Nissan - Pathfinder :: Won't Start - Battery / Alternator / Starter Fine?
Oct 20, 2011
I have a a 2003 or 2004 Nissan Pathfinder (can't remember which at the moment). For the past few months, it's been having the same problem. One morning, I'll go out to start the car and the radio will have stopped working, but everything else is fine. A few days later, however, the car won't start in the morning. I'll jump it off, and the car and radio will be fine again for a few weeks. This doesn't last for long though.
Eventually, the radio will go out, and a few days later the car won't start again. I took it to my local mechanic and they tested the alternator/battery/ starter and said they were all fine, and that the battery cables just needed to be cleaned. After the cleanup, the car and radio worked fine for a few weeks...but sure enough, a few days ago, the radio went out. This morning I had to jump my car off again. What the real problem is? I'm taking it to the shop again today, but what else it could be...
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Replaced battery, replaced fuse line holder by battery, checked starter w/ jumper wires, most smaller ignition related fuses are fine.Can't read the schematic for the relay box, so I didn't check that. online manufacturer manual has nothing on it. how do I test those?
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What is wrong with her car. It is an 05 subaru outback 3.0. She bought it 4 months ago. A week ago the battery died at red light. It tested bad and was replaced. Then yesterday it died at stop sign. Jumped it and died in 5 seconds. Before dying, car would not rev. Jumped it leaving cables on for 5 minutes since battery was almost drained. She made it half mile back to office and coasted into lot. Battery tested good but drained and was fully charged. Alternator tested 7 times to be certain. We bought a 10A multimeter (our town has no 20A).
Tested for parasitic drain. No results. We took Alternator off and tested a couple more times. We took out non essential fuses to be safe. Nothing was left running. There was a phone charger that has been plugged in for the whole four months. She took it out for good measure. Starter tested good. 3 people said battery cables are good. They appear to be non corroded and tight imo as well. They checked fuel pump. All was well.
She wants to go on vacation for the 4th but is scared to try. Mechanic friend said wait until it happens again, go to o reileys and demand them replace the battery as it has to be bad even if testing good. I'm not sure of this is the correct approach, but what else is there? One online mechanic said a voltage test on electrical system is next step but only a few select mechanics even know how to do it such as one that specializes in electrical wiring or something like that.
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So 3 times in the last 2 days, my car has needed a jump start. Took it to pepboys and they told me to replace the battery, a new battery later, my car wouldn't start again and I needed to get it jump started again. Took it back to pepboys, they say everything checks out fine including the battery and the alternator and that it should work fine. This happens to be exactly what they said the last time.
The car is a 2012 Ford Mustang V6 convertible.
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I have a '93 nissan pathfinder with a starter problem: frequently when I turn the key nothing happens.My mechanic has replaced the starter twice, replaced the battery, the battery cables and most recently replaced the starter relay, all to no effect. They also tested the alternator, after replacing the battery didn't solve the problem, but the battery is getting a charge.
2 symptoms:first, it starts consistently when the engine is cold, fails frequently when the engine is hot.2nd, when it fails I bump the engine once or twice and then the starter system works.By bump the engine I mean:I have a stick shift, I shift into first gear, step out of the car, press the clutch down with my right foot, push the car forward getting up to perhaps 1 mph, take my foot off the clutch to transfer the energy to the engine in a 'bump'.
For some reason, through all of the attempts to fix the problem, this has always worked to get the starter to turn over. My mechanic doesn't know what to make of this, but it keeps me from getting stuck and requiring a tow. However this is inconvenient and I expect that one day this will stop working, so I would like to get my vehicle back to working order.
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I have a 2003 Nissan a Frontier that won't start. I go out in the morning, turn the key, and nothing... no clicks, no sound at all. All lights work fine, radio works, all interior lights work and don't even dim when I turn the key. Searching these forums, I thought it might be the starter so I got a new starter about a month ago. Seemed to work fine until a few days ago when it started doing it again. When I go back out a couple hours later, sometimes it'll start up perfect, like nothing happened, sometimes it won't.
Somebody suggested I shift it to neutral and try starting it, so that's what I just did this morning and it worked... Tried starting it for an hour and got nothing, shifted it to neutral and it started right up. Turned it off, shifted it to park and tried starting it again. Started right up! Starter is 1 month old, so it's hard to believe it would be that. Battery weak or loose terminals? Well if it were that, why would it start right up when shifted to neutral? I don't know how long the "shifting to neutral" trick will work so I really want to get the problem solved instead of relying on a work-around.
