# 2000 Sentra won't start



## misterbane (Sep 13, 2010)

Hello all, I am having a major issue and hope that you all can help.

My wife's Sentra is having intermittent starting problems. It is a SE, with the 2.0 I believe, automatic transmission. 

For a good while, when she had the A/C on, her dash would quit working. Gauges and everything. She said that's not happening anymore, but now it's something worse.

About a month ago she called me at work and said her car wouldn't start. I left work to pick her up, tried everything I could think of to get the car going, nothing but a buzzing sound under the hood. We went to the auto parts store to buy a starter, since it sounded like it was the problem. Ended up deciding to hold off, just in case it was something else. Went back to the car, I wanted to listen to it again so I could try to describe the sound, boom, it fired right up, but with a horrible grinding noise. Decided it was the starter, so went and got one, and had a friend of mine replace it. All was well.

Until last week..........

She left for work, but stopped for gas on the way. Once she filled up, it wouldn't start. Now, when she turns the key to the acc position, it makes an odd sound. Kind of like a cross between a grind and a buzz. When she turns the key all the way, nothing.

So we have a friend haul it to his garage. I meet him the next morning, turn the key to acc position and ask if he hears the noise. "Nope" he says. I poke my head under the hood, I don't hear anything either. So I hit the key, boom. Fires right up without missing a beat.

He tries to get it to not start, it won't co-operate. The next day he finally gets it to not start, but can't really narrow the problem down. Said he doesn't think it is the starter, since it starts sometimes. Doesn't think it's the neutral safety switch either. He is going to climb underneath it as soon as he can with a test light and check some things, but I was hoping someone here would have some ideas of things I could have him check.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!!

Sorry for the long winded first post, but I wanted to try to get as much info in as possible.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

I would check to see if there are any codes first... might shorten the hunt


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## joeer77 (Aug 31, 2009)

*Battery*

You already replaced the starter. Did you check the battery too? If not you need to pull the battery out, take it to Autozone/Checker and have them check the battery. Cars will intermittently start as the battery goes out.


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## misterbane (Sep 13, 2010)

Looks like a bum solenoid on the starter. My buddy put a jump box to the starter, it turned fine, but once he put it to the solenoid, it wouldn't move the shaft.

Returned the old one, he's going to put the "new" one on tomorrow, hopefully that fixes it right up.

Joys of buying re manufactured parts I guess.


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