*HELP* 98 s14 wont start.? bad ignition switch.?

[rob22]

so my car recently started acting up (again)

for the last couple of weeks my s14 would take a while to start.
id put the key in the ignition and it would take about 10 turns of the key to start it up. 10 turned into 20 and now it wont start at all.

ive taken the starter to auto zone to get tested and it works.
my radio, fuel pump, and relays click and all that when i turn the key.

could this be a bad ignition switch.?

[MisawaJason]

do you hear your starter clicking? It might be the culprit

[bookoo]

Bad battery!

[Touge Whore]

How does it sound when it attempts to start? Does it sound weak and slow? I would look to the battery/alternator if it isn't the starter...

[somgaetm]

Did you ever solve this problem ROB22? I have the same issue and it's been plaguing me for almost 2 years. When I think I have fixed it, it comes back. Not really sure what to do next, but I have change out 2 ignition switches, countless relays, and I just recently changed out the lock/key set to see if maybe it wasn't turning far enough to start the car.
I have shot all the wires and just can't seem to pinpoint the cause of it. Also, when I change something, it seems to fix it for a few days and then the problem is back again.
You can email me directly at [email protected] and we can both compare notes if you are interested.

[hardtime21]

May be an ECU issue!?!

[somgaetm]

Does the starting signal run through the ECU? I didn't notice if it did at all.
I'm going to say it doesn't and that isn't the issue because I disconnected the plug where the starting signal goes to the starter itself and ran a wire straight to the starter. When I wanted to start the car, I had to turn the key on, pop the hood, and touch the wire to the battery to start it. That is ghetto as hell, but it got me by for a month (without fail) until I got another car to drive around.

[s14zenkijeron]

Yeah my 95 ka24de wont start either... It takes million time to turn the key to start my car... I took my alternator and starter to my local autozone to check it and they both passed... I also changed my ignition switch and sparkplugs... But still wont start up... I dont hear any clicks or anything... I dont know what to do anymore!!! I need help!!!!

[somgaetm]

Let me tell you what I have done recently....
I went to the local junkyard and got the ignition switch and key/lock set from a 96 Altima. The main power harness on the ignition switch is longer and the chime plug is different, but I needed it for testing.
I initially stuck the Altima ignition switch into the original key/lock set and the car fired right up. I though I had it fixed, but after a few days, the same problem returned. I tried and tried to get the car to start and it just wasn't happening. Luckily I was at home so I had time to play with things.
I changed out the key/lock set (which fortunately had a key with it, so no re-keying needed) and put the original ignition switch in, and it fired up again! .. but was short lived. After a few days, it stopped working again.
I decided to take out the ignition switch, stick a screw driver in it and see what would happen. When starting with a screw driver, the car started with no problems... EVERYTIME. No matter what, the car would start with the original ignition switch and the one from the Altima. So, it seemed as though the problem was in the key/lock assembly. So, for a few days, that's how I started the car and drove it around.
A couple of nights ago, a friend of mine that works at the local Nissan Parts Dept., and is a 240 freak, came by and decided for whatever reason to take the original switch apart. What we found is that the switching mechanism inside the switch was 'grooved' badly from using it over time. With it like that, when the key was turned to start, it seemed as thought he key wasn't turning far enough and it wasn't making a connection and in return, not starting. I'm guessing the switch for the Altima, which was from around the same year, was doing the same thing? I didn't take that one apart to find out because it is my backup incase this happens again. So, the friend couldn't get the switch back together properly and just ordered me a new one that I put in a few days ago... all this happened in the past week and I put the BRAND NEW switch in this past Tuesday.
SO FAR, SO GOOD. It starts with no problem at all!... knock on wood.

[CrimsonRockett]

I can agree with the last post.

I've had three S14's so far that have come with new ignition switches and new keys as well. I'm guessing they had similar issues. An old S13 I had would do the same thing (would take forever to fire up. Sometimes it would take 1 try, other times it would take 20-30 tries). Replacing the ignition switch with a new one fixed the problem all together.

My brother's old '97 Altima had the same issue. Replaced the ignition switch with a new unit and never had problems after that.

[rob22]

still havent solved the problem.
ive gotten a new key and nothing.
i also used a j30 ignition switch but it leaves the chime and radio on with the car not even turned on.
i was lucky enough to find a s14 in my local junk yard and took the ignition switch from it and nothing.
so now i pull the ignition switch out use my key to turn the car on works like that everytime.
ghetto but it works.

[spartan]

So ive had the battery replaced and the terminals replaced less then a month ago an today I went to the store came back out after no more then 30min and would not start just a rapid clicking sound. Tried to have it jump an still nothing but it would try. Luckily I had the old battery an it was able to jump with that an drove but I wasn't able to go past 3k rpm.