jjeffri

I just yanked mine this past weekend. There was one wiring harness going to the starter. Out of that harness came a large wire, that should give power to the starter motor, it was actually bolted to a lug/stem for electrical contact. The second set of wires looked like 3 wires that went into a plastic connector that plugged into what I will assume is the starter solenoid. This harness should (I'm guessing here) be responsible for energizing the solenoid, which I believe engages a pin to allow current to flow through the main starter motor. I would think that the clicking you would hear would be this starter solenoid firing (and moving its pin), but since you don't get any action from the motor, maybe the motor part actually went kaput. I've heard you can hit it with a hammer to get it working again. I think the hammer thing works on the solenoid, not on the motor, so maybe that could troubleshoot your problem. It's not that hard to take out, it just takes time and you get dirty doing it. It's two bolts to remove (on a 1996), one wiring connector, one bolt to remove the power cable, and then 30 minutes (4WD) to get the little son-of-#### out from all the surrounding parts. Before you hit it with a hammer, I would recommend waiting for some of the veterans who really know what they're talking about

If nothing is wrong, or the light came on and the problem fixed itself, then the light will go out after some number of "driving cycles" I think this amounts to like 15 trips or so, but the actual definition of the "driving cycle" would best be proposed by one of the veterans. If you know it's OK and the light is just ticking you off, you can unplug your battery and that'll reset the ECU, of course, the ECU may need to retune some of its internal parameters after it's effectively rebooted. Best bet is to have someone read out the codes and see what the problem is, assuming you haven't done so already. You can actually buy a code-reader for reasonably cheap (say around $100) if you are finding that you need to check your indicator frequently. Good luck.

Switch on the dash doesn't light up, but it never has as long as I've owned the truck. I'll try to find some electrical connections to the compressor. I'm guessing that a wiring harness would extend back to the relay box on the driver side? I'm guessing that if I push the switch inside the cab, then the "green wire" would show 12V, correct? Where is the pressure switch? That sounds like something good to check also...I don't mind taking this into an A/C guy, but I'd like to have a better idea of what's wrong before a mechanic suggests that I replace every element of the A/C circuit. Thanks for the help.

I had the oil changed about 8 months ago and the technician at the lube joint said that I had sufficient charge of coolant. It hasn't worked for about a year now, but I'm getting tired of sweating while I sit in traffic.

Howdy folks, My air conditioner is not working on my 1996 Pathy. When I push the A/C button in the cab, nothing happens; in fact, the engine doesn't even respond and there is no "click" from when the A/C compressor clutch engages. To the best of my ability, I can't see the compressor clutch spring out to engage the shaft to the pulley. I've checked the fuses and relays, and they don't seem to be the culprits. Any other thoughts?

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I had an autoparts store check my battery, they said it was good; and, since I've heard so many folks suggest the starter as the problem, I just bought a remanufactured one from the store. I first pulled the old starter to avoid the $100 Core fee, then turned in the old one and picked up the new one. Cost near $160. I have a 1996 Pathy, and y'all were right, that's a bear to get out, found it above the oil pan on the passenger side. I finally unbolted it, which is hard enough given all the other stuff in the way, and then wrestled with it to get it out for about 15 minutes. Finally, it just kind of fell out, I had no idea what rotations and contortions I did, but it fell out, so yay. The new starter went in relatively easy and seems to work. I haven't had time to drive far enough to really get the engine warmed up, at least not to the degree that I was experiencing problems before. Again thanks for all of the help.

There is corrosion on the battery terminals, although I'm not sure what the temperature dependence of that would do to starting the engine. I suppose if the alternator is humming along just fine while the car is running the current can just overpower the corroded contacts. I may try cleaning off the battery. Haven't checked the starter. I think I have to get under the car to do all of that, and so far haven't had the time to borrow a buddies garage. Thanks for the suggestions.

Howdy All: It's been a while since I posted in here, mostly cause my Pathy has been doing pretty well for the past year. However, as the stars have aligned to give me car troubles, I am back to request help from the experts. The problem: I drove my Pathy down the freeway for about 1 hour. I parked, turned off the truck, and went inside for about an hour. When I came out to drive away, I couldn't start the truck. When turning the key to "Start," I simply heard a clicking sound (like a relay), but the starter didn't engage. I tried jumping the truck, but nothing, the same clicking noise was the only indication that the key was getting to "Start." I called AAA and the tow truck driver came out after about an hour (about 2 hours since the engine had last been running). He asked what it sounded like, so I stuck the key in the ignition and voila, the truck started; pretty embarrassing. I drove the truck home, another hour up the freeway, and when I stopped the truck, I turned off the engine. I tried to start it a few seconds later, and nothing, just the relay clicking sound. I've toyed with it enough to find out that it systematically doesn't start when the engine is "warm." It cold starts just fine, like in the morning or after sitting for a couple of hours. Any thoughts? Maybe a problem with the starter solenoid or starter itself? I suppose the transmission interlock could also be faulty, but I wouldn't expect it to be so temperature sensitive. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I got it, good luck with moving the Forum.

