't behave any differently. I will go back through and check the circuits though for proper voltage and continuity.

 

Are you getting a spark at the plugs? You can pull one plug and plug it into the attached coil pack and ground the end and crank for a second or two and watch.

You never said what year. You said the Immobilizer light is working as it should. I'm assuming it's a late 98 or 99? If you crank and the car doesn't start and stop cranking and leave the key in the ON position, that "security" light should NOT be solid red. If it is, try your second key. Your NATS on the first key was triggered. It won't work until you get reprogrammed. All keys get programmed together. One at a time only programs one. The rest are removed.

You hear the Fuel Pump kick for a few seconds. That can be a trap. Disconnect the fuel line between the filter and fuel rail and put the hose in a plastic bottle. @45 pounds of pressure, a few seconds should be of a decent volume.

Maybe test a bunch of Vacuum lines with a vacuum gauge. Weak vacuum could indicate leaks. At this age, vacuum lines can just split. Swirl vacuum diaphragm as well. Maybe even an intake gasket? TB or IACV?

Hope this helps.

 

I wish i thoroughly read your post on the first run, thats my bad. Now i feel like a dummy

please keep us posted

 

It's right in the title of the thread. He has a 97. That makes two people in this thread who can't read. LOL

 

I’m agreeing with Keith (KP) … you mentioned fuel pressure. How’d that test out?

Also, the test-for-spark can be pretty rudimentary but maybe a little time consuming.

Remove each coil pack and boot and each spark plug, one at a time. Reassemble each coil pack with its boot and reattach each spark plug, then crank the motor. Does the plug fire?

Do this for each coil pack and plug.

Also, interchange the MAF with a known operational piece.

Check the condition of the air duct pieces (all the plastic stuff between the MAF and the throttle body).

 

Ha! Be that way! At least I'm not the only one!

Seriously? How did I miss that? I guess I only looked at the Body. I do that QUITE often.

Dark Sunglasses!

 

Haha. It's all good. I often re-read the title for clues to member's issues.