# 2012 Nissan Altima Won't Start But Dash Lights Come On **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 27, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930 "2020-07-27T02:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![greenbayrod12\_162763](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greenbayrod12\_162763](https://community.cartalk.com/u/greenbayrod12_162763)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/1 "2020-07-27T02:32:54Z")
My 2012 Nissan Altima Coupe will not start, but the dash lights will come on. This is a push start car. When pushing the start button it will light up to the on position, but when I press in the brake and then the start button to start the engine, it lights up the dash, makes a quick clicking noise, and then shuts off. I try it again and it does the same thing and the pedal gets stiff. If I let it sit there for a minute or two and retry it, and the engine will sometimes comes on like normal. Another weird thing that happened was when I tried to press in the brake again with my door open, the lights inside my car sorry of dimmed each time I pressed the brake. From what I could find online, it sounds like I may need a new brake switch. I already checked and it seems like my current switch is in there good. I also popped it out and back in. Still have the same issue. Any suggestions? Thank you so much! ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/2 "2020-07-27T02:50:27Z")
> [@greenbayrod12\_162763](#): > > Another weird thing that happened was when I tried to press in the brake again with my door open, the lights inside my car sorry of dimmed each time I pressed the brake. The battery is very weak, time to replace it. ---
**Author:** ![greenbayrod12\_162763](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greenbayrod12\_162763](https://community.cartalk.com/u/greenbayrod12_162763)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/3 "2020-07-27T02:52:04Z")
That was my thought too, but I’m not sure that is it. I took it to advance Auto to get it checked twice and they said it was a good battery. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/4 "2020-07-27T02:54:08Z")
Is the battery fully charged? They can test a discharged battery with a conductance tester and it can pass. ---
**Author:** ![greenbayrod12\_162763](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greenbayrod12\_162763](https://community.cartalk.com/u/greenbayrod12_162763)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/5 "2020-07-27T02:55:59Z")
According to the employees there it was. Not sure I fully trust them. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/6 "2020-07-27T03:08:16Z")
Get a volt meter and measure the battery voltage while trying to start the engine. ---
**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/7 "2020-07-27T03:10:39Z")
If the battery truly is in good shape then look for a bad connection between the battery and the main panel under the hood. Check the battery grounding to the chassis also. From what you have already stated about the issue it sounds like a classic low battery situation. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/8 "2020-07-27T03:27:29Z")
Does this car still have the original battery from 2012 . . . ?! If so, replace it now it’s probably the source of all the problems you described ---
**Author:** ![greenbayrod12\_162763](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greenbayrod12\_162763](https://community.cartalk.com/u/greenbayrod12_162763)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/9 "2020-07-27T03:29:27Z")
The battery was changed about 2 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![greenbayrod12\_162763](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea5d25/32.png) [@greenbayrod12\_162763](https://community.cartalk.com/u/greenbayrod12_162763)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/10 "2020-07-27T03:30:57Z")
When you say a bad connection do you mean loose wires? ---
**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-nissan-altima-wont-start-but-dash-lights-come-on/167930/11 "2020-07-28T00:09:15Z")
Loose or faulty wire connections cause extra resistance in the connection that shouldn’t be there.