370Z Not Cranking Problem
 

Hey, everyone. Well, this past Friday morning I was leaving for work as normal, I got into my Z and hit the "Start" button with the clutch pressed completely down and everything lit up as normal the but the car didn't not start! I then turned it off and tried it again and nothing. I did this a several more times and still nothing. I even put the key fob in the slot! :mad:

I then made a phone call to the local dealership and spoke to a friend of the family, whom works in the service department, and he said that the battery could possibly be dead in the key fob so I went and got my spare key fob and tried it but to no avail. He then advised that I needed to get it towed to him so he can have it checked out. So I called and got a tow truck on the way and in the meantime, I pulled out the owner's manual to do some troubleshooting research and nothing useful. Then I had the idea of disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and then trying again. It didn't do any harm to the car and it didn't do any good either. Shortly the tow truck got here and it was super sad to see her be put up like this. At least it was a full flat-bed (see pic 1).

We got to the Nissan dealership and the technician did a quick diagnostic. I also explained everything mentioned above. The initial results was that the key fob was being read (obviously), the clutch signal being completely pressed was also being read, but the ECU was not sending the signal to the starter to turn the motor over. They told me they wanted to do more diagnostic and troubleshooting work. I told them it was fine and to take their time. The dealership was cool enough to cover the charge on the tow and provide me a 2009 Altima (see pic 2) as a rental from Enterprise.

One thing I noticed was the "Start" button itself (see pic 3) was illuminated as normal except the 3 lights above the "Start" button was not (e.g. "On"). I'm not sure what this means but I hope to find out the results sometime next week.

I wanted to post this as a possible reference material for anybody else in the future. I will provide further details once I get an update.

If this helped, please "rep" me! Thank you!

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Please! Report back what they find.

Absolutely! I gave them today to work on it so I didn't harass them. I'll probably touch base tomorrow so stay tuned!

They you give us at least a Maxima instead of an Altima if our car has to ever be in the shop for warranty issues.

suprisingly a fully loaded altima could go for more than our base Z's !

also he said he got the rental from enterprise so prob just a coincidence that its a nissan..

And def let us know what the problem is!

hmm let us know what they find! i had a very similar problem and had a thread on it. but my car would just stalh and not fully start :shakes head: but it was a freak occasion and hasnt happened since

Alright, I just retrieved my voicemail and heard that my car is ready to be picked up. :icon17: They briefly mentioned that they had to replace the ECU and then the car was all good. As you recall from my first post, the problem was the signal was not being sent from the ECU to the starter to turn the engine over. I'm still curious to know what they think that would have caused this. It could be a fluke like what Zrider mentioned except mine was permanent, haha.

I'm at work right now so once I get off, I'll have to return the rental to Enterprise and then get a ride to Nissan. I'll ask more questions to hopefully get more info so I can share with all of you. Stay tuned!

Side note, I like the Altima! It would be a daily driver I would consider in the future. I definitely enjoyed it overall more than the Corolla rental I had fairly recently. The only upside is no matter how you drove the Corolla, that sucker got like 30+ miles a gallon.

even with a stuck throttle? lol, just j/k :bowrofl:

so basically it was the ecu that was busted. did your old one also make a buzzing whining sound? some people say nissan redesigned the ecu to fix that issue so let us know if there is a difference

Okay, the problem had to do with the IPDM (Intelligent Power Distribution Module) and the specific pin not sending the voltage to the starter. The voltage was going to the IPDM but it was not coming out. Everything else checked out with the battery and ECU. After replacing the IPDM, she fired up like normal. Here are the codes information:

RD21AA RPL IPDM/USM MODULE
Fail Code: ZE/62
RD9999 STRAIGHT TIME
Fail Code: ZE/62

Hopefully none of you will experience this! If so, at least this thread exists now to help give some reference material. If this helped, please "rep" me! Thank you!

I was worried about the whole throttle ordeal, haha! But fortunately it was all good.

So the buzzing-whining noise was from the ECU? I didn't know that but always heard it before. My girlfriend insist the radio be on when she rides my car because it is terribly annoying; I did too. Let me check on that tomorrow on the way to work and report back!

Well looks like this just happened to me today! I am getting the exact same symptoms... I recently installed Illuminated kick panels. I wonder if this has anything to do with this????

sucks to see a Z on a flatbed, but glad to see it's fixed!

