truck wont start

[the007forum]

My truck has failed to start 3 times in the past week and i am out of ideas.
1. Driving around town all night, park at a house for a couple hours then come back out to my truck at 2am in single degree weather. Everything had power but when i went to start, not a sound. I quickly got some cables put on it and it starts right up with a jump.
2. Park at a store, come out an hour later same thing is happening. Battery is perfectly charged. So i said screw it, and went out to dinner for an hour. When i got back it started right up.
3.I replaced my battery yesterday. I was stuck for a ice covered ditch for two hours. When i finally got it out i parked on some flat ground. 5 minutes later it wouldnt start back up with the same old problems. Not a sound in the engine throughout the whole key turning sequence. Jumper cables had no effect. After rocking it and screwing with it for another 45 minutes i suddenly heard a little noise when i turned the key to the spot before start. Put some cables on and it started up.

Battery: Brand new and clean
Alternator: most likely not an issue because battery gets charged.
Starter: I dont think they randomly decide when they want to live and when to die. maybe a wire leading to it?
Its like my ECM is not telling my truck to start when i turn the key. it doesnt even make an effort and then will randomly start up like normal.Maybe siezing starter? any ideas on where i should be looking?
thanks

[soccerbrace]

Battery Clampssssssssss!!!!!!!! Get Some Brass Ones!

[Allen Cox]

Sounds like the Intelligent Power Distribution Module. The relay for the starter is located in the IPDM I do believe, but I'll double check it.

Manual or Auto?

[the007forum]

Im an automatic..so its not the switch under the pedals. the battery clamps should be fine. Any way i can tet the IPDM? or should i just take it this to the dealer. Im afraid im going to get the response "couldnt recreate the problem, works fine now" response.

[OdiN]

Are you back in G-Town? Give me a shout if you need some help with anything or are stuck out in nowheresville or somethin.

[Allen Cox]

Unfortunately, it could either be the IPDM or the Trans module.

"A" just goes to the starter itself.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj299/cyclemut/startercircuit.jpg

[Allen Cox]

Nothing is serviceable on the IPDM. You can't even replace a blown relay, you have to replace the entire IPDM itself.

[soccerbrace]

Alright, well mine is doing the same thing....Works sometimes, sometimes it barely cranks, and either way, a jump will start it.

[cameron_garrison]

yep mine does it from time to time also

[the007forum]

So am i just bitching? haha. mine wont even crank at all. thanks for the help Allen. If it happens again in the next couple days ill get into Nissan. Otherwise i want to keep my cash. Sadly im stuck in Junction... but i can go back to greeley this weekend.

[pathmaker1]

mine did it in my '92 when it was alive....replaced the starter and problem solved. it went boom soon there after from lack of oil so i dunno if it was the actual problem. with mine though all i had to do is bump the key a couple times and it would start but fired right up every time with the new starter.

been in mud lately?? check the connections to the starter. maybe a loose wire or junk on a wire?

[the007forum]

Well its back. The thing thats killing me is it randomly decides to work. After doing it three times in january it did it to me once at the end of june when i was stuck in the middle of nowhere. After 45 minutes of cleaning cables to no effect it randomly started again. Yesterday i went to crank it and nothing happened; Came back later and it started. Today i went in to get some paperwork from my work. I went back out and same thing. Batttery power is fine but nothing happens when i turn the key. I had to leave it there.

Do starters randomly decide when to not turn over or do they go out for good? I need to start replacing some parts because this wont go away. Allen, that control module sounds like a good possibility. Possibly the starter relay is out on it. If i cant figure it out that might be the first thing to change. I wonder why that would fail this early?

[OdiN]

Other than what others have suggested, I can think of only a couple things.

One is a nuetral safety switch. I don't even know if your truck has that or something similar. It basically won't allow the engine to start if you aren't in park. I'm sure you have something like that but it may be built into something else, I have no idea.

The other thing - and this is a problem with my Maxima - the actual igniton where the key goes in - either my key is a bit thin or something is wearing out in there but I have to sometimes turn the key and push up a bit to get everything to contact correctly. But with yours I wouldn't think that it's worn yet.

Other than that, I have no idea.

[Alpine Spirit]

Wow.. a freakin electrical demon.

[the007forum]

Thanks Odin.
I dont believe there is a neutral safety switch on my truck. The key could be a little bent so i will check that out. I have tried starting the truck in neutral also. I found some FSM info.
System Description EKS00F9V

A/T MODELS
Power is supplied at all times:
G to starter motor terminal 2, and
G through 40A fusible link (No. j , located in the fuse and fusible link box)
G to ignition switch terminal B.

With the ignition switch in the START position, power is supplied:
G from ignition switch terminal ST
G to IPDM E/R terminal 21.
With the ignition switch in the ON or START position, power is supplied to IPDM E/R (intelligent power distribu-
tion module engine room) CPU.


With the selector lever in the P or N position, power is supplied:
G through A/T assembly terminal 9
to IPDM E/R term

Ground is supplied at all times:
G to IPDM E/R terminals 38 and 59
G through body grounds E9, E15 (all) and E24 (VQ40DE model).

The IPDM E/R starter relay is energized and power is supplied:
G from terminal 19 of the IPDM E/R
G to terminal 1 of the starter motor.

The starter motor plunger closes and provides a closed circuit between the battery and the starter motor. The starter motor is grounded to the cylinder block. With power and ground supplied, the starter motor operates.
M/T MODELS (USING IGNITION SWITCH)

Im assuming something in there is not supplying power. Looks like alot of guess and check might be the answer.

[OdiN]

Yeah you may just have to get out the multimeter and start checking.

The hard part is that it's intermittent - so unless it isn't working at all, you can't test it. And it seems to be pretty random when it does this.

I hate electrical problems.

[soccerbrace]

Try something different-

Using the black jumper, go from your battery - to the body. Get a good grond on the body. If that works, you got a bad ground. If it does not work, then try going from the engine block to the body. If that works, then you have a bad ground. If it does not work, then keep on trying other stuff. Battery ground usually go from battery- to body, to block, so that is my logic here, because it sounds like a loose ground to me.

[the007forum]

Thanks for the help. I will definantly try that next time James. My battery ground cable is a little screwy now. After some time away from it i beat on the IPDM and sprayed more lectra grease on the ground terminal. That either fixed it or it decided it was done messing with me because it started. I am going to go through my engine bay and give it a huge checkup. I also messed with the "silencer" control module. I think its an Nissan alarm thing to keep your truck from starting unless the "silencer fob" is on your keys. I havnt used my silencer fob in years and figured it didnt do anything... but maybe it decides to work from time to tome.

[Allen Cox]

Actually, now it sounds more like a key issue. If you have a different key, see if does it on that one.