TURNS OVER BUT WILL NOT START

It Will If Hook Up... ????? need more details on the problem-

No power at any terminal on inhibitor switch.

I need to correct my reply, I checked the inhibitor relay on fender not switch on transmission.

How do you remove inhibitor switch from transmission for test?

You need not remove the switch for testing.
Unplug the connector and test for battery voltage at White/Red wire terminal. If voltage is present, use a jumper between White/Red and Yellow and try cranking.

My car won't start I don't know waht it is when I turn the key it just makes a clicking noise, almost like a static noise. So can you tell me the problem.

For a start test the battery and also make sure its cleaned and tightened properly

Does the connector pull out of transmission?

Yes, connector is plugged in and held by a locking tab which is pressed to release

Inhibitor relay has no power on any terminal.

Terminal #1 of inhibitor relay must have battery voltage with ignition on and while cranking.

No voltage on #1 what should I look at next?

The answer was given previously. Check for battery voltage to inhibitor switch and out of it to the inhibitor relay.

I own the vehicle listed above with 3.3 litter v6. It ran fine, then about a week ago my check engine light was on. When I tested it at AutoZone the codes said knock sensor and misfire on number one cylinder like I said it ran fine when I would try to accelerate pass somebody on the highway I would hear a little valve chatter. Also, I could tell an occasional miss from time to time. I changed the spark plugs and it seemed to get better.
A few days ago my sister in-law drove it to the bank and it shut off while she was waiting in line. I towed it home found a faulty number one spark plug wire. So I replaced wires rotor and distributor cap.
My spark plugs are sparking my fuel pump is pumping, but when I turn it over that is all it does is turn over real fast. It does not even act like it wants to start. I sprayed starting fluid into the intake manifold and still nothing, now if it tried to start that might mean that my fuel pressure regulator might not be working but since it did not what could be the problem? Please do not tell me that my timing jumped and if it did how would I tell?
please help it is a long walk to work.

You have fuel and spark the valve timing could be the problem. Remove distributor have helper crank engine over is the rotor spinning?

the rotor spins,
I took the top timing belt cover off and confirmed that my number one piston was at TDC with a clothes hanger and aligning the 0 degree notch on my cam shaft pulley with the arrow indicator on the bottom timing cover, at this point my rotor was pointing at the number one, which should mean compression stroke, right? Then I took the cam pulley off making sure not to move it from TDC there was not a mark on my oil pump housing like the book said there would be so I made one. My left cam and right cam were about two teeth away from there marks (jumped time right?) I took the old belt off moved the cams back to there marks, installed new belt fit perfectly. Adjusted belt tension to spec with new belt tension-er. After rotating cam twice like the book said put everything back together and it was hard to start. I moved the distributor until it started but then it ran rough so I moved it until it ran good. Then I drove it a couple of blocks when to accelerate (4,000 rpm) and it shut off and would not start. The book mentions that it will run rough for fifteen to twenty minutes while the PCM relearns stuff it also says to get it started let it warm up turn the engine off. Turn the PCM control of the timing off by turning the screw on the PCM to self diagnostic mode with the ignition on then start engine let it idle (it would not idle before I turned the PCM off) then adjust the timing. So I did all that, but when I put a light on it my distributor was all the way advanced (to get it to start), and I could not see any of the notches as I rotated the distributor half way I could see the last mark (TDC is first from the left) then it shut off. It should have ran better as i got closer even if it did I with the distributor turned all the way. I do not know if it would have hit the TDC mark. I was almost sure that I put the timing belt on right! It is an interference engine but how could it run right sometimes with bent valves? What did I do wrong or could it be something wrong that I missed?

Sounds like one of two things; crank position sensor or cam position sensor. Crank sensor is on top of bell-housing behind engine and is hard to get to, the cam sensor is an integrated part of the distributor. Good Luck!

Timing is suppose to be at 15 degree BTDC, so turning your distributor to 0 is likely one good reason it began idling poorly and then shut off the closer you got to 0. Try setting it to 15 degrees BTDC while running.

Great addition to this thread! Please feel free to help out whenever you are on the site. :)

Cheers, Ken

i have replaced everything i can think of that might solve this problem, but still very unsuccessful my pathfinder will still not start, truck has spark but will not fire up am clueless to this point. any ideas??

If you have spark, have you checked to see if there is proper fuel pressure to the engine? Will it start for a few seconds with starting fluid?

My 1996 Nissan Pathfinder wont stay started and stalls out immediately. I have replaced the distributor, which also replaces the Cam Postition Sensor, since it is built in the distributor. I have also replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor, fuel filter and had a fuel pressure check done. I also had a computer diagnostic test done. It showed some faults. Knock sensor problem bank #1 - also O2 sensor B2S2 problem - also O2 sensor B1S1 heater problem. Will the O2 sensor problems cause it not to start now?? It turns over and barely starts or idles for a second or 2 then stalls out. Need HELP.. Thanks.

check fuel pressure first

Thank you, but I did that already. Showed 35 psi. I have no dash lights showing. It all started with it bucking and stuttering one day at certain speed or after car was warmed up and reached it's normal running temp.

After reading blogs, I have replaced the distributor, because I found metal shavings which indicates wear which also replaces the Cam Postition Sensor at the same time, since it is built in the distributor. I have also replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor, fuel filter and had a fuel pressure check done and read 35 pounds of pressure.

I also had a computer diagnostic test done. It showed some faults. Knock sensor problem bank #1 - also O2 sensor B2S2 problem - also O2 sensor B1S1 heater problem.. Not sure where to go from here, since money is tight and I cant afford to do process of elimination anymore.

