Drove my 09 Altima, parked, 10 minutes later, tried to start it, dead.......... Tried both keys in the slot, nothing. Door locks functioned, battery ok, Jump start, nothing.
It didn't turn over, the button did nothing at all. Checked everything I knew how. Acts like a major fuse blown, and obvious electric problem, maybe a anti theft device?
Had the car since it was new, never experienced this before. No warning, no symptoms while driving, just dead all of a sudden.................Help
Any ideas, things to try, wisdom, all would be appreciated by the new old guy...........Thanks
Sounds like the steering column locking mechanism has failed. I assume when you turn the ignition on...there is no longer any whirr whirr as the lock disengages?
Didn't understand right away why the service manual on my 1995 Altima said to do tests in neutral, never mentioning park. Then I realized it eliminated a potential failure to turn over from not being properly in park. I must assume that probability of not turning over is much reduced in neutral. But one needs the key in the ignition and turned to move the shifter in a 1995. I have no idea what the situation is with a fob/pushbutton start.
dOugmac1 - Thank you for your prompt and helpful reply! The U tube site shows the danger of over engineering. To take your advice, I started my other car, an 08 Altima S sedan. One push of the button did everything. I did hear some noises, but my hearing is bad and between the starter etc. I could not identify the whiring noise. The 09 just did nothing when the button was pressed. I had thought it might be a fusible link in the primary wire from the batt to the starter but the door locks still worked. I am going to try working with the U tube site, and first see if a bump in the right place might work. Thanks again for your kind attention and help. It's nice to know there are people like you out there. I noticed some other sites there also that might help. M
Ok. I'm pretty sure you can test without actually starting the car. Push the start button once, and then again WITHOUT pressing the brake or clutch. You should be able to get to the full 'ignition on' sequence without the starter going...at least I can with my manual tranny. Between 'ACC' and 'IGNITION' you should hear the whirring of the motor and gears in the steering column lock as it disengages. Do this on your '08 and then pop the hood and remove the 'Steering Lock' fuse...it will never bother you again.
If this is the problem on the '09...it's a bigger issue as it typically requires the module to be removed in order to disengage the steering lock...drilling and farting around. If whacking the module gets it to work even once...immediately run around and remove the fuse.
It seems that the little nylon gears inside the locking module wear and can jam during the cycling process. This prevents the switch inside the module from registering that the column lock is fully disengaged and so it won't allow you to start your car. The issue is if the module is already damaged, and whacking it allows it to start, road bumps may have the opposite effect and strand you somewhere. It's better to 'trap' the module in the fully 'unlocked' position by pulling the fuse so that switch is not in a marginal state. You can only be sure of this if you get a fully cycling of the mechanism that allows you to start the car.
Good luck with this one...sadly the extended warranty on the 'defective locking mechanisms' ran out just a year ago. You may get some sympathy at the dealer...but I doubt it.
Unfortunately its the 09. I have not been able to locate the right fuse to disengage the steering lock. I have done some research on the U tube which is helpful but a little confusing to me (80 yr old) One brave lady attacked the problem herself and seemed to think a junk yard part was the way to go. Why would you want to put another one in there? Wouldn't it be better to pull the fuse while it is disengaged and forget about it, or throw it in the trash or is there some other problem with that? I'm living on a fixed income and don't have a grand for the "dealer" for want of a better word. Another U tube showed adding some jumper wires to the unit to fix the problem, but I'm not sure I don't have to view it again. Thanks again to you and all those wonderful people who help others with nothing to gain but satisfaction for being nice folks. Thank God you are all still out there.
The fuse trick only works when the lock mechanism is functioning normally. ON my '09, remove the black plastic cover of the 'box' behind and to the right of the battery in the engine compartment. This is your IPDM. Inside you'll see a large white plastic square with lots of wires plugging into the centre. The front left of this has four fuses, top down red.red.blue.blue. You want to remove the top red one of the group of four, but ONLY WHEN THE MECHANSIM IS UNLOCKED, ie your car is starting normally. Should be the same for the '08, so run, don't walk, to the '08, start it up, open the cover and remove the red 10A fuse as described. You can then shut down the car and it should continue to start normally.
Ok, using SEC-178 as a reference. Top left of that page shows M32...the connector for the steering column lock, to emulate the unlock conditions...you need Condition_1 at battery voltage and Condition_2 at ground. If you were to unplug the connector from the lock module and jump pin3 to pin7, and pin8 to pin5, you should be able to start your car (as that sets both conditions to 'unlock'). That picture shows HS (harness side). You can verify you have the correct orientation by comparing the locking tab on the connector, and the knowledge that both pin 5 and pin 6 are ground (so a quick continuity test between those two will confirm you have id'd them correctly)
DO NOT DRIVE IT UNLESS YOU ARE SURE YOU CAN TURN THE STEERING WHEEL FIRST!!
