What would make the engine have to spin for about a minute to crank

SCOTT1909TAYLOR

MEMBER
2003 NISSAN ALTIMA
140,000 MILES

About three days ago at a traffic light car shut off it was hard to crank back and it still takes the engine turning over for about a minute to crank. Once cranked engine runs fine at all speeds with no hesitation or power loss. The engine still stalls about once a day but only when idling at a light or something. The engine spins fine it just takes a long time to crank usually 30 seconds to a minute

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 AT 7:54 PM

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
110,176 POSTS

I would start by checking fuel pump pressure and fuel filter. If pressure is weak, it could cause this. Also, if the vehicle hasen't been tuned up for a long time, it should be checked for that. There are directions for checking fuel pump pressure on our homepage under the diy section.

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Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 AT 7:57 PM

SCOTT1909TAYLOR

MEMBER
2 POSTS

The service engine light is on as well. Could this also point to the fuel pump

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Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 AT 8:54 PM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
110,176 POSTS

It could if there is a random misfire caused by a weak pump. What I recommend doing is take the vehicle to a nationally recognized parts store and have them scan the computer. Most will do it for free. That will identify trouble codes that are stored in the computer. The trouble codes are specific to what is causing the problem. Get the codes from the store and let me know what they are so I can better direct you.

Let me know what you find.

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Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 AT 9:48 PM