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Jim Grant's Tech Tips'96
Nissan Quest, Random No-Start
Q:
We have recently purchased
a ‘96 Nissan Quest XE/GXE and until recently we were pleased with
the purchase. Then the vehicle would not start. We left it with the dealer
we purchased it from and was advised that it would start and nothing was
wrong with it. We picked up the vehicle and stopped for gas 45 min later
and it would not start again. What could be going on here? They checked
the fuses, battery, alternator and said everything was fine.
- Elizabeth
A:
Your having one of
the most maddening problems for the customer and the technician to deal
with! They’re called intermittent failures. The insane part? The
best-trained technician with the most advanced diagnostic equipment made
cannot tell you what is wrong with your vehicle if it isn’t broken
at the time of testing. When you say the engine is not starting, do you
mean that the starter does not work or that the engine will not run? If
the starter is not working I would suggest inspecting the connections
on the starter closely. Your vehicle is of the right age to have corrosion
on the start/crank signal wire on the starter solenoid, this is the smaller
of the 2 wires to the starter. The corrosion will prevent the engine start/crank
signal from activating the starter. All you need is a small temperature
change, or the ride on a wrecker to suddenly remove the problem, but as
you know that doesn’t fix it. Until your vehicle is broken better
the challenge will be maddening.
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