VITALS:
1999, auto, 157K miles

SYMPTOMS:
In past seven days, car has had random occurrences of not starting. No crank, no click, nothing. Usually on the third to seventh turn of the key, the car starts right up.

When car doesn't start, lights on dash work, dome light works, but power locks and radio are dead (all radio presets also clear).

Today, the car actually shut off while driving. I had just hit the turn signal to turn into my work parking lot and the car died. Luckily, I coasted out of traffic and was able to start the car right up and pull into a space.

One other odd thing I noticed the car just started to do yesterday is that there is an odd "buzz" that occurs when the A/C is on. The frequency of the buzz grows louder and softer with the accelerator very similar to the AM radio interference you'd here on old cars.

POSSIBLE CULPRITS:
The fuel filter and sparkplugs were replaced last weekend which required pulling the fuel pump fuse. I checked to make sure the fuse wasn't blown and was seated correctly.



Any help is appreciated. Cheers!

 

sounds like an electrical problem IMO. check the battery, cables and alt

 

What up Dogg,

Which audio system do you have? Bose or the base system?

 

Im going to have to ask, why would it matter if he has bose or not? Why would that keep the car from starting

 

He mentioned he loses his radio presets and the bose and non bose have different fuses for battery backup.

Just assembling the pieces of the puzzle.

 

check your grounds as well.

 

Non-Bose.

Yep, definitely an electrical problem since it's on/off and so random versus sputtering to a halt like a fuel-related problem. Whatever it is, it's cutting off all my spark intermittently.

Doing some research, I noticed some 300Zs had a similar problem. Anyone have similar issues with a relay or ignition unit?

 

Well, the non bose shares a fuse with NATS and the theft system, but it's for the indicator lamp. This fuse (number 40, 7.5 amps) also powers the door locks. This fuse also powers the vanity mirror lights in the sun visors, so maybe check those too if it goes out again.

When you say that the radio dies but the lights on the dash and dome light stay on, are the lights normal brightness, or are they dimmer than usual?

Did you ensure that the battery clamps are tight on the positive and negative posts?

EDIT

Ok, that fuse (number 40) is actually for the key switch and runs to the BCM, not really for the door locks. This is just a signal to prevent you from locking the keys in the car while they are in the ignition.

I could see your car not starting with lose battery clamps, btu that does not explain it shutting off once it is running.

Does you clock keep time?

 

Battery wires are clamped tight. Yes, the clock does also lose time when the car shuts off.

One biggie I forgot. I noticed the security light on the dash stayed once the car got running after a no-start.

ajm8127, I think you may be on to something with the ant-theft.

 

According to the FSM, the light will stay on the the key in the "on" position if the NATS detects "trouble". I does not define what trouble is (could be a loss of power). The information for this system is vague in the FSM. It mostly says that any diagnostics must be carried out at the dealer (or someone with a CONSULT and CONSULT/NATS software).

According the the starting circuit diagram, neither the NATS or the theft system would prevent the car from cranking if the key was inserted and turned to the "START" position. It would only prevent it from turning over. You did report that sometimes when you turn the key to start, the car does not crank (starter does not turn), correct?

 

Correct. When the car won't start, it won't crank at all.

 

Sound like a battery ground not connected properly.... check the connector at the trans body underneath the car that coming from the battery than check the ground at the alternator also with this being an on going problem you may have damaged the alternator diodes by now. Low voltage will cause other items like Radio, etc not to work fully or at all.

 

You're not fully grounded somewhere....check other end of the ground wire from the battery.... It's located on the trans body. The factory anti-theft is only a alert system it does shut down the car totally as far electrical. He lose power all together causing the clock to reset, radio station memory loss and non cranking. Anti-theft does non of those or fuel shut off. sadly it just sound off an alert.

 

I have to agree with the above post. You should make sure the battery is properly grounded to the chassis. If you remove the battery, there is a ground right in the area under it, and that wire runs over to the engine. Check both of those locations. It will probably be necessary to remove the intake air duct also.

 

hi there,

mine maxima 1995 gxe with emarld black, 192k miles,
when i start car i notice clock comes on then went out after 15 minutes,
always does that and what the problem doing that is there short? or just something got hot and turn off itsefl. no raido installed, removed bose stereo, and still working to install stereo installed.
been doing that since i bought car had it for 2 months. motor isn't original too so runs smooth ans strong, so what the possiblity of clock goes out after 15 minutes, yes still hold time telling acutal time.

