well here we go

im ready to go home and i start the car and all i hear is the car trying to crank but it doesnt turn over...this happens every so often so im not worried. i try again and as it is cranking i hear it wind down from a strong cranking sound to a dying sound then it just stops. i wait and turn they key and i hear nothing...no crankinging, no clicking, absolute silence.

i know the battery is good but i get a jump anyway just for reassurance...i turn key and hear nothing, i check all connections and look at the cables, and all, i check my gas level, look at the fuses, look at damn near everything in the car and everything looks okay.

i figure it is a damn hot day, sometimes when its super hot i have hard times starting the car so i push the car under some shade and let it sit for an hour or so... i go back to crank it and it does make the cranking noise but at the last second i hear the starter make a funny noise (same noise you hear when you have the engine running and you turn they key again) that metal grinding noise and after that turning the key results in nothing.

my question is, am i in need of a new starter motor, that last crank sounded kinda bad...i can prob do it myself, how much should i be lookin at. right now im at work waiting to see if i can track one down locally, and letting the car charge up just in case.

 

Bad ignition switch?

 

It could be the starter or the ignition switch. If you hear a click when you try to start the car, then its probably not your ignition switch.

You can pick up a starter for 150 at any local auto shop (Autozone, etc.). I personally, would recommend a Nissan OEM rebuilt starter, for $180 from Pinnacle Nissan, Midway Nissan, Courtesy Nissan or Dave Burnette.

Try give the starter a whack and see if it starts..

How do you know the battery is good?

 

Check starter, ignition switch, and also the alternator.

 

okay how do i check the ignition switch, im gonno go out there and try to tap on the starter, maybe knock some common sense into it.

and no i do not hear any clicking or anything at all when i turn the key now...i remember in the past if i had a dead batter or somethin and i would try to start i would atleast hear a rapid fire of clicking...now i hear nothing at all.

 

If you know your battery is good and you near no click - then it's probably your ignition switch. If you hear the click, then it's likely your starter.

 

how do i check the ignition switch, where is it located, do i have to rip apart the steering column

 

its on the left hand side of your steering column under the cover.

 

# 2 of 15

Sorry, sorry again.

Trav

 

I'm picking its your starter based on hard starts.. if it was iginition you wouldn't get the earlier hard starts...

Mine did that right before it died, hard to start a few times felt like weak battery and the next time nothing... can't recall if it clicked or not either way

 

man im jus hoping its whatevers the cheapes/easiest but with my luck its always whatevers more expensive...im waiting for my friend to come over and we are gonna start takin a look at some things.

 

My starter also sounded the same way when it was on its last legs. Do what njmodi suggests.

 

Give the starter a good whack... then jump start?
Jae

 

lmao, i got to the point where i tapped the starter with a small hammer, at that point my friend said okay lets call it a day lol. (it didnt work btw). now i notice when turning they key i hear a click in the engine, not a rapid fire click tho. i found that write up on how to remove/clean/ and re-grease the starter so i think im gonna try that tomorow just to see what i can do without spending money.

luke i looked at that lil piece where the ignition switch should be (behind the flap) and i see this lil "device" with a funny lookin screw holding it in, is that what it is? is there a write up on how to remove this thing and replace it if that is the problem. i would be pissed as hell if it was both the starter and ignition switch....ooooo i would be pissssssed.

 

Your ignition switch is fine if you hear the clicks.

 

ya i had the same problem few years ago, it was the starter. it's pretty easy to fix yourself.

 

you sure man?, it isnt rapid fire clicking, it clicks once per key turn...

with no car i have no purpose... i still in bed wasting the day away waiting for my friend to come by so we can go push my car back here. im gonna get a replacement starter today and see if i can get every thing sorted out.

so overall do you think it is the starter guys, i shoulda made a poll.

 

I think its the starter, if it was ignition it wouldnt click at all.

 

My money (or yours I guess) is on the starter, sounds like what happened to me a month or so ago. Really easy to swap out, but kinda expensive.

 

i wanted to know if anyone has a write up w/ pictures on how to remove the starter....im now on my way to go get the car and push it here

 

www.motorvate.ca

 

i found that site in my favorites list, it seems to be very easy to remove thechnical wise, there are only two bolts but i cant seem to them off....they are in there very tightly and with the limited room and my awkward position i cant really get good strength to loosen it up. wd40 isnto doin s#!t. i made a thread on southfloridamaximas.com for the local peeps who may be willing to lend a helping hand, ill break bread if necessary

 

Just get a big breaker bar or piece of pipe to put over the breaker bar or ratchet to get extra leverage. As long as the stock intake (if you have it) is off, you should have enough room.

 

man I got those 2 bolts out with a small rachet, there not that hard, and u've seen meh b4, im skinny y0! lol

 

breaker bar DUH i dont know why i didnt think of that lol, yea i have all of the intake stuff out, i removed the strut bar, and battery just for some more room. im gonna go try the pipe/breaker bar thing ill brb

thanx

 

well u must be strong as hell man, im pretty strong and i can get thee lil suckers off. im gona go try the breaker bar thing now.