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At first it began to slow start. Just some coughing before it would start for sure. Sometimes it would start right away, sometimes struggle.
I took it to Advance Auto Parts to have the battery tested and they said the battery was fine.
A day later the car would not crank at all and stranded me at the grocery store. The starter began to fire and then it would stop. After 4-5 tries it would not try to turn over at all.
My friend came and tried to jump me and the care started right up!
When I got home, the car was able to start on it’s own the couple times I tried. I risked going back to Advance to have them test out the battery again, as well as the test of the alternator and starter. Everything again tested fine, as far as they could tell.
While there the car again failed to crank and they heard the noise and immediately felt that the starter was the culprit. I ordered one just to be safe as it took some time to get here. (Plus a starter is like 2 bolts and a wire, what could go wrong?) >.>
I got a jump and got home. I did A LOT of reading, which led me to believe that perhaps it WAS the battery after all.
Last night I began preparations to replace the starter and check for corrosion or a bad cable. How difficult is that starter is to get to! I had to remove the ECM as part of the process.
Today I got the starter as well as a new battery.
First thing I tried was just replacing the batter. No luck, and the starter did not even engage this time. I tried tapping it with a hammer to see if that worked. No luck.
It was at that point I realized I had not connected all the ECM cables securely. I disconnected the battery, reconnected the ECM fully and still had no luck.
Now when I press the ignition button there is a slight whir, and the gauges come up, but there is no other activity.
Is this still a starter problem?Did I screw up the ECM somehow?Is there a short or fuse issue (I have tried to check with my limited knowledge)
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We have a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder (automatic) that is having trouble starting. We can't find a pattern to when it starts and when it doesn't start so we can't diagnose the problem. When it doesn't start, here's what happens: turning the key, you can hear one soft click. Then nothing. After several or many turns of the key (and the same single click), it finally "catches" and starts. Two weeks ago, the car would not start at all. Even the following day, it wouldn't start. The lights and radio did work. We tried a jump-start and it surprisingly started right up. We immediately replaced the battery, but the problems resumed. The following have been replaced since the problems began: starter, ignition switch, battery, transmission, and the horn for the alarm has been bypassed. Note: with the old battery back in, it does work.
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My wife has a 2002 Thunderbird. Sometimes it won’t start when you turn the key. I don’t mean it doesn’t crank or cranks slowly, nothing happens. You can hear relays clicking but obviously no power is getting to the starter - the lights don’t dim when this happens. We’ve had the starter motor replaced. My mechanic is baffled. Sometimes this happens hourly, sometimes it will go weeks without happening – it’s been doing this for at least a year. To get it started, you just need to sit there and keep turning the key 10 to 40 times. It will eventually start. She just informed me that sometimes she shuts off the car in something other than Park, them moves to Park. Can this mess up the xmission lever position lockout to cause this? How can it just start by turning the key, only, multiple times? Remember, you can hear relays clicking when the key is turned.
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I have been suffering from LH battery drain for some time now. sometimes its random I will park it for 10 min. come back and the battery is drained (I have to use the key to gain entry). sometimes it only happens over night, where other times the battery doesn't go dead overnight. so last weekend I decided to change the brakes...That was easy but then I forgot to hook up my battery maintainer...so you know what happened! now the problem is I charged the battery and hooked it back up. No start! everything works fine the battery is fully charged and only 1 year old.
But this is the weird part if I disconnect the starter battery the car starts up fine. I hook both batteries back up and try the parallel start way (turn to start then full counter clockwise then full clockwise several times no luck). the LH battery is drained now after a few start and stops (no driving) and the starter battery is fully charged. but with both batteries hooked up it wont even attempt to start and now I also have no power to the power trunk!!! this car is starting to suck balls.
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My 1994 Nissan Pathfinder will intermittently not start. When I get in the car and turn the ignition, the dash board lights will light up as usual, I can hear the starter solenoid click, but then nothing will happen. The power windows, stereo, headlights and air-conditioning will all work but the motor will not even churn. All I hear is the click. If I get a jump the car will start right up.
This has been going on for over a year. At first it would only happen every few months and I thought that by just disconnecting the positive from the battery and putting it back then it would start. It appeared to be doing so. When it started happening more frequently, I took it my mechanic and each time he would fuss with some wires charge me 20 bucks or not charge me at all and I would be on my way. It would be good for a week or so then once again not starting for me.
