westslope Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) EDIT: This should be the final update. As it turned out the ignition immobilizer transponder on my wife's key chain had failed. (Why? Nobody knows.) It was replaced and reprogrammed by a technician last Thursday--free of charge--and now works as smooth as butter. The problem I experienced in diagnosing the problem is that I had payed insufficient attention to the blinking red light. Once the vehicle is started by a functional transponder (or keying in the code), the immobilizer takes about a minute to reset. During that time, a transponder is not necessary to restart the vehicle. During this process, I noticed that the oil pressure sensor/switch might be leaking onto the starter. Will look into that. Thanks for the suggestions. -Erik "The Red" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The '93 manual-shift pathfinder starts fine when I start it. But my wife is not so lucky. LOL! Less amusing is the fact that I had to bicycle a few klicks north to a shopping centre where she was stranded with the pathie. All the electrically connected components work just fine. The battery measured 12.56 volts this morning. When the engine starts, it starts briskly. A Nissan dealership replaced the Ignition switch a couple of years ago. I undid the steering wheel cover and visually examined the switch. Looks fine to me. When these no-start episodes occur, I can immediately turn on everything (lights, signal lights, fan, radio/CD-player, emergency lights, etc. Otherwise the vehicle works just fine. Idles at 750 to 800 rpms. Accelerates smoothly. I don't hear any clicking so I doubt that the starter or celenoid is the problem I believe the problem is electric. Any suggestions for trouble-shooting or avoiding going through a bunch of expensive parts? The wife is NOT amused. Help me here. Edited June 20, 2009 by westslope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 idesl at 7500-8000? wow.. thats way past redline.. I'm sure you ment 750-800. If she has short legs, I'm willing to bed she's not pushing in the clutch quite far enough to activate the safety switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I could be that the ignition contacts are dirty or worn. Also check your battery clamps, heavy gauge wires, connections at the starter, and ground point first. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) idesl at 7500-8000?wow.. thats way past redline.. I'm sure you ment 750-800. Decimal typo corrected. If she has short legs, I'm willing to bed she's not pushing in the clutch quite far enough to activate the safety switch. I just tried it only partially depressing the clutch. Started up without issue. Edited June 10, 2009 by westslope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 starter problems are intermitent. when mine went out it wouldnt click then i could keep doing it and it would eventually start again. idk then after a few weeks it quit working completly so i bought a new one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovemaN Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 If there is absolutely no click sound when turning the key then it is probably the ignition switch. If you hear a relay click once, but no start when turning the key it is probably the clutch switch. If it happens again, put it in neutral, leave the clutch out and press the interlock switch while turning the key. If that does the trick it's an intermittent clutch switch. Mine just started acting up recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 If she has short legs, I'm willing to bed she's not pushing in the clutch quite far enough to activate the safety switch. Decimal typo corrected. I just tried it only partially depressing the clutch. Started up without issue. Trish had the same problem. So I'd check again just to be sure. yes it works wihth partial depression but how partial? she may be pushing it just a little less then you were trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Sometimes a starter gets a dead spot. Only stops there once in a while, so no-start is random. Does it only no-start when warm (always starts in the morning, but sometimes doesn't start after a drive)? Could be a heat soak thing on a weak starter/solenoid. Had that happen to a couple of Chevs I owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 KovemaN, Does a Clutch Switch prevent one from starting the vehicle when in gear? Either I don't have one or it is by-passed by an interlock switch. Don't recall the Haynes manual discussing this possibility. Elsewhere I read that jgt apparently replaced his Ignition Switch twice at less than 100K miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Trish had the same problem. So I'd check again just to be sure. yes it works wihth partial depression but how partial? she may be pushing it just a little less then you were trying. I can start without touching the clutch and can turn over the starter when in gear...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly_94PathyMan Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I can start without touching the clutch and can turn over the starter when in gear...... So that means you don't have clutch cancel...ok, I would start tracing wires, grounds, and even check out your switch. Just cuz it is new/newer, doesn't mean it was made of the highest quality...i.e. even quality control standards have room for human error. I would also check your starter. Mine does that too, auto though, except I get a click at the starter, and I know it isn't that, I just have a bad ground or connection somewhere. I took the starter out and played with it with a power probe and I couldn't get it to do it again, unless I made a poor connection. I would check out those things, and even try the relay, can't hurt there, cheap and even if it isn't it, then you have a spare lying around. Worse case scenario, bad starter, or even worse, the whole wiring is bad...PRAYS FOR WESTSLOPE THAT ISN'T THE CASE...had a buddy who had to replace his whole loom because some idiot did a horrible repair job on a vital section. Anywho, just check grounds, all of them, and the connectors at the positive cable up top. I had one of those go out too and same response on the car, but it would work sometimes. Hope that helps a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 in failed mode, see if you can measure the voltage to the solenoid on the starter. Pull the plug and throw a multimeter on it, using the frame as ground. If you turn the key (or have someone do it), you should read 11.x to 13v depending on your battery. If not, you are looking at either the ignition switch, interlock, or some point in the harness making a bad connection. Search a bit... that fix had been posted. if you get 12v, put the conecor back and try to start it. If nothing, the starter solenoid may be shot. If it starts, you may have either fixed the issue (perhaps bad connection at the plug to the solenoid) or missed the opportunity to detect the source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions k9sar and 94Pathyman. Much appreciated. Makes good sense to test the current at the solenoid connection. Current => solenoid and/or starter is the problem. No current => ignition switch, relays or connections are the problem Off to soap and high-pressure hose the underside of the engine..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) Update edited I thought that my Autowatch Immobilizer transponder worked and my wife's transponder does not work. WRONG. Back to the drawing board. Further testing suggests that both transponders "work". Edited June 14, 2009 by westslope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) Been reading and looking. Have checked the ground strap. Found this post summarizing the experience k9sar's father had. Here. Also found Precise1's entertaining post here. ==================================================== Dumb questions time. 1) What is the best way of getting at the solenoid and starter to check connections, etc.? I see it just below the oil filter and what I believe is the oil switch. Should I remove what I believe are the heat shields on the exhaust manifold? I can hardly my hand down there. I read that removing and replacing the starter is easier if the vehicle is 'lifted'. Mine ain't. 2) Is there a diagram that explicitly shows the relays? I don't see one in my Haynes manual or elsewhere. (The 1994 manual doesn't appear to have one.) I observe that the solenoid/starter complex is heavily soiled with oil and read that the oil pressure sensor can leak oil on to the starter, something that could, perhaps should be replaced next time I do an oil change. Edited June 15, 2009 by westslope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frecklecolouredbrain Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 everyone is trying to guess what the problem could be when there is no problem. If it doesn't start when your wife tries, that just means the pathy doesn't want her to drive it. that just leaves more driving time for you...yay. You ever see the movie Christine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westslope Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) PROBLEM SOLVED. This should be the final update. As it turned out the ignition immobilizer transponder on my wife's key chain had failed. (Why? Nobody knows.) It was replaced and reprogrammed by a technician last Thursday--free of charge--and now everything works as smooth as butter. The problem I experienced in diagnosing the problem is that I had payed insufficient attention to the blinking red light. Once the vehicle is started by a functional transponder (or by keying in the code), the immobilizer takes about a minute to reset. During that time, a transponder is not necessary to restart the vehicle. During this process, I noticed that the oil pressure sensor/switch might be leaking onto the starter. Will look into that. Thanks for the suggestions. Happy motoring. -westslope Edited September 13, 2011 by westslope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Glad you got it solved. That was a tricky one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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