Starting problem

k11TZZ

k11TZZ

Hi all
Hoping someone could point me in the right direction. For some time ive noticed a starting problem with my 2001 1.4 se+. Its always fine starting when its cold, but every so often when i try to restart it when its been running for a while, it will initialy turn over slowley, then turn over ok and start. It has never failed to start and runs fine. Yesterday it had been running for about 3/4 hour, then it was left for about 10 minuits and when i tried to start it it just made a clicking sound, didnt seem to turn over. This went on for about 6 attempts until i thought it wasd actualy dead, then it turned over and started fine, ran fine, and got me home. This morning i went out to it and it started fine. Anyone got any ideas before my impecably reliable micra leaves me stranded somewhere?
 
ok cheers for that, sounds possable, it certainly adds up. it'll give me something to do tomorrow. Im ok with most cars fitted with carbs and points, but when it comes to electro gizmos, im pretty stuffed. Fingers crossed.
 
I checked all connections and didn't have much in the way of problems, until this morning when it just didn't want to start. Started fine first thing, got it hot after 1hr of driving, left it for 5 mins, wouldn't turn over, no chance, gave up in the end and went indoors. Everything else works fine, but it wont start. After being left for about 1/2hr or so it started. So now i recon its the starter motor, and having researched how to do it, i've found that it seems to be a bit of a pig to do, right down the back of the engine under the manifold. Stupid place to put it! Having been used to having the starter at the front of the engine nice and easy to do.
Anyone got any tips on how to do it? Luckily i've got a rusty 40,000 mile micra on the drive so i can take the starter off it, just means i've got to do the whole thing twice!
 
Jack up and put on axle stands. It's the just about taking your time as it's plain awkward to swap the starter motor, if that's what's wrong. It's not difficult though.
 
cheers smith, now that ive had a proper look from underneath, it does look easy enough. Having said that, my car has a/c and the top bolt looks like a pig!
Ive checked everything i can and the symptoms are still there. This morning i changed the ignition switch over from the xreg scrapper as a last resort before i do the starter, and once again it didnt cure it. I then took the battery off my car and put it on the scrapper, and it sprung into life. This is when i noticed that even when mine starts, it does spin over slightly slower than the scrapper (mabie because mine is a 1.4 and the scrapper is a 1.0?) but id assume the starter is on its last legs.
Ive put the 1.0 Xreg up on ramps to get the starter off, but before i commit myself to slapping it on my car does anyone know if the starter on a Xreg 1.0 is the same as that on a 51plate 1.4? it seems that there are different starters on micras, but im not sure if its an age thing or a engine size difference.
 
goddamn quick reply cheers frank! That means that the starters are the same then, they are both down the back of the engine.
Can i assume that its something to do with nissan moving the starter when they fitted powersteering or something?
 
its for the coilpack flywheel i think mate, where the crank sensor ring is in the way of the starter

54341.jpg
 
got the starter off the scrapper, had to remove the inlet manifold bracket to lower the starter down. Wont get a chance to fit it tomorrow, ill have to hope it hold out until next week
 
id love it to be a battery issue, nice and easy, but the car can be left for days and will start first time, and if i put the battery on another car, it literaly spins over and springs into life.
 
Fixed it! Firstly sorry davyboy for discrediting your suggestion, but because the battery started my scrapper ok i assumed it was ok. Yesterday i trued starting the car hot, wouldnt start, then i jump started it off another battery and it started, switched it off, turned the headlights on and tried it, it started. Removed the jump leads, headlights on, wouldnt turnover. Popped over to halfords and had the battery tested and it was showing 210 amps. So bought a yuasa 430 amp battery and now it spins over like a top. Just wish id done it in the first place instead of faffing about taking the starter off the other car, but at least ive got a spare one now :rolleyes: Also, it might be my imagination but i swear my radio sounds better now??
Now thats out of the way i need to look at the rear brakes as i had an advisery on the mot, and change the drive belt, while im doing that im going to look at removing the non-aircon stuff off the scrapper and rip the aircon off mine, i never use it anyway. I doubt that going to be straight forward.

Thanks again to all for your help and advice:cool:
 
k11TZZ said:
Fixed it! Firstly sorry davyboy for discrediting your suggestion, but because the battery started my scrapper ok i assumed it was ok. Yesterday i trued starting the car hot, wouldnt start, then i jump started it off another battery and it started, switched it off, turned the headlights on and tried it, it started. Removed the jump leads, headlights on, wouldnt turnover. Popped over to halfords and had the battery tested and it was showing 210 amps. So bought a yuasa 430 amp battery and now it spins over like a top. Just wish id done it in the first place instead of faffing about taking the starter off the other car, but at least ive got a spare one now :rolleyes: Also, it might be my imagination but i swear my radio sounds better now??
Now thats out of the way i need to look at the rear brakes as i had an advisery on the mot, and change the drive belt, while im doing that im going to look at removing the non-aircon stuff off the scrapper and rip the aircon off mine, i never use it anyway. I doubt that going to be straight forward.

Thanks again to all for your help and advice:cool:
Click to expand...
No problem buddy - it's fixed - YAY !!!!
 
Well, after using the car for a while the problem reappeared, I stopped to get fuel when the car was hot, got fuel, got in the car, wouldntnt turn over. Sat there like a lemon for 20 mins or so, then it turns over and fires straight away. In the next couple of weeks it seems that the problem has returned completly, i could only do one journey as the car started fine when it was cold, nothing when it was hot. So i figured it has to be the starter at fault, and buying the battery (with more ampage) was enough to cover up the problem until the starter motor got even more tired. So I dug out the starter id taken off the scrapper and chucked the car up on some ramps. Luckily my uncle was around to lend a hand because it took two to get it off and refit it, which was enough of a fiddle to just take it off the scrapper, let alone refitting it to a car with aircon, like mine. We just about had the right tools to remove it, happy days, but when it came to trying to fit it back up there OH MY DEAR GOD WHY MAKE IT SO DIFFICULT!. But we got there in the end, and followed it up with a massive chinese takaway

Something of note was when we removed to old starter and had the two side by side they looked completly different, they fitted the same but the castings were different. Soon realised that the duff one on my car was a Valeo, and the good one off the (older) scrapper was a Bosch. The interesting thing was the Bosch one had Nissan, and the Nissan logo and various numbers stamped into the body of it, the Valeo one doesnt, it just has a sticker. Id trust that the Bosch one is better than the Valeo, and by the way it seems to want the chuck the engine out of the engine bay when it turns over, considerably more powerful. We also noted that the Valeo motor can be turned by hand, the bosch one wouldnt budge. All in all, im pretty convinced that its problem sorted, though i havnt tested it when hot. I also feel quite bloated.
 
Bosch did a lot of bespoke stuff for Nissan. The throttle body and all the associated sensors are just some of the parts they made.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
I figured that the bosch one might have been the 'standard' part, but with mine being a very late one it might have been that they ran out of bosch ones and ordered a batch of cheaper ones to get them out the door.
With that sorted im giving it a service today. Its currently got 5w30 in it, and always has done as far as im aware but im going to put some 10w40 in it. Now that its done almost 100k and summers comming it kind of makes sence.
 
Now that ive taken the car out for a drive since doing the oil i think im going to go back to 5w30. It certainly feels more sluggish with the 10w40, I didnt think it would make that much difference that id notice it, but it does. Its a 1.4 so id like to get the most out of it.
 

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