# 94 Sentra problem



## darkone_94 (Jul 20, 2004)

Hi,

I have a 94 Nissan sentra, stick shift.I went out to a friends place parked my car and came back after 30 mts and the car won't start.

The engine oil is fine..its slightly above the low marking.When I put it in the key all the indicators on the dash board turn on.The battery looks fine because the auo belt was working and even i tested the horn.I am not sure what the problem is.Any help would be appreciated.

PS: Sometimes while driving the car would suddenly stopm and if i stargt it again..it runs fine.The seat belt indicator sensor has a problem.Even when all he seat belts are secured...it still gives out the alarm.

Thank you.


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## Catman (May 21, 2004)

Starter, connections to starter, neutral safety switch? Here is a link covering some of those topics. Maybe do a search for more posts:

http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=62962&highlight=starter


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## darkone_94 (Jul 20, 2004)

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.I tried juggling the connections to the starter and around it.However i noticed it today that there is a click whn i turn on the ignition key,same as said above all the indicators are turned on.I don't think it was the battery as all the lights and radio would work.Is it the starter whiuch is bad or the something else.I thought may be the engine stalled but it had the oil in it.

So is the starter or the alternator?


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## Catman (May 21, 2004)

Based on what you describe, I do not think it is the alternator. If you alternator is bad, battery would not stay charged. When mine went out, indicator light came on for battery?, as I recall. Lights were also dim.

So if the battery is fully charged, and it is not cranking, it could be the starter. When mine went, it seemed to struggle more. Then after a few days it did not work and had to be towed to the dealer. All I could here was a clicking noise, but would not turn over. Also, when a starter is going bad heat seems to affect it. It may work OK when cold. If you warm the engine and restart it, the heat causes things to expand the circuit to become open.

Don't know why your car would stop on you? That could be a seperate issue. I know I had problems with my car stalling occasionally. It was caused by a dirty idle air control valve. But in your case, I don't know if that applies. Mine would stall after a sudden stop.

One thing that concerns me. You said the oil is slightly above the low marking. If you have the 1.6 motor, it takes 3.4 quarts to be full. Now if it is close to the low mark, may be less than three quarts of oil. The lower it is, the hotter things may get. It would be good to keep the oil topped off. When the engine is cool, on level ground, try to check the oil to get an accurate reading. Good luck!


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## Catman (May 21, 2004)

Something else came to me. From your posts I am not able to tell if your engine is cranking properly. But when you said it stalled, I started thinking fuel filter. Was it changed recently? When I bought my car it was hard starting until I changed the fuel filter. It may be fuel starved under certain conditions. Just a thought, without fully knowing what your symptoms are, I am guessing a lot. Good luck!


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## sentra_guy (Jul 22, 2004)

*95 sentra automatic won't crank*



Catman said:


> Starter, connections to starter, neutral safety switch? Here is a link covering some of those topics. Maybe do a search for more posts:
> 
> http://www.nissanforums.com/showthread.php?t=62962&highlight=starter


Sorry for this long email.

Got a 95 sentra GXE 3 months ago. All was working fine; then I decide to add some coolant and wiper fluid while I'm at a friends place. 10 mins later when I wanna leave... car won't start! I thought that maybe replenishing those fluids was what caused it but after I read through the forum I guess it was just a weird coincidence.

Got it towed to Tires Plus today to have it checked out.. ($14 to do a check before they do anything). Next the guys there said they were +ve it was the battery (I'm like duh.. headlights, stereo, wipers everythin works dude). They still wanna change my battery.. i'm like ok  - Another $100 for that. 

Car still doesn't crank . So the guy taps on the starter with a hammer and poof it starts running. Says the starter needs to be changed... wants to charge me $150 for the starter + $110 for labor to get it done. I get the hell out of there. 

The old battery was leaking and I guess the contact is still corroded so that could be one of the reasons for the starter not getting enough power. However once he tapped the starter with the hammer it started running - althought that didn't always work in which case he jumpstarted the battery 
and got it running.

I don't know what exactly to do.. I guess I should start by replacing the wire to the starter by a "4 gauge switch to starter" cable that I got from walmart.
If that doesn't work, what should I do? Someone mentioned that a starter costs about $80 from autozone and I can get a smaller mechanic to install it for less but how can I infer that its the starter that is at fault?

Thanks,
"A moron in the non-binary world"


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## Catman (May 21, 2004)

> The old battery was leaking and I guess the contact is still corroded so that could be one of the reasons for the starter not getting enough power. However once he tapped the starter with the hammer it started running - althought that didn't always work in which case he jumpstarted the battery
> and got it running.
> 
> I don't know what exactly to do.. I guess I should start by replacing the wire to the starter by a "4 gauge switch to starter" cable that I got from walmart.
> If that doesn't work, what should I do? Someone mentioned that a starter costs about $80 from autozone and I can get a smaller mechanic to install it for less but how can I infer that its the starter that is at fault?


I have heard when a starter goes, you can hit it with a hammer, and it will sometimes work. But, if you have to hit the starter with a hammer, it is probably toast. If the starter does not turn, and the fuse and fusable link is good, it says "replace" in the starter test chart Alldata provided for my car. Battery must be good before doing this test.

As far as the mechanic charging more for the starter, well, that is the way they do things. If I bring parts to my mechanic, he will have to charge me extra. Part of the way he makes his money is on the charge for parts. If you are not able to do it yourself, then parts will be more. Good luck!