Well, I ordered the Equus Innova 3100 Code Reader (~$100 from Midway Auto Supply). It is not a bad little reader. I easily hooked it up and read the codes and then erased them. The codes that returned where Knock Sensor and EGR Flow problem. I will probably try to get the Check Engine light to return and run the codes again. I don't know why the EGR would cause sputtering and lack of power.

90seven-I have heard that you can sometimes rotate the belt to get it to stop squealing. I guess it has to do with any misalignments and glazing of one side over the other.

When the SES light comes on it won't go off again for a certain number of "driving cycles." I believe a driving cycle is defined as a cold start, warm up, and then operation at running temperature (or at least something to that effect). It takes something like 10-20 driving cycles without the PCM registering any errors before it will turn off the SES light. If you can get the codes read for free that would be a great idea. There are all kinds of little emissions sensors that can fail, break, or trip codes for some other reason. I would agree, as previously stated, that it might be the O2 sensor. Those things seem to be the first component to fail on a Pathy.

Tire underinflated? Tire crappy? I see no reason why there should be anymore load on the front tire causing cupping unless you added some weight up there, like a bumper.

It could be the fan or the fan clutch. The fan is attached to the waterpump, with luck that is your problem. Replacing/Fixing the fan would require significantly less effort than the waterpump. -J

As stated above...that is all there is to it. I use an old 7up bottle for storing the old fluid, but that is because I didn't have a glass jar. Make sure you get a length of tubing long enough to go from the bleed valve to your storage container, that stuff will eat your paint up so it is best to keep it very well contained. Save yourself the money, don't buy a kit; instead, buy a 6-pack of beer and split it with your buddy who helped you with this task, sit down, and watch some baseball. You might need a 12-pack if it is a SD Padre game.

Drum brakes are not too hard. The components of the brake are different and I would say the most annoying thing is all of the little springs. Drum brakes are a job that can be done with relative ease. You will need a bolt (maybe 3/8-16, or 5/16-?) to get the drum off, unless your shoes are woefully worn. From there it is just disassembly of the parts. Make sure you note where all of the springs and parts go and in what orientation. On the 96 Pathfinders there is a "spreader" that is responsible for keeping the retaining spring from pulling the shoes too far from the pad, every other drum I have seen uses a similar technique. The "spreader" has a ratchet action so as you apply the brakes the spreader will click forward if there is enough room. This allows the spreader to seat the shoes just up against the inside of the drum. Now, when the shoes where the "spreader" will click the shoes to keep them close. This means when you replace your worn shoes with new ones that you will have to set the "spreader" narrower, otherwise the increased thickness of the new shoes will prevent you from getting the drum back over the shoes. I usually bring the "spreader" back pretty low and then just click it up using the parking brake, it will also adjust itself as you drive and brake. You may want to check the condition of your wheel cylinder in the drum, they are cheap to replace (~$15) and inaccessible once the job is done.

Did you notice any cracked brackets along the exhaust? Maybe one of them rusted and cracked somewhere. The bolts may remain tight but a cracked bracket will always rattle. I found a rusted bracket by having a buddy press the gas pedal until it rattled while in neutral. I then poked around, with a glove to avoid the heat, until I spotted and muffled the rattling. Do you notice the rattling in neutral or does it only happen in gear? -J

I had my transmission replaced in my 1996 Pathfinder, Automatic. It had about 130K on it. Reverse broke, while my wife was driving it (Pathy seems to break when she drives it) and we took it into the shop. It had a plethora of metal shavings in the pan. I had it rebuilt, as a new tranny would run about $4,500, probably more than the value of the car. The rebuilt tranny cost me about $2,700, and I had it done about a year ago. It has been going strong since then, but the warranty was only one year, in fact I think I paid an extra $300 to extend the warranty to one year instead of 6 months. I ended up getting it done at Aamco transmissions, they were nice and didn't try to hamstring me. It has been suggested to avoid used automatic transmissions, but I have no first-hand experience with this. If you are replacing an auto for $2K, that seems pretty good. Strangely, I also had a Nissan Altima-manual transmission-that had to have its transmission replaced around 120K. Cost me about $1,500 I think for a used one, so if you are replacing a manual for $2K that might be a little pricey. Hope it helps -J

