Hi everyone,

So I went out this morning to leave for work, I go to start my car, turn the key and it tries to turn over, but it falls short. Now I haven't been that great on keeping up with the regular maintenance, like I think the oil in the motor is at 7,000 miles since I last changed it. This is just to give you guys an idea of the condition of the car. Now I'm thinking maybe its the starter that died on me, since that seems logical, and the engine has 180K miles on it. Can anyone think of something to check first?

Thank you,

Charlie

 

if it tries to crank it's unlikely the starter.
More likely is the battery or a bad connection.
And a dead battery may/may not be caused by a bad or failing alternator.

I don't often tell people to "search" on here anymore, but this is one case where you might want to, there are literally thousands of these threads, we get one a week at a minimum.

 

The battery and the alternator are both new, I forgot to list that.

 

Try boosting it.

 

I just read a thread someone posted awhile back, it made me wonder if its been immobilized, because the car was running last night, I had it sitting because of a flat tire, fixed the tire started it up, and it ran fine. Parked the car, let it sit overnight, now it doesn't start.

Also how do you boost a car?

 

jump start. google.

if it cranks over at all it's not immobilized.

 

Battery drained

 

I'm leaving work now, so when I get home I'll throw a jump pack on it and see what happens.

 

Alright, I hooked up the jump pack and tried to start it, and that didnt work, so its not a drained batterty. Also, the engine doesn't crank, I was mistaken earlier. I turned the key over and I could hear the fuel pump priming, so its not that either. I started checking fuses, and didn't see any that were blown. So I'm starting to think that it was the starter after all. How does one test the ignition switch? I haven't ruled that out yet.

 

Your problem just got a bit more expensive, time to go get a starter, it's probably seized. You can try to tap on it with a small hammer and see if it cranks.

 

The starter was replaced a couple years ago by the original owner. Is it common for this to only last a couple years? Also, where is it located on the engine? I wasnt able to see it from a quick look.

 

It's mounted on the transmission, in the vid below

 

Awesome, thank you. I found a new starter for $113. I'll probably pick it up this weekend.

 

dont buy a starter yet.

Read and follow:

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...rt-thread.html

 

Maybe I'm unsure as to if its cranking or not. It seemed like it was when I first tried it this morning, now after trying it a few more times, that cranking noise I thought I was hearing is now less and less.

 

It's the classic signs of an about to seize starter, if you really want to test it you can actually remove the starter from the car and apply a 12V source to it.

You will see the gear spin, or at least try to. I have done this myself with starters from various cars I've worked on, all were on the verge of seizing from moisture/rust.

 

I say why mess around. I'm just gonna replace the damn thing. Thank you for your help.

 

Join Date: Aug 2000

I'm really trying to understand how you can think this. This isn't your first day here,

What he has described is NOT a 'classic sign of a seizing starter', starters VERY rarely seize, and especially not on a DD car.

What he describes (not that it's being described clearly) is a dead battery or poor battery cable. He cranks it, it goes a bit, then dies, eventually there's no power to even TRY to crank over.

THAT is a classic symptom.

Anyway, what is this jumping it with a 'pack' crap? jump start this thing with another car that has a good battery and is running. Report back.

 

or, go nuts and just throw parts at it hoping it fixes it.
I personally don't like burning my money, but you can feel free to

Did you read the thread and instructions in the link I posted?

 

but but what if it turns out to be the starter that's starting to seize? And if you've never seen one, I can show you what a seized starter looks like I have replaced 3 or 4 in different cars that were DD including my own Altima.

But since it's not my problem I don't really care all that much since I did tell him to remove the starter and test it but he says he'll go ahead with changing it anyway.

Point your fingers wherever you like

 

[QUOTE=TunerMaxima3000;8718819]or, go nuts and just throw parts at it hoping it fixes it.
I personally don't like burning my money, but you can feel free to

I agree...I ended up throwing ground cables at mine...my car was soooo damn finicky. One day, start up perfect...next hour, nothing! Start with a continuity test to the ground on the starter. I would charge your battery or have a shop charge it, go through and clean all connections thoroughly...if you want, have your starter bench tested if you have to bring your battery in (unless you know how to test the starter yourself)....if the battery checks out, the starter checks out...reassemble everything. If it still acts messed up when trying to start...get some grounds ran in there. Good luck.