If the column is locked, you'll need to have the module physically removed first.
I spoke to the dealer whose first words were $800 just for the part. I was proud of myself, as I did not cuss
him out. Self control got the best of me. I'll start tomorrow morning and see what I can get done. My first problem is how to get the tupperware away from underneath the steering wheel so I can get to the "stuff".
I may have some more questions before it is over. Thank you so much for your help and forbearance.
Found the fuse, tried three methods, no luck. Pushed on that damn thing as hard as I could. On the other car I could hear the steering lock (08) but I don't believe it has worked on the 09 for some time. All I could get was the lighted locked position. Tried to open the back, which was a mistake, but it did'nt work anyway. I suppose now I will try a junk yard for a new old part for $50. I am annoyed, but not pissed off, dismayed but not distraught and will continue to TRY. I never did year that sound you spoke of except on the 08. See Power steering lock box nissan altima 2009 part1 - YouTube Bless her she didn't give up and I'm not ready yet. I did see another U tube rant about the break switch not allowing the car to start, but I didn't give it much though as I believe you could get to the ignition light (not touching the break) even if the break switch was not functioning. Thank you again. Must be nice people in Canada, and I have a new friend from Calgary who moved here.
He is my age and was an olympic skater when he was young.
One last weird thought...if the fuse for the lock unit blew when it was in a marginal position, it could have continued to work for a long time before failing outright. You may just want to swap in another 10A red fuse in the Steering Lock position in the IPDM box in the engine compartment (the fuse layout is on the inside of the top cover you have to remove). If the fuse was blown, then by replacing it you may be able to get the lock to cycle and start working normally enough to put the burnt fuse back in permanently. You can also do the test at the Lock Unit harness connector to make sure both power wires (one for motor, one for the 'cpu') are showing 12V like they should (cpu always, motor only when told by the BCM during start sequence)
The unit on the 09 was "broke" and no amount of pushing down would start the car. I realized that whether the unit locks the steering or not it still needs to be plugged in to get the car st arted. I had the weird idea that the unit could be disposed of if you started the car and then removed the fuse. I tried to take the unit off the 08 and get the c ar started with it and then pull the fuse, and I mistakenly thought the thing would run w/o
the unit. Fortunately I tried it with the 08. I started the car, pulled the fuse and the steering lock was inoperative, but the car started every time. I have found one in a junk yard with a 90 day warranty for $50.
I assume if I plug it in to the harness and the car starts, i can pull the fuse and I'm done. There are new ones available on E bay and Amazon, guaranteed to work without any dealer bullcrap. They run anywhere from $150 to $300. (better than 800) So I'll try the junk one first and take it back if it don't work. Is the wire from the CPU the one that starts the car and not the lock? I am zoomed in on that one yet. Thanks Dougmac you are a great person. M
If you can get the junk unit in place and working, then pull the fuse while the engine is running, you will be golden. In theory you could remove the unit and keep the jumps I described earlier...but the former is easier to do. Go with your plan A.
SUCCESS!!! Plan A is a winner. Now I have two Altimas that work. I bought the junkyard part for $37 and saved a bunch. When I saw the part it had the two mounting bolts and someone had Dremeled two slots in them to get the unit out. This was old stuff. This made me think someone had already replaced the unit in that car before it got in the accident that put it in the scrap yard. Many thanks to you dOugmac1 and all the others who contributed so unselfishly to help others. There's really hope for this old world yet....................
Martin35
SUCCESS!!! As of 11:17 this morning both Altimas are starting OK...........Paid $37 for a used part, installed it,started the car and pulled the fuse.......OFF and running...........
I watch the news every day and get disgusted. BUT I go on the U Tube every day and see people helping other people for no other reason than its the right thing to do. Thank all of you for that, and especially
dOugmac1 for sticking with me during this ordeal. I saved over $1000 thanks to you. The world is a better place than any of us thought and the hell with the news media.
As of 11:17 today, both of my Altimas start, and run, and start again............. Got a junkyard part for $37 put it in, started it, pulled the fuse, and sat back smug and happy.
Looked at the news this morning and thought how screwed up the world is, and then thought "NO" and
reflected on how so many people get on these forums with no motive other than trying to help others because it is the right thing to do. I really felt better then..........
Thanks to all of you for the help and especially to dOugmac1 who hung in there with me all the way.......
You saved me over $1000.........It is still a good world........
Martin35:laugh
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