'96 Nissan Sentra won't start.

So,
Apparently I'm supposed to go figure out what's wrong with this girl's car in ...9 hours or so.

And being a guy, I know, I'm supposed to know all about cars.

I do.



Quite expertly.





Also, I'm sexy.






But, I've never had to go about fixing some trollip's 1996 Nissan Sentra before.

Here's essentially what she's told me:

Her engine won't turn over (she said "it won't start when I start it", I took a shot on the translation),
The engine "sputters" for a bit when she turns the key,
There aren't any clicking or popping noises while the engine sputters/key is turned,
The battery is good (she can turn on headlights and radio,)
There is a quarter tank of petrol,

And that's about all I was able to get out of her.

Oh, that and the fact that she is more worried about her car, than the fact that booze is considerably more difficult for her to get now. I even explained to her that booze is like the one thing that would make "no longer being able to get to work/home/school/grocery store, and not actually having a car," okay.

Wimminz.

I can probably help since I own a Sentra. Set it on fire and tell her to move on.

Man, as helpful as that is:

How is she going to go to the store to get some accelerant?

A quarter tank doesn't give you all that much to pump/siphon out.

Bangles, what's with the use of the word petrol? Stop being all European Next you're gonna be walkin around here in a banana hammock.

Lights and radio turning on still doesn't mean there's enough juice to fire the baby up. I've run down the fuel, battery, starter, alternator and more recently the little wire that goes directly to the back of the starter and alternator from the battery, and find that a good 'ol jump start does the trick more often than not... even with the headlights and radio working.

btw... whether or not you fire the sentra up... man, are you gonna get some!

i suggest you PM notech.

nice avatar, bangles.

Az

Some of us are European, and I only wear a banana hammock for the support.

From your description i can only guess at an issue with the HT leads, either poor or broken connection, clean & reseat, if that fails then test continuity.
Failing that download "autorepair from dummies" off bittorrent its basic but quite good.

Quote:

Originally posted by Swiss407

Bangles, what's with the use of the word petrol? Stop being all European Next you're gonna be walkin around here in a banana hammock.

And what's with you thinking about me in a banana hammock?

Here we all are, being manly men, drinking beers, discussing cars, and you go to half-naked Bangles...

Quote:

Originally posted by RugbySam

Lights and radio turning on still doesn't mean there's enough juice to fire the baby up. I've run down the fuel, battery, starter, alternator and more recently the little wire that goes directly to the back of the starter and alternator from the battery, and find that a good 'ol jump start does the trick more often than not... even with the headlights and radio working.

btw... whether or not you fire the sentra up... man, are you gonna get some!

Yeah, I was thinking that the super low battery might be a possibility. Hopefully that's what it is, lol.

And

Since it sputters before actually turning over it leads me to the believe that the cylinders aren't firing, or at least in the right order. That means it is starving on one of three fronts: electric, fuel, air.

Check the spark plugs to see if they are firing, trace the wireset to make sure they are passing the charge properly. If those are working acceptably, move to the pickup coil (electronic/magnetic) which will lead to the Ignition Control Module. Go back and check the battery to make sure that its resting voltage is over 12.45v, and less and the car will not turn over. If all is well, move to the fuel line. It is possible that there is not enough fuel pressure, you will have to test it to make sure that it is either the fuel regulator or the fuel pump. If both are working properly, you might have a blockage in the fuel rail. Lastly check that the air filter and air line are unobstructed.

Now I'm not sure if the 96 Nissans would be affected by the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors, because if either fail it can also lead to the same issue.

Too many vectors for failure to give an exact answer.

I say fuel pump, especially if it has more than 100k miles on it and never been changed of even a plugged fuel filter. The filters are cheap and easy to put on. Fuel filters are typically over looked and can cause low pressure in the line. Also possibly the fuel pump relay.
If that's not the problem then i suggest

"Her engine won't turn over (she said "it won't start when I start it", I took a shot on the translation),
The engine "sputters" for a bit when she turns the key,"

These two statements are contradictory and need to be reconciled before any progress can be made. The "sputtering" of a car will only happen when the engine turns over, yet the engine isn't turning over.

So umm... Yeah.

This needs to be clarified, because one of these two things is not true - as a matter of science.

Yeah, i don't know, but I suggest you go over there, look like you know what you're doing, tinker around for a while, get all sweaty and ask for a glass of iced tea. Then fuck her on the kitchen counter.

I saw it in a movie once, and that seemed to work. Although, now that I think of it, they never did ever reveal what happened with the car situation.

Check the fuel pump, brah.

Or, flux capacitor.

Also, you can't really check the fuel pump.

Its just what I would jump to considering the age of the car..they tend to get a lot of shit collecting on the bottom of the tank, and younger ppls always keep their cars damn near empty..if it's turning over and just not starting, that would be a good place to look.

Or...like I said, flux capacitor.

Also, do what teh Kanzman said, and check the plugs and wires.

Although I'm probably too late, and am just randomly making this comment after being brought here through PM..sorry for the delay..

Not too late, brah.

I'm entirely prepared to go to her place, have her give me the keys to her car, and then send her off to her place to go... do something that lets her not watch me.

And then, fiddle around for a few minutes, checking the easy stuff/making sure that I get good and dirty looking, and then go and sit in my car and listen to music until she comes out to check on it, and then being all like "Oh yeah, it's not looking good, I went to my car to check some documents."

CHECK THE FUEL FILTER...!!!

It probably isn't the cause...but it sounds really cool and manly.

It's usually around the back axle on either side, just follow the fuel lines...superbrah.



I once had a friend with a super clogged fuel filter, it was so bad it would actually stop the car while driving it, and then it wouldn't turn over for awhile..

Check all the filters...you can get super dirty doing that. Well, don't check the oil filter...but, air filters are easy to check, and if its SUPER clogged...like to a maddening degree, it would stop airflow and that might..(probably not, just like the fuel filter, but might)..be the problem.

Probably not though.



Also, your plan is excellent..

"Oh yeah, it's not looking good, I went to my car to check some documents."

Quote:

Originally posted by Bangledesh

Not too late, brah.

I'm entirely prepared to go to her place, have her give me the keys to her car, and then send her off to her place to go... do something that lets her not watch me.

And then, fiddle around for a few minutes, checking the easy stuff/making sure that I get good and dirty looking, and then go and sit in my car and listen to music until she comes out to check on it, and then being all like "Oh yeah, it's not looking good, I went to my car to check some documents."

POS

Quote:

Originally posted by flavio69

POS

Useful post, is useful.

Faster than a speeding bullet, Able to leap over tall buildings.........HEY where did everyone go ?




Dammit, late again










(check the timing belt) if not already checked

*wonders if Bangy got the car running*


I'd love to help ya bro, there just simply isn't enough info to go on to give a good diagnosis, unless it just won't turn over, then its as simple as a dead battery, other than that

I'll check on ya later to see if teh sechs worked out for ya