I have a 1993 240sx, with an automatic. The car runs awesome, the only problem is it wont start. It is a daily driver, and last night we went to get a movie, and went back to the car and it wouldnt start. When you turn the ket to start it a relay under the hood (a green one in the rellay box) and the starter click, but it doesnt try to turn over. At the same time the key was stuck in the ignition, like the little button was stuck in. This morning I was able to get the key out and that part working again, but it still wont start.
I was thinking it could be the Neutral safety switch on the tranny... do these just "go out"? thanks for any help you can give me, I just had the car towed back to my garage.

 

check battery voltage too. should be at least >11.5

 

Battery is a month or so old, but I will be checking it tonight. From searching around on here, it sounds like it may be the starter. Im gonna take it off tonight and have it checked.... any tips/tricks for starter removal?

 

If you are having problems with your battery ,then u might have a faulty alternator!

 

You think a faulty alternator would cause the engine to not even turn over? Oh, and what engine does this thing have? 93 240sx automatic. Its actually my girlfriends car, I havent messed with it much. We just got a rebuilt tranny put in it ( $2000) so we plan on keeping it around. I was thinking of slapping a turbo on it, its a fun car to drive but needs more power. Im used to my car, which will remain anonymous to keep the flamers at bay.

 

Remember if ur alternator is not recharging the battery then there is no way ur gonna start the car up,btw ur gf car should have a KA24DE engine on it,which has 155hp n 160lb/ft of torque its 2.4 Liters ,the block is Iron and is a pretty strong engine ,Check the starter that might be the cause too.

Read the board and search for more info.

 

I had the same problem on my '95 auto. I replaced the starter and it wouldn't start still. I replaced the battery and altenator(sp) and it ran and runs smooth. If the set-up of the 95 and the 93 are the same, them you will have a few problems getting the starter out. I luckily had a lift at my disposal, but you may need to break the exaust manifold loose (not off) to reach the 3 bolts holding it on. Anyone corect me if I am wrong...

 

well, I took the starter off. Lets just say me and Jeebus are not on speaking terms right now due to the ammount of swearing and cursing I just did. WTF was nissan thinking. But anyway, I got it off and danced around then took it to the auto parts store for them to check it. It checked out just fine. Crap. I havent put it back on yet, Im saving that fun time for tomorrow. So, now that thats ruled out, any suggestions?

 

Ignition switch,it may be faulty! ,sometimes car ignitions switch get used so much that they tend js to wear out and cause the car not to start at all,other than that hopefully its not anything that is ECU related if not better start saving some $$$ coz ur gonna need it.

 

I've also got to go with alternator. If it's not keeping the battery charged, you'll get a dead battery. The sounds you said you hear fit exactly with what you'd get with a dead battery.

 

Read one my post ,I already stated that too.

 

If someone mentioned this earlier, sorry - but did you check to make sure the starter relay isn't busted? WHen we did a DOHC swap in a friend's S13, we had everything wired up, turned the key, and the relay would click but the starter wouldn't turn over. After rechecking everything, wondering if it was the starter, etc. I discovered that even if the starter relay (which is located against the inner right fender behind the battery, just FYI) was half-broken - meaning, the coil would click but the main connection wouldn't.

And we almost went out to get a new starter that day.

Might wanna check that first

 

Im thinking starter relay also... if it was the alternator the car would still turn over at least when I have jumper cables on it. You say its right behind the battery... there are two green relays, a blue one and a grey one. When you try and turn it over, the middle green one clicks. I will go to the dealership and see if they have one. I was also thinking ignition switch, but the car just had a brand new one put in about 6 months ago (it was stolen) so I thought that would be OK.

 

no comment, just reading

 

Check the wires going to the relays - one of them (should be the blue one, not green) has 2 thick and 2 regular wires running to it. That should be the starter relay. You can easily check if that's the problem by removing the relay and bridging the relay plug with a piece of thick wire. That's how I figured out on my friend's car that the relay was busted.