deanpence Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 ('93 SE 4x4, no aftermarket mods) A few weeks ago, when starting my Pathfinder, it turned over pretty hesitantly and slowly, but it started; I barely noticed at the time. The next day, it did the same thing, and I thought that I'd better turn it off and attempt a start again to be sure I would be able to get back from where I was going. All I got was a slight click, but the battery was *not* fully discharged. Power windows, radio, cabin lights, and headlights (at full brightness) were all working fine with the key turned half-way. I did a jumpstart from another car, and after letting it run for an hour, it again refused to start with a click. A few days later, I got a jump from a pickup and again let it run for a while, after which I got the click again. The guy who was helping me insisted that it had to be a bad battery, and though I know the basics of how the charging system works, I don't know much of anything about the starter, so I figured he may be right, though I still thought the alternator was a pretty good candidate. Today, which is four or five days after the last jump, it surprisingly started on the first attempt, though it turned over a bit hesitantly. I tried this again two more times, and each time it turned over more slowly, but it did finally start each time. And again, the battery is not fully discharged. Anyone have an idea what could be going on here, or how I can test some things myself to find out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Check the battery ground strap connections, the cable to the starter and the starter connection. What is the voltage at the starter when you try to crank it and only get a click? What is the voltage of the battery at rest and what is the voltage when you try to crank it? Have your battery load tested? All the little lights can come on when the battery isn't strong enough to crank the starter, the starter is far more draw... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Sounds like a starter relay to me... same thing is happening with mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 (edited) Need to check starter draw amperage. Also like was just mentioned check your inhibitor relay. It may click but inside it looses continuity on the contacts. On the 3.0 Nissan put the oil filter above the starter for what ever reason and may contribute to its death. And check the back side of the electrical connector on the ignition switch and make sure it is getting a full 12v to the relay. One more thing make sure the truck is in park or neutral all the way Edited April 21, 2014 by byob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Check voltage at the battery while running, could be the alternator is bad and is not charging the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gv280z Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Or the battery could be bad at which point it either won't accept a charge from an alternator or won't hold it for very long. As mentioned above sometimes it is just a bad ground, tighten up both terminals and follow the black cable down to where it bolts to the frame and make sure it's not corroated(sp?) and all nasty and fugly. I'm not going to get into checking all the different voltage / amperage numbers cause that's not really my forte..but I do know that it takes two to tango, the battery and the alternator..if alternator is bad or failing it may have just enough to allow for jumpstart but not to be able to actually charge the battery, just run it up to a parts store and let them do a test on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 when my 94 started not starting, I did the starter relay mod and that fixed it for about a year, than I had to finally replace the starter, in the process I found the positive cable from the battery terminal to the starter the ring terminal at the starter end was almost cut in half, I replaced the whole wire with a 4 gauge cable using car audio power cable, more strands more flexible than battery cable, also added a extra ground from one of the starter mount bolts to the cross member, and replaced the battery terminals, never had a problem again, well after replacing the crap reman starter with a new aftermarket one, never had a problem again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Just a thought when it comes to electrical parts -I go factory. Better quality and a good warranty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nissanland Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Well I'm on board with you having a bad ground. We had 4 brand new deep cycle batteries in our semi truck, it would either just barely turn the engine fast enough to start or just click, went to frieghtliner 3x before we found out it was just a bad ground wire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ugh I ordered a new starter relay from amazon part number 25230-89981And what showed up is nothing like what is inside the engine bay.... where can I find this part?? Should I just go OEM? I can't even seem to find it at the dealership....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Stick or Auto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfoley412 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Do you have an alarm system? The alarm system in my 95 would cause my truck to click instead of starting sometimes, some sort of bad ground or something causing power to not go to the starter... But after I got the system ripped out the car starts EVERY time no exceptions (the wires for the alarm were kinda shoved into the battery wires all weird though..) no alarm but hey, wtf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I'm trying to diagnose the same issues here too. I took it to autozone and unplugged each relay and the issue did not go away until I unplugged the big gray one on the drivers side. With the relay unplugged of course it did nothing. The autozone guy was nice enough to let me try a new one in the socket and the issue was still there. They tested the battery and it's 100%....so I guess I have to replace my ignition switch now? ugh..... really hoping to not have to replace the starter again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 AFAIK the stock alarm has no ignition kill function. My understanding is that the starter contacts in the ignition switch aren't relayed on the auto trans trucks. The contacts inside wear and less power makes it to the starter. The relay mod means the switch only needs to pass enough juice to make the relay kick on, which it should still be capable of. The starter gets oil dumped on it when you take the oil filter out... it might just need a good cleaning. A layer of oil and dirt on the starter could be obstructing its contacts, further limiting the current available to make it go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfoley412 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 That doesn't change the fact that after I removed the factory alarm system my car starts EVERY TIME no questions.....the wires were shoved into the large battery wire not connected to the threaded post like everything else, my rig definitely didn't like it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Actually the factory alarm does have a starter interupt circut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Mine has an alarm but I dont think its factory... not sure where to look to disable it? I'd like to keep the keyless entry system though.... Is it worth trying to replace the ignition switch? The key is pretty loose though but replacing it requires new keys that would be different from the doors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 The key cylinder is not the actual problem. It is the electrial part in the back that you can buy separate. It may still not be the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 The key cylinder is not the actual problem. It is the electrial part in the back that you can buy separate. It may still not be the problem yea I understand...just seems to be a pain to remove... and the loose key is annoying haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I would pay a lock smith to rekey the ign to your original key code Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 that is an option but the keys I have are so worn down that it would be nearly impossible to duplicate it... I have a feeling they're not OEM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Actually the factory alarm does have a starter interupt circut Weird, I unplugged my alarm brain and it started/ran no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Weird, I unplugged my alarm brain and it started/ran no problems. Then one of two things happen. The ignition switch jumper harness has been bypassed or the alarm was installed incorrectly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Is the alarm brain under the drivers seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Yes under the drivers seat with the access hole for adding key fobs. If it has never been accessed the label will not have a hole in it exposing the yellow set button. In some models the module closet to the door under the seat is the abs control mod-I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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