It hurts my pride to post here asking about something that is probably simple, but I want to drive my car badly.

When attempting to start the car I get absolutely no cranking or clicking from the engine bay. Complete silence.

I just rebuilt my 5 speed etc and have reinstalled everything. This is probably 1 of 7 times that I've removed and reinstalled a transmission on a Maxima. I am aware that the starter grounds itself through the bellhousing of the transmission and made sure that mating surfaces were relatively clean. I have gone over the wires multiple times, checked fuses, and the neutral safety switch as well.

I've got the main power wire bolted to the starter solenoid as well as that separate power connector. I bridged the gap of those two terminals with a screwdriver and the starter wheel spins completely fine, although it does not kick out and engage the flywheel, does this sound normal?

I am really stumped. The solenoid on the starter is kind of loose, it rotates a little bit but I'm not sure that is effecting anything.

I'm looking at the FSM, but still ...it seems to be with the starter itself or its ground.

I appreciate the help.

 

Are you a 5 speed swap, or factory 5MT?

Run B+ to the starter signal wire, it should crank just fine.

 

5 speed swap, sorry for not clarifying in the OP.

b+ = battery positive wire? is the signal wire that harness coming off of the starter? if so, that is already connected.

 

Battery power.

How exactly did you wire up the Park Neutral position switch for it to crank?

 

I routed the two wires which were originally some sort of harness on the auto tranny (so long ago, i forget) to the switch on the clutch pedal. It has worked perfectly for years this way. I can hear a relay clicking in the engine bay when I press the pedal down and even unplugged the harness and bridged the "pins" to the same result of the clicking relay but still no cranking.

 

Have you tried bypassing the anti-theft relay (if you have the stock keyless entry/alarm)?

You have checked all fuses, correct?

Do all of the idiot lights come on, windows work, etc when the key is in the ON position, or are you just getting no power at all?

 

No, I said run B+ to that wire. See if it cranks then.

The starting circuit is extremely simplistic, there's only a few places something can go wrong.

 

I havent, but I will check the antitheft relay tomorrow. I dont think that is it however. I checked most the fuses that seemed relevant according to the FSM and some just for the hell of it. Everything seems normal in the car otherwise, everything electrical works.

Is the signal wire the single pin connector wire that comes from the solenoid on the starter?

 

Why do you not believe it's the anti-theft relay? If you're sure the inhibitor relay and the fuses are fine, that just leaves the anti-theft relay, ignition switch and wiring.

Yes, that's the signal wire.

 

Well, I've never had any problems with it before. That would just be a little coincidental, but I won't rule it out until I check it (tomorrow)

The signal wire connects to power via the harness coming off of the battery cable, right? I've made sure that was connected.

 

No, the signal wire gets power when you turn the key to the start position. Hence, signal. The B+ cable gets constant B+, it goes to the large lug on the starter.

Again, I've said nothing about whether or not it's connected, I had a completely different suggestion for you.

 

Okay, still no luck.

I swapped the keyless/hazards relay with the antitheft/start one (both relays work), with nothing changing as far as the starting problem. I also connected a wire from the battery positive to the starter signal wire, nothing changed.

Is it possible that the starter is bad? Like I said...the solenoid is a bit loose. It's a remanufactured unit but not really very old and worked perfectly before I took everything apart. It does spin when tripping those two terminals with a screwdriver though.

I have an 8~ inch long 18 gauge ground wire that has a single pin connector to the end of it that grounds right at the chassis below the driver side strut tower. I believe there was a place for this to connect on the original starter, but there isn't for the one currently in the car. I want to say this made the difference in a different scenario but given other variables, I dont know how comparable that situation is to the current one.

 

The ground wire originally connected to the trans, not the starter.

I never said to test the anti-theft relay, the point was to bypass it.

If giving the signal wire B+ didn't make it immediately crank the engine, the starter is bad, not getting power, or not properly grounded.

 

I think you have a problem with the starter.

If you jumped the gap between the main power and the 2nd terminal on the starter it should engage the gears and run the starter motor.

You said the starter motor ran but did not engage. These both should happen with that one connection.

The solenoid is supposed to kick out the gears and the Bendix spring is supposed to retract it when you remove the power.

All from one signal.

And I do have one question. Are you sure when the starter motor ran that the gears did not come out and try to engage the flywheel?? The reason I ask is I remembered you said it was a 5 speed swap.

I am no expert on Max's, yet, but are you using the right starter? Sometimes starters for manuals are different than ones for Auto's due to the size of the flywheel. I could be full of it here, but just thought I'd ask.

Good Luck.

 

flint- thanks for the confirmation about the starter. I figured it should have kicked out as well rather than just simply spin. The starter is the right one, I don't think there is a difference between the auto and manual starters. I've been using it for probably a year now...it seems like everytime I remove one of these to do maintenance I have to replace it. The timing seems too coincidental for it to fail but maybe I am torquing down too hard on the power connection to starter and twisting the solenoid in there.

I did the 5 speed swap like 3+ years ago I think. The starter wasn't turning the motor over it the gear was just spinning.

Yeah...I think this starter is probably just junk. I'm going to go get a replacement within the next hour or so.

 

Yes, auto and manual starters are the same.
I had the same problem and in my case it was the fact that I didn't clean the bellhousing and the engine mating surfaces well enough the 3rd or 4th time I took the trans off. I'm not just talking about where the starter bolt goes through. I mean the entire circumference of the two areas. Running grounding wires from the battery ground to the starter bolts and other places fixed the problem...

 

Yeah I think I read about your problem awhile back and always made sure to clean it decently.

Anyhow, I'm glad to report that the starter was the problem. It didn't even spin when they tested it at autozone. New one is in there and working perfectly. Thanks for the help Paul and everyone else.

I kind of thought it was the most probable cause. I'm off to enjoy my new flywheel!

 

alright i read through every forum i could find i have a 97 max with a 5 speed the bearings went in the tranny so i picked one up from the junkyard. i had to go away for the weekend so my father installed it..after the new tranny wasin i could not get the car to start i checked grounds,every sensor, and decided that it was a problem in the PCM. i sent the PCM away to get it tested and repaired and was told that it had a problem with the ignition circuit which they supposedly fixed..i got the PCM back this morning and hooked everything back up and the car cranks but still will not run any ideas?