 

well it took some work but i got it off, is there anything i should hear in the starter to know if its dammaged. it smells ok, looks, ok, i dont hear any loose parts inside.

now on the engine side, is there anything i should do in there, it looks very dirty, and i see some rust. should i clean it off, if so with what?

i have 3 prices nissan brand new oem for 259.99 no warranty
pepboys reman w/ 3 year warranty 156.99
and advance auto 139.99 w/ LIFETIME WARRANTY

now my wallet says go with advance, plus its a lifetime waranty but if they are ****ty and i ave to replace them every 6 months then it isnt worth it for me, esp if it breaks down when im away from my house.

any recomendations... it has to be local tho...i have to have this in my car by tomorow morning.

 

I went with a Nissan reman exactly for the same reason you describe above. I didn't want to end up saving 50 bucks bucks and end up having to replace the starter every year or worse yet, be left stranded. (You can get the Nissan reman for 180 online - I know it's not an option for you, but just thought I'd mention it).

In your situation, I would just get the Advanced Auto parts one and keep your fingers crossed .

 

I would go with advanced auto. I've heard of people with brand new cars having their starter fail so either way its a gamble. Save your money and you'll never have to pay for a starter again. Carry a breaker bar and ratchet set in your trunk and the price of a toe to the closest advance auto will still be cheaper than the stealership.

 

I went with the Autozone starter a few months ago. Rebuilt starter looked like they did a good job! No problems! It comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty, the purchaser gets a lifetime warranty but it does not transfer if you sell the car. Cost $150.49 including sales tax in NC. Beats $450 at the Stealership!

 

yup im gonna go with the advanced auto, i like nissan oem parts but they arent the most reliable either, a few sensors and a solenoid i bought have died out or gave me problems which needed to be replaced. and if nissan wont give me a warranty id rather get the advanced auto. plus i dont think im ever more than 5 miles away from an advanced auto anyway. ill go pick one up a lil later and instal it first thing in the morning b4 the sun gets to high. ill keep u guys posted. thanx for all the help so far.

 

okay i got the advanced auto starter and i just installed it, when i try to crank it the engine doesnt turn but now i hear the rapid fire clicking like a normal starter, with the old one, it would click once and do nothing. now the starter does the rapid fire click yet it still doesnt start. i tried getting a jump start and that did nothing. any other ideas?

 

Try replacing the battery with another one then starting it, I had the same problem as you once, jumping it wasnt enough... You could have shorted out the battery trying to start it so many times...

See if someone will let you borrow the battery for a second before you buy one tho.. lol

 

thanx but i figured the problem.

the new starter sounds so nice, has a nice lil wirl to it while cranking. i can now tell my other one was starting to die because this new one startes instantly and the other one would take a lil while and sometimes more than one turn of the key to get it going. the reinstalation of the new starter was easy, took me 15 mins. i notice the bolts were white with corosion, is that normal? I cleaned off the bolts and added some anti seize so that they wont be as hard to remove next time. just came back from a drive and everythig is ok. ill go double check everything again when the engine cools to make sure all cables are secured and the bolts are tightened ok.

thanx for all the help and suggestions guys, i appreciate it. thanx sober

 

Nissan is still making new starters for 4th gens? I thought they sold remanufactured too.
Jae

 

So what was the problem after you installed the new starter? I am going to have to do this same thing tonight or tomorrow and would like to know any tricks that you learned.

Thanks

 

well my hands are kinda big so i disconected all these wires that were in my way so i disconected them and pushed them to the side. after instaling the altenator i forgot to reconnect them. they were down by where the transmission housing was, dont know what they do but i disconnected all of them. after trying it out i looked down at the starter and noticed i didnt reconect 2 of them. after connecting it i stareted up with no problems. i drove around and when i came back i checked my ecu to see if anything came up just in case, checked the bolts and connections and everything is okay.

overall the instal isnt hard, its just difficult if you have ****ty tools like me and you get stuck with a couple of bolts that wont come off. reinstallinf the starter didnt take long. if i had to do this again id prob have it out and reinstaled in about an hour if i take my time and it isnt too hot out.

 

"after trying it out i looked down at the starter and noticed i didnt reconect 2 of them" What starter wires did you connect then, there are only 2.


its is real easy to replace the starter.. disconnect all of the intake ducting from the throttle body back, remove the lower half of the airbox so you can more easily see/get to the starter. There are only 2 bolts holding the starter in, and there are only 2 wires.. ones just a plug/socket setup and the other is bolted to the bottom of the starter.

Takes about 10-20mins approx to remove the intake and lower airbox ... about 5-10mins of removing the 2 bolts .. then just slap in the new starter and bolt it back up .. times are rough and are based on your first time doing it

No need to touch alternator or remove 'other' wiring

A *tip* the rubber cover over the terminal at the bottom of the starter is required to prevent short circuits.. its a bit fiddly but should replace the rubber cap fully back over the terminals .. I didn't when I did the install 'cos it kept slipping off but I had another go the other day and its on snug now.

 

the two wirres/harnesses i unpluged werent connected to the starter its self, i dont know what they are for, they were in the way and i didnt want to bend them back so i unplugged them. one was brown and one was gray. they sat right where the trany was. dont know what they were for.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I was able to replace my starter today using the advice from this thread and everything seems to work great.

I have two questions now that I'm done.
1. There is a bolt that attaches a little wiring bracket to the top part of the air cleaner box. As I was going to put this back in, I dropped it into the engine compartment and I was never able to find it. Does anyone know the specs of this bolt and where I could get a replacement?
2. Now that I am finished, my SES light is on. It has never been on before. What did I do while installing the starter that would make that come on and how do I reset it?

Thanks again.