Car randomly has zero power... security issue?
#1
Car randomly has zero power... security issue?
Hey everyone,
I have a 2005 G35 coupe with 216,000kms on it. I just bought it last week, love her to death!
Sometimes when I go to start the vehicle, nothing happens. The key fob does not unlock the car doors, I have to manually turn the key. And once I get in and go to crank it, nothing. No power, no lights or radio or anything no matter how many times I turn the key.
Here's the weird part, when I get out of the car and close the door, the headlights flash twice. THEN I re-open the door and the car starts.
Does anybody know why this is happening? I'm guessing it must be alarm related. It's not the stock key fob, it's aftermarket, so I guess the previous owner has an aftermarket alarm installed. In the past week I've had the car, if I started it 30 times for instance, it's happened like 4 times. And when I finally get it started, the clock is only 1 or 2 minutes behind, so I know the car was only without power for a minute or two, so the battery isn't dead. No flickering lights or any signs that the battery is on its way out... also had my mechanic check the voltage and he said it's charging fine and resting at a good voltage as well.
I was thinking maybe the cables to the battery are bad, but like I said, when I get out of the car and close the door and re-open it, it starts. So that sounds more security related to me. It has a remote starter as well, and that doesn't work when the car has no power either, if that matters.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. It's kind of embarrassing to go to start your car and it randomly chooses not to cooperate
Edit: Forgot to mention, no CEL, but I do get a code. P1815. It's related to the transmission, but I had it checked at a transmission shop and they said its an electrical-related code and to ignore it if it's not affecting my drive, which it's not. It's related to the manual mode shifting, which works anyway. But maybe that's an electrical issue that ties into this bigger problem? I dunno.
I have a 2005 G35 coupe with 216,000kms on it. I just bought it last week, love her to death!
Sometimes when I go to start the vehicle, nothing happens. The key fob does not unlock the car doors, I have to manually turn the key. And once I get in and go to crank it, nothing. No power, no lights or radio or anything no matter how many times I turn the key.
Here's the weird part, when I get out of the car and close the door, the headlights flash twice. THEN I re-open the door and the car starts.
Does anybody know why this is happening? I'm guessing it must be alarm related. It's not the stock key fob, it's aftermarket, so I guess the previous owner has an aftermarket alarm installed. In the past week I've had the car, if I started it 30 times for instance, it's happened like 4 times. And when I finally get it started, the clock is only 1 or 2 minutes behind, so I know the car was only without power for a minute or two, so the battery isn't dead. No flickering lights or any signs that the battery is on its way out... also had my mechanic check the voltage and he said it's charging fine and resting at a good voltage as well.
I was thinking maybe the cables to the battery are bad, but like I said, when I get out of the car and close the door and re-open it, it starts. So that sounds more security related to me. It has a remote starter as well, and that doesn't work when the car has no power either, if that matters.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. It's kind of embarrassing to go to start your car and it randomly chooses not to cooperate
Edit: Forgot to mention, no CEL, but I do get a code. P1815. It's related to the transmission, but I had it checked at a transmission shop and they said its an electrical-related code and to ignore it if it's not affecting my drive, which it's not. It's related to the manual mode shifting, which works anyway. But maybe that's an electrical issue that ties into this bigger problem? I dunno.
Last edited by Richie8; 12-09-2015 at 09:19 PM.
#3
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Front and rear cameras, tire pressure for all four tires can display on screen,folding side view mir
Was this vehicle ever involved in a flood?
Telcoman
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It sounds like you may have a loose connection. I'd start at the battery. Remove the cables from the terminals and clean them up and put them back on good and tight.
If they were loose, any jarring motion (such as shutting the door) could knock the cable into a position where it's not making clean contact with the terminal.
You could also have a short somewhere where a wire rubbed against something and wore through the sheathing causing the exposed wire to short out on the frame or other metal parts it may come into contact with. This would be the same thing with the jarring motion of the door shutting causing it to do this.
Try opening the door and leaving it open, then opening and closing your hood to see if it does the same thing. This should create a similar jarring motion so you can try to rule out the closing of your actual door as part of the problem. You could also try the trunk, but you won't be able to get that opened without pulling down the rear seats and reaching into the trunk to open it unless you have power.
Does your car have any aftermarket alarm of any sort on it? Check the battery cables for other wires piggybacking off of the terminals... that's usually a sure sign of either a stereo mod or an alarm system.
If they were loose, any jarring motion (such as shutting the door) could knock the cable into a position where it's not making clean contact with the terminal.
You could also have a short somewhere where a wire rubbed against something and wore through the sheathing causing the exposed wire to short out on the frame or other metal parts it may come into contact with. This would be the same thing with the jarring motion of the door shutting causing it to do this.
Try opening the door and leaving it open, then opening and closing your hood to see if it does the same thing. This should create a similar jarring motion so you can try to rule out the closing of your actual door as part of the problem. You could also try the trunk, but you won't be able to get that opened without pulling down the rear seats and reaching into the trunk to open it unless you have power.
Does your car have any aftermarket alarm of any sort on it? Check the battery cables for other wires piggybacking off of the terminals... that's usually a sure sign of either a stereo mod or an alarm system.
#7
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10-09-2015 04:14 PM