Hey everyone,

my car has been having problems starting lately, and i've taken it to two mechanics now and no one can seem to figure out whats wrong with it and i really need some help. Here's the deal- about 1 out of every 5 time, when i turn the key, the car just continuously keeps cranking, but wont start. and its not that cranking that sounds like the battery is dying- its a strong continuous cranking. i thought it was the battery so we changed it, and no luck. Now heres the weird part- when i connect a "jumper pack" to "jump start" the car, it will turn over and start just fine. i took it to sears where i got the battery and they had like 5 guys look at it for over an hour and no one could figure it out. neither could my mechanic. im really lost here and would greatly appreciate any help anyone can give. thanks!

 

are you hearing the fuel pump prime the motor every time before you start?

 

Just hearing that connecting a jumper pack to it leads me to belive it has something to do with fire or spark. I would start by taking a look at the distributor cap and work from there.

 

Ahh the vq as well as most all engines dont have dist caps anymore.

 

WOW! Showed my age there...I guess I should have pointed him to the ignition system.

 

I let the battery in mine loose it's charge by not starting it for a few weeks, I charged it up and it would crank but not start. I then scanned it with my OBDII scanner and found that it had a code indicating low voltage on the MAF. Once I cleared the code it fired up instantly

 

It's either the new battery you got has been sitting on the shelfs and is dead, or that there a poor connection at the battery.This is that every time you use a jumper box it starts.

 

try changing to your other set of keys -if the key security sensor isn't getting the correct input the car will crank and crank and crank over strong for a very long time...
[ ask me how i know - picked a different set out of the drawer one morning and it never did start til tried my regular set after getting home (used wife's car-> work)] - usually isn't intermittent but that sounds just like what mine did that time -

maybe the sensor in the steering column has a slightly lose connection?

 

thanks for all the input guys! how do i clear the code?

 

Is your SES light one?

Did they pull any codes?

 

my ses light is on but its been on forever now as ive changed my cats and exhaust, and last time it was checked i was told it was a bad 02 sensor so i really dont know if this would have triggered it or not.

 

Hey, im having the same problem. I bought my 2003 350z base about 6 months ago, drove it off the lot, after a week of having it, the car would click and never turn over, then after 5 tries it would finally turn on, it would do this to me randomly twice out of the week and still does, I took it to local shop and had a check done on the electrical system, they said the battery was needing to be replaced, the car has 58k miles on it, so I let them replace it took it home. 3 days later still doing the same thing. THEN i took it to local nissan dealership and had them look at it and they found nothing. Also on a side note, my cigarette lighter stopped working and nissan dealer said the fuse needed to be replaced. THEN 1 of my speakers blew, and the volume was only at 20, stock head unit, I bought the car with the back 2 speakers already not working, now my front driver side dont work, im down to 1 speaker and 2 tweeters in my car. its like whole damn thing is falling apart :-( any input before I trade this in

 

looks like we might have found the problem. my mechanic checked the ses light codes and a few pointed to the chip in the steering column not matching up with the key i was using. i have a viper alarm system, and we both guessed it might have had something to do with it, so we removed it, and for the past week its been starting with no problems at all. so im keeping my fingers crossed that that was the problem thanks to everyone for all your input!