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## darkone_94 (Jul 20, 2004)

Catman said:


> Something else came to me. From your posts I am not able to tell if your engine is cranking properly. But when you said it stalled, I started thinking fuel filter. Was it changed recently? When I bought my car it was hard starting until I changed the fuel filter. It may be fuel starved under certain conditions. Just a thought, without fully knowing what your symptoms are, I am guessing a lot. Good luck!


Heyy,


Yesterday I got the car started by putting it in motion and engaging the gear.So I thought i was the starter ...took it to the mechanic and he said the starter has to be replaced.So getting it fixed now.

yah the oil was slightly above the low mark.From now on I should top off the oil every now and then...don't want to lose the engine 

Thanks for your help.

I bought the car a year ago and it haven't changed the fuel filter since.Is it easy to do and is there any way to know if it should be replaced.


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## sentra_guy (Jul 22, 2004)

*Need starter for Nissan Sentra GXE 1995 automatic*



Catman said:


> I have heard when a starter goes, you can hit it with a hammer, and it will sometimes work. But, if you have to hit the starter with a hammer, it is probably toast. If the starter does not turn, and the fuse and fusable link is good, it says "replace" in the starter test chart Alldata provided for my car. Battery must be good before doing this test.
> 
> As far as the mechanic charging more for the starter, well, that is the way they do things. If I bring parts to my mechanic, he will have to charge me extra. Part of the way he makes his money is on the charge for parts. If you are not able to do it yourself, then parts will be more. Good luck!


Thanks Catman, can you tell me what exactly I need to change - the starter or the starter solenoid? (also whats the difference between the two?) 

I wanted to shop around for the starter and I'm wondering which one my Nissan Sentra 1.6 GXE automatic needs and where would be a good place to look for one

Any advice would be most helpful


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## Catman (May 21, 2004)

Glad you are getting the starter fixed. Seems to be a common repair on these cars.

RE: fuel filter

When I bought my car at 76,000 it was hard to start. Changing the fuel filter solved that problem. Once it gets clogged, you will have fuel starvation. Before you get to that point your fuel pump may have to work harder to push fuel through the crud, or some crud may break loose and clog an injector. I lost an injector last year, so I change my fuel filter on a schedule, every 30,000 miles. Is it hard to do? It takes some patience and is messy.

First, get a good quality filter. OEM may be best, but I used a Beck/Arnely one from Advance for $15.00 or a Wix/Napa Gold filter may be good. 

Next, you have to pull the fuse to the fuel pump, crank the car, it will try to run then stall. This relieves the pressure from the fuel lines.

The filter on my car is along the firewall, by the brake master cylinder. Unscrewed/loosened the clamps, then the fun begins. My problem is the hose wants to stick to the filter. So, I used a small screwdriver to pry the hose, trying not to damage it. Then, twisted the hose and filter and pulled up. Did the top hose first. Put a small plastic container under the filter to catch the gas still in the filter and lines. Once the top hose was off, tried to drain the gas out of the filter into the plastic container. I always spill some on the frame, so I had one of those oil drain cookie sheet looking things to catch what fell to the ground. Removing the bottom hose is easier, since it is now easy to twist the filter and pull it out from the hose. Put the new filter back in the reverse order, making sure the side marked "Out" is attached to the hose that goes to the motor. After clamps are tight, put the fuel pump fuse back in, turn on ignition, start the motor. Check for leaks. I have never had a problem when I took my time and was careful. With the 4 oz or so of gas I caught, I strained through a coffee filter to remove small particles of crud and used a funnel to put it back in my fuel tank. So, to me the hard part is not getting gas all over everything. It does not take much to make a lot of vapor, so did this outside. My mechanic has changed it for about $50 when I did not want to mess with the gas. But now I am too poor. So, it kinda depends on you regarding difficulty. It is mostly messy. I hate gas fumes! :thumbdwn: So, I do it every 30,000 miles to prevent damage to my fuel pump and injectors. When those go, it will cost a lot more. 

By the way, after loosing an injector I found out that Nissan does not recommend fuel injector cleaner. I lost one after using fuel injector cleaner, and car ran rough on two other occasions after using fuel injector cleaner. Since I stopped using fuel injector cleaner, the car runs great. Who would know? Also, after cleaning the trottle body and cleaning the idle air control valve my car is now running better than ever at 166,000. Good luck!


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## darkone_94 (Jul 20, 2004)

Thanks for the guidence catman.Got my starter replaced and yesterday along with a friend followed ur instructions and changed my fuel filter.As u said its not that hard but becomes quite messy and be carful thats it.

Thanks again.


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## sentra_guy (Jul 22, 2004)

*thx to Catman and all*



darkone_94 said:


> Thanks for the guidence catman.Got my starter replaced and yesterday along with a friend followed ur instructions and changed my fuel filter.As u said its not that hard but becomes quite messy and be carful thats it.
> 
> Thanks again.


Many Thanks Catman and others for all the valuable help you guys provided. As ye suggested, I got the starter from discount auto parts fer 80 bucks and had a friend help me replace it. What looked like $260 at a shop ended up costing under 100 and I learnt a lot about my Nissan in the bargain.
This Forum Rocks !

sentra_guy...


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## nanas_051996 (Jul 29, 2004)

*1991 nissan sentra XE*

ok, well i found out that my car not starting sometimes is my starter. And i found my starter, but the only thing is getting it off. It's in the back of the motor at the bottom, by my oil filter. Can someone help me?


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## nanas_051996 (Jul 29, 2004)

thank you catman for your help an generosity  , we will try doing the starter this weekend. hopefully we can get it done! ty!

:fluffy:


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