I just bought a 2009 Nissan maxima 3.5s off some female a friend of mines knew. Well when I first got it in had to replace the belt because old one was ripped off somehow & I also replaced valve cover/ gasket because valve had 2 big a** holes in it somehow. so I replaced belt & valve and all it fine. So I parked up when I got out work and went to shower came back and car wouldn’t start. So from visual inspection I saw that the battery fuse blew so I went to AutoZone and grabbed a new artery fuse and that fuse blew. So instead of keep buying fuses and blowing them in now assuming I got a short somewhere. If so would there be a short from alternator or starter? I cleaned out car yesterday and saw that they have changed the starter and battery look like 3 months old 🤷🏽‍♂️ I pulled out my multi meter and saw battery had 12.3v so I guessing the battery is good. Would the alternator be the culprit? How would I test for short ? Need help please thanks

 

A lot to unpack here but does the fuse blow when trying to start or when connecting the battery? If when trying to start, disconnect the cable on the starter, check it for any signs of arcing or burn thru along the length of the cable. Now, while the starter is disconnected, try starting the car. Yes it wont start but if the fuse stays intact, we know we have a bad starter or cable.

 

The valve cover itself had holes in it?

 

Thanks, I meant to ask about too! That is a head scratcher!

 

That's where i'm confused lol i've seen vehicles with internal issues on the starter cook fuses when you turn the key, but the holes in the valve cover has me wondering if there's more to this

 

Sorry been busy working. lol but about the valve cover gasket I was saying when I first bought the car I saw the valve cover gasket had holes in it somehow don’t know how but it did 🤷🏽‍♂️ but car still drove fine but I replaced the valve cover when I first got the car and new belt car was good. After a few days of driving it one day I park up at my house to shower and go back in car to start it up & the car wouldn’t start. So I did some research and saw a couple posts about the battery main fuse so I check that and saw that the 250a was cooked so i went to AutoZone to buy another one and upon trying to start car with new fuse the car wouldn’t start but saw that the fuse got burnt somehow but didn’t completely blew. So second time I hooked up my portable jumper box and try start the car the fuse completely blew again. I checked my battery and I had 12.3V so I know it’s not the battery. I read other forums where they said it could be a short from the starter or alternator ?? Not to mention it look like the previous owner just put a new starter in because I saw the starter box in the trunk with the old starter inside 🤔 any suggestions ??

 

I just had to fix this issue on my friends 2013 Maxima. His drive belt snapped and cut the harness for one of the timing cover sensors. It was a pain in the *** to repair the wire due to the lack of space and slack left on the wire. He also had a blown fuse

You'll have to raise and support the Maxima on the passenger side, remove the passenger front wheel, plastic splash shields, get plenty of lights and just follow all of the harnesses from the timing cover that wrap around towards the firewall and trace them near the power steering pump.

You might also have some crank position sensor codes and other timing related codes if the right wires were cut. Do not replace any of those sensors as the codes will go away one you patch up/reconnect the wires.

 

@ColombianMax ok sounds like the same issue I might have , because like what I first said when I first got the car the belt also have ripped off but when I was installing the new belt I didn’t check for any ripped wires I just put the new belt on. But the car still started & I was able to drive it for a couple days then it just gave out on me. So I’m guess the belt could have possibly ripped a wire I have to double check. But why after I installed the new belt it drive fine for a week and all sudden went bad , can that happen ? Also I think i did have some sensor lights come up out no where so tomorrow when I got time I’ll take the passenger wheel off and give it a look

 

If it's the same issue, maybe the wire didnt quite rip fully and might be making a little bit of contact which could be losing connection with bumps and vibrations?

Heads up.. I couldn't find the sliced wire easily but Gerson (another member) kept insisting that it was the wire because the same issue happened to him so after like 20 minutes of searching, I finally found where it was cut. I highly recommend doing this in the day time, have several bright lights position around top and bottom, and if you have a mirror, use it.

 

@ColombianMax ok will do , tomorrow when I got time I’ll give it a look and keep you guys updated on what’s happen. Crazy thing I was just about to buy a start and alternator because I read a lot other forums about people saying the starter could be short or the alternator so I was just gonna replace both. But if I don’t have to replace any of them even better so I’ll have to give it a look around the wire harnes later and see if I can find any ripped wires

 

@ColombianMax also I wanted to ask if I did look and if all wires was good where should I aim next ? The actual starter or alternator?

 

Not sure but I'd likely scan for codes and see what sensors pull up.

From there, I would check if there's a way to test the sensor and /or inspect the harnesses for those sensors for any damage.

Try no to jump ahead of yourself and check this wiring first though

 

@ColombianMax ok going to check after I leave my shop cause car stuck at my house so I’ll keep you infrom after.

 

@ColombianMax i figure out the issues , well I first took the stater out from vehicle and bench test it and seem perfectly frfr so I back installed it . The I decided to take off the belt and check for wiring from timing cover to fire walll and all seem good . So with the belt off I tried turning the crank pulley to make sure motor wasn’t seized and it turn just fine, but then I notice the AC compressor was locke like pulley was not moving at all and I was concerned so I rescue everything with the belt off and turned car on so happenly the car started no problem so I’m sure its a bad AC compressor in general … thank for your help tho

 

Glad you found the problem. My compressor also locked up last year. After much research and checking OEM prices and part numbers... I came to the conclusion that this Valeo is the OEM one. You can see the Amazon review I left for it and see the pictures I shared.

Valeo 10000652 A/C Compressor

 

So I just got the new Ac Compressor in mail & I can see on the compressor they put a sticker on it saying to add compressor oil in it first before charging with Freon. What kind of oil should I put in ? I see AutoZone have refrigerant oil for my vehicle but I’m want to be 100% sure.