All I’m reading is that the engine does crank, which means exactly the same thing as “turning over”, at what sounds like the normal rate: but, it doesn’t start (or, “catch”, again, that’s the same thing).
Now, Ramone, you need to tell us, if you know, any other symptoms. Make sure there is gasoline in the gas tank. When the ignition key is turned to RUN position, can you hear the fuel pump run for two seconds? If not, the fuel pump isn’t running, or, the fuel pressure is high enough that the fuel pump quickly (milliseconds) cuts off, and all that may be heard is a “thunk”.
To check for enough fuel into the engine needs to be done. Use a spray Starter Fluid (or, similar spray). Pull a hose off the large (4" to 6" diameter), black, plastic intake tube. Spray a 2 second burst of Starter Fluid into the tube. Put the small hose back. Attempt to start the engine. If it starts and runs for a few seconds, the problem is lack of fuel into the engine.
If the spray didn’t work, pull a spark plug wire off. Put a nail, or such, into the end of the spark plug wire where the spark plug goes. Place the tip of wire 1/8 inch from a metal part of the engine. Crank the engine and watch for sparks from the tip of the spark plug wire. If no sparks, further troubleshooting needs to be done.
Await your reply.
Did the naughty neighbor offer to pay for the damage he/she caused? I’ll bet, no.
Ok, you write the book with these stories, have it published and I’ll guarantee I’ll buy it.
Ok everybody, Let me try to say this again, I think I am being misunderstood. Before, this problem came about, my car cranked normally. I mean I put the key in, turned the ignition, and the engine turned over. This morning my wife followed the same process, the engine breifly tried to turn over burt it did not. She tried agin and the engine did not. All you heard was the starter trying to engage. I tried it another 3-4 times the same thing occurried. It never turned over, cranked or whatever term you want to use. The engine did not crank slowly, etc. It was full of oil, gas, all fluids.
Not one time earlier did I hear a banging, or clanking noise in the engine. It was very quiet, (There were times when I was at a stoplight and do to the quiet and smooth running of the engine, I thought that the car had cut off, but it had not)
(The only problem I had continuosly was that the ck engine light would come on and as I stated earlier, I kept seeing the check engine light come on and when I took it to the dearship about it they said that they checked it by send (smoke, or whatever) through it, and could not find a leak. They told me to make sure that the gas cap was on properly, I checked that all of the time but the light came back on. I was not able once to pass inspection do to a OBD sensor not working correctly. This was fixed at the dearlership and I passed the inspection)
I had it towed to the Nissan Dealership, thinking it might be a minor problem. I was told that the engine did not have any compression, and The Cat. Converter had blown some particles back into the engine. (THIS WAS WHAT I WAS TOLD) I did not make this up nor did I hear this incorrectly becasue I asked more than once about this statement.
When I stated earlier that I did not speak auto english I was not trying to insult anyone. I was merely stating that I am not a mechanic, and I rely on persons of that accupation to tell me what is taking place and I would decide on what information I would would get from 2nd and 3rd opinions.
The person (Keith) that stated that Nissan stopped making the 2.5L engine because of some failure, from where did you get this information and can I find it somewhere so that I can read it.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am still finding it very difficult to figure out exactly what the OP is trying to tell us.
I totally agree. Either English really isn’t the OP’s first language (I used to tutor quite a few ESL students at my alma mater’s writing center) or else he needs to slow down, plan what he’s going to say, and read what he’s typed before he hits ‘submit.’ There are way too many errors and contradictory statements to figure out what’s going on. I don’t expect perfection on internet forums, but you have to make some effort to be understood if you expect good advice.
The engine doesn’t crank, or turn over: though, there sounds like some engagement of the starter to the engine. Is this about right?
That could be several things: There isn’t enough battery power reaching the starter; or, there is enough power, but, the starter can’t use it; or, the starter has enough power, can use it, but the engine has too much resistance to crank, or turn over.
Corrected.
yes, the starter is trying to start the car…but the engine won’t respond.
Get a jump start. Save both cars’ electronics by: turning the ignition keys OFF on both cars. Attach jumper cables to both cars, start the donor car, let it charge the Altima a few minuets, attempt a start. If it starts, or not, turn the ignition keys OFF on both cars. Then, you can remove the jumper cables.
If it didn’t start, place a wrench on the crankshaft bolt and try to turn the engine over by hand. If it does turn over by hand, the starter may be defective. If it won’t turn over by hand, remove the starter and try again.
