# 1996 Sentra GLE Wont Crank/Start



## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

Hello,

I'm working on a friends car (lucky me) which will not start. I have tried everything that I can think of with no luck. Car was running on his way to work, but simply would not crank when he tried to leave. 

Disclaimer: this car has not been well maintained... his oil was black and nasty and a low. He's also missing a bit of his exhaust so it's loud when it runs. 

Symptoms:

1. All Lights work (exterior and interior) and Batter reads 12.8V
2. When I try to start the car, the Solenoid Makes a loud Click but the engine wont Crank.
3. Battery Voltage drops to appx. 11.6V when solenoid fires.
3. No Change in symptoms when i try and jump the car (except for the instance mentioned below). 

What I've Done/Checked

1. Had battery checked/tested at autozone multiple times. All cells check good.
2. Checked all cables and connections between battery and starter.
3. Replaced Inhibitor Relay
4. Replaced Starter
5. Disconnected Positive terminal from Alternator with no change in behavior (NOT SURE IF THIS IS A VALID CHECK)


The last thing i'll add is that when i was first troubleshooting this issue (and the car was in a parking lot instead of my garage), I tried removing the batter from the circuit and hooked the jumper cable leads from my car to the sentra. It actually cranked BUT VERY SLOWLEY!! Not sure how to diagnose this. 

I'm actually starting to wonder if he locked his engine up, but i'm not sure that adds up with the scenario. I found no metal shavings or coolant in the oil.

Any input is appreciated or if other checks can be done please let me know.

Thanks for the assistance.

Regards, Joe


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

If you can turn the crank pulley by hand, likely it's not seized up. I can turn both of my GA16DE's by hand fairly easily (not to say it's a piece of cake, but it's doable).
Sounds to me like your battery cable ends and/or your battery terminals themselves are crap.
When you turn on 'everything' (lights, heater, step on the brake pedal, crank up the radio, turn on the wipers, and so on), what does the battery voltage read?
Where did you buy the new starter? Reman? Genuine Nissan part or an 'Autozone wanna-be"?
Maybe try tapping on the starter itself with a hammer while you're trying to crank it over?
Automatic or manual? (assuming it's an automatic) Try putting it in neutral and cranking it over? Probably won't do anything different, but it's one more thing to rule out.


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## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

jdgrotte said:


> If you can turn the crank pulley by hand, likely it's not seized up. I can turn both of my GA16DE's by hand fairly easily (not to say it's a piece of cake, but it's doable).
> Sounds to me like your battery cable ends and/or your battery terminals themselves are crap.
> When you turn on 'everything' (lights, heater, step on the brake pedal, crank up the radio, turn on the wipers, and so on), what does the battery voltage read?
> Where did you buy the new starter? Reman? Genuine Nissan part or an 'Autozone wanna-be"?
> ...


It is an automatic.... I didn't think a car would crank unless it was in park? I actually ohm'ed out the hear selector micro-switch thinking it might not be sensing the gearshift was in part... checks good.

I will try the items you mentioned tomorrow and report back...I've inspected all of the connections, but I will actually unbolt/undo and clean.

To answer your question, yes it was an autozone "wanna-be".... 

Also, shorting the posts on the solenoid with a large screwdriver produces a spark but no cranking.

Regards, Joe


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## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

thanks for the Factory SM link... I will inspect this as well.

Regards, Joe


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Automatic transmission vehicles, for the most part, will crank in either park or neutral (i.e. the neutral safety switch should really be called the 'park/neutral safety switch).
Starter = Autozone "wanna-be" and the spark with no crank almost REEKS of typical Autozone high quality parts...or maybe not. Might be that you'll be pulling that starter back out and taking it back for a replacement.


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## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

jdgrotte said:


> Automatic transmission vehicles, for the most part, will crank in either park or neutral (i.e. the neutral safety switch should really be called the 'park/neutral safety switch).
> Starter = Autozone "wanna-be" and the spark with no crank almost REEKS of typical Autozone high quality parts...or maybe not. Might be that you'll be pulling that starter back out and taking it back for a replacement.



Had a win and a FAIL this morning.... 

