Nissan Altima no start or hard start when hot

Diagnose Nissan Altima no start or hard start

If you encounter a Nissan Altima no start or hard to start when hot condition on a mid 2000 vehicle with the 2.5L 4-cylinder engine, chances are you’re looking at a defective crankshaft sensor. Shops report a very high incidence of the crankshaft failing once the engine is hot.

Nissan Altima no start symptoms

The vehicle may start and run fine on the first start of the day or after sitting for 3 or more hours. Then, when you turn the key, the engine will crank and crank but will not fire up. The crankshaft sensor must detect the 1° signal from the reluctor ring in order to determine fuel and spark timing. Due to the design of the plastic sensor, it fails when hot, resulting in a no start or hard to start condition. The check engine light may remain on with trouble codes P0335 or P0725 set

P0335 ECM does not detect 1° signal from crankshaft position sensor

P0725 TCM detects open, short or no signal in engine speed signal control

Nissan Altima hard to start when hot symptoms

In a hard to start situation, the Nissan Altima will crank for long periods until it finally fires up and runs. The failing crankshaft sensor must see multiple engine rotations until it finally recognizes the 1° mark. The above trouble codes may be stored in the ECM

Nissan Altima dies when coming to a stop

This is also part of the symptom tree for a bad Nissan crankshaft position sensor and again it’s due to loss of 1° signal or a short or open in the CKP sensor.

Testing the crankshaft position sensor

The CKP sensor has 3 wires. The red/green wire carries battery voltage from the ECM relay. There should be battery power on this wire any time the key is in the RUN or START position. The white wire sends crankshaft position information to the ECM. The black wire is ground. Start your diagnostics by checking for power and ground on the red/green and black wires. To test for signal you’ll need a digital oscilloscope.

Replace Nissan Altima crankshaft sensor

The crankshaft sensor is located on the right rear of the block below the starter motor on the 2.5L engine. It’s a fairly simple replacement procedure requiring just the removal of on bolt and electrical connector. The flat rate guide shows a billing labor of 0.6 hrs to replace the part and a genuine Nissan crankshaft position sensor runs about $100 at a dealer. Cheaper versions are available by reputable manufacturers

Hitachi manufactures the Nissan factory part

HITACHI CPS0003 replaces all these Nissan part numbers:237316N200, 237316N202, 237316N205, 237316N206, 237316N20A, 237316N20B, 237316N20C, 237316N20D, 237316N21A, 237318J005, 237318J006, B37316N20C, EPS0003

BECK/ARNLEY 1800473 replaces all these Nissan part numbers: 237316N202, 237316N205, 237316N206, 237316N20A, 237316N20B, 237316N20C, 237316N20D, 237316N21A, 237318J000, 237318J005, 237318J006,

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