For the past month or two, my car randomly won’t start. I chalked it up to a quirky push start system, as I’m used to a physical key. It only seemed to happen if I unlocked the car and would delay in starting it up. The fix was to lock it and walk away and then turn right back around and start it up.

It got a bit worse and I tried other things (such as sticking the key in
the port 10x times and hitting the unlock button and whatever else) but now it’s at the point where it sometimes won’t start at all. Wouldn’t start at the Home Depot parking lot so I jacked it up, whacked the starter, and it started right up(must’ve been coincidence). The next day when I went to leave my client’s house it would not start. I had to rush back to make Christmas dinner so I left it there. The next day I came back, jacked it up, gave the starter a whack, and it started right up(must’ve been coincidence)

I assumed since whacking the starter got the car to turn over, it must’ve been the starter. I removed it and had autozone test it and it tested good. I had autozone test the battery and it too tested good. This is not my old 350z where it takes 2 minutes to drop the starter. They moved it to the driver’s side and it’s a PITA to get out. So I spent a few hours over the course of a few days to remove it and reinstall. The battery stayed disconnected the entire time. After getting the car put back together, now I found some newer symptoms.

when I tried to start the car the first time after reconnecting the battery, it did not want to start. I locked it, left it for maybe an hour, came back and started right up. But the VDC off and SLIP lights were illuminated. I also had a check engine light relating to a lean fuel mix on bank 1, but it looks like I just forgot to connect the intake hose. Fixed and cleared the code. So I figured that once I shut the car off and turned it back on, the VDC and SLIP lights would be gone. That
was true. But the next day when I left my house, the VDC and SLIP lights were back, although I think they came on after I began driving, not while I was idling in the garage.

I removed the IPDM and don’t see any obvious signs of physical damage to the board and unfortunately all the relays are soldered on so I can’t swap them. I’m wondering if it might be the IPDM though as another issue I have had since buying the car earlier this year is that I can’t turn up the A/C fan to full speed or the A/C would kill itself. If i hit the AUTO button the fans would ramp up to full speed and the A/C would kill itself until I shut the car off and turned it back on. Now every time I start the A/C with the fans on low, it’ll blow for about a second, maybe two, and then kills itself until I shut the car off and back on and then same thing.

Another issue I’ve had since buying the car is a couple of dead dashboard lights and a couple flickering ones. Might be unrelated,
just throwing that in too.

a few ago I took the car to the automated car wash and water got into the car, ending up in the passenger footwell. I’m thinking it may be this: https://g35driver.com/forums/g-spot/...olution-2.html

isn’t the glovebox where the BCM or ECU is at and could possibly have water damage? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

Just started my car again and got the VDC and slip lights on again. So I guess they illuminate pretty much every time I start the car after I did all that work with the starter.

 

When I tried to put the starter back in, it was upside down and I had to try to flip it over. I couldn’t really get it back out for some reason so I had to disconnect the steering wheel column to make some extra room. Could the steering wheel column not being lined up properly have something to do with the VDC and slip?

 

Push to start is not a quirky system but one that reduces auto theft. Physical keys can be easily duplicated. Key Fobs not so much.
That fact my be a strong clue as why you are having a problem?
With a fourteen year old vehicle that may not have been a garaged vehicle by prior owners, it seems quite likely that you have an electrical wiring,harness, or component issue?
Perhaps you should have had the vehicle thoroughly inspected buy a local Infiniti dealer prior to your purchase to obtain a service history and a list of any possible defects?
A one hour diagnostic fee at a dealer most likely can determine why the vehicle will not start with a good battery, starter, and IPDM.
Next time call AAA and have it towed to the dealer.instead of just throwing parts at it and let the dealer tell you what the problem is.
Just my $.02
Good luck

 

Yes you probably misaligned the steering shaft and now the steering angle sensor is off which is triggering the VDC/SLIP.

About the fail to start though, is there a LARGE RED KEY ICON on the dash when it fails to start? Also, the start relay in the IPDM is replaceable, there is an internal one that's soldered but the primary relay is replaceable.

The system is fairly straightforward though, BCM detects the fob or key RFID chip and sends the ok signal to the ECM, if it doesn't get the signal you get the large red key icon on the dash when trying to start.

TCM sends the park/neutral state to the ECM.

If the BCM and TCM both are ready to start then they close the soldered relay in the IPDM.

If the ECM gets the signal from the BCM and TCM when you press the start button then the ECM closes the replaceable relay in the IPDM and power goes to the starter solenoid to crank the engine.

If all this started happening after you flooded the passenger footwell then I would definitely suspect water damage is the culprit. Remove the glove box like you would if changing the cabin air filter. Then remove the plastic trim in the footwell, that's where the ECM is located. Disconnect the battery, pump the brakes to discharge any remaining energy, then unplug the ECM harness and inspect it for corrosion.

