2008 Rogue S will not start when cold outside

[dtuttle]

Hello all, New here. I joined to see if anyone out there had any insight on the issue that I am having. It has me so confused. I have a 2008 Nissan Rogue S. The car has 195000 miles on it and a new CVT transmission back in the spring. When I got the car back I had no issues until cold weather came. Anything over 40 degrees outside, the car will start with no problems. Anything under 40 and it will not. The engine will spin without issues but it will not fire. I replaced the battery and cable ends with no relief. Now here is the confusing thing, the battery voltage is 12.7vdc. The car will turn over very fast but no fire. If I put jumper cables on it from another car, it will start on first spin, but only if the voltage from the other car is at least 13.5vdc. So the other car has to be running. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? What could be affected by the temperature in a way that it has to have at least 13.5vdc to function? Thanks for any and all responses.

[VStar650CL]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of possibilities. Spinning fast implies that it isn't getting either spark or fuel, and it wouldn't be the first fuel pump to get cranky when cold. To rule that in or out, spray some Brakleen or carb cleaner down the intake when it misbehaves. If it lights right off, suspect a weak fuel pump, low pump voltage caused by a crappy pump relay, or a corroded connector at the pump. If fuel doesn't help, pull a plug and see if it has spark. If not, you could have a crappy ECM relay, a dying cam or crank sensor (they're known to misbehave with temperature), or if it's a steel-key ignition, then maybe a crappy ignition switch.

[dtuttle]

Ok thanks for the info I will check fuel supply first, then spark if fuel is ok and go from there.

[dtuttle]

Ok, this morning was 28 degrees outside and car would not start. I sprayed a very small amount of brake kleen into the air cleaner and it fired up. I guess a new fuel pump is in order. I will check the relay first I guess. Thanks for the advice.

[VStar650CL]

You're most welcome. You should pop the lid at the pump to check everything, compare the voltage when the pump tries to spin to the static voltage with the pump disconnected. If the voltage drops horrendously when the pump is connected, then the problem is resistance upstream and you should look at the relay and wiring. If it only drops a little then the issue is the pump itself or the pump ground. Inspect the harness connector carefully for a blackened socket on the ground pin, it's very common for a dying pump to draw enough current to heat up the ground connector. If it's black, use Deoxit to clean off the crud and then apply dielectric grease before plugging it into the new pump. The grease is critical because the contact plating will be damaged, so it will corrode all over again if left unprotected.