Well on the way to work this morning my car completely died. The radio wouldnt come on but the hazards still worked No lights flashed up, EVERYTHING cut off. I tried to start the car and nothing. I got out, told this very attractive girl in a civic to go around, she replied by giving me a pitiful look and drove around me while I attempted to push my car (up an incline mind you) off the road. I checked the connections on the battery, everything looks ok, so I tried to start the car again. NOTHING! I kinda sat there in disbelief for a few moments, picked up my cell phone to call my boss, tried to start it again and it finally cranked. A few times in the past my car wouldnt start, wouldnt even turn over; but the radio would still come on. Well I figured it was the battery so last night I replaced it. The car seems to still stuggle to start. Anyone got any ideas?

 

Alternatering going bad maybe? I had the same problem you had in my Mazda Protege5 but it was just the battery, but you already replaced that. Best guess is to go backwards from the battery on checking if things are ok.

 

Sounds like your alternator. If you have a battery jumper it won't take long to find out. On one of those days that it won't start, just hook that sucker up and see if it fires up. If it does than it's probably your alternator. If it doesn't then you might have other issues.

 

im going to clean the connections thoroughly tonight (I noticed they were kind of dirty) and see if that helps at all. How much would a new alternator run me?

 

prob anywhere between 150-250.. and if you want a performance alternator (not needed really unless you have a sound system) you can end up paying anywhere up to 500.

 

found this one for $200...but i dont have fog lights, should that matter?

alternator link

 

just ebay it or get a rebuilt one for cheaper. usually if its your alternator ( i know i just had to replace mine) my battery light was coming on. maybe the starter? try poppin the clutch and see what happens, and check all your fuses under your hood one of those might be loose ive had that happen too. good luck and replacing the alternator is a ***** be warned. you can jack it up and remove the thing that protects the underside of your car or (the easier way) just pull off your intake pipe and get to it from the top. if you need help just pm me. good luck

 

well i just got back in...i hooked up a seperate battery to the one in the car...connected them with a jumper and tried it (car wouldnt start at this time)...nothing. Kept trying, kept trying it finally started. When the car will start though it seems to struggle to turn over. Itll start up, the revs will bounce for a sec. (btw. 1200rpms, down to 400, back up...etc) and then it will come to a constant idle. I took the jumper off and tested for spark...at first it wouldnt spark, stuck them together a few times and got a nice big spark show. So the battery is good. Tried to start it again...it wouldnt...kept trying kept trying and then it would finally, yet sluggishly start. With the car off I turned on the radio, the interior lights, and the headlights all at once, everything was bright and shining. WTF is wrong with my car. Id hate for it not to be the alternator and me waste $$$ I dont have...well i guess i will have to do trial and error anyways. Does this still sound like an alternator problem? I just dont get what an alternator has to do with starting the car except being a strain on the starter (at initial startup anyway. The battery is what makes the starter turn...not the alternator, and seemingly, having two batteries hooked the the car didnt help any at all.


Confused and going to check fuses....

 

doesn't sound like an alternator problem... you might want to check your distributor to see if there's any corrosion on the contacts or maybe... does your starter motor sound funny when you start it up? or does it not turn at all?

 

it does not turn over at all...could it be the ignition coil maybe?

so this morning I had to roll start it again...now the CEL is on, **** just keeps getting worse.

Im looking at the FSM right now and possibilities for this problem could be the

wiring harness
Power transistor (built into the dis.)
Resistor
Camshaft posistion sensor and/or circuit
Iginition coil

I guess Ill have to take a trip to Pepboys and get a Circuit tester and get to work.

 

I think its wiring. Check the lower harness and make sure all the wires are in good condition. Might have some burned up wires. At least check to make sure the wires are good before you just go throwing money away. Good luck

 

see new thread

 

my buddys 240 had a vacume leak and it caused the car not to start and the revs were all over....but i donno about yours

 

^thanks...ill check those as well.

 

i just looked at the battery terminals again. There are two lines running into clips to the right side of the positive terminal. The far right one seems to have melted and there is acid on the wires (exposed wires at that). A guy that was helping me said to try to unplug the power going to the alternator...if it cranks then there is a short in the alternator. There is a short somewhere for sure.

Just called nissan...they dont sell the clips by themselves...Id have to buy a whole new harness ($200)