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05 Frontier Nismo cranks but won't start intermittently

12241 Views 27 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  smj999smj, 
E
Hi all,

It started few months ago with my 05 Frontier. Sometimes when I go to start the truck it will turn over but not fire but once it starts, it runs perfect. It happened again this morning, the car started up no problem the first thing in the morning and I drove it for about 10 miles then turn off the engine. Five minute later I tried to start the truck, it cranked but wouldn't start and I even tried the trick that turn the key to On position and wait for few seconds. I tried a couple times to no avail then I decided to let it sit for couple minutes and tried again and this time it just fired up like nothing happened. The battery is good and I replaced the fuel pump, both camshaft position sensors and crankshaft position sensor last year. I did quite a bit of research on this problem and it looks to me that it happens to different across all Nissan models and not limited to Frontier alone. But so far no concrete answer to the cause of the problem and how to fix it. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
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JamesInTahoe
Following since my father-in-law's '14 is doing the same thing. And 2 dealers and 1 independent shop can't find anything wrong with the truck.

Dumb question, but has anyone tried their second key to see if it is the proximity transmitter in the key?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
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Z
I had 2 extra keys made and programmed when i bought the truck a couple of years ago and none of them seem to make a difference. :frown:
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AndysLog
from seeing titan stuff over the years i have seen that type of issue and it was the key. not sure if i have seen any on the frontier.
anything can happen.

what sucks is you really just need a fresh set of eyes there isnt too much that will stop these things from running.
you need fuel air and spark/ along with your basic timing and compression.
test for fuel air and spark. confirm those and move to testing compression in the cylinders.

but it all depends on what the symptoms actually are, and what the trucks condition is. everything is the same but a little different.

JamesInTahoe said:
Following since my father-in-law's '14 is doing the same thing. And 2 dealers and 1 independent shop can't find anything wrong with the truck.

Dumb question, but has anyone tried their second key to see if it is the proximity transmitter in the key?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
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E
I might try to get a new key to see it will fix the problem. Anyway just like I've been saying, it seems like there is a timer somewhere in there that tell the computer not to send any spark until the 10 minutes are up.
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E
Just got a new chipped key and it didn't fix the problem. The only thing left is the ECM and that thing is expensive.
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D
2005 Nissan Frontier Crew, LE 130k miles
I have had the same issue after replacing the Fuel Pump, Checking pressure, power and connectivity, all good.
My local shop took a look and found spark and no fuel, and no codes. Finally narrowed it down to an ECM Relay. Replaced it and was back to normal. It Recurred about a month later. Now it only Cranks, no intermittent start at all...

Now I have found the potentials below. But recommend doing some wiring continuity tests and proper main power voltage before buying things. I have my weekend cut out for me.
  • People who had replaced the IPDM Module Completely (Hard to Find) with all new Fuses and Relays included, and found success.
  • Look at the ECM Relay and the ECM Fuse (They are in the same compartment under the hood) An article that mentioned owner kept an ECM fuse handy as it would blow periodically an would need one on hand. Weird but effective.
  • Others has had the Dealer or Shop replace the ECM Relay and all is good, with no further problems reported.
  • The worst was the one where the owner had pretty much gone from Fuel Pump through IPDM to ECM replacement to get the problem resolved. Probably at least 1k to 1.5k in parts. Then years of therapy and/or immediately selling it.
When I find more, I will hopefully add links and other ideas as I work the problem.

Cheers!
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Nismod
These symptoms could be a bad ignition switch. Seen this in other vehicles. If you hang a heavy key chain it can cause the ignition switch to fail. Have you tried wiggling the key?
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smj999smj
We've seen this issue on R51 Pathfinders over at TheNissanPath.com. A lot of times we find this is caused by either a failing cam position sensor (there is one on the back of each head on the VQ40DE) or---and, especially on failed start-ups---a bad crank position sensor. They don't always trigger codes when the start to fail. If replacing, stick with genuine Nissan, Hitachi or Denso brand sensors. Most of the time this issue occurs after the engine has been driven and heated up, but, we've seen a few cold-start failures, as well.
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