Cranks no start

PAULAJAYME88

MEMBER
2002 NISSAN FRONTIER
2.0L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
185,000 MILES

My truck cranks but will not start. Fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plugs, distributor cap, all good. We checked the fuel lines and they had fuel in them but still no start. I saw online in some comments that it might be the crank sensor that went bad or possible that it has gotten some oil or other fluid that leaked into the sensor and shorted it out. After looking the truck over again we saw that there was an oil leak coming from some where. But not sure why it will not start. If we took the sensor off is there a way that we could just clean the sensor? Maybe it has just gotten clogged up with dirt or grime or something.

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-cranks-but-wont-start

For an engine to start, it has to fulfill all basic required conditions and if any is malfunctioning, it would fail to start. The above link explains how to go about and what to look for.

Removing, cleaning and re-installation might help but it would only work if that is the component concerned. Guessing which component or section that is causing the problem could be a waste of time as you could be working on the wrong sector and would not be able to understand the cause. You should start with the basics and find out what is missing.

If sparks is missing, then the crank sensor could be the cause but if the injectors are not firing, then it is more likely to be due to the cam sensor.

If compression is weak, you would not be able to start the engine even if you have sparks or fuel system working correctly.

K H Low