Yes I have a Nissan Sentra 2011 to 2.0 motor is automatic and my starter is spinning but not engaging with the flywheel what could be the problem and it's got 180,000 miles on it
Check the battery voltage to make sure you have a fully charged battery.
The easiest way to troubleshoot this is to grab some jumper cables and hook them directly to your battery posts. (not over the cable clamps)
Hook the Negative jumper clamp to a clean starter mounting bolt head. Shine it up with sandpaper if you have to)
Connect the Positive jumper cable clamp to the threaded post on the starter solenoid where the thick cable from the battery connects.
Go check that the car is in Park.
Now use a smaller wire to jump from the Positive cable clamp to the "S" terminal on the starter. (where the thin wire is connected)
If it engages then you have a problem in your battery cable connections. Or maybe corrosion in one of the cables. So if that's the case you'd do a voltage drop test.
If the starter solenoid doesn't get enough voltage then its electromagnet doesn't have the strength to pull in the plunger and engage the pinion gear into the flywheel
Okay I'll check all that tomorrow
Okay I took the starter back and they tested it an it worked but when I put it back on my car and made sure everything was connected and tight. Still spinning not engaging
If the starter is good and the wiring is good the next place, and last, to look is your ignition switch. It's probably worn out in your 11 year old car. They sure don't last like they used to.
No they don't but I'll keep you updated on what I find out
Thanks!
The solenoid on the starter is probably not pushing the Bendix drive into the flywheel.
I replaced the starter an it's still doing the same thing. I've got the crankshaft position senser to replace and the camshaft position senser to replace because I was told that could be the problem.
Also the camshaft position sensor looks different than the one that Oreillys ordered for me . Can I use that one for my car?
It's hard to see what those sensors would have to do with the operation of the starter Bendix drive, which is a simple electro-mechanical device where the solenoid pushes the starter drive gear out to engage teeth on the flywheel as it applies power to the starter motor.
Okay so I don't need to replace the camshaft/crankshaft position sensors? Do you think it could be a bad starter?
It is not unusual for new parts to be bad right out of the box.
Okay I took the starter back and they tested it an it worked but when I put it back on my car and made sure everything was connected and tight. Still spinning not engaging
Well assuming it's the correct starter for the car you have something that is preventing the solenoid from pushing out the Bendix drive to engage the flywheel. (I'm also assuming that teeth are not stripped on the flywheel since you'd see that with the starter taken out.) About the only other thing I can think of would be a problem with the wiring or battery not providing enough current for the starter to work in the car.
What about a bad key since it does have the chip in it
If the starter is spinning when you turn the key that's not the problem. If you want to bypass all the vehicle electronics as a test you can try hotwiring the solenoid while the starter is in the car. (Disconnect small wire going to the solenoid and apply +12 volts from the battery directly to the terminal.)
The starter is bad, period. Get a reman one with a limited lifetime warranty. Why the crank and cam sensors? The have nothing to do with the starting system of your car.
This is a new starter.
Get another one and have them test it for you in store before you leave. Are you sure you reconnected the small wire back to the solenoid correctly? It sounds like the starter motor is activating but not the solenoid. Check your electrical connections.
Idk why I was told that they could be the problem but they haven't been installed so I can take them back and get another starter. But what happened for all this to start is I was going down the highway an it felt like it went in neutral so I let off the gas then it was like it was back in gear and it done it about 3 times and the last time I pulled over to the side of the road and it stalled and now the starter just spins and not engaging
Okay I took the starter back and they tested it an it worked but when I put it back on my car and made sure everything was connected and tight. Still spinning not engaging
Then you have a wiring problem with the starter system. Check to see that you're getting 12 volts to the starter solenoid. If not, trace it back and find the problem.
Okay I've got a question about what I was thinking. Could it be that my chipped key could be going bad because I've checked to make sure everything is connected
Disconnect the small wire to the solenoid and put a test light on it to ground. Have somebody turn the key to start. If the light doesn't turn on, you're not getting power to the solenoid. If it does turn on, you have a bad solenoid.
Okay I’ve come to the conclusion that my flywheel has came lose or broke. Is this worth fixing
Make sure. You can't see much of the flex plate when you remove the starter but you should be able to see if the teeth are damaged or feel if the plate is broken
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@cjteal76