Having Trouble Starting

[jbrobertson]

Hello everyone,

My 1995 Nissan 240sx is having trouble starting. A few months ago, I replaced the battery and ever since then it has had an extended start time. The engine has to turn over an extra four or five seconds before it will start. Sometimes the car won't start at all, no matter how long I turn it over for. This is intermittent. I took the car to a repair place and they said it would start up fine every time. They replaced the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs and sent me on my way. It didn't fix the problem. Most recently, my car would not start Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon but this morning (Thursday) it started. I also tried roll starting it but this wouldn't work either. I don't smell gas when I try to start it so I'm thinking it could possibly be fuel related but the repair shop said fuel pressure was fine. Could it be something electrical related to the fuel system or some other type of electrical problem?

Does anyone have an idea about what might be wrong with it?

Thanks in advance.

[breadbox]

did they test your battery cables? old a** grounds can cause wierd starting issues. The ignition switch can also cause faulty starting problems.

[jbrobertson]

I would think they would test that. The cables look pretty good though. I don't have my battery secured and my dad keeps telling me vibration is going to ruin my cables but my battery doesn't move around that much and I don't think there was a brace on the car when I got it.

If it were a problem with getting power from the battery wouldn't the starter on turn on at all?

[jbrobertson]

Thanks for the advice with the ingition switch. Is there a way to test that myself? I'd prefer doing my own work if possible but I don't want to replace things, wasting time and money, if it won't fix the problem. Thanks again for your response.

[breadbox]

1991-1994-240sx-ignition-switch-lock-as ... 32827.html

But get a battery tie down for for real. Or make your own.

Just because the cable looks okay and is there doesn't mean electricity is passing through it as much as it should be.

[jbrobertson]

What do you suggest I use to make my own?

[breadbox]

piece of wood/metal, all thread and some hardware.

Or just go get the kit which has the posts and once the rubber one(tie down) dies in a year replace it with wood or metal and keep using the hardware from the kit.

[waxdnuggz]

Pull your fuel line off and put the end into a gatorade bottle and have someone turn the key. See if gas comes out, new go to harbor freight or advanced or whatever you have around there and get a cheap spark tester connect it between your dizzy and coil 95 I like still has the external coil pack? If its not that look in the fsm for grounding points all tho usually you will have a rough running engine with hesitation when you push the gas and like a putter sound. Has the temp or humidity changed rapidly in those few days it wouldn't start?