 

i had a similar problem with a cavalier i used to have (dying, not starting lights going out, etc.. ) it turned out that my alternator was bad and when the battery runs out of enough juice to run the car it can kill it.. check this recall and call your local stealership and give them your vin number and have them check the car for recalls.. never hurts to try and at the least you would know if your car had any recalls or not.. best case scenario it is affected by the recall and you can take it up there and they will replace the alt. for you and possibly fix your problem for you and it wont cost anything.. i would personally go get another ground wire and run it from your negative side of your battery to tranny housing where it meets the engine.. may cost you 5 bucks and possibly fix it.. im a big fan of the extra ground wire it saved me about 200 bucks in parts that i was about to order and i charged up the battery overnight and put the new battery terminals on there and run the ground wire and it started right up.. hope it helps here is the link for a 97 max recall list http://www.internetautoguide.com/aut...ima/index.html

 

Thanks fellas. I'll check the ground wire today and let you know how it goes.

 

Checked the ground wire and everything looked good. I also have a new development in the story.

While driving to work this morning, the "O/D Off" and "Airbag" lights popped on the dash and the radio went dead simultaneously. I want to say I had gone over a good sized bump at the same time. The motor didn't die this time, but I still pulled over to check things out.

I turned the ignition off, shifted into P and then tried to restart. Nothing. With the car still off, I shift from P into N, then back into P and the car starts just fine.

As I drive away I notice the Security light is lit and is solid (versus flashing), but I think another member pointed out this happens after there is some type of interruption in the system.

So now I'm thinking this may have something to do with shift switch. Thoughts?

 

I think you have a loose connection in a power or ground wire somewhere on the car. This is causing all sorts of strange problems. While the inhibitor switch would prohibit the car from starting if it was bad, your other seemingly unrelated problems I think are related and point to a bad power or ground. For instance, the inhibitor switch on its own would not cause the radio to turn off or the airbag light to go on.

You might have to take this car to someone experienced with car electrical systems and have them troubleshoot it.

 

Hmm, right.

I did search the forum and it looks like there have been a few other people who have had grounding problems in the 4th gens, but they don't state real clear solutions. I'll have to dig around a little more and see what's up. If all else fails, I believe there's an automotive electrical place in my town.

Thanks for the help so far. If anyone else has ideas, toss 'em my way.

 

you have more than one ground... check all ground points. hitting that bump and things going hay wire, tell a sign of something loose or not connect correctly. any grounds you find unbolt, clean metal connector and area ground is connected to. re-bolt. clean battery connector, ground and positive. use some brillo type material for cleaning all connectors Bad ground will have all of you sensors going hay wire, In my opinion. Your security system wouldn't cause those other lights to flash

 

I had the same symptoms you had a while back, I cleaned the grounds and the battery terminals and everything worked fine (for a few months then my battery died).

it isn't that hard to remove the battery tie down and little tray to remove the whole ground cable...

Remove that cable, sand the (GROUND) connections down and re-attach them, also make sure the connections to your battery terminals are CLEAN!

 

Good advice. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

My next and last questions for awhile:
1. Is there a diagram available on the web showing all the grounding points for the Maxima?
2. I know there are aftermarket grounding kits out there. Are they worth putting in? Do they actually have any advantages over stock?

 

1. I've never seen a diagram showing ground points except for each individual electrical components ground. But your main ground leads from your battery to the frame underneath the battery tray and then lead over to the trans or engine block and any other electric part will ground to the frame, trans or engine block retrieving a ground. How I find them is any wire bolted to metal frame, engine, or trans is a ground.

2. yes an aftermarket grounding kit can benefit if you have bad ground points.

 

i had something like that went to a mek. they changed my alt. and my coolant temp sensor and it was all gone and i askt on here and i was also sugested by felow .org members to get a ground kit and i got it in the mail 2 days later and was impresed with the results im not saying it fellt like i put a supercharger in the car.. it just feels like it runs smoother but well worth the price

 

I'll be headed out of town this week, but I think I'll go ahead and place an order for a grounding kit so I can install when I get back. Might as well go the extra mile since I'm going through every point anyway. For sh*ts, I'm going to drop an Optima for the winter months (I got a buddy at Johnson Controls).

Funny, from what I've researched about grounding kits so far, they seem legit. Aside from the obvious benefits of having a car that runs reliably, it sounds like some kits dyno at +5 to +8 HP.

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll let you know how it goes.