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Nissan Maxima Electrical Issues

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Comments

  • majorplusmajorplus Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1996 Nissan Maxima. It is an automatic transmission. It is a very good car, but sometimes when I drive it maybe 10 miles and then go to the store or somewhere for 10 minutes I come out and my car will not crank. It turns over so it isn't the battery. It also smells like gas very bad and I have white smoke coming out of the mufflers. It has... See more also been stalling out when I stop at traffic. When it stalls out it takes me about 5 - 15 minutes to get it started again. I have taken it to 2 mechanics and they have no idea what is going on with my car.I have also run a scan & I have replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, (2)crank shaft sensors. Pls, Let me know what you think the problem could be. Thanks
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    edited May 2010
    Here again, someone has to pounce on the car WHEN it's in this no-start mood. Then you can check as to what is possibly missing from the equation of gas + spark + compression.

    I'm wondering if you have one or more misbehaving fuel injectors which are dumping fuel into the cylinders---in essence, flooding your car's engine with excess gas.

    Another possibility is that spark is disappearing randomly.

    Intermittent problems ARE very difficult--but there's no sense testing the car while it's running right.

    My only other thought is that if there are no codes, then you have to suspect those components that don't THROW codes----and many of these are fuel related.
  • fizz1fizz1 Member Posts: 3
    On my 2001 is between the passenger headlight and the prestone bottle. It's a beige box. I had a similiar problem and i took it out and redid the solders. They were cold solders. After this all went fine.
  • ractuner99ractuner99 Member Posts: 1
    I have the same problem. My 2000 Maxima SE has 205.000 miles on it and started fine until about a year ago. Every once and a while the car would have trouble starting but nothing to serious...about two weeks ago the car started to need 2+ cranks to start...then got to the point where I had to try it 12 times to get it to start. I put SEAFOAM in the gas tank to clean the injectors,. and that seemed to help the problem but not solve it. Took it to a Mechanic and was told it was most likely the starter or ignition switch, The starter is 100.000 miles old, I have a new alternator, spark plugs look ok, ignition coils are ok. battery is ok and so are the terminals... I don't really have any sugestions but it is a common problem..HELP I don;t know if its worth fixing at this point, its a great car and well kept
  • fizz1fizz1 Member Posts: 3
    My fuel, speedometer, odometer, rpm, temperture gauges are acting up. No fuse problem. don't seem t have a ground problem. Is my problem the cluster itself?
  • grady_iiigrady_iii Member Posts: 1
    My AC blower motor on my '99 Maxima with automatic air is working intermittently. When the motor isn't working, the security system also appears to be inoperable, based on the fact that the system warning chimes don't sound off. Any help locating the common ground to these 2 systems is greatly appreciated.
  • bdbrooksy1bdbrooksy1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a love/hate deal going on with the wife's maxima. Here's the deal:
    P1320 regularly and 0301 one time. I'm already VERY familiar with the ignition coil scenario on this POS, so I check cylinder 1 by disconnecting the ignition coil while its acting up(running rough). This didn't seem to be the issue, so I did the same for the other 5 with no luck. So then I decided to replace all of the plugs with NGK platinums since its been a while. Once I did that, it REALLY started running badly, so I decided to buy 1 autozone coil and try it in cylinder 1--well that didn't work and it seemed to run even rougher so I went back to the original OEM coil. So we have kept driving it and the engine light went from just being on to flashing randomly(not all the time) and it seems to be misfiring like crazy/getting worse.
    Now, here's the strange part--if its running really rough, sometimes I can shut it off and restart it and it will run absolutely fine for the rest of that trip! Of course the light stays on. Then next time I start it, its a disaster again. This only works 1 out of every 20 times.
    It has roughly 155K on it and I'd like to keep it running since I have another baby OTW. Thanks for any suggestions! If your fix works, I'll send you money for a case of your favorite booze--within reason!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I'd take a chance on a crankshaft positioning sensor for these symtoms/codes.

