Micra Issues - Not Starting and Grinding Issue

[reez777]

My Nissan Micra K11 1.3L 1998 is taking up valueable room on my driveway, and is no longer used so I am planning to sell it ASAP.

There are a few issues I'd like to get addressed that i'm hoping you knowledgeable people can help with.

1) Car Not Starting. My battery woes continue.

The car has been parked up for at least 2 months now, tried to start it and it wouldn't. Lights came on, car tried to tick over but no luck. Jumped it, took it for a 5min drive and parked it up again. Wouldn't start the following day. This was last month.

Today, I got the car insured, so I could take it for a longer run. This time the battery was 100% flat, lights wouldn't come on, timer display blank Jump started it, and took it for a 30 minute drive, on the motorway and A roads. No issues.

Came back, parked up, had a bite to eat - went out 30 mins later to start it and it wouldn't. Dash lights came on, engine tried to tick over, but this got fainter each time I tried. Also when I tried to turn it on, there was a double click, sounded like the central locking, locking and then unlocking the car (but I had this feature disabled many years ago when it was playing up and now the doors work manually)

Can I safely assume that the battery is knackered? Its only 3 years old and under 4yr kwik fit warranty so I can get it replaced free if thats the issue.

2) While I was was on the drive, I noticed the car GRINDS alot. It does this in gear, (not when i'm changing gear) and usually at higher revs. Usually 1st, 3rd and 5th but its also doing it in 2nd now. What causes this, and is it a major issue?

ie; is it worth me getting fixed for the new owner.

The car drives fine, quite smooth once your cruising in 5th, but this grinding is pretty noticeable now. The car hasn't been serviced since Jan 2010 but since then has probably only done 1000 miles. The service was a full service but didn't include changing of fluids - which were done the year before Nov 2009.

Any help would be appreciated, so i can get this car ready for the new buyer.

 

[r-reg-sr]

c,mon mate dont sell
you havent given him a chance long enough to prove his worth,,,,,,,,,i say dont

 

[reez777]

I think I've given the car 13years which is over half my life.

Moved on a few years ago, the car has been collecting dust since 2008, good memories with the car but now needs a new home

Just want to get it running again!

 

[Stewpotz]

1. battery is most likely 99% dead, had this problem last winter, car was fine then all of a sudden went round to my mates and turned everything of went inside for 10 mins came out turned ignition on, dash lights came on turned for engine and the car just died, turned out my battery was completely drained but a new battery sorted that out perfectly and she is running strong ever since
another thing you could check is the alternator, jump start the car and put a voltmeter across battery terminals, if you get 14.something volts then the battery is dead not the alternator

2. changing fluids should be a priority, if they havnt been changed since nov 2009, that is well over a year and the oil has probably gunked up at the bottom. try giving it a full service including gearbox & engine oil change and then it should be running nicely

stew

 

[reez777]

Thanks for the advice.

I cant see why the battery would go so soon, its fairly new. Also once jump started, it had absolutely no problems running for 1/2 hour - so would this not indicate something is draining the battery when parked up?

Why didn't the battery die while I was driving for 30 minutes? Or is it a case of once jumped, the battery has enough juice to drive, but not enough to start up again?

I'll take it into Kwik Fit for a test but just want to get a better understanding myself, incase they turn around and say the battery is fine - and you need this and that to sort it.

With regards to fluids, obviously its been a 18 months since the last full service but in that time i've covered 480 miles (just checked) and so dont know if its worth it. I think the grinding may be more of an issue with the transmission perhaps? Read something about bearings going causing this.

Grinding is only on throttle and IN gear, perfectly smooth gear changes and no sound off throttle. Also I think its been present for a couple of years but seems to sound worse now.

I dont want to waste £100+ or whatever it is on a full service if i'm selling the car, particuarly given such limited miles covered since the last full service at Nissan Main Dealer (excluding fluids). Already gonna spend £100+ on a new tax disc in a weeks time so looking for the cheapest solution.

Any thoughts or good indy's in London that can give me an honest diagnosis for a tenner or so?

I'm happy to pay £1000+ for a major service on my BMW but for a Micra thats worth around £500 that i'm selling, its a different matter.

 

[frank]

i,ll be very surprised if quickfit honour a 4 yr battery guarantee you can kill a 1 yr old battery if you let it go dead flat,
and i would check the g/box oil level first

 

[reez777]

Frank,
You seem pretty clued up on Micra's. If I take it in to a garage, would they be able to diagnose the fault, or would they need to strip the gearbox / transmission to identify any issues?