My 1994 Nissan Pathfinder will intermittently not start. When I get in the car and turn the ignition, the dash board lights will light up as usual, I can hear the starter solenoid click, but then nothing will happen. The power windows, stereo, headlights and air-conditioning will all work but the motor will not even churn. All I hear is the click. If I get a jump the car will start right up.
This has been going on for over a year. At first it would only happen every few months and I thought that by just disconnecting the positive from the battery and putting it back then it would start. It appeared to be doing so. When it started happening more frequently, I took it my mechanic and each time he would fuss with some wires charge me 20 bucks or not charge me at all and I would be on my way. It would be good for a week or so then once again not starting for me. After the three times of my regular mechanic not fixing the problem and saying it was fixed I took it to a different mechanic. This man said it was my starter even though it will start with a breeze if you jump it. I went ahead and had him replace it. My car started a few more times but the next day the problem was back. After having gone to two mechanics and them misdiagnosing and me paying for service I didn’t need, I borrowed a volt meter and the battery test at 11.5 volts. Some buddies said, that perhaps my battery being 14 years old was putting out enough power to power the cars electronics but not enough to turn the starter over. So I bought a brand new battery. I got four starts off of it before I experienced the problem again.
Another friend thought it might be the alternator not fully charging the battery. I believe we tested it at 12 volts but he said it should be more. Anyway, he and I pulled the alternator took it to be tested and it’s fine. While we were removing it though we discovered the belt on the alternator was a little loose so maybe it wasn’t charging fully. Anyway, we put it all back together and the car started five or six times, while my more knowledgeable buddy was with me. The next day of course, no start.
I probably did a bunch of stuff I didn’t have to do in trying to diagnose this problem but at least I learned a lot more about my car.
Anyway, ye wise car sages, What do you think is wrong with my old car, which for the most part has treated me well for all these years? Ignition? a short somewhere? If it’s the ignition perhaps you can explain to me why the vehicle will start with a jump.
If the battery was not run down from attempted starts then 11 volts is too low and a battery was needed.
If you’re getting a 12 point something voltage reading at the battery with the engine running then the alternator is not charging.
This does not mean the alternator is bad though. There are several reasons why it may not be keeping the battery up.
The little red battery light on the dash is inoperative.
The connection between the alternator and battery has failed. (Check fusible links)
The belt simply is not getting a bit on the alternator pulley. Put a socket on the alternator pulley nut and try to rotate the pulley on the belt. It should move with difficulty if at all.
Question. Are you absolutey sure the click you hear when there is a no-start is the starter solenoid or could it be a relay for some other function that is clicking. They can sound similar.
I would verify that click is the starter solenoid making that sound. It may require some assistance to do this.
The reason is that if it is not the starter solenoid the vehicle may have a faulty ignition switch or neutral safety switch problem. The neutral switch is applicable to automatic transmission models (prevents starting in gear) and in many cases this can be weeded out by shifting the transmission into neutral and then trying to start it.
A voltemeter or test light can be used at the terminal of the small wire at the starter solenoid to verify if voltage is making it to the solenoid. If not, and the click still exists, then the problem is the ign. switch or neutral switch.
Here’s a good one! I live in Anchorage, where each winter the temperature is generally about 20 degrees above zero, but where it periodically drops to zero and below. Six or eight years ago, my '92 Pathfinder started having trouble starting in zero or below temperatures when left outside for more than two hours. I’d turn the key and nothing would happen. A second or third turn would result in a slow return to activity, and I’d be able to start. Each year, the car would take more effort to start, and finally, in the last three or four years it wouldn’t start at all - the starter motor would show no signs of life.
Each time it wouldn’t start, I had it towed to the dealer, but the weather would warm up and they would be unable to reproduce the problem. Then, one Xmas, three years ago, it failed again and was towed. The owners of a ‘93 Pathfinder, recommended a local mechanics’ shop, and I gave them a chance. They kept it three weeks and charged $2,000 but declared it fixed. The problem, they said, was as follows:
"For reasons of their own, Nissan had built the radiator with two holes high up in the back, which they then plugged with metal plugs surrounded by sealant. In time, the sealant dissolved, allowing coolant from the radiator to freeze in extremely cold weather, expanding as ice will do, and force its way out thru the unsealed plugs and flow down into the starter motor. The starter motor filled with coolant which in extremely cold weather would become slushy and interfere with the starter motor’s turning over."
But next time the weather got cold enough, which was not until the following winter, the problem recurred, exactly as before. Back at the Nissan dealer’s they diagnosed the problem as a bad starter motor, and installed a new one, for another $750. But the problem returned at the next cold snap.
The problem must be electrical, but it’s intermittent, controlled by the temperature. Years and thousands later, I’m no closer to a solution than when I started. What gives?