    It's only a guess, since I don't have the car in front of me, but it's a very plausible guess. And you can deduct the cost of the sensor from my booze if I'm wrong :)
  • bdbrooksy1bdbrooksy1 Member Posts: 2
    Joe--Thanks for the advice. When I lookup the CPS for the maxima it lists a Front and Rear--would I replace just one or both?
    Thanks!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    If I had to guess about that, I'd replace the REF one, that's on the upper oil pan and faces the crankshaft pulley. You're makin' me squirm here because that's a $90 part isn't it?
  • bamaslim111bamaslim111 Member Posts: 2
    Gauges Fuel and gas gauge not working
    brake lite on
    all service lites on
    car runs fine
  • charles66charles66 Member Posts: 1
    wow i am experiencing the same problem and even my car would not beep when i lock it.the most painful thing is that,the very day my windows rolled down by themselves is was raining and inside my car is supper wet.were u able to fix the problem and if u dont mind what was it.
  • bamaslim111bamaslim111 Member Posts: 2
    It was A/c amp meter............car fix
  • daveman916daveman916 Member Posts: 1
    So I just bought a 2001 maxima and I am having the same problem. I drive mine for like five miles and then the car seems to bog out and the service lights including the ABS, Air bag, overdrive, sealbelt lights all came on and were flashing. The headlights were also flashing. Then the car stalled out and wouldn't start. It seems the alternater is not working but IDK. Please someone help.
  • greenvette1970greenvette1970 Member Posts: 1
    Im not sure if this is the same problem with yours as it is with mine, but my 95 maxima SE 5 speed has been having the same problems. 225k on it. we replaced the cam shaft sensor, the starter, and have had the timing looked at with not possible problems. while replacing the power steering pump, we found that the dynamic balancer (by the front right wheel on our car) had moved out of place, and was shorting out the cam sensor located down there. after we moved it back, the car started first try. then it started having problems again, and sure enough the dynamic balancer had wiggled out of place again. so we jsut move it back when it gives us troubles again. hope this helps!
  • bmark1111bmark1111 Member Posts: 1
    2004 Nissan Maxima SE3.5. Recently the climate control fan started to blow at full power all the time. Even if I turn everything off it still blows. Other than the fan the controls seem to work.

    Any ideas on what could be going on.

    Thanks for any help.
  • surfnturf247surfnturf247 Member Posts: 1
    It's probably the climate control fan's resistor. It happened to me a while back. The part isn't too expensive and it's an easy fix, located just under the passenger side glove compartment. Good luck.
  • coachdb22coachdb22 Member Posts: 1
    Just wondering if you were ever able to have your problem resolved and if so how. :confuse:
  • kerry14kerry14 Member Posts: 1
    Hi - I have a 1995 Nissan Cefiro that has a starting problem. It only occurs after I have made two trips in reasonably short space of time. When I try to start it a third time, after about a half hour delay sine the second trip, the motor turns over but will not start. If I then leave it for an hour, it will start straight away. This pattern has been re-occurring for the past few weeks. The garage has replace the battery and overhauled the starter motor and the computer has been twice checked by Nissan, but no faults show up, and the problem remains. Any idea how the problem can be fixed?
  • madmaxownermadmaxowner Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima and I went to start my car and it turns over then stalls. I kept trying and if I catch the gas when its still running I could give gas and keep on but if I take my foot off the gas it stalls. Then I got it to start and tried to drive and smoke came from under the passenger dash and smelled like burning wires. Now it will not turn over at all. I was told to have the Caltalytic converter checked since my o2 senser was bad, but the diagnostics reader is not getting read outs from the engine. The car computer is not talking to the dia. computer. Any ideas??? I make just made my last payment, go figure!
  • swat09swat09 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 01 Nissan Maxima SE. I bought the car brand new off the lot with 5 miles on it. Recently, the vehicle began to have issues. My battery kept dying, so I bought I new one for $150. The new battery went dead again. I was advise to change the alternator which I did. My battery was still not picking up any charge. I was told that the alternator was bad again, so my mechanic replaced it again at no charge. The issue continued. My battery was not picking up any charge. I was running directly from the battery. I was told that it was an electrical issue. I took the car to another place and I was told that it would $90 to check out the electrical issue. The facility came back that I needed to change the mother board / Circuit board which it was fried according to them. These are my questions: Where is the circuit board located on a 01 Maxiama? Can the circuit board cause such issue? How much does a circuit board cost? Does the circuit board have to be reprogrammed? Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Not sure WHAT they're talking about here.

    Have you checked #30 fuse in the junction box? Has anyone checked the Letter A fusible link, and the #70 fuse in the fusible link box?

    Does the red "no charge" light remain on while you're driving? Does it work when you merely turn the key to the "ON" position?