Something you didn't mention, is this a problem that only happens when the engine is hot? It's very common for a starter solenoid to fail to start when hot (this is the main symptom that the solenoid is failing). If the engine will ALWAYS start when it's cold I would definitely suspect the starter solenoid. Next time it fails to start you need to test for voltage at the starter solenoid, bench testing the starter isn't effective troubleshooting because by the time you remove the starter and get it on the bench it's probably cooled down enough that the solenoid will function again. Typically if the car sits for an hour it will be cool enough to restart.

 

^^^^
Crawford842

What he said!

Ask cleric670 if he makes house calls.
He might be cheaper than a visit to a dealer even if you cover an overnight stay and all he can eat and drink

 

Ohh come on the dealership isn't that expensive.

And I definitely DON'T do house calls unless I know you.

 

I think youre absolutely right about it being misaligned. I think I needed an alignment before so didn’t think too much of it but the steering wheel is slightly off. Should be a fairly easy fix.

as far as the red key icon, I have a small blinking red light with a car and key and I believe that that is normal behavior, right?

from what I remember when taking the IPDM out yesterday, the only replaceable relay was not labeled. So should be that one?

I removed the plastic footwell trim already so taking the ECM out and inspecting for water damage was already my next step. You’d suspect that over the IPDM or the starter relay? Car wash was many months ago and problem only started recently so I suppose it’s taken a long time for the corrosion to build up to cause the occasional no starts.

and I believe the no start condition has mainly happened when cold, if not exclusively cold. To t
est the voltage on the starter, where do I connect my leads? To the wiring harness or the large cable coming in that’s held down with a nut? That large cable is just a ground, right? So where does my positive lead go?

 

I was considering going to the dealership. Only thing I got put off by was the cost of new parts if it’s something like the IPDM.

 

Wrong! Perhaps its NATS that is preventing the vehicle from starting?

It would be a good idea for you to refer to the FSM while troubleshooting.

https://www.nicoclub.com/service-man...2007%2Fstr.pdf

See page STR-15

 

Ok for starters, you are talking about a V36 platform car right? 2007-2008 G35 SEDAN with the HR motor? Reason I ask is I thought they did away with the NATS red led light on the dash when they switched from the V35 to V36 platform.

Do you have the iKey push button start or just a standard key? I had assumed you were talking about an HR sedan with iKey, if you have the iKey system the NATS/IVIS lockout indicator would be a large red key icon in the middle of the dash.

The starter doesn't have a ground, it bolts to the engine which is grounded, the large cable is the other end of the positive battery cable. One end lands on the battery (via the fusible link which is actually the component bolted onto the battery) the other end goes directly to the starter which is the largest electrical load on the vehicle. The smaller wire on the starter is the one you want, it's energized only when cranking the motor, it actuates the starter solenoid and when the solenoid plunger extends and the start motor is engaged on the flywheel/flexplate it internally closes the contact for the big power wire to energize the start motor. That big wire is always energized 12vdc.

Test for voltage WHILE CRANKING on the little wire when you have a no-start condition. If that smaller wire has 12vdc then it's a starter problem. If there is no power on the little wire then troubleshoot the rest of the signaling circuit, it's a pretty simple circuit.

As for the LED light, is it SOLID RED while cranking the engine in a no-start condition? If so that's a NATS/IVIS (Nissan Anti Theft Security/Infiniti Vehicle Immobilizer System) lockout because it doesn't recognize your key on a non-iKey system, for V35 platform (not this thread on the forum, this is the V36 subforum) they still use the red LED light as the NATS/IVIS indicator and no key icon on the dash.

 

NATS was my original thought. I’ll look into that too.

 

I gave a 2008 G35 Sedan, Journey edition. Comes with the iKey and push start button. I assume I have the HR just like my 2007 350z. I believe the DE only had a single air intake while the HR has dual. I could be wrong on that.

if you’re talking about the middle of the dash display that displays your current gear and the MPG and all that, I’m positive when I get the no-start condition all it shows is the icon to put your foot on the brake and push the button.

good info on the starter. I was pretty sure the big cable had to be the positive but then thought about it and wondered where the ground would be. I’ll check into that as well.

my initial thought was the vehicle immobilized system. Pretty sure the little red light is just blinking, not solid.

 

Took the ECM and BCM apart and so signs of water. I don’t see signs of water on anything in the glovebox area besides maybe this yellow screw post the ECM mounts to. I guess next step is to grab the multimeter and head back under the car to test the starter on the next time I get a no-start.


ECM

BCM side 1

BCM side 2

Thread post that the ECM bolts to

Thread post that the ECM bolts to

 

New issue. After reinstalling the ECM and BCM, the windows will auto roll down and they will manually go down or manually go up, but they don’t auto roll up. Any ideas?