What is an ignition switch capable of doing? (Nissan)

tl:dr; Would a "going bad" ignition switch cause the car alarm to randomly activate?

Year: 2000

Make: Nissan

Model: Xterra

192xxx Miles

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I'm pretty sure my ignition switch is starting to fail. There are times when the truck wont start, or has trouble starting, but then with a couple more tries, it fires right up. It has a newer battery (less than 6 months old) and the starter doesn't seem to be having any issues cranking the engine over. Also, randomly, the car alarm will activate. It sucks at 4 am when your car wakes you from a dead sleep and you have to go disable the alarm by unlocking your door.

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Could these two things be related at all? Do I have some other hokey electrical issue swimming around in my dashboard?

Posted Jun 4, 2019, 2:57 PM UTC

12
GotMyOrangeCrush•

Look at your battery-to-chassis electrical ground closely. Ideally sand off the terminal and the paint off the chassis then glop on some grease when done.

Most cars are made so the alarm goes off if you disconnect the battery, and of course a bad battery connection is going to cause starting issues.

Make sure battery connections are clean and tight.

2
waynep712222•

https://i.imgur.com/kviX0VQ.jpg is a good test to start with..

dirty connections that the voltage drop test may find.. its not the last step in testing.. changing resistance can cause the alarm to go off.

2