Hey everyone. I live in Chicago where the weather is getting pretty cold. For some reason I can't start up my car. I have an 01 maxima AE. It used to crank but never started and today it just decided not to crank. All my radio, accessories, radar and lights work when I put the key in though. No check engine lights either. Today I took a hammer and tried hittingn the starter while turning the key and it tried cranking and sparking but it wouldn't budge. I was glad to see something actually happened this time. It's sitting on my drive way and I need to get it out since it's getting colder. Is it the starter that's causing the problem? Could it be something else? Also, I'm not sure how much to pay for a new one and how long it'll take to install. If anyone could give me some more info itd greatly be appreciated. Thanks maxima people in advance

 

Check the battery; is the voltage at least 12 volts? (If it isn't, you may have to recharge or replace the battery). When you turned key ON, and banged the started, did it spin fast or slow? If fast, you need a new starter. If slow, re-check the battery ad the connection between the battery and the starter (if it's loose or corroded, there will be a voltage drop, and the starter will be getting only 9V, or less).
You can buy a new starter on the internet for $80-$100. It will be a bit more at your local auto store.

 

alternator

 

It was a fast click. I tried jumping the car so many times for a while but it won't budge and all my interior electrical accessories work. That's why it can't be the battery

 

I don't think it's that to be honest. It's just not getting spark I think.

 

On all 6 cylinders at once? You probably know the car has individual coils on each cylinder so to block the spark like that it needs to be something drastic, like Crankshaft Position Sensor signal missing, blown fuse, etc.

Could you provide the full story- when was the last time it started on its own, how the problem developed, did it ever start when you were jumping it or it was just cranking, did you check the fuses, was any work done on the car when the problem started, have you ever tried starting fluid test?

Sorry, it's hard to understand what the problem is from your description. Try to tell only the facts and do it in the most unambiguous way so someone might help you out.

If it turns out to be starter I'd highly recommend to buy OEM as aftermarket have very poor track record with Maximas. OEM usually goes for 400+ and short of rebuilding yours at reputable electric shop I don't see an alternative.

 

For 1-2 weeks my car would start only on the 3rd or 4th crank. After that I woke up and tried starting it and it would crank but not start ever. After numerous times of cranking, it stopped cranking and only clicks past the key turning. Now, it still does that. I've tried to give it a jump and it never has turned on. I've never done any fluid tests and I didn't do any other modifications. I don't know if it comes from all the cylinders and I don't know how to test that.

I found that my starter was cracked from the bottom part of it to the top. Literally it was broken off. I think that's the problem. I payed $150 for a brand new with lifetime warranty and I'm going to try putting it in.

 

Sounds like you had some starting problem but since the car quit starting altogether you simply drained your battery and currently it doesn't have enough charge to crank the engine. The $150 you paid will most likely be wasted but it's your car. I've been this road myself and found internals of my aftermarket replacement to be of much less quality than OEM. IIRC it lasted about 1 year.

Your starter definitely needs replacement if it is damaged like that.

If you really want to get to the bottom of the original problem you'd need at least fully charged battery first. Don't crank it for long, just long enough to perform a test start (up to 5 seconds tops). Normally car would already start over those 5 sec, no need to crank it any longer. I'd also recommend to get hold of multimeter as you're dealing with electrical problem. If it's all sound too involved then you'd probably need a shop to look at it.