hard starting in new england weather

15

Asked by Jon Feb 23, 2010 at 09:40 AM about the 1997 Nissan Maxima

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

my 97 maxima is giving me hard starts in the morning(eg. motors turning over more than usual) when its cold, but will start normally once its warmed up...any ideas?
Ive tried replacing the fuel pump, new spark plugs, new fuel filter,...nothingseems to work

7 Answers

16,350

You could have a poor battery connection maybe. Clean all your ground surfaces and your battery terminals. Make sure you have a solid 12v before cranking the car. Did you gap your plugs when you installed?

1 people found this helpful.
15

i cleaned all the injector grounds...but i do think i may need a new battery. I used NGK spark plugs and they are usually pre gapped anyways

if its the battery then do a load test first. theres 2 ways: 1; get a battery tester and put a load on the battery and 2; get a meter and a buddy (youll piss people off doing this but it does the same thing), put the meter on the battery, put the key to run but not start and turn everything on even the horn for 10 - 20 seconds the reading on the meter should drop and then bounce back up to somewhere from 12 - 13 volts, if it dont then its bad.

16,350

There should be ground straps from the battery to the body, the engine to the firewall, and etc.. All these should be cleaned to get a solid ground connection. Sparkplugs do not come correctly gapped from the factory and NGK even states this on their website. Your probably going to need to gap them. You can also take your car to a local Autozone or Advance and they should be able to load test your alternator and battery. So you know if it is one of them.

125

if u used ngk plugs u shouldnt gap them, ngk usually uses platinum tips on there plugs if you try to gap them it will scrape the platinum off and reduce your performance and lifespan to a fraction of what it should be

1 people found this helpful.
16,350

Yes platinum plugs should never be gapped. However traditional plugs need to be gapped. I assumed being a 1997 model he wouldn't have installed platinum plugs.

Your Answer:

Maxima

Looking for a Used Maxima in your area?

CarGurus has 155 nationwide Maxima listings starting at $5,200.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Jorge Vazquez
    Reputation
    3,710
  • #2
    rtriel
    Reputation
    1,380
  • #3
    tahiti
    Reputation
    1,050
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Nissan Altima
30 Great Deals out of 719 listings starting at $2,000
Used Honda Accord
46 Great Deals out of 921 listings starting at $1,599
Used Toyota Camry
58 Great Deals out of 1,037 listings starting at $2,212
Used Honda Civic
205 Great Deals out of 3,813 listings starting at $1,999
Used Nissan Sentra
78 Great Deals out of 1,767 listings starting at $2,195
Used Chevrolet Impala
9 Great Deals out of 111 listings starting at $1,500
Used Toyota Avalon
3 Great Deals out of 24 listings starting at $4,888
Used Chevrolet Camaro
21 Great Deals out of 309 listings starting at $9,499
Used Chevrolet Malibu
51 Great Deals out of 1,108 listings starting at $3,995
Used Jeep Grand Cherokee
110 Great Deals out of 3,198 listings starting at $3,570

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.