    If your mechanic cannot answer these questions, take it somewhere else would be my recommendation.
  • delfwin1978delfwin1978 Member Posts: 2
    Hello All
    I have an 1997 Nissan Maxima with 248000 miles on it that has just started having problems starting after the car has reached opp temp. If you shut the car off and restart after a few mins its just fine. If you leave it set over 45min to an hour it will not restart till the car has cooled all the way off.
    I just replaced plugs, map sensor, knock sensor and fuel filter. there are no check engine codes at the moment. i have no idea of what could be wrong now. any one have any idea or has had simm. problems
    thanks andrew
  • john6877john6877 Member Posts: 1
    I have 2001 nissan maxima, car works fine and after driving 100 miles when i stop for shopping n came out and start my car its not starting. Autozone person checked battery and said its 100% charge but displyaing bad battery in his check. He tried for jump start bt didn't start and making click click click noise. after 1 hour I did jump start wid my friend and it started. After start i turn on head light and car is going to slow and looks like to stop so i just turn off head lights and turn on emergency lights and drove 100 miles again and reach home.
    so can someone help me in this. Is this battery related problem or alternator or startup..?
  • asecertifiedasecertified Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2011
    dont know if yoy have got it fixed yet but sounds as if your cars ecm is gone out they are real bad about burning up in the maxima have had to change a bunch of them the iac valve on the throttle body is what causes the short that burns them out you can pull the ecm out and take the 4 screws out on both sides and see if the computer board is burnt usually easy to see if bad replace both iac valve and computer if you dont it will short out again the computer is the smoke you seen from under dash
  • shockman54shockman54 Member Posts: 1
    its the fuse that powers the clock and apparently the audio system. those are the only systems that are affected it seems. where should i start with diagnostics?
  • ronnejonne4452ronnejonne4452 Member Posts: 2
    Good afternoon Mr _ Shiftright. I read several post on here, and I think your response to swat09, is similar to some of the issues I experiencing. My issues is my maxima will not hold a charge. The problem started in 07, the driver window stop moving up and down. I was told the I need to replace the motor in the window. Shortly after replacing the driver motor, all of the other windows quit on me. Times being hard, I just left them up and used the driver window. In 09, the driver motor failed again, and so I just road around with all windows up, of course using air and heat as needed. Early 2010, something electrical happened and I purchased a new battery. After 4 days of having the new battery, I needed to jump the car off again. I drove daily for my job, so as long as I was driving the car would not need to be jumped off. I became sick for several weeks not driving the car, and when I became better I needed to jump the car again. of course the more I drove the, the less I would need to jump the car off. Took it to nissan and and they told me I needed a new alternator. I replaced the alternator and battery, and in 4 days I needed to jump the car off again. A close friend of mine said something electrical is going on in the car. There is something that's on in the car that's killing the my battery and Alternator. Nissan is asking 1500-2000 to diagnose where the electrical problem is occurring.

    Any suggestions
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well electrical ghosts can be a tricky business to diagnose, especially from a distance where one hesitates to tell someone else to attach this wire to that one, thereby burning down the garage :P

    BUT......

    I suspect you have a parasitic drain, and it's possible that this drain might be affecting other systems as well as the alternator and battery. They are obviously under stress.

    Anyway, for starters, why don't you look over THIS TUTORIAL on battery drains and how to solve them.
  • ronnejonne4452ronnejonne4452 Member Posts: 2
    Absolutely amazing!!! I Google parasitic drain and it provided a video. the guy speaking, I felt like he had read my post!!!
  • eroc30eroc30 Member Posts: 1
    hi,was just wondering if you solved your starting issue.I have the same problem.
  • johnnieljohnniel Member Posts: 1
    my headlight has gone out I took it to auto zone bought a new light and the guy could not figure out how to take the light out on my 2004 maxima it is the high difinition lights does anyone know how to get it out and also my radio has ouit and my navagator and heat then every little bit the radio comes on and everything begins to work for a few minutes and then radio goes off and every thing quits again any sugestions
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Bulb Replacement

    HEADLAMP
    Disconnect negative battery cable.
    Turn the plastic cap counterclockwise to unlock it from the combination lamp.
    Turn the bulb socket counterclockwise to unlock it.
    Unlock the retaining spring and remove the bulb from the combination lamp.
    Install in reverse order of removal.
    CAUTION: After installing the bulb, be sure to install the plastic cap securely to ensure watertightness.
  • leeleesnjleeleesnj Member Posts: 1
    1999 Maxima has elec prob trying to diag. Brake lights stay on only when headlights are on at night. Changed brake switch already. When brake pedal is depressed at night, front yellow parking lights come on, interior panel lights go dim and brake lights only slightly increase in brightness but remain on when brake pedal pressure removed. When I depress brake very slightly, I hear a clicking sound that can be heard under the gear shifter in the center console. Any ideas as to what problem(s) may exist and how to repair???
    Thanks for feedback. :confuse: :confuse: :cry:
  • tenactenac Member Posts: 2
    edited June 2013
    :mad: :confuse: :sick: I am the owner of a 1991 Nissan maxima sedan, recently my brake lights would not go off, I changed the brake switch, no change,so I pulled the fuse so not to wear down the battery, well now my audio system don't work,fuse is good, ( I have 2 extra wires coming out of fuse panel, not too sure where they are to hook in at)also the clock only work's when it want's too,any clues as to what is going on here? the car runs pretty good for 163,000 miles on it, ran better before I got new plugs n wires put on, also whenever I hit a bump in the road, there is a clank noise coming from the driver's side front, I replaced the tie rod, any clue as to what that is?
    I am on a fixed income and brought the car with me from Florida, and it seems like I am replacing a lot of stuff on it already, have put over $3,000 in it already, and have been ripped off from Machanic in Virginia, :mad: please can anyone help.? Tenac
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    On many cars there is a "pedal stopper pad" and if this falls out, that could also cause your brake light switch to stay on.