Bummer! I doubt it has to do with it. Maybe we are starting to see the beginning of a problematic trend. Please keep us posted and feel free to add to this thread to beef it up with more insights or info.
Yes, it was and thank you! She is on the ground again, where she belongs. :tup:

To followup on Pharmacist's thought about the buzzing from the ECU, I've been listening for it in the past few days, even though my ECU was not replaced, it is still there. At least we can eliminate the IPDM as being the cure for the buzzing noise!

^^ its the ecu... i have a 2010 and i still hear it...

i took it to the dealership and they said Nissan had already addressed the issue with the 2010 ECU in the assembly line because of the issues on the 09's ECU.

But why is it that i still hear it? some of the guys here on the forum that have an 09 replaced their ECU and the sound is eliminated.

If they truly fixed the ECU for the 2010... shouldn't the noise be eliminated like the 09s??

what do you mean? my Z was delivered to me from another dealer on a flatbed, 150 miles away. when i picked her up, she had 8 miles.

That is very odd. Maybe another thought is to take it by another dealership and see if you can get a second opinion.
There can be exceptions! :tup:

Same thing happened to me. I interpreted it as low battery and figured I must have left a light on. When I jumped it, it started fine. It's happened three times now, so I KNOW something else is going on.
Happened again tonight. What makes it worse is my Uprev tune was set in the security, 1mph. no drive mode, and now it doesn't recognize any commands. Looks like a tow for me in the morning as well. Thanks for the info. Hopefully the IPDM will be the fix.

hmmm. sorry to hear that. hopely get it fixed!

i had a similar situation 5 months ago, my car wouldnt start, randomly. and They had to replace the IPDM. UNFORTUNATELY, as of last week, its not a permanent fix. My car wont start again, and i'm bringing it in again tomorrow.
What stinks about this situation, is I would like to put CBE, and HFC on my car, but do not want it to effect warranty coverage with this particular issue. Good luck with ur situation. I know what it feels like.

Not the IPDM. Well that sucks! Mine goes to the dealer in the morning. I have all the code info printed out to give them for the IPDM miracle cure.
This is the third time for me, randomly over the 11 months I've had the car. My volt gauge was showing over 12V each time. I put jumper cables on it anyways and it started right away. Weird.
I'll post what they find tomorrow.

Do you let the car sit for long periods of time? If the volt gauge is showing close to 12V then I would consider that almost a dead battery (<25% charge). 12.25V is only 50% charge. Fully charged is something around 12.6V.

Mine is already fixed (crosses fingers) but if you are experiencing the similar situation again, then it's not good! Sorry to hear about your situation. Please let us know if it is the IPDM again or whatever the problem may be. Good luck to you too.

Please do let us know what's up with yours too. If this is the third time then there must be something bigger that is wrong. The dealership should be doing an electrical test including your battery so make notes on that. Good luck with your situation.

(starting to notice a possible trend!)

Just returned from the dealer. Apparently my Z came with a near dead battery. In warm weather or during winter when I had it stored in heated underground parking, there was just enough juice. Outside in the cool spring, if left for a few days however , it wouldn't crank.
They checked the steering lock mechanism, which there have been problems with. If your car is in the 'on' position and the steering lock does not release, then it's malfunctioning, and the car won't start.
A check was run on the IPDM which showed normal. They also contacted Nissan Canada, who said to date there's only 1 IPDM fail in Canada.
Good call, Chris, I didn't know 12V or slightly above was next to dead.
Hopefully this is the end of it.

mmmm, the first thing i would have done if i expected a dead battery would have been to "BUMP START IT" I wonder what would of happened if you tried that?

so i finally got mine to the dealer weds, after 3 full days and 50 attempts to start it. ending up not being the chip, and a steering wheel lock bolt apparently. got it back friday, and been running good since.

Very interesting. Hopefully it wasn't something that's been draining your battery or maybe a weak alternator. I'm glad to hear you got it fixed!
That's a thought but I'm not sure if I would have wanted to put my Z through that when I had warranty to call upon, haha. Honestly, I didn't think of doing this.
This is good to know. It might be just a fluke but I'm glad to hear that it's all fixed now!

