Piston Slap: Stumped by Starter Woes?

Bob writes:

Dear Sajeev,

I have a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder that I bought new and has since accumulated 90,000 miles . I plan on driving it until it dies because I still enjoy it and it gets me to all the great fishing spots, plus I have a “fun” car in the garage (’74 TR6) for when the weather is nice. My issue is about the starter (I think) on the Pathfinder.

The starter went out on it a couple years ago, so I bought a remanufactured one and replaced it myself. It was a much harder job than I thought due to the very tight space. The starter worked in the beginning then became sporadic after about six months. I would turn the key and only get a “click”, turn the key again and again and eventually it would turn over and start.

This time I took it to a mechanic, told them the issue and they thought the starter I put in was bad so I had them replace it with a new OEM. It too worked great for the first year or so before same issue arose. Seventy percent of the time when I turn the key it starts right up. The other 30 percent of the time when I turn the key I get a “click” or a very slow turnover of the starter, almost as if the battery was low on charge. One or two more tries and it starts right up.

I replaced the battery last year and it is strong, cleaned all of the terminals and checked the Pathfinder sites for others with this issue but seem to have hit a dead end. I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Sajeev answers:

Hmm, this is tough to kick over and run to a solution! This link has great info, in theory. And this one is specific to your application (probably).

I bet there’s a voltage drop from the battery to the starter (starter solenoid, actually) from a corroded power cable. 1996 was a long time ago and that wire has seen plenty of work, even if the odometer suggests otherwise!

I was shocked at how my (then-12-year-old) 1988 Cougar started faster and gained almost 0.5 more volts at idle when switching from factory battery cables to stupid-massive 1/0 gauge cable from my local CarQuest. The cables looked okay, but removing the negative one from the engine block showed the big reason behind my charging problems: plenty of corrosion inside the wire bursting out the insulation like a teenager’s pimple.

Methinks you must follow my lead. Inspect the cable from the battery to the starter. You probably won’t like what you see.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.