After the three times of my regular mechanic not fixing the problem and saying it was fixed I took it to a different mechanic. This man said it was my starter even though it will start with a breeze if you jump it. I went ahead and had him replace it. My car started a few more times but the next day the problem was back. After having gone to two mechanics and them misdiagnosing and me paying for service I didn't need, I borrowed a volt meter and the battery test at 11.5 volts. Some buddies said, that perhaps my battery being 14 years old was putting out enough power to power the cars electronics but not enough to turn the starter over. So I bought a brand new battery. I got four starts off of it before I experienced the problem again.
Another friend thought it might be the alternator not fully charging the battery. I believe we tested it at 12 volts but he said it should be more. Anyway, he and I pulled the alternator took it to be tested and it's fine. While we were removing it though we discovered the belt on the alternator was a little loose so maybe it wasn't charging fully. Anyway, we put it all back together and the car started five or six times, while my more knowledgeable buddy was with me. The next day of course, no start.
I probably did a bunch of stuff I didn't have to do in trying to diagnose this problem but at least I learned a lot more about my car. Anyway, ye wise car sages, What do you think is wrong with my old car, which for the most part has treated me well for all these years? Ignition? a short somewhere? If it's the ignition perhaps you can explain to me why the vehicle will start with a jump.
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Will try to sum it up: Most of the time, the thing starts like a charm, first try. Every now and then, though, I'll turn the key and either a) nothing will happen or b) it will slowly crank and eventually start. If nothing happens, I have always been able to try again seconds later and everything works OK. Have been through several batteries. Current battery checks out OK, as does starter and alternator.
A short circuit, perhaps? If so, how would I check it out? Problem with taking it to a mechanic is, most of the time all is OK. No pattern as to when the trouble will occur (has yet to happen with vehicle in the shop, of course).
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When cold engine starts on the first attemp 80% of the time, when warm its about 60-70%. Sometimes it take 2-3 attemps to start. But on the second to last attemp the engine will fire very little and then knock off.
So far I replaced the distributor, spark plugs and wires, boost sensor?, fuel pressure regulator, and checked the injector ohms and fuel pressure at the engine with the old pump. After replacing the fuel filter it started fine for a few days, after replacing the fuel pump it started fine for a week. Thus making me believe it's a fuel issue. So I added check valves to the fuel line at the engine, both the supply and return lines. And still few days later it's back.
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1989 Nissan pathfinder. 6cylinder - VG30i - Manual trans
Engine was misfiring (running okay but putt, putt, putting) so I pulled be plugs to check for signs. Other than wear and wide gap the plugs looked okay, but I installed new plugs as they're cheap and I was already pulling them. I replaced them one at a time so didn't mix up the wiring. I went to restart the engine and now it turns over and starts but then immediately dies. If I really slam on the pedal I can get it to rev up a couple times, but it really wants to completely die right away. It'll start but won't run
- I took the battery lead (neg) off for a few days - maybe that reset something?
- I had a very empty gas tank - so low that I thought it might be out of fuel. I put two gallons in just to make sure. Because I can slam on the gas and get it to revving I'm not sure being out of gas is the issue.
- I removed the distributor cap to check for wear but reinstalled (picture attached).
- I sprayed some Mass airflow sensor cleaner into the throttle body to clean up, the throttle body valve blade was pretty clean.
- I'm doing this test without the air filter in. The old one was so dirty I removed it and didn't bother putting it back on. Going to buy a new one today.
- It cannot pass smog due to this misfire (obviously not detonating fuel so it's polluting)
- The engine was start up readily before I started tinkering. It would seem strange that adding new plugs
- I didn't gap the plugs.
Next steps :
- Look for any wires knocked loose or hoses disconnected.
- Pull the error codes (check engine light is on cuz, it's not running)
- Check Vacuum and diagram and hoses.
- Check ignition system wires.
- Check fuel pressure.
- Check Cylinder Compression.
Ultimately I'm trying to tune it up (and fix misfire) anyway, not just change the plugs, so doing more diagnosis is okay. It's also not my primary car. I haven't worked on cars in a while so I'm a little rusty and also needing to get necessary tools to complete the tasks. But it's fun I hope I can get this car running well again soon.
