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Old 10-01-2005, 06:41 AM   #16
railball
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Clutch Safety Switch: On my 94 XE King Cab 2.4 stick I twice had to replace the CSS. Its a fairly large plug in switch on the drivers side under the hood with Blue plastic wraped around it.I only suspected it cause I had a stick shift. The battery was new so I didn't start replacing things randomly.The only other trouble I had early on was the V belts kept giving me trouble but the Nissan mechanic finally fixed them and haven't changed them in at least 5 years.I now have a cooling problem that I think was caused by the heater core not being used in 11 years. I ran some Barrs leak thru the system stopped the slow leak but the truck ran hot. Now after many flushes it runs normal if the heater is open and a little hot with the A/C running.
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Old 03-09-2006, 01:10 PM   #17
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

93 Nissan Hardbody, v6 XE 4x4: Blue box ignition relay, right under the hood, by the right wheel well. Part number 252330. $17 generic brand at my local parts store.

That's what the problem was the first time, about half a year ago. Drove me nuts trying to figure it out on my own. Took it to a shop and they charged me $350 to fix it. Now, truck is doing the same thing, but I jumped the relay with no success. Still hear the click when I turn the key, but instinct says it's not the solenoid (you can fool me once...).

Things I checked:
-Battery voltage is good.
-There's no voltage drop across the battery terminal wiring harness; sometimes corrosion in the harness can be the culprit--you may have volts across the battery, but not across the connectors. Very sneaky.
-I removed the blue ignition relay, put my meter there, and saw over 10 amps current draw when I turned the key.
-I tried jumping the ignition relay with no success.

I'm going to check the clutch switch and the relay above the fusebox today. Here are some good links I've found about the problem:

http://www.samscars.com/mage9.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...09/ai_n9452048

Question-what's the clutch interlock switch for? I really don't get that thing.
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Old 03-10-2006, 10:55 AM   #18
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

I was wrong! I just put a long stick against the starter motor and whacked it with a hammer a couple of times and sure enough, it started!

And yet I'm stubborn enough to still think it's not the starter. When I pulled the starter out half a year ago and bench tested it, it spun up like a champ, almost jumping off the bench even though it was tied down. There was no hesitation in starting. Whereas when it's in the car, it sounds like it's struggling to get current. Plus, some other electrical components are behaving weirdly--stereo display is dimming, power window switch produces a click from somewhere under the dash or behind the firewall (relay?), and the power locks are weakly struggling to depress all the way. I have a feeling it's hidden corrosion. There have to be a million connections coming off the positive battery terminal, and I highly doubt it came from the factory looking like it currently does.

Any advice on how to best test or replace the terminal connections?
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Old 03-13-2006, 05:40 AM   #19
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

well it cam be a few things. I have heard of Starter motors sticking once you wack them you free them up for a while , but eventually it will do it again.

or you can check your charging system. Altinator and battery , check for A draw. Low battery voltage can also casue the clicking of the starter. Not enough Juice.

I would Start with just checking your charging system first
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Old 03-19-2006, 08:32 PM   #20
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

--Update--

Well, I tried jumpstarting with no success. Thus, I figured it was the starter itself. Today I pulled the starter out, took it to my local parts store, and had it tested. Sure enough, the darn thing started right up. BUT, the parts guy said it sounded a little slow AND it was drawing over 100 amps (he said it should only be drawing like 30). So, I bought a new (remanufactured) starter with a lifetime warranty for $114. I had him bench test it, and it spun up really quickly.

I took the new starter home and right before I put it in the truck, I decided to wire it up and see if it would start before I installed it. The solenoid worked (it popped the gear out), but it didn't spin. I then tried it on a friend's car and it did spin.

Sooo, to make a long story short, it now looks like it's the battery. I have a hypothesis that the starter was getting worn out and drawing too many amps which in turn killed the battery. Though I don't know why it didn't work when I tried jumping it. Maybe there still wasn't enough current to spin the thing.

I'll replace the battery and starter tomorrow and report back.
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Old 03-20-2006, 12:33 PM   #21
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

I've had this problem since 2000. I've replaced the starter, the starter relay, the ignition, had someone troubleshoot the wiring, bypassed the clutch safety switch and replaced the battery and still no fix. Now the starter doesn't get any fire at all. Clutch starting is no problem and the engine runs fine. I've read on the internet a lot of people having this issue, but have never seen a fix. My cousin's 4x4 v6 Nissan truck had the same issue, but intermittant. He sold it while the issue was still intermittant. I wonder if it is the on board computer under the passanger seat. Is there a way to bypass the ignition and hot wire the battery to the starter? And say put the switch in the cab. I'm desperate and poor!
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Old 03-20-2006, 05:30 PM   #22
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

Okay, read and tried everything but, the ccs. First, the battery, then the solenoid. Ran through the wiring and the ignition sensor. Even looked at the fuel pump sensor. The problem is intermitten and this 198,934 miles on this 94 Sentra 1.6 has many good mechanics puzzled. Nissan wants me to bring it in. Wondering if those who changed the ccs have had any problems since with anything else, and was anyones check engine light on?
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Old 03-20-2006, 06:52 PM   #23
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

