trenton163 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 My pathfinder starts most of the time but there have been some times when it won't.I have replaced the started, the starter solenoid, spark plugs, the battery cables I have an optima battery, but its like three years old. I can't figure it out??? help please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 does it just click or does it just keep turning over and over and not start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerstudd5 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Mine was randomly not starting for a while, just a clicking sound.... played with the relays on the passenger fender, wiggling and pushing them all in, and haven't had any problems since. Not sure which one is actually for the starter though. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenton163 Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 does it just click or does it just keep turning over and over and not start? It doesn't do anything,all the lights come on and I turn everything on, it just wont turn over. most of the time I just wait a little bit and it turns over. Once it tries it can turn over easily and it runs smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 is it an automatic or manual tranny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I'm guessing, from reading that everything powers up but the starter doesn't engage, that there's a faulty neutral or safety switch tripping and disengaging the starter circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenton163 Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 is it an automatic or manual tranny? auto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenton163 Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 I'm guessing, from reading that everything powers up but the starter doesn't engage, that there's a faulty neutral or safety switch tripping and disengaging the starter circuit. how would I go about fixing that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I was going to suggest the starter is going bad as my 87 did that years ago, one way you can test it is next time it doesn't start hold the key forward to the crank position and have someone LIGHTLY tap the side of the starter, the jack rod works good for this, don't ask,LOL - if the starter cranks it's probably the starter hanging up word of caution on replacement starters I went thru 3 of them in 3 weeks before I got one that worked, first 2 were local rebuilds first one lasted 3 days, second one lasted a week than got a Beck Arnley one and never had another problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X4pathy94 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 In my 94 the safety switch is a lil off canter when replacing my old transmission, I just push up the shifter all the way up in park pushing in the button aswell and she starts..... also try in neutral pushing forward or back to see if that helps...... There is also a thread on adding a relay to the system on here somewhere that helps with the clicking and makes the starter turn over quicker, if it isn't the safety switch you can try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X4pathy94 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 @ahardbody That hwole rebuilt starter thing happend to em as well went through 3 starters before coming to one that is working right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 got real good at getting the starter out though, unbolt, move forward, flip over, remove, body lift helps!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenton163 Posted April 25, 2010 Author Share Posted April 25, 2010 what company makes a good starter?, I've decided I'm just going to replace it rather than rebuilding it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgt Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 (edited) ignition switch? bad answer, sorry didn't read everything! "It doesn't do anything,all the lights come on and I turn everything on, it just wont turn over. " Edited April 27, 2010 by jgt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 If you're getting the infamous "click" and nothing, read this before you spend $$ needlessly. I tried to chase down a starter problem that I had for two years. When you'd turn the key, it would only click. Not all the time, very random, but would happen about 30% of the time when you tried to start it. Once it would click, it usually would take 5 to ten turns , click-click-click then start. Ends up the wires that carry the juice to the starter solenoid were getting old and wouldn't pass enough voltage to fully activate it. If that sounds like what's going on with yours, follow the link's directions and splice a relay into the circuit that'll throw 12v directly to the solenoid. I did and mine starts every time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4X4pathy94 Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 I spliced a relay into mine aswell and it works... If you travel through alot of water crossings with your pathfinder you should look into using a water proof relay, because the relay will short. Happened to me on the trail, now i have a rubber over it lol..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 What do you mean "you" did it. . I'm taking credit for that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 if you have to replace the starter I would recommend a new one from the dealer ( if they even sell new ones anymore) or find one made by Beck Arnley, any extra money it costs you will make up for having to replace an inferior rebuilt one multiple times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Yeah they still sell new ones someone on here bought one recently. And that is where I'll go if mine dies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swapdip Posted April 28, 2010 Share Posted April 28, 2010 (edited) Also a really simple thing to check that I don't believe anyone has suggested is the battery terminals, sometimes they get just corroded enough that they allow enough electricity to pass through to light up the lights and radio, but not enough for the starter to engage. This happened to my pathfinder a while back, every few weeks or so it would fail to start until I took the wires off and scraped at them with a wire brush...my symptoms were exactly like yours and a good scraping was all it took to clean them up and fix the problem for good. Also you say your battery is 3 yrs old thats kind of old for a battery, it might be losing juice, while you are at the auto parts store buying a starter have them test the battery too. Good luck Edited April 28, 2010 by swapdip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenton163 Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 If you're getting the infamous "click" and nothing, read this before you spend $$ needlessly. I tried to chase down a starter problem that I had for two years. When you'd turn the key, it would only click. Not all the time, very random, but would happen about 30% of the time when you tried to start it. Once it would click, it usually would take 5 to ten turns , click-click-click then start. Ends up the wires that carry the juice to the starter solenoid were getting old and wouldn't pass enough voltage to fully activate it. If that sounds like what's going on with yours, follow the link's directions and splice a relay into the circuit that'll throw 12v directly to the solenoid. I did and mine starts every time now. okay thanks I read the article, but I'm confused. What is the main harness behind the battery? when I tried to follow my cable all i saw was thick black and yellow cable running to the positive battery terminal. could you maybe post a pic of yours so i could get a better idea of how to go about doing this? It sounds pretty straight forward i just am still a little lost with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Click here. I just detailed the install in another post. It explains how to add the relay a little better. *I meant to say "starter solenoid" instead of "starter relay" in the beginning of the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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