Here is a little update on what I have done to remedy this sputtering problem: I reset the ECU (by unplugging the negative battery terminal for about 45 minutes). This cleared the check engine light and hope all of the codes in there. I next took out the MAF sensor and cleaned with some alcohol and a cotton swab. It had bit of dirt on it, but other than that looked intact. I haven't check the electrical connections to the MAF yet, I need to bring home a multimeter. When I drove the car the check engine light was off. I drove it around for a while and under normal operating conditions, the light didn't turn on. I did notice that when the car is at operating temperature, it idles at about 600 RPM. This seems low to me...at what RPM do most Pathfinders idle? I think it idles around 800 RPM before it is warm. Once I got home I sat in the driveway with the car in drive and my foot on the brake. I turned the steering wheel a couple of times, and low and behold, the check engine light returned. I now need to find out what that code is as well. I am beginning to think that my idle actuator might not be working quite right. I will see what the codes say though.

I agree with Igranch about the reverse not working. Last year reverse stopped working on mine. I checked the transmission fluid, and all was fine, good level, good color, etc. I took it to a transmission shop and they pulled all kinds of metal scrapings out of the pan (I guess the metal shavings in the pan can't get onto the Tranny fluid dipstick). It ended up that reverse blew out, but many of my gears were crap as well. At that time it was shifting gears above 3000 RPM for most driving instances, and was shifting a bit jerky. I rarely gun it off of a traffic light (the gas mileage is poor enough as is), but if I did it would shift high around 3500 RPM. After I had the tranny rebuilt, and several thousand dollars later, reverse worked and it shifted much smoother and at lower RPM-more like 2700 RPM or so, unless of course the aforementioned "gunning." My hope is that you don't have a busted transmission, but if you have a chance to take it somewhere to get a diagnostic before it is too late. I would highly recommend it. Good Luck!

I have considered resetting simply by pulling the negative terminal from the battery for a while. Then the ECU has to "reprogram" itself. I might do that down the line. I want to try some other diagnostics first. I will probably also get myself a can of Fuel Injector Cleaner (as suggested by JJ Big Shoe) as well, although, I have a suspicion that a bad Fuel Injector would not manifest itself as a MAF code from the Check Engine Light. It seems that the MAF problem that the 95 and under Pathfinders had has been remedied. The MAF plug doesn't contact the underside of the hood. I have tried jiggling the connector but nothing happened. I may need to figure a way to induce it to sputter and then try jiggling.

Plug wires look OK from the outside. I haven't tested them to see if they are shorting through the insulation, but there are no visible cracks, tears, or rips in the plug wires. The plugs are a little worn, but not awful. I think I could easily justify replacing them, especially at the price, so they are on my list of possible culprits and possible repairs.

Well, I put in a new air filter, the old one was pretty dirty. No luck so far in that fixing the problem. I figured I should try the cheap, easy fix before moving on. Figures it wouldn't work. I will try an look at the MAF later today. I know 88 has done some work on "cleaning" his (maybe using a cotton swab and some sort of solvent), but I am not sure how to do this or what to look for as far as the MAF being damaged.

Hello All: It has been a while since I posted or read the forum, it was down for a little while and I kind of forgot to stop by. But now I have a problem. My 1996 Pathfinder is sputtering at idle. I find that it does this more often when there is a "load" on the motor, but the engine is running at idle (i.e. not pushing the gas pedal). For instance, if I am stopped at a light and the car is in Drive with my foot on the brake (a good place for it to be to avoid moving) the car will stumble like it wants to choke off; however, if I place the transmission into Neutral, the sputtering usually dies off and goes away. I can also induce it to sputter by turning on the air conditioning, or quickly turning the wheels while stopped, both of which should divert some energy towards the drivebelt components. It will also occasionally stumble if I am on a nice flat piece of road going about 45MPH, at that point the RPM are low and I am hardly pressing the gas pedal, so the engine is probably experiencing similar conditions to stand-still idle. I ran the ECU codes and it returned MAF Sensor, O2 Sensor, Random Misfire, Knock Sensor, and EGR Sensor. The last two were present the last time I had the codes run, but I think that the mechanic didn't reset the ECU. I am hoping that the first three codes were all brought on by one failure. My question then is...Does anyone have an opinion as to the likely culprit? After reading through some posts, this sounds like a problem that might be caused by a faulty MAF sensor. Can I just unplug it and see how it runs, similar to what people have done with the O2 sensor, as a diagnostic? Also, are there two (2) O2 sensors on the Pathfinder, one in each exhaust manifold? Thanks all -J

You could move to southern california where it doesn't freeze or rain so you don't really need the blades. In seriousness, mine where out faster here than back east because it is so dry and hot, they just crack and don't sweep away dew. -J