Hey guys I have been having a rather curious problem with my car over the last few weeks and with the heat we have been having this week I am unable to drive my car. So here is the problem and what I have done so far looking into things. In case it matters the car is a 95 240sx.
Problem
When it is a hot day which means anything in the mid to high 20’s the car will not turn over. Turning the key in the ignition results in no cranking but I can hear at the end of the key turn a click. Sometimes if I continue to try again and again it will at random fire up and sound normal while doing so. When it cools down in the evening or a day its not hot out the car start up fine without a problem.
Done so far…
I got a new battery for the car at the beginning of the summer time and have tested it since everything is normal with it. I have also replaced the starter with a brand new unit which has not helped the problem at all. With a new battery and starter I am figuring its either a wiring issue or perhaps a bad relay? I am not the most skilled at testing wiring issues so any advice on this problem would be appreciated.
Check the signal from the key switch sounds like your ignition switch is pooched.
I have the exact same problem.
The starter gets too hot and wont engage. It can happen on very hot days or when you’re on the dyno as which was my case.
Ok so now this problem has got even larger. Had to take the car out this afternoon and luckily it did start. When I parked the car I was hearing a feint whine coming from somewhere under the dash so I turned the car off.
When I attempted to restart the car as soon as I move the key to accessory position all power to ANYTHING electrical dies even the dash clock. When the key is returned to the first position or removed then the dash clock come back on but no other electrical components. After some time fiddling with things I began to again get the chime/buzz sound when the key was in the ignition but thats about it.
Could this also be caused by a bad ignition switch or do I have larger problems to attempt to find now?
Very strange I return to the car about 1.5 hours later to grab some things out of it and choose to try again quick to see if I can get it started. First time still the same everything is dead electrically other than the dash clock. I gave the ground on the battery a wiggle while looking under the hood at the fuse box again. Get back in and as I turn the key everything suddenly returns and starts. I got the car home and will be spending the day pondering…lol
check all chassis grounds and connections at the fuse box. You could have some corrosion or some sort or a small short.
Found the problem to be a faulty ignition wire so spent a day finding the issue and mending it but all is well with the car once again =)
I had the same problem when it was really hot out my car the odd time would struggle to start up. Thanks for the info tho! gonna help me out a lot