flyboy216

My battery died (presumably due to 6 months of disuse), and we tried jumpstarting it with a Cadillac CTS. After connecting the cables and starting the CTS, we left them connected for a few minutes. Even with my friend pressing the gas, all I heard was a clicking sound (and dimming of the dashboard lights).

I assume this means my battery is dead? We gave it many attempts, too... I hope that didn't screw something else up.

lightonthehill

Something wrong here. With the cables connected, you should have been able to start your car using the juice from the CTS.

Either you have a bad connection between one of the clamps of the jumper cable and one of the battery connections, installed the cables incorrectly, or there is corrosion between one of the Maxima's battery posts and its clamp preventing a good electrical contact.

Connecting the cables backwards can do damage to your electrical system. I hope you did not do that. I suspect you did not, as that can create quite a spark display.

I always use the 'positively dead' system. I attach a jumper clamp to the POSITIVE terminal of the DEAD battery, then attach the other clamp of that jumper to the positive terminal of the live battery.

Then, while I am still at the 'live' car I attach a clamp on the second jumper cable to the negative terminal of the live battery. I then attach the second clamp of that cable to a metal brace or metal piece that is attached to the engine of the 'dead' car.

That last clamp MUST NOT be to (or very near) the negative terminal of the dead battery, as this is the connection that will cause a few sparks, and attaching it to the battery can cause the battery gasses to explode. I had that happen to a friend, who lost an eye and had his face disfigured for life.

Jumper cables MUST NOT be run through, by, or even near a moving part, such as a fan blade or accessory belt.

The last possibility (and probably the most likely) is that corrosion is preventing a good connection between your battery posts and battery cables. This is not unusual. Auto parts stores sell a small metal brush designed to clean battery posts.

Watch out for anything you brush off a battery or battery posts; that is unless you love lots of holes in your jeans and bad spots in your car's paint.

Let us know how this turns out.

VQ20

That happened to me a couple weeks back on my maxima and it was battery. Ended up swaping batteries and it started. Turns out battery had a dead cell. We re-charged the battery, it ran good for a few starts then after about 2 hrs down time no start even though i was reading 12.35 on the voltmeter.

Monotaur

Yep, I also had a completely dead battery a week or so ago (I also think it was a bad cell). Apparently, several others have as well:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=501556

EDIT: Since the OP has a 2004, I'd suspect the battery as well since it seems that 3 years or so seems to be a common lifetime of the OEM battery.

flyboy216

Thanks for the suggestions and info! I'll see if cleaning off the terminals helps (they were VERY corroded), and if not, I'll buy a new battery.

In the meantime, my key won't come out! It's in park, the wheels are straight, but I can't get the key out. I don't suppose the battery could cause this?

KCMAXX

iTrader: (22)

Once you replace the battery start it, move it and key should come out fine. The same thing happened to my Murano. The battery went dead, it kept the key, had to use the shift lock button to get it into N, I had to push it out of the garage and when I put it back in park I wiggled the key and it came right out. Try the red or yellow top batteries, should last longer than OEM

flyboy216

Yeah, I guess I'll replace the battery and see if it comes out. You say you had to use the shift lock and push it out of the garage... does that mean the battery was still dead when you pulled the key out?

I bought my car in KCMO (Jay Wolfe) by the way

-Sin-

Turn the steering wheel a little bit and it should come out.

MDS

My battery died yesterday (16 months old). With regard to your jump starting problems, cheap cables might be the issue. Awhile back, a friend of mine attempted to jump start another friend's car (dead battery). After connecting the cables, the car would not start. We checked all connections, still no start. Neighbor came over with different jump cables. They were home made. He made them from thick welding cable. We put them on and the car started instantly. Apparently, the regular jump cables didn't let as much electricity flow as the welding cable did. The difference was enough to prevent the car from starting.

The neighbor said they were not expensive to make, which I will confirm because I made a set for myself. He also said you could make them much longer (10 ft or more), to ensure that you always have enough reach.