No Check Engine light here. 220,000 miles and the truck has never had any major failure. Bypassing the clutch safety switch did nothing. Taking it to another machanic tomorrow AM. I told him the complete history of the problem and that this was a real doozie. He was sure it was the starter relay. I told him twice that I had replaced it, but he was sure that is what it was, my truck awaits it's next victim. He said that he could in fact fix this problem. Can't wait to post the "fix". Now this problem has had a tendancy to go away for 2 weeks and return. So only time will tell on the latest installment of the truck starter from heck. I've bet my Dad that the machanic couldn't fix it. I hope I loose the money.
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Old 03-20-2006, 07:15 PM   #24
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

oh it's a stick .. Its a clutch relay that goes bad on those trucks the relay has two plugs going to it and it blue , i can't remember where it is located though . It's a fairly cheap part and you can tell if it's it by jumping the relay there . If you by past the relay and it starts .. there you go GL
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Old 03-20-2006, 07:49 PM   #25
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

--FIXED!!!--

Went to Les Schwab today, had them check the battery and sure enough it was bad (whatever that really means). Got a new, better one for 20% off since the old one was 4 years into its 5-year warranty.

Put the new starter in (with a lifetime warranty), put the battery in, and sure enough, she fired right up. I just hope she stays working for the long term.

To recap:

-This problem first appeared 9 months ago and turned out to be the ignition relay (blue box right under hood).

-Worked great since then, except for a loose neg terminal that kept popping off the battery for a couple of months. Finally replaced the negative terminal and cable (to the enginer block).

-Two weeks ago she wouldn't start (I push started to get home). There were some small symptoms leading up to this, but I didn't think anything of them until afterwards (flickering stereo display, clicking power window relay, and even a little hesitation when starting).

-Checked the relay, bypassed the relay, didn't work.

-Tried a simple method for checking the clutch safety switch: WITHOUT the clutch pushed in, I turned the key to Ignition and held it there. I then pushed the clutch in, and heard the "click" so I ruled out the CSS.

-I was able to tap on the starter and got it to start once, but never again.

-Replaced the flimsy positive battery terminal with a beefy one. Redid auxillerary connections at the terminal. Terminals were corroding badly, but cables were fine.

-Tried jumping it, no luck.

-Bench testing the starter showed it drawing too much current (100 amps) probably more than could be supplied by my battery AND the jumping car.

-Replaced starter and battery, and VAAAAROOOOOM!!!!!

-Power window relay still clicks (relay sound like it's under the dash?)


I don't know what caused all this trouble to start in the first place, but I think once the starter motor starting going bad, it drew too much current and killed the relay and battery. I wonder about the grounding; whoever worked on my truck before me didn't do it very well and I think I'm going to re-ground a couple of connections. I have a dome light in the canopy that "intermittently" comes on; eerily similar to some of you guys' problems. I wonder if it's the same root cause.

Good luck to you all!
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Old 03-20-2006, 07:54 PM   #26
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

Interesting article is below. I'm going to try this in the morning to see if I can get it to work. I think I have a compound problem, since I always heard a clicking noise in the starter and then it would crank about the 4th or 5th turn of the key. Now I get no click.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...09/ai_n9452048
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Old 03-21-2006, 08:30 AM   #27
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

Tried jumping the relay with no success. Taking in old green to the shop.
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Old 04-14-2006, 01:40 AM   #28
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

My 94 p/u was also having the same problem. It would not start, I would just hear a click coming from the blue interlock relay right under the hood near the battery. I unplugged the relay and jumped the hot connections with a piece of wire and it started right up. I guess this relay is the clutch safety relay that people were talking about earlier because when I jumped it, you didn't have to put the clutch in when starting it up. Of course, this was after I paid Pep Boys to change my starter--never again. Thank you to everyone in this forum who helped me figure this one out.
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Old 06-30-2006, 07:59 AM   #29
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

I have a '93 4WD V6. Sometimes it would start, sometimes not. Dash lights come on, dome light comes on, radio plays, didn't seem to be the battery. When it started there was no weak cranking, it wasn't hard starting, it was no start. For awhile trying the key several time would work, finally nothing. After replacing the start/solenoid, I read these and other post, tried shorting across the ignition relay. It's a blue relay under the hood, right side, near the battery with two connectors. Disconnect both connector and connect pins 3 and 5 (marked on top of the relay), then try the key to start. If it starts, replace the relay. Mine was less than $20 at the local Auto store.

Thanks to all who posted.
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Old 12-25-2006, 02:34 PM   #30
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Re: 94 Nissan Pickup Won't Start

Well, sorry guys, but it's good to know that I'm not the only person with this problem. I just pushed my truck half-way to work on Christmas Day. I've been dealing with this for months, and the only thing that you guys have mentioned that I've not checked is where my clutch meets my firewall. thanks for all the good info, and if anybody wants to buy a nissan truck for about 2 grand let me know.
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