96 Maxima problems starting

I have a 1996 Maxima with 152,000 miles and it has been a dream until recently. I am having problems with the car not starting. We have replaced the battery, alternator, and starter, and the car still has trouble starting. Something appears to be draining the battery down as the car will either not crank at all or crank very slowly. Sometimes it will start eventually but sometimes it won't. Once started the car runs fine. Have now taken it to the dealership twice and they still have not fixed the problem. Any ideas??

Reply to
AprilRain
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Check to make sure nothing inside the car is on ashtray light,gove box,mirror that could cause the battery to drain.Phil

Reply to
Nickle911

Hi,

Here's a problem I had which I have fixed. Maybe the solution will help you.

93 GXE 140k miles

Had nearly 30 days of continuous below-freezing weather where I am, Washington DC suburb. Drove one to local mall a few miles away. Came out after about two hours, battery is completely flat, will not turn engine over. I figured it was the cold weather, many cold starts, heater running constantly, often using headlights, short, start/stop runs.

Called my wife, she brought her car with jumper leads, started OK. Drove the car home and put the battery (only 18 months old) on the charger overnight. Reconnected it next morning, car starts and runs fine. Assumed the problem was solved. Next day I get a call from my wife, Maxima has flat battery outside local library.

Same procedure, jump start then drive home. Took the battery out and put it back on the charger. Left the car till the weekend for further examination.

On the weekend, looked up my Haynes manual. Started doing their charging system checks.

1) All fuses inside car OK 2) All relays under hood OK] 3) Battery open voltage OK 4) Put an ammeter in circuit with the battery (disconnect negative battery terminal and insert ammeter) Found that with the IGNITION OFF there was a 100 milliamp current drain. Haynes says the maximum current drain (considering, clock, radio presets, engine control computer, etc) should be 50 milliamps.

With the ammeter still in circuit I started pulling connectors off the positive battery terminal. As soon as I removed the fuseable link which connects to the alternator main terminal, the current drain dropped to zero.

If in your case it is not the alternator that is producing the current drain then try removing fuses to see if you can find the circuit which is causing the problem.

Al Moodie.

Reply to
Al Moodie

To add to the good advice from "Nickle911" I would also suggest checking for any stuck or malfunctioning (always on) power door switches as well as your security system, if so equipped. You might also check the battery tray to make sure it is free from debris and chemicals that could possibly cause a slight short that is just enough to drain the battery but not cause sparks, smoke or other obvious battery behavior.

Good luck!

Reply to
Rickster

I had a problem where the battery was being drained by a bad relay for the radiator fan. The fan would run forever after I shut down the car until the battery was drained. The fan isn't real loud, so there were times when I was in a noisy place and I didn't notice that it was still running.

- John

Reply to
John Newitt

I can't beleive it, you just described my problem! I have a 96 Maxima with approx. 150,000 miles. About 1 month ago, I tried to start the car, and nothing happened . We hooked it up to the charger and it started and cleaned up the tiny bit of corrosion from the post. It has been running just fine until today. I went to start it and again..NOTHING.., I used the charger & in less than 5 minutes, was able to start it. I drove straight to the local Auto Zone to have them test the battery. (Unfortunatly, there was not enough personnel so, they said to return in an hour). I made 3 more stops and it started perfectly each time. I made

1 last stop before going back to have my battery checked, and I got nothing when I went to start it. I had to have someone jump it off for me, and it took about 10 minutes to even start. The battery tested full at the Auto Store but required a jump start for me to leave. The clerks opinion was that the problem is the cylinoid on the starter. I called my mechaninc and he said probably not the starter. I just dropped my car off and hopefully, tomorrow I will know the problem. I'll be sure to post and let you know what they found, and I'll be checking to see if you found the problem, in case my car isn't fixed.
Reply to
KittenAnne

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