My wife used our 97 Max this morning and parked it in our driveway. I came out later to use the car but it would not start. I put the key in the ignition to start it but all that happened was a momentary click...then nothing. With my wife trying to start the car, I tested the voltage on the battery. 12.7V and never moved while she was trying to start. Apparently, something was blocking out the starter circuit. 4 hours later, I went to start it, and it started right up. No indication of overheating, system fluid levels, or anything. Go figure. Any suggestions as to what the problem might be?

 

Check your battery and starter connections. You may have some corrosion, or a loose connection. The other possibility is that your alternator is not charging your battery very well, and it took a couple of hours for the battery to charge itself enough to start. This happened last week to my girlfriends Subaru. She has a new battery, and the alternator went out. It was dead when she came out of the grocery store, but started right up two hours later when I went with her to get it.

 

Check all the wires to the starter, and the battery connections, you could just have corrosion like tapout said... Good luck!

 

i think ur ignition swtich is dead, mine went dead and did that alot. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....gnition+switch

 

I also have a 89 Dodge Shadow that would also not start today. This was an easier task. The battery crapped out on it. I bought a new battery but before installing it in my Dodge, I used it as a booster battery to jump-start my Max. No luck...same results. I then mounted the new battery in my Dodge and it started right away. This left me with many questions in my mind and anxieties about how much it would now cost to get my Max on line again. I eliminated the battery problem (I did check battery connections and cleanliness) but chose to put it in the hands of my reliable mechanic. I chose not to go back to Nissan...they charged too much for my 60K check.

I'll post my findings when I know what the heck happened.

Again, thanks all for your feedback...