Camera does not always turn on, suggestions? Before sending it back to Nikon

Well, to say I am upset is an understatement.
Ironically, my first Nikon, been taking photos for decades with other brands. Never had an issue with one until this Nikon 3300.

First off, I love this camera however 1 year warranty about to expire and, right before we were to leave for vacation, I turned on the camera but it would not turn on, green indicator light would blink and then turn off. Ok, I think, right away trouble but for the heck of it I charge battery. Battery charged, same thing, green light blinks then stops, nothing turns on.

Really pissed, removed battery, memory card etc, etc, tried everything, no power except for the green light which blinks, then goes off.
Sooooo ... even more pissed I turn on and off the switch about a dozen times, camera starts right up and works right through vacation, go to upload my photos, once again, camera will not start up, same symptoms.
Once again, turn it on and off many times, it starts up, up load photos.

Tried it a few more times and seems hit or miss, today it works, tomorrow it may not, suggestions PLEASE!

I HATE the thought of sending it out for repair because I just expect if its working when they get it, they will do nothing and it will happen again.
Will the firmware update help? It doesnt mention anything about this issue in the firmware update.

Thanks for ANY advice!

Sounds like a defect somewhere. If the warranty is about to expire, it would be wise to rush sending it in.

Even if they find no fault then it reoccurs later at least you can send it back with a note saying,you reported it during the warranty period but they failed to find and fix the fault.

The fact that the green light blinks, then goes OFF tells me it is turning On/Off but that it's detecting a fault in the POST test and then shutting OFF... Do you have another battery that you can try?

It could be the battery like Fred said. I've seen batteries show fully charged, but they are truly dead and can't power on the device. Certainly try one if you have a spare. I'm troubled though that sometimes it is able to power on. So here is another thought.... The switch could be briefly making contact as you turn it on but once it clicks into position, it loses contact. With that in mind, see if you can slowly turn the switch on and then stop if the green light come on. In other words, see if you can find some midway position where the switch does work. In the end, though, its probably best to send it in and catch that warranty. I think the original battery should be covered under warranty as well if that ends up being the problem.

Check with your Local Best Buy and see if they have the Nikon EN-EL14a in stock and buy one. That may be your problem and even if it is not then you always need a spare battery.

Send it for warranty repairs with a detailed note on the problem. Once they accept it, you can always claim that they did nothing during warranty repairs if the problem persists.

Thanks everyone for your responses. For anyone interested, this is what I did. After the first vacation is when I made the original post. I filled out an online form to send it in for warranty work, Nikon site directed me to their authorized repair center, filled out a form for their repair center and I was supposed to receive an email on the procedure to send it in. That email never came. Figures, but here is what I did.

After original post, besides trying to contact Nikons repair service and never hearing back from them, which is terrible ...

1. I played around with the camera some more, inserted and removed the battery a number of times in case it was something with the multiple contacts on the battery, I did the same thing with my San Disk Ultra Plus 16 GB memory card.

2. I updated the firmware to the latest version, 1.01 Only. There is also another update for the lens distortion control. I did not do that, as that update only states it is for the original version 1.00 firmware, there is no mention that its for the new 1.01 firmware and that in itself raises a question, so I didnt do the lens distortion update, only the camera firmware. Of course also reformatted the card.

3. The camera worked flawlessly through our second vacation, not one hi-cup, not even a hint there was anything ever wrong with the camera, so pondering this with my wife, we all know if I sent that camera in working, someone would have looked at it, called it fixed and send it back to me untouched and if there is a problem I wont know until it happens again. So I purchased a Nikon extended 2 year warranty for $69.00.
I NEVER purchase extended warranties but it was the only way to put my mind at ease, as on Nikon service centers website, I saw the price would be $183. if I didnt have a warranty.

4. So, camera working perfectly, I have no idea why it did what it did but think it was a fluke, not totally believing in flukes that will not come back, I bought an extended warranty for $69. and this puts my mind at ease.

Last but not least, as I was typing this update. I pulled the memory card from the camera to post the exact memory card that is in the camera. If anyone wishes to see what was happening to me, all you need to do is pull the memory card then reinsert it. You will see the green light on the back blink green. That was what was happening, just a green blink of the light and no start up. However now it works perfect all the time, so I am thinking if this issue ever comes up again, try a different card right away and see if it clears up.