a WOMAN with car troubles... Please help if you can
Hi all. My name is Theresa and I need lots of man help with my car. I am big time into travel and sports but I am best in the kitchen!!! I am going back to school trying to become a nurse.(its taking forever).
Anyway I drive a 95 Nissan Sentra GXE that has been giving me grief since I got it a few years ago.
It runs for a good 6 months and then it doesnt. I will go out to start it one day and it will start like nothing was ever wrong with it. I have been told it may be the starter because I have a new battery and new spark plugs. I am lost..
Right now my car isnt running at all but I can turn the starter and it clicks but no juice to the engine. I need help with finding out what it could be. I live in a town where no one is willing to help me. So mabey some nice guy on this site can give me a little insite to what is wrong with my car.
I hope to here from someone soon. thanks for your help ahead of time
Woman-Driver
Last edited by woman-driver : Jan 30th, 2005 at 11:06 AM.
Reason: wrong title
Clicking noise but no start usually means the starter went. Its a common problem with these cars, along with the alternator. When the car was starting did it struggle or fire right up? I'm pretty certain your starter is shot, however, if you have a trustworthy mechanic or friend with some tools they could help diagnose the problem.
if you have a battery tester, check and see how much voltage the battery is putting out. You should have 12-12.5V, it takes at least 10.5V to get the engine to turn over. If you don't have a battery tester, just hop in and turn on the radio, if there's enough juice to power the radio, there's enough juice to initiate SOME cranking.
My guess is it's the starter. Usually it'll click but nothing else whatsoever. If you can reach it, try getting a hammer and give the starter a few mild hits, it's usually good for about 2-3 'emergency' starts. The starter is near the bottom, backside of the engine where the engine meets the transmission, it's kinda hard to reach on the 1.6. Anway, that would be my first action, get the starter replaced (I think a Hitachi starter is a good one).
Try a jump from another car I'm sure it'll start just fine. Your battery doesn't hold a charge anymore like Exalta said. Check and clean battery connections.
Try a jump from another car I'm sure it'll start just fine. Your battery doesn't hold a charge anymore like Exalta said. Check and clean battery connections.
I had a older 1991 Sentra and the battery cable end split open , it's a clamp style cable end . I dunno if the newer cars use the same style yet cause I just got a 97 . If so , you could have a intermittent loose connection to the battery if yours is broken too . Grab the battery cable on the battery and see if they rotate . They should be tight and unable to move . Don't wipe your hands on your clothes afterwords as any acid on your hands will destroy your clothes . Best to grab em with a papertowel or glove on , or wash directly after touching .
[quote=Lemondrop]Don't wipe your hands on your clothes afterwords as any acid on your hands will destroy your clothes QUOTE]
What are you, dipping your hands into the battery cell? The Pb-acid battery is a closed system. And even if there was a presence of dangerous pH acid on the battery terminal itself, when the typical person works on a car they wear destroyable clothes, like my East German trenchcoat.
Don't wipe your hands on your clothes afterwords as any acid on your hands will destroy your clothes QUOTE]
What are you, dipping your hands into the battery cell? The Pb-acid battery is a closed system. And even if there was a presence of dangerous pH acid on the battery terminal itself, when the typical person works on a car they wear destroyable clothes, like my East German trenchcoat.
Glad you believe she is a experinced auto mechanic ............
um, I don't think she's gonna get any battery acid on her hands. It'd prolly burn her hands before if affects her clothes.
No need for a pee'n match . Im simply trying to help the lady out .
Every battery that is a lead-acid type vents acid . Does not matter if it is "sealed" or not . Many batteries have a protective coating/grease on the posts , this grease will get acid in it . It won't be enough to roast your skin because most folks wipe dirt/grease away pretty fast . If you wipe the grease on your clothes , you risk the acid eating a hole in the clothes .
Sure , the clothes will be ruined from the grease but I simply was trying to make sure she took a little precaution .
You can believe Im a :dumbass: if you choose , Im not here for a fighting match .
I have 15 years of Mechanical experience , working on everything from cars , Heavy Equipment , 18 Wheelers , and now NASA's Crawler Transporters .
I by far am no Nissan expert .
I can toss some of my experience around here if you choose or I can move along .
In the Fall last year I had problems with my starter. Sometimes the car would start, sometimes it wouldn't. It went on for about a week, and that was the last time it did it. But since then, whenever I start my car, I can hear the starter, and man, it doesn't sound good. In reading this thread, I think I'm just gonna wait until it fails, and I'll carry Ninety-Nine's starter he sold me with me until then.
Good luck getting a new starter installed, woman-driver!
a WOMAN with car troubles... Please help if you can
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