I hooked the jumper cable from the hot terminal of the batter to the hot on the starter and was able to actually start the thing.

So this tells me its not locked up and there's a cable problem between the hot and the starter.

Then I proceeded to produce a freaking spark at the hot terminal of the battery and the entire electrics went dead! I'm off to troubleshoot this, but I don't have a good feeling as i've read that a spark here is not a good thing 

Regards, Joe


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## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

Huh.... After checking a few schematics in the service manual and drinking some coffee, all the electrics are back. ?? I'm guessing something reset itself? 

Looks to be a Power Cabling problem and i'll go down that road first.

Regards, Joe


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## doughboy09bravo (Mar 5, 2011)

PLEASE let me know what you found out. I have my 99 Sentra in the shop right now for the same issue. I bought it and was told it needed a starter. Luckily its a 5 speed so we pop started it. I drove it home and decided that it was to cold to do it in my garage. Went to my mechanic and we put it in with no luck. Had the exact same problems as you. The only thing different is that it kicked out and did a series of clicks like a dead battery would. I tried putting his jump starter on it and no difference. He looked at the terminals and thought that one was bad so he replaced it. Still nothing. It was late on a Friday so we are going to wait till tomorrow. If you figure it out please post on here so we all know! Thanks man and good luck!


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## CBJoe (Feb 28, 2011)

doughboy09bravo said:


> PLEASE let me know what you found out. I have my 99 Sentra in the shop right now for the same issue. I bought it and was told it needed a starter. Luckily its a 5 speed so we pop started it. I drove it home and decided that it was to cold to do it in my garage. Went to my mechanic and we put it in with no luck. Had the exact same problems as you. The only thing different is that it kicked out and did a series of clicks like a dead battery would. I tried putting his jump starter on it and no difference. He looked at the terminals and thought that one was bad so he replaced it. Still nothing. It was late on a Friday so we are going to wait till tomorrow. If you figure it out please post on here so we all know! Thanks man and good luck!


@ jdgrotte - thanks for the help and info... it will come in handy for the future.

Issue has been resolved. Combination of bad grounding from the battery and corrosion at the positive cable clamp.

I'm a little mad at myself for not ruling out that earlier, but it was a lesson learned. His original starter gear was pretty chewed up anyway, so it wasn't completely a waste. I'll just keep fingers crossed that the Autozone Starter will last.

Regards, Joe


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

Just keep that receipt in the glove box for the replacement starter you might be getting for free before the warranty is up...
Actually, I keep a pouch in the truck with all that sort of stuff in it. It's come in handy more than once.


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## doughboy09bravo (Mar 5, 2011)

Great! thank you so much for the info. Glad you got it solved. I will mention this to him tomorrow as well. Have a good one!


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

I gotta say, you go in to a mechanic, and tell him what you think is wrong and how he should fix it, maybe that mechanic won't be so eager to get in there and look for what is really wrong and do what really needs to be done.
Think about it for a minute...would you want some clown like me, telling you what I think you should be doing and how you should go about doing it?
Just a thought... I work avionics on large aircraft. I love it when pilots try to explain a problem and what I should do to fix it...'cause 99.99999999999% of the time, they're dead wrong.


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## doughboy09bravo (Mar 5, 2011)

Understandable, very good point. I know I hate when parents that have no wrestling experience try to tell me how a move should be when I'm teaching kids how to wrestle. This guy is usually pretty good with my antique car but with these newer ones he has always told me he is open for suggestions.


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## doughboy09bravo (Mar 5, 2011)

We figured out my issue as well and thought I would share with you guys. The POS autozone starter was built wrong! The solenoid was wired backwards. I brought it back, went to a Nissan Dealer and got the correct one. We popped it in and shes a runner!!! Mental note to self, spend the extra $$ for REAL parts!


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## jdg (Aug 27, 2009)

That's absotively posilutely nuts!
So much for "Quality Control" these days eh?
Gotta wonder how it passed the operation check before it got boxed up and sent out...


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## doughboy09bravo (Mar 5, 2011)

I wonder if they know what quality control even is! My mech couldnt believe it! We bench tested it and figured out pretty quickly what the issue was.


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