    You might crawl back under there and see if there's a hole in the pedal stem rather than a stopper.
  • nissanhelp05nissanhelp05 Member Posts: 1
    I'm having these same issues. Did you ever find out what was causing the headlight to turn off and the radio/clock issues?? Mine turns on, freezes, then un freezes. Headlight turns on when it wants to. Very strange. Help!! :)
  • tenactenac Member Posts: 2
    It was do to a bad fuse, n wire, all fixed, as for the radio the face plate was not pushed all the way in....lol :blush: all issues are fixed, It could be a bad connection in the fuse panel, good luck ;)
  • howard80howard80 Member Posts: 1
    Hello,
    The symptom is that once the car starts moving, the speedometer goes to 41mph and just stays there. The odometer works and there are no other electrical problems that I can see.

    I have read many of the forum posts and have already disassembled the dashboard, tightened the four brass screws on the back of that console.
    I have already replace the speedometer sensor and $132 later still no joy.

    Is it time to replace the entire console?

    What do you think?
    thx
    Howard80
  • kr4kr4 Member Posts: 1
    My 2003 Maxima SE (6-speed manual shift) stopped working while driving on the freeway. I opened the hood to find smoke and flames. I put the flames out with water (should've used a fire extinguisher but had to act fast.) Apparently my alternator cable harness shorted and caught fire. We replaced the alternator and harness and now I am having electrical problems. Brake and battery dash lights flicker and then stay on. I can live with that. But now I occasionally lose power to the throttle when moving slowly in 1st or 2nd gear. Car stays on but has no power.

    Any ideas what it could be?
  • firstyankeefanfirstyankeefan Member Posts: 4
    After a 5 minute visit to this dealership - the mechanics managed to 'Fix' my car so that i would need to have thousands of dollars of service on it.
    First they told me i had to purchase a nissan battery - then i would need my
    Dashboard replaced and a new sunroof motor and switches and they would have to
    Keep my car for almost 6 months before they could find a gas gauge/odometer
    Suitable for my car. This all because my battery was failing and I was driving when it happened. Drove right into Sears - and replaced the battery with the top of their line. Little did I know that the sunroof, systems indicators, gas gauge to mention a few things - all stopped working. What did they say... "you needed to purchase a Nissan Battery".. my response - Nissan does not make batteries, and I was on the road when this happened and this is general maintenance of my vehicle. Then they said to bring it in - the first thing they told me was it was "out of warranty" - any excuse - then they said the whole dashboard has to come out and be replaced...
    If you look on the internet - there are thousands of people that are suffering from the same problem - Nissan needs a recall - mind you - all because the battery was replaced... well Nissan - you need a recall - because everyone replaces their own battery - recall all the years that cause problems with battery removal -
    Then the dealership called me one day to offer me a $9.98 oil change. After it was done - they charged me more than $35.00 - they knew I was there for the special oil change - and what the Manager said - when I checked the amount on my bill was "well, you were supposed to tell your service man why you were here, and what we offered. Remember - I walked into service and they knew I was expected and for what - they are liars and cheats. When I called back the manager - he told me he would give me a $30 credit on my account. Now, they will not even return my calls.
    not even for parts information.
    No I would never go back here again - never buy a Nissan again (I've had 5 Nissans, 3 Maxima's) and I will tell everyone one I know to go down the block to Bill Tyson Automotive in Royal Palm Beach instead. 561-753-6122 - they will help you and they are honest people.
    >
    > bill tyson automotive - undid the damage in just a few moments - and i now
    Have a great place to go for my 2007 nissan maxima se -
    > and
    > i can trust them too.
    > thanks guys - your the best!!!!
  • ymo1987ymo1987 Member Posts: 1
    hey I hav a 91 maxima with the buttons on the handles. I put a new battery in and everything works but my indicator keeps flashing like an alarm its getting annoying
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    which "indicator"?
  • jsaiz1jsaiz1 Member Posts: 1
    My 97 maxima starts, stays running, good fuses, but there's no lights, power Windows,stereo, wipers working. Replaced the battery, alternater and computer. The problem still persists. What could the problem be?
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