Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1990 Nissan Sentra with 71,000 miles on it. It has been trouble free until this summer. You normally have to depress the clutch before you turn the ignition switch to start the engine. But lately, especially on hot days, when you try to start the car, nothing happens except the dash lights come on. There's no sound at all from the engine. If you turn off the key and wait a minute or so and then try again, it may start. When it does start, it starts briskly. The battery is only six months old. Can you help? Rich

Ray: I have two suggestions for you, Rich. First, ask your dealer to replace the clutch interlock switch. That's the switch that requires you to step on the clutch before you start the car; that's so you don't accidentally start the car in gear and drive through your garage door. The interlock switch is a good place to start because it's cheap.

Tom: You might also ask your mechanic to replace the solenoid connector at the starter. We've seen a lot of Nissans on which that connection gets corroded and prevents the car from starting. That's also cheap.

Ray: And when neither of these does the trick, then it will be clear that what you need is a new starter. That's almost guaranteed to fix it.

Tom: We would have told you that three paragraphs ago, Rich, but they pay us by the word.

Spending a little money now on "preventive maintenance" can save you big bucks down the road. Find out how by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1994 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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