[fiataccompli]

I'm trying to help my daughter get her Xterra back on the road. Once before (when a bad starter ended up sucking down a battery & earning a tow truck ride home) she had a similar problem: With the key, the starter does not engage - just a click and nothing. The battery has ample charge & the starter is only about 6 months old. Most other components are original. 190K miles. Perhaps she has terrible luck & the new (from the dealer, not a cheapie, btw) starter is bad, but it would seem more likely to be either the security disabling has engaged, the Neutral/Park safety switch, or maybe another (relay?) electrical problem. I haven't found a clear set of instructions for re-setting the security system. The light flashes all the time, so I figured it was engaged - no horn or anything, though). Are there instructions on the 'net somewhere that someone could share a link to? If it's not the security system, then is there a simple way to bypass the N/P safety switch to test? (I understand it's actually located inside the transmission?) I guess I should crawl under and hit the starter with a hammer just for good measure....anything else that I ought to try? Thanks in advance.

 

[NEXinthesky]

I'm trying to help my daughter get her Xterra back on the road. Once before (when a bad starter ended up sucking down a battery & earning a tow truck ride home) she had a similar problem: With the key, the starter does not engage - just a click and nothing. The battery has ample charge & the starter is only about 6 months old. Most other components are original. 190K miles. Perhaps she has terrible luck & the new (from the dealer, not a cheapie, btw) starter is bad, but it would seem more likely to be either the security disabling has engaged, the Neutral/Park safety switch, or maybe another (relay?) electrical problem. I haven't found a clear set of instructions for re-setting the security system. The light flashes all the time, so I figured it was engaged - no horn or anything, though). Are there instructions on the 'net somewhere that someone could share a link to? If it's not the security system, then is there a simple way to bypass the N/P safety switch to test? (I understand it's actually located inside the transmission?) I guess I should crawl under and hit the starter with a hammer just for good measure....anything else that I ought to try? Thanks in advance.

I think it's distributor, cams or crankshaft position sensor. Or it could be electrical related. My bad alternator killed my battery which ultimately killed my starter. All of those components need to be in good working order because they all affect each other.