My wifes 97 max has been having a little trouble. I have never been there when it happens but got a pretty good idea of what is happening (I have trained her well)

Every once in a while her car will not start. It will turn over and act like it is going to but won't do it. You try it a couple of more times and it starts right up and doesn't have the problem again, sometimes for days.

I replaced the fuel filter tonight but won't know if that helps for a while. Is there any other thoughts on a possible cause? There is no check engine light on and the bulb IS there.

Any help is appreciated.

 

could be .. altenator.. could be starter.. could be battery terminals need to be cleaned...

i would start with the terminals

 

Just got a new alternator. Just got a new battery. Just put new plugs in. Terminals are clean and tight.

From what she says it cranks strong. Just like normal it just doesn't start and is kinda rough. Once it does start it runs fine.

Any other thoughts? Thanks for the help.

 

i got a 98 maxima, i brought it new like 4 years ago, i have the same problem like yours, i have already bring it back to the dealers for two times, they says is the idle need to be adjust, he says it happens to most of the nissan and ask me to bring in on time for check up. that bull sht.
may be you bring it in for idle adjust, they charge me like 90 dollars.

 

I had a similar problem with my car not cranking at all, turned out to be some sensor (forgot the name) but since your's cranks it is something else. The only ideas I have are: the started is bad, the alternator or battery you bought are bad, a fuse or relay is blown somewhere, something could be wrong with your ECU, or most likely you have a loose connection somewhere and/or your wiring is bad. Electrical problems are the absolute worst, hope ya get it fixed.

 

I had a similar problem, (after eventually ruining the starter in the process), it turned out to be my front O2 sensor. I had no CEL codes, so I kept running the car for weeks and weeks, trying to figure out what the problem was. It got to the point where I was ruining the starter trying to get it started. Well, after all my frustrations, I took it to a Nissan dealer and had them run a diagnostic check on my car. It turned out that my front O2 sensor (left bank) wasn't in specs. Actually, it didn't even trip the CEL! I had to replace that AND a starter. But, it cured all my problems. I hope this helps any.

 

I also fought this 'hard'starting' problem for a while until I believe I found the solution. The following were the symptoms on my Max.

First of all, this 'hard-starting' condition was very sporadic and not limited to car temperature, weather conditions, etc, thus it was very difficult to troubleshoot. Sorry for the long thread, but I know how frustrating it is to have this problem, and I hope I can help anyone like DBM helped me over a year ago.

Turning the ignition to START, the engine would crank, but not start. At times, the engine would start for about 2sec and die right after. Most of the times though, it would not start at all. The only way to make it start would be to floor the gas pedal during cranking, thus flooding the engine, and forcing start-up. Doing so would cause a puff of black/grey smoke (foul gas smell due to flooding) come out of the exhaust. Even so, once the engine would start, I would have to keep pumping the gas pedal for about 10s in order to stabilize the RPM's, otherwise, if I let go of the gas pedal, it would die for sure.
Sound familiar so far?

I changed fuel filter, plugs, wires, eventually battery, ECTS, injector flush, etc, nothing too expensive. No codes either! I re-greased the starter motor twice, which helped get rid of that 'grind' sound but did not solve the hard-start condition. Have you tried to keep the key in the ON position for about 10s before starting the engine in order to build fuel pressure? Worth a try...

As the problem got worse, I decided to leave the car at the dealer for a few days until it happened in their hands. It did! The tech gave this explanation: I had a leaky fuel injector that was leaking small amount of fuel in the cylinder over several hours. Thus, once trying to start the car, that particular cylinder was already flooded and would screw up the entire start-up sequence. Also, my battery was very weak due to a failing starter motor. Even if the engine would start, it would die right after because the battery did not have enough power to keep the engine running. The puff of smoke was due to the excess gas in the cylinder.

He recommended I change the battery, start motor, and do a TB cleaning. I did the first two myself and they did the cleaning for like $35CAN. It made a world of difference, specially the TB cleaning. He told me that I had a very passive driving style, and that I should give it hell on the highway about once a week. The injector was not faulty, it was just dirty. I've been using Redline once in a while in order to avoid any dirt getting stuck in there.