When I start it, runs extremely rough as if it were out of time. After installing the distributor, it ran perfect until it I ran it to the store and it warmed up. Then started acting up again. So I am stumped and still without wheels.

MINIMUM fuelpressure is 43psi you don't have enough

Thanks again for responding. So 43psi is minimum? Can it be my fuel regulator relay cutting out sporadically?
And can it cause my pathfinder to run extremely rough with no power at all? I started it yesterday but was really running extremely bad and heard a few popping noises in my filter box. I would hate to buy a new fuel pump and go through the work of replacing it as it is in the gas tank and then find that it wasn't the fuel pump. Thanks for helping me and I would appreciate your advice, since I am on a minimal income and disabled. I am so discouraged right now and feel lost. Chris Btw, nice motorcycle you have in your pic.

Driving my 1998 Nissan Pathfinder on the interstate today and the truck went dead..like I ran out of gas. I was pretty low but the gas light had not come on yet. Pulled over, put in 1 gallon of gas. Did not start, got towed home, put in 2 more gallons of gas, still will not start.
Have not had any problems like this before. I did wash the truck right before this happened(I don't think I got any water on the engine though)
Thanks.

Check what's missing fuel or spark-do below and let me know

Disconnect a sparkplug wire or 2 and ground it to the engine -have helper crank engine over-do you have a snapping blue spark? If so-you have a fuel problem, check the fuel pressure to rule out the fuel pump/pressure regulator and listen to the injector/s are they pulsing or hook up a noid light. No snapping blue spark continue to troubleshoot the ignition system-power input to the coil/coil,distributor pick-up coil, ignition control module, cam and crank sensors-

the 1613/14 code is yor air inection pump driver or pump solenoid on the secondary pump this could be very well to having installed the performance chip in yur vehicle. it is the driver and or the solenoid and sthis should be checked by a professional so he can scan it and turn things on and off awhich you are unable to do with your scanner to test the driver as well as solenoids. have a pro test this but the fault cold lie with your chip you installed.

We've got spark from the plugs. Took it to mechanic today, he pushes it in the garage and testes for fuel pressure..it was a little low (32), then he proceeds to crank the truck.
He said it ran for "quite a while". I picked it up and filled up with gas. On the way home..it dies again(after about 10-15 minutes on the road). Now it will not start again.
Could a fuel filter be causing this? The truck has 197,00 miles and I can't tell you the last time the filter was replaced.
Thanks,
Craig

sorry I sent the wrong reply for another vehicle.43 is the bare minimum for pressure you need to check with a gauge I don't think it's the regulator probably the fuel pump. it would cause all the mentioned problems.

No problem with the wrong reply, lol. I'm sure your quite busy helping many. Thanks again for your suggestion. What else can I do at this point, lol. Before I do this though, I will check one more time with gauge and see what the pressure is at idle. Should the pressure go higher when revving the rpm's? Thanks for help. Don't mean to ask too many question's. Chris

that is the pressure and when the engine is shut off it should hold that pressure for 5 minutes it may go higher when you rev it. But the spec we get is at idle.

I realize this is an old thread but when I had the issue of random stalling on my 1996 Pathfinder, the forums were of little help. Lots of problems and few reported solutions. Random stalling is usually the Mass Airflow Sensor. I tested mine by pressing and wiggling while the car was running. This caused an immediate stall every time. I found one online for $60 and the stalling has been eliminated. The other problem I had was hard starting of the wear your starter out variety. This is a VERY common problem and many have wasted a small fortune with dealers and repair facilities and not fixed the problem. Timing belts stretch over time and in my case the timing was way off. I solved the very hard starting problem in 5 minutes and the solution didn't cost anything. Loosen the distributor hold down bolt and turn your distributor about a 1/4" to 1/2" CLOCKWISE.

A few day ago in the morning, our 98 Pathfinder would crank, but not start. We changed 5 out the 6 spark plugs and it ran fine that night and the next morning until about 20 min. into driving. Then, the car began to idle bad and acting like it was going to shut off. I arrived at work and when beginning to leave, it cranked and started but again idled bad while in park and drive and would shut off. Tried to have spark plug replaced, but no mechanic was willing and able at time. Attempted to drive home and it shut completely off coming down the road. No smoke, radio and all electronics would work, but would not restart. We replaced the 6th plug and all the wires and it will crank and not start. We listened for the fuel pump with ignition "ON" and you can hear it and clicking under hood. You smell fuel when trying to crank and spark plugs smell of gas. We ran the scanner tool and no codes are found. We tested the spark plugs and there is no fire to at least two of them. We have came to the conclusion it is either the crankshaft sensor or distributor. But My question is if it is the crankshaft, wouldn't we have received a code or could it be the ECU not giving it a code or the distributor rotor (cap looks brand new). Also, is there any way to test the distributor or crankshaft to narrow it down?

When a crankshaft sensor goes bad it will not set a code. Here is a guide to help you see what you are in for when doing the job.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/crankshaft-angle-sensor-replacement

Here is the location of the sensor which is on the top of the transmission bell housing.

Check out the diagrams (Below)

Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

Cheers

Yeah we have tested the spark plugs and there is no spark. We have turned the ignition and the fuel pump cuts on. The fuses are ok. We need to know how to test the coil on the distributor, cap, or crankshaft. We hooked the scanner and no codes are pulling. I will order the crankshaft sensor

The Crankshaft Position Sensor (OBD)On transmission housing, facing flywheel gear teeth. You will need to jack the car up

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely

It took a while but I got the sensor changed out and the engine started right up YA! thanks for your help this site rocks!

Good to hear, please use 2CarPros anytime we are here to help.

Cheers