Charlie Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ok, so my pathfinder has been utterly reliable, untill.....now. I drove it home last night without a hiccup, and this morning, went to start it, and.........nothing. Not even a click. The radio works, the windows roll down, everything works, except the starter. My question is, where is the neutral safety switch? also where is the starter solenoid? these are the two things I would like to check first, as they seem the most logical. Thanks in advance. Also, its a 1988 WD21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Auto or Manual tranny? Check the connections at the battery as well....make sure they're tight and clean. The safety switch is on the clutch pedal if it's a manual tranny. The solenoid is on the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NissanNut Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Try this if its a manual. Bypass the relay with a jumper. http://nissannut.com/maintenance/inhibit_relay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 Sorry, its an auto. The relay does not click, and the bendix does not kick out, so I think it might be the neutral safety switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ahh.....then it's in the shifter area. Try moving the shifter through the gears, put it back in park, or neutral, and try to start again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bomberman Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 mine did the same thing everything worked power wise and there was no click in the started so i replaced the started and everything works fine now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Sometimes starters do go out like that... You can try using a starter bump switch to manually activate the starter or use a screwdriver to bridge the solenoid and battery terminal and see if it cranks at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 (edited) I did cycle through the gears and it had no effect. I think it could be the starter. I will try to jump it tomorow. What gets me, is that it didn't give any signs of going out. Heres how it went. I drove the truck about 20 miles to a Chilli's for a b-day party, and parked it in the parking lot. Rode with a friend to an after party, that friend drove me back to my truck. It started fine drove to the gas station, got gas, started fine again. Got home parked it in the drive way and went to bed. Went to go to work the next morning and nothing. Thats why I was questioning the safety switch. Edited October 31, 2007 by Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roost Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 This may sound obvious, but it's the simple things that I miss and some people don't know about this. Have you tried starting it while in Neutral, not Park. This would tell me if it's the neutral safety switch. Obviously if it starts in Neutral but not in Park, something has worn out. If neither of these positions work, it still could be the neutral safety switch or the starter solenoid. If it is the starter solenoid, it may be premature failure due to oil dripping on it from filter changes. You might want to relocate that filter if you find this to be true, you might want to relocate it anyway to prevent this from happening.] Hope this helps, Semper Fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 Well, I hit the starter with a hammer and it works now, so I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to put a hammer in the glove box and forget about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 That'll only work a couple of times. Your starter is on it's way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mookie Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 Like Simon said, that will only work for awhile. The first time mine went I got about 2 weeks of banging it. The second time the starter went I got a less than a day on it, about 4-5 starts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 17, 2007 Author Share Posted November 17, 2007 (edited) Like Simon said, that will only work for awhile. The first time mine went I got about 2 weeks of banging it. The second time the starter went I got a less than a day on it, about 4-5 starts. It's been like two weeks and it still works fine, and I haven't had to hit it again. I'm not going to worry about it for now. Edited November 17, 2007 by Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 it'll work until it gets back to that spot...unless maybe you just accidentally jiggled the 2 wires and it fixed it for now...but usually then you have to start banging on them they go out the window at the most inopportune time...maybe put the tools and a spare starter in the back of the truck in case you have to change it in a parking lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 yeah, well, the starter gave it's last hurrah today in the driveway. It cranked for a split second, and then promptly died. Checker had them for 130 after the core, so I picked one up. It took me like 3 hours give or take, but I got it changed and I am back on the road again. That thing was a total PITA to get out. I had to take the little shield thing off, and then rotate it around a bunch to get it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greywind Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I had a similar problem with my 94 Pathfinder about a year and a half ago. This and a leaking water pump led me to parking it and it's been parked since then. I'm now in the process of trying to fix her up myself and the starter is where I'm beginning. I've heard these are a pain to remove from my particular model. I'd also say calling myself a mechanical noob is an overstatement. But I have the manual, most tools needed (I think), and the will to succeed. Any advice for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Go read the How-To thread in the Garage: How-To section on how to replace your starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhatter_xe Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I had a similar problem with my 94 Pathfinder about a year and a half ago. This and a leaking water pump led me to parking it and it's been parked since then. I'm now in the process of trying to fix her up myself and the starter is where I'm beginning. I've heard these are a pain to remove from my particular model. I'd also say calling myself a mechanical noob is an overstatement. But I have the manual, most tools needed (I think), and the will to succeed. Any advice for me? Like Charlie mentioned, it helps to take off the little shield and rotate it on its way out the front...other than that patience helps. I was on the brink of smashing one with a BFH to get it out. Thankfully the new one I bought from partsource had a smaller casing on it and was easy to re-install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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