Why the heck does my car sometimes start, sometimes not??!!?

[240sxspeedracer1]

I have a '90 240sx.  It cranks good, but sometimes it doesnt crank at all.  It has nothing to do with the battery or the alternator but this is the problem....
When i go to crank it, it doesnt even make a cranking sound(like if the battery was dead) &nbsp;then I shake the car(I jerk my body forward to move the car) and then it turns on fine. &nbsp;What the heck kind of problem is that?<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'>? &nbsp;I dont understand it at all.. &nbsp;So when I shake the car, I crank it and it turns on perfectly, no problems while running either...help me, somebody told me its the ignition switch...is that possible?

[240sxspeedracer1]

BTW, I DONT JUMP START THE CAR, AND I DONT ROLL IT INTO A START, i JUST SHAKE THE CAR AND THEN AFTER SHAKING IT IS PERFECT.

a loose connection somewhere

[240sxspeedracer1]

loose connection to battery? &nbsp;the two wires connecting to pos and neg are really tight on the battery. &nbsp;what kind of wires besides those?

i dunno..... check anything that might cause a non-starting problem... ignition system especially.

[Zenki Two40]

yeah, sounds like somethin' ain't goin' through right (wiring). cuz when ur shaking it it's probably just catching on, i'm having a problem like this w/ my stereo speakers in my room right now <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> .

[misnomer]

Check the button and wiring under the clutch. If that switch isn't activated, nothing will happen.

[KoukiS14]

Had the same problem on our 90 Stanza. . same KA24E engine. . &nbsp;It turned out to be a loose wire, so sometimes we'd have to pop the hood and plug it back in. . wasn't really &nbsp;an issue when we found that out. .

-Rob

[NoTuchn]

theres some loose wiring somewhere... check battery, alternator, ignition, starter, etc. wires.

[whateverjames]

yuuup. i've had that problem a lot, that white powdery stuff gets built up on the terminals, and the wires were loose. i put lithium grease on the terminals (after cleaning them) and tightened up the wires, and now it starts up every time.

[alchemist]

its possible that there is a dead spot on the starter. &nbsp;Shaking the car decently can cause the starter to move a bit and allow it to start. &nbsp;to test this theory. &nbsp;do this. &nbsp;obviously while in neutral. &nbsp;If it doesnt start one day, dont move anthing, or shake the car......go and apply 12V directly to the starter. &nbsp;If she doesnt turn, and you didnt shake the car, &nbsp;that means that you most likely found the culprit, a bad starter. &nbsp;