I notice that a lot of people have solved this by doing a TB cleaning. I guess the question is how comfortable you feel doing it yourself. Other than that, the most common items would be the battery, starter motor, and then the fuel system (pump and injectors).

Hope this helps, and sorry again for the long post...

Peter

 

Thank you for the long thread. I think this will be helpful. One question though.... What is a TB?

 

I would also recommend the TB clean.

When my car hit it's 5th winter, it started to develop trouble cranking. Sporadic but noticeable and worrisome. If the car was left for 2-3 days, it would sometimes seem like the car would never crank. In the summer, it was fine though. The next winter, same thing but it would have hard starting even more frequently. AFter the the TB clean, the car has no trouble starting. I never have to juice the gas pedal... just turn the key it and starts up every time.

 

Throttle Body Cleaning.

There are excellent instructions on doing this at www.motorvate.ca with instructions and pics. It evens goes through the starter noise fix as well!

Later,
Peter

 

dang i dunno why i didn't read that part of motervate...

so basically, you gotta completely take out the intake midpipe/filter and in that hollowed area is the throttle body? I think i'll definately do it when i have to install my midpipe then. Thanks for the link

 

Hey, I have the same problem! I posted a thread a while ago about this, but did not see a fix - the exact same thing happens to me, but only if I leave the car sitting for more than a few days. If I drive it every day it starts perfectly, but if it sits maybe 4 or more days it cranks and cranks, occasionally sputters and puffs lots of smoke out the back. Also, when it does start the engine shakes and rattles loudly, like a jackhammer. Eventually, it runs ok after a lot of trying. I wonder if I have the same leaky injector problem.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gaios1




I also fought this 'hard'starting' problem for a while until I believe I found the solution. The following were the symptoms on my Max.

First of all, this 'hard-starting' condition was very sporadic and not limited to car temperature, weather conditions, etc, thus it was very difficult to troubleshoot. Sorry for the long thread, but I know how frustrating it is to have this problem, and I hope I can help anyone like DBM helped me over a year ago.

Turning the ignition to START, the engine would crank, but not start. At times, the engine would start for about 2sec and die right after. Most of the times though, it would not start at all. The only way to make it start would be to floor the gas pedal during cranking, thus flooding the engine, and forcing start-up. Doing so would cause a puff of black/grey smoke (foul gas smell due to flooding) come out of the exhaust. Even so, once the engine would start, I would have to keep pumping the gas pedal for about 10s in order to stabilize the RPM's, otherwise, if I let go of the gas pedal, it would die for sure.
Sound familiar so far?

I changed fuel filter, plugs, wires, eventually battery, ECTS, injector flush, etc, nothing too expensive. No codes either! I re-greased the starter motor twice, which helped get rid of that 'grind' sound but did not solve the hard-start condition. Have you tried to keep the key in the ON position for about 10s before starting the engine in order to build fuel pressure? Worth a try...

As the problem got worse, I decided to leave the car at the dealer for a few days until it happened in their hands. It did! The tech gave this explanation: I had a leaky fuel injector that was leaking small amount of fuel in the cylinder over several hours. Thus, once trying to start the car, that particular cylinder was already flooded and would screw up the entire start-up sequence. Also, my battery was very weak due to a failing starter motor. Even if the engine would start, it would die right after because the battery did not have enough power to keep the engine running. The puff of smoke was due to the excess gas in the cylinder.

He recommended I change the battery, start motor, and do a TB cleaning. I did the first two myself and they did the cleaning for like $35CAN. It made a world of difference, specially the TB cleaning. He told me that I had a very passive driving style, and that I should give it hell on the highway about once a week. The injector was not faulty, it was just dirty. I've been using Redline once in a while in order to avoid any dirt getting stuck in there.

I notice that a lot of people have solved this by doing a TB cleaning. I guess the question is how comfortable you feel doing it yourself. Other than that, the most common items would be the battery, starter motor, and then the fuel system (pump and injectors).

Hope this helps, and sorry again for the long post...

Peter [/QUOTE

 

Hey as far as all these people telling you it is your alternater or battery /terminals if it is cranking fine I wouldnt look into that I would see if the fuel filter corrects that and if not try dumping some fuel injector cleaner in there. I would recomend some techron it seems to do the best.