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My wife's Pathfinder (a 2002) has developed a problem with slow starting. The car cranks well (even at -20F, so it's not a weak battery) but takes a long time to start. It might crank for 5 seconds before sputtering to life. After being driven and shut off, most of the time, it will start up instantly again, just like it used to before the problem started. The problem is intermittent in that it sometimes starts pretty quickly in the morning, although it's not the instant start that it used to be, it might only crank for 1 second or less. I know that sounds like a normal time for a car to crank before starting, but the Pathfinder used to start, almost literally, instantly after the key was turned. So, even 1 second is an uncharacteristically long time.
What I've done:
-- Replaced spark plugs
-- Swapped the starter relays with identical relays under hood
-- Replaced fuel filter
What I haven't done:
--Replaced fuel pump
--Replaced fuel pressure regulator
Both of these are somewhat big jobs (I think I can handle both of them) and more expensive than what I've already done, so I'd like to get some input on where the fault could lie before picking one. Or, am I completely off base thinking it's fuel system?
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I have an 06 Pathfinder LE that was running fine earlier. got to a location and when i went to drive home it was a tough start, rough idle and lack of power. got an 0302 code so i changed out the plugs and swapped the # 2 coil for # 4. once started still ran rough as described. read code again after clearing and code still ran 0302, didn't follow coil. is the #2 coil on drivers side as i have read?
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'99 Yukon. Starter spins engine fine but engine won't start. Spray a quick shot of starter fluid or drip some gas on the air filter and it starts fine. After sitting idle for a half hour or so the situation returns. Car will run highway speeds (70-80mph) fine and will handle stop and go in town. Local mechanic wants to replace the fuel pump, which was replaced a couple of years (30,000 miles) ago. This seems an expensive first step with no diagnostics done.
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I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee 4.0L with about 180,000 miles on it. I'm currently in the middle of a road trip, and today my car's been stuttering as I've started it up. After the car sits idle for a while, it stutters as I turn the key ("chug-chug-chug-chug-chu-chu-chu-chu-fail" is about how it goes). When I take the keys out and put them in again for another shot, it manages to start on the second or third try.
It runs OK once the engine gets going, and after I've been driving for a while I can turn it off and on again, without any problem. My main questions are: (1) Is this likely an issue with the starter, alternator, or something completely different? and (2) just how serious is it? If I can get the car running can I make it another ~1500 miles, or should I try to find a dealership before making it back home?
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Camry 2002 LE (4 cyl Auto), 140K mi
This morning, for the first time I can recall, the car would not start right away. Had been sitting in the garage for 2+ days. Starter would crank just fine, but engine would not fire. No lites were left on overnite. Finally (after about 6+ attempts), engine started -- runs fine now.
Took it to TOY dealer. Their diagnosis: weak battery, alternator low output.Happy, had recently (6 mos) replaced battery after 4 years of use, so got a new battery N/C.TOY ran a charging system check and it shows "Alternator Condition: OK" (midway between shitty and great I recall).
Funny, but my first thought when it would not start was the fuel system (fuel pump) or dirty ignitors. I did ask my regular mechanic for an opinion, and he thinks it might indeed be the fuel pump -- perhaps a clogged filter.
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My Nissan sentra will start on the coldest day, but now that it's getting warmer it sometimes won't start! Turn the key and I have power to everything, but engage the starter and nothing! Not even a click! Try and try and eventually it starts. What could cause this??
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Over last two years have replaced a few alternators and (3?) batteries in my 2000 Solara SLE with 150,000 miles. However, In last three months I have had three additional alternators. Car wouldn't start, had it towed, and a mechanic put in new alternator and battery. Happens again, car won't start (now own a jump charger!), and the same mechanic puts in new alternator. Happens again and Mechanic #1 says he has checked it and its fine. I then go to my regular mechanic... Says its the alternator which is bad (when you put the AC and Radio on, it appears to charge for a while, but if you leave it running it will stop charging and then after a while it will go to overcharging and undercharging. I noticed when driving on highway my lights will brighten and dim).
He sends me back to the first mechanic because the alternator is bad. They put in a new alternator. I take it back to Mechanic #2 my regular mechanic to test it so I don't get stuck. He says its still doing the same thing. I tell him I will pay to have him put in the new alternator and he can own the warranty.... He sends me to a car electrical specialist. After having my car for 3 days the car electrical specialist just called and said in 30 years he has never given up but he has now. May or may not be related: My check engine light was coming on and I had mechanic put in new oxygen sensors. I also have intermittant traction light and ABS light coming on and the check engine light will sometimes come on too. My dash board feels like Christmas...
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