When you were trying to start the engine, did the starter engage with the flywheel? Or was the noise only a hum of the starter spinning? I doubt the converter parts could get into the engine unless the engine was running and running backwards at that.
I have a 2002 Altima 2.5 S. It has just over 98,000 and it has happened on two occasions that I have had difficulty starting the car when it is cold outside. If you do some internet searches you will find that this is a common problem that seems to be due to a design flaw. There are also many people who have had the problem with the pre-cat flaking and destroying the engine. Basically it seems like that once the pre-cat starts to flake the engine is junk. Nissan did issue a recall that entailed checking the cat for damage. If damage was found I believe they were supposed to replace the engine. I contacted Nissan and they did tell me there were two open recall issues with my car: one for the rear suspension and another to program the ECR valve…I don’t know if the pre-cat was ever inspected as I purchased this car used last year. But 90-100,000 miles seems to be about the time that a lot of people start to have issues with this engine…basically I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping nothing happens. You really need to pay attention to oil consumption, that seems to be the tip-off if there is valve damage. At the very least you should find out about recalls on your vehicle…do it by your VIN#. Unless the dealer is going to do the work for free I would have somebody else fix the car. Also you should look into any class action lawsuits related to this problem…good luck.
From the sound of this I take it to mean the starter motor is physically cranking the engine over fine. The problem is that it will not cough, sputter, or even attempt to start.
I’m still real skeptical of this bad engine diagnosis unless proven otherwise.
They state it “has no compression”. Fine. How do they determine that? A vehicle that is running fine with apparent problems, no overheating or lack of oil, etc. with no unusual noises and all of a sudden one morning - it won’t start and this means a bad engine?
This car should use a chain and if the chain broke one would know it by the rattling and grinding that occurs when the engine rotating assembly is moving.
I don’t buy for one minute that a converter came apart and caused a total lack of compression in all cylinders. When the honeycomb of a converter comes apart hunks of it is going to go to the muffler or rattle around in the converter; depending on where it cracked apart.
OP, you really need to delve into this “no compression” business. If they cannot physically show you this problem then it does not exist.
As to any alleged chunks of converter getting into a cylinder it will have to be very tiny chunks to have the ability to get past the exhaust valve opening. Assuming these alleged chunks were inside the cyinder what is going to happen? The spark plug tip will be damaged when the engine is cranked over and chunks would also fly out of the spark plug holes when the plugs are removed.
If they’re giving you a diagnosis of “no compression” then ask them if they performed a compression test, which requires removal of the plugs, and if any hunks (alleged hunks IMHO) came shooting out of the spark plug holes.
(Also, to cause zero compression this means that at least one valve on every single cylinder would have to have a hunk of junk wedged in place to prevent the valve from closing. Your odds of winning the lottery are far better than this.)
Well it sounds to me that you are getting the shaft. Now a car can suck trough the exhaust whan it jumps time but there is no way it got some of your converter in the engine. That just dosent happen. The problem you are having is more than likely very minor. I would check my starter and my coil pack. It sounds to me as if it is not fireing. But that is just what I think good luck on getting it fixed. It shouldnt be very much to it.
After 31 responses, we’re all the way up to, “There is some kind of sound, but the engine doesn’t start.”
It’s time to get a real, live, mechanic on the spot, in person, to see, hear, check, interpret, and make a determination.
We, at this far removed place, can’t do those things.
You guys are going laugh at this…but I am mad as “you know What”. I had my car towed to Raleigh NC. aprrox. 63 miles away from my house and they ran a series of diagnostics on my car because they did not beleive the Nissan Dealership. After the series of Diag. and getting rid of the codes…it was discovered that my battery was not strong enough. They put in a new battery, changed my plugs etc. Now the car is running like a top. The shop is telling me to write the Nissan Dealership, Nissan Headquarters, etc. and express myself how virtually sorry the mechanics are. I was told that if they had taken just 15 min to run a through diagnostics they would have found out this problem. My car has been sitting since Oct. 07 and this was all that was the problem. Nissan wanted to get me to buy a new engine or buy a new car. All of the other shops wanted me to buy a used engine site unseen, because they wanted to go by what the dealership said… I will be D…
So the problem is solved. If you have to contact us again, Ramon, please write carefully and review what you have written. I still find parts of your statements that seem to say the engine was jammed and would not crank.