ok, well i swapped from a 350z to a fidanza maxima flywheel, and the horrific starting noise has gone away, but now im having a strange problem. when the car has been sitting for a while and has cooled down, when i attempt to start the car, some of the time the starter seems to spin and not actually turn the car over, but after a few cranks, the starter turns the car over every time. but the car still cranks and cranks before starting, but once it starts it runs perfect. i know the car is getting fuel, because i can smell it and when the car actually starts, it smokes. im using the 96 cps from my buddies i30. im going to get the starter replaced under warranty, and see if that helps. then i was thinking about buying a new cps from nissan. any other thoughts? im really at my witts end about all this.

 

Sounds like a starter issue. Remove it and have it tested.

 

sounds like the solenoid's not engaging.

 

are you using the same starter you used when you were having problems before (when you broke teeth from the starter ring)?

 

^ Yes, but he is going to get a new starter under warranty.


Matt, did you clean the metal shavings on the CPS off?

 

ya, i cleaned em off, but no help. i have a very thin washer in there, because after the 1st flywheel replacement, the timing ring was hitting the cps, so i put a small washer in. i think i will take it out after i get the new starter and see if that helps alleviate the problem.

 

possibly a bad ground between the starter/bellhousing/engine?

Very common for 4th geners to run into this problem after replacing the clutch. dealers, local shops, and very experienced diy'ers can never diagnose it, it's surely something that would put you at your wits end to say the least. Most guys just run a seperate 4-gauge ground wire right to a starter bolt as opposed to removing the trans and sanding the starter/bellhousing/engine-mating surfaces clean......

 

guess its time to change your username.

 

interesting.....but would that kind of problem develop slowly, or would it become apparent right away? ive had this problem for maybe a week.

 

It would be apparent if it was a ground issue, more than likely your car wouldnt start at all. I remember a couple years back when I did my swap the car would crank, misfire and not start. Couldn't figure it out for the life of me and finally gave and took it to the dealership, at first even they couldn't figure the problem and I was told by the head mechanic; they called Nissan HQ to find out it was a ground issue with the motor and tranny. They charged me $600 to resurface the bellhousing and block...

I would also say try a new starter, thats the most obvious thing that may be bad and then go from there. Good Luck!

 

well, that did happen right off the bat. it cranked for a while before it finally started. i changed the gap on the cps sensor and it started after. what would be a way to test for that? just run a wire to the starter then ground it somewhere?

 

You could do a grounding kit, I did it just for the piece of mind but I have my doubts if it does really help. Either way you could buy a nice groundig kit somewhere ie ebay or just go to autozone and buy some battery cables and bolt them to accordingly from motor to chasis...

 

Just go to wally word in the lawn and garden section get a 4 or 6 gauge wire like 16" long and run it from the chassis ground near battery tray to a starter bolt

 

so i got my new starter, and the car starts much better, but it still doesnt consistently start on the first try. i was thinking, with the car sitting for 4 weeks not running, then all my flywheel problems and cranking the car over so much, could the spark plugs be fouled causing this problem? once the car is running its fine.

 

Did you run a direct ground yet?