# HELP!!! 2010 Nissan Maxima SV NOT STARTING!



## Maxima515 (Jul 18, 2021)

Alright, so, here’s a little back history for everyone. My dad installed a remote start into the car. It worked perfectly for a while, until one day it didn’t. So, it was taken to a mechanic’s shop where it sat for 3 months because the mechanic couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. The best solution he could come up with was disconnecting the remote start and telling my dad that there was a smaller drain from the battery, but that it was nothing to worry about because the remote start was the biggest drain. 

After getting it from the shop, it was driven once a week until I bought it. Now, it’s my daily driver. For the past month or so, I’ve been having to jump it because it wouldn’t start, and not because the battery was dead. It has a new battery and everything, I have had both the battery and the alternator tested, and they were good.

Yesterday, my dad came and helped me pull out the remote start, and we put the battery on a 12V charger. After that, it started perfectly. I had to turn it off when I went and got gas, but when I started it again, it sounded tired, but it started. 

Today, I went to start it, and it didn’t. I put it on a 2A charger to trickle charge it, went and checked on it a couple hours after being on the charger, and the “Charge Complete” light was on. So, I took the charger off, and went to start it. It didn’t start, and the video below is what it sounded like. 





And here is what the dash showed after I tried to start it:










I decided to put my jump pack on the battery and see if maybe that would start it, and it didn’t. I’ve attached a video of what that sounded like. 




I have no clue what steps to take next, or even what possible could be wrong with it. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

From your description, it sounds like there's a problem in the charging system. First make sure your aftermarket remote start kit is totally removed from the car and that the OEM cabling for the charging system is back in place like it came from the factory. A properly working charging system puts out about 13.2 to 15.0 volts. A battery should have a static charge of 12.2 to 12.6 volts. If a battery is not good, the charging system may not be able to charge properly; at this point the battery should be load tested at an auto parts store to insure it's good even though it's new. 
If a vehicle is not charging properly and the battery is good, the first thing to do is to turn the ignition switch to the "ON" position *without starting the engine* and make sure the charging system warning light is operating. If the bulb is burnt out, the charging system will not charge. If the bulb is OK but still does not illuminate, the circuit must be tested. If the warning lamp does illuminate, then the next thing to check is to make sure the circuit between the battery positive post (+), or fusible link, to the connection in back of the alternator is good. On Nissans, this should be a thick (approx. 10 gauge) white wire to the "BAT" post on the back of the alternator. With the negative cable (-) disconnected from the battery, measure the resistance between the "BAT" post on the back of the alternator and the battery positive (+) post; the resistance should not be greater then 0.2 Ohms. It's not uncommon for this wire to get corroded and burn up, creating resistance in the circuit. So, before assuming an alternator is bad, make sure this circuit is good and battery voltage is getting to the alternator. It's also important to make sure the alternator belt is tight and not slipping and the battery connections are *clean and tight*.

Assuming the charging system voltage is OK and the battery is good, the next thing to do would be to have a parasitic draw test performed; there should not be more than a 50 milliamp draw on the system with the ignition switch in the "OFF" position; the reason being is that the ECU and IPDM are always on in sleep mode which accounts for the very small draw. If there is a higher draw, you need to do some testing to find out where the draw is coming from. Remove fuses one at a time until the draw goes away or falls into acceptable range.
If you do these tests, make sure all accessories inside the car are shut off; this includes any courtesy lights such as the overhead lights. If the hood has an opening security sensor, it must be disabled. All the doors and trunk must be closed; if you need to have the driver's door open, put something against the door button to keep it pressed in order to break the electrical circuit. 

Also, it is NOT a good idea to disconnect a battery cable on a computer controlled vehicle while running to test the alternator. This is a good way to damage an ECU. When a charging system is not charging, or overcharging, a lot of "strange" things can occur. It's not uncommon to see a multiple of stored trouble codes in the ECU memory. So, whenever a car is setting a multiple of trouble codes, idling funny or stalling, or anything out of the "norm," test the charging system before you start pulling hairs!

A special note - When replacing electrical components such as alternators, starters and distributors, fuel injectors and sensors, always replace with new or reman'd Nissan OEM components; aftermarket components generally don't last long, don't work right and many times are DOA.


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## TheEel (Jul 15, 2021)

deleted


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

Most likely you just have a dead starter. When the brushes go bad they start sounding tired and then one day just quit making contact. We can sometimes get them to turn over by tapping the starter with a hammer, but the location on your Max makes that impractical. It's buried underneath the intake and behind the battery and ECM.


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