Cant seem to start

[tack610]

Ok, so to start off I have a 1990 Pathfinder Xe V6 Automatic 4WD

 

About 6 months ago I couldnt get my truck to start. I got a re-manufactured starter from autozone, took me 2 days to replace the Bit** but i got it done. Everything was good.

 

A couple weeks ago my starter wouldn't start again and because i Live in AZ, during the summer i really didnt want to work on it. Because i live with my parents I used there cars for the summer.

 

Well, 2 days ago i started to work on it because school is starting in a few weeks and i need the car for that. I couldnt get it to start again, so i took out the battery to get it tested. It was bad so i got a brand new one. Ive tested the wiring to and from the starter with a test light and i got power to the starter when i tried starting it and power from the starter when attempting to start it. But nothing from the starter. So, today i decided i would hunker down and take out the starter. After draining the oil and about an hour of tug and pull i got it out. Since its re-manufactured i suspected the starter was bad so i went to Autozone and had it tested. The put it through the paces 4 times and it passed each time.

 

I dont know what else could be wrong. When I tried starting it before i took the starter out i got no noise whatsoever. No clicks, no chugg-like noise nothing. I'm stumped and so is the most mechanically inclined people i know. Any help would be awesome.

 

Joe

[TrailChaser]

Here's some advice from another thread:

 

When you said" Land of No Internet" I figured you were in either Georgia or Federal prison.

 

Here's the link I followed and here's another link to the12volt.com, which has great info in simple terms about relays, coils, etc geared for automotive applications.

 

But here's what I did on my 87:

First, get a 12v SPDT (single pole, double throw) relay like this one

(any auto parts store will have one)and get some 12ga wire and connectors to fit over the posts on the relay.

 

Find the wiring harness that comes from your starter relay. It should be fairly thin, three or four wires or so. It should run from the starter up around/behind the battery where it plugs into another connector. Coming from that connector, there should be four wires. You're only concerned with the thickest one (on mine, its black with a pink stripe). That black/pink wire is what carries the 12v to your starter solenoid.

 

As I understand it, over time the 12v circuit that carries the juice down that wire starts to degrade and builds enough resistance to limit the voltage delivered to your starter solenoid. The solenoid won't engage enough to operate the starter. That's the "click...click...click...click" you hear. What the new relay does is throw 12v directly from the battery to the solenoid and use the old 12v black/pink wire to operate the relay.

 

 

The relay you bought will have four posts on it numbered 85, 86, 87 and 30.

Connect 30 to the positive battery post.

Connect 85 to ground.

Now cut the black/pink wire.

Connect the "starter" side to 87 and the "harness" side to 86.

 

Now when you turn the key, 12v will go to the relay thru post 86 to ground (post 85) and energize the relay's coil. When the coil is energized, it acts like a switch and will allow 12v straight from the battery (post 30) down to the starter solenoid (post 87).

 

Here's the link to the whole thread:

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=26822&hl=ignition&st=0

[tack610]

Ok so i did the relay "fix" and got it to work that night. Took it out for a drive and came home but parked the car on the street. After a few hours of working on another car i got back in mine to drive it up in the driveway. Nothing, not even clicks, im back to square one. Again for reference starter and battery have been tested as good. All the wiring has been tested but not voltage tested (i dont have a volt meter) and im still stumped. Is there a way it could be my ignition relay? That's the only thing i can think of that might be wrong.