P.S. After I fixed everything...I accidentally set my alarm with out knowing, went to start my car and thought I was back in square one. After testing my third wire and cursing...it dawned on me that my kid was in the car...thinking my alarm might have been set...I stuck the key in the drivers side door...turned the key twice to lock it, and twice to unlock it. Not sure if that's you HAVE to do, but that's what I did, and my car started back up again.

I ended up spending $30 on some 4 awg stranded wire, lugs, and shrink wrap.

 

I didn't have another car to try to jump it with, so I was just using what I had. I guess when my fiancee gets home, I can hook up the cables between the two cars and see what happens.

 

Pray it starts

 

What?! You have a stick shift...and you're waiting for your wife? Get your donkey legs warmed up, and start pushing that thing around your neighborhood to test the problem! If it starts, it's 99% your battery, if it doesn't start, it's 99% your theft protection. Move donkey, move!!!

Don't ever let anyone say you can't push start in reverse!

 

Donkey legs haha... How is it my theft protection if it doesn't start? Also, the battery is only a year old, could it really be dead already? I had the alternator replaced a month ago, and I drove the car only on the battery, maybe that weakened it? But shouldn't the new alternator, have regenerated the battery?

 

Theft protection will disable your car from starting...I was not aware of this until my alarm was accidentally set. As far as your battery, and recharging...your system maintains what ever your battery status is at. Obviously a battery is 12v...the car charges at around 14v. You battery power slowly drains, that's why it's always a good idea to give a dead/killed battery and nice full charge before re-installing. Your vehicle will not bring it back to 100%.

 

The red light for the security system is blinking when I go to start the car. So I don't think that's the reason.

 

How fast do I have to get the car going, in order to jump the clutch to start it?

 

You do know that push starting your car does not involve your starter right?

But you need a good downhill or 10 to 15mph running start before popping it in 1st, you will find out how strong 1st gear is when you engage it.

Have fun.

 

I was thinking if it wasn't my starter, then I would try push starting it. But I'll probably just end up crashing it in the process. At least I have insurance.

 

The original answer is misleading 15MPH is world class.

Sprinting up to 100 yards - record is ~23 MPH - average ~14
Running up to a mile /1600 meters record is ~16MPH - average ~10MPH
Marathon distance record ~26 Mile/42 Km is ~13MPH/21KmPH
reasonable 9MPH 14KmPH (NY marathon qualification time)

For figuring out how fast you can get between two points these are probably better values as they assume you can actually not spend too much time recovering.

The Average walking speed is 3-4 MPH 5-6 KmPH or about 100 yards/meters per minute

Running speed sustained is about twice that 8 MPH, 12 KmPH or 200 yards/meters per minute.

Basically, there is no way you can push a car 15 mph! Hahahaha...you're crazy. Push starting bypasses your starter and some ignition components. It's a good way to rule out a lot of things. If it starts, you know your alarm is deactivated, you know you're getting fuel, spark, and air flow, and you would know that any circuits and/or fuses needed for engine management are in working order.

 

wow so much physics!

What if he had help? Say 2 guys, and a downhill? Can you do the math on that?

 

LMAO, I stole that information from another website. Before I saw your comment, I was actually trying to figure out the running speed...I gave up and googled it.

 

is the car fixed?

 

No, the car is not fixed yet. I've been at work all day and haven't had the time to mess around with it.

 

I'm gonna try tapping it with a hammer while trying to start it. I wonder, if I do this alone, can I tap it a few times then get in and try to start it? Or is two people needed for this?

 

Try not to use a metal hammer to tap, use a rubber mallet/block of wood/something that's not metal. Tapping doesn't mean swing that **** like a baseball bat.

After a few good taps, go and try to start the car. If you hear it try to crank that's progress. If nothing, then give it a few more good taps and give up.

 

Good to know, I thought the object used to tap the starter had to be metal. Thank you for letting me know. I'll report back once I try this.

 

Non metal prevents shorts, if you accidentally hit the + from the starter and a ground will cause sparks/shorts.

 

I forgot to ask. If tapping the starter a few times doesn't get the car to start, does this rule the starter out as a possible suspect?