Technology can be a panacea or it can be a painacea...Shucks!

Not so Intelligent Power Distribution Module
 

It appears I have the same problem as Master Lv and several others. I got off the train tonight and my Z wouldn't start. Symptoms are: i) the system appears to recognize that the key is present because the depress clutch message appears; ii) when I depress clutch and press the start button i get a clicking sound from the engine bay but no cranking; iii) the intelligent key system warning light comes on; iv) the outside temp display switched from Fahrenheit to Centigrade; v) the horn doesn't sound when the doors are locked with the fob; and vi) there is no beeping when the button is pressed on door handle to lock the doors.

I have tried the same measure that others have tried including: i) using the backup fob; ii) inserting the backup fob in the fob holder; and iii) locking and unlocking the car using both fobs. The engine does not crank at all; only the clicking noise and not always that.

Guess I will have to have it towed to the dealer tomorrow morning.

If anyone has any new intelligence on this problem that might help I would be incredibly appreciative. My Z is a 2009 Touring 6mt with sport and nav. I bought it new in July 2009 and have approximately 9,000 miles. Except for today's major issue, I have not had any issues with the car.

Thanks,

VADSG

Dead battery or bad battery contact (Infiniti has a TSB on this). If that isn't the case then PDM it is. The clicking noise indicates that the starter motor is attempting to crank but there isn't enough current getting to it.

Hey VADSG, I think ChrisSlicks might be right that it being a battery problem. You experienced much more than I did. It really kind of just sounds like your car had reset. Let us know how it turns out. The towing and your loaner should be on Nissan's dime. Please keep us posted and good luck.

The dealer I took Z to for service, Fairfax Nissan, agreed with ChrisSlicks in part. Since they were open only a half day on Saturday, they did not have any time to check the car out. One of the service desk types said he tried to start it and then just hooked up a battery charger. They charged for a few hours and then left the car in the bay until this morning. They say it started up perfectly today. Supposedly, they checked to see if there was any drain on the battery while all systems were off, checked to see that it holds a charge and checked to see if any cell was bad. According to the dealer, the battery is fine and everything else is fine also.

Their theory is that I must have left something on last Friday morning that drained the battery so much there wasn't enough power to start or even crank the car ten hours later. Its pretty hard it seems to leave something on in the car-all lights power down automatically after a few minutes and the power outlet under the glove box doesn't work when ignition is off. Maybe I left the car in the ACC position. Would that cause such a major drain in battery?

Nissan Roadside assistance was great. The truck came quickly and exactly when they said it would. The only hitch was that Nissan said my Z purchased last July was not in their roadside assistance system. They said that selling dealer is supposed to contact them and put necessary data in the roadside assistance system to activate that benefit. Sound right to you all?

Fairfax Nissan, after I discussed the matter appropriately with them, finally gave me a loaner. They said they have one loaner per service desk type. It was a lovely, burgundy Sentra stripper. Fairfax Nissan said they do cover the cost of a rental for warranty service but it was too late on Saturday to get one.

Thanks for everyone's comments. I will monitor the battery charge for a while and make sure everthing is turned off properly. When I got Z home tonight the battery was reading 16 volts on my personal volt meter.

VADSG

16V? Even when on and charging that seems a little excessive, typical is 14.5 to 15V. With the car shut off the fully charged voltage is 12.65V.

What does the in-car volt meter read?

Well, I read the meter wrong. The in-car meter and the reading I take directly off the battery with a volt meter are approx 12.4 or 12.45.

Ok good. So your battery is about 75% of capacity, which hopefully it will stay at. Unfortunately this means your battery life expectancy will be somewhat shortened.

Thanks for the info.

If it wasn't your battery, it could be a sparkplug that's too wet from all that gas when you tried starting it up. Also, might be due to low engine oil. Maybe jumped a tooth.

Mine ended up being a blown Push Start ignition fuse!

This is very odd! At least there wasn't anything majorly wrong. It is possible leaving your ACC on and that draining the battery since things remain on like your radio but here's another food for thought: the dealership I visited said that they have had sporadic number of cases of cars, not just Zs, that would have a "time bomb" battery put in. It's just luck of the draw like buying RAM for your PC and it be from a bad batch. It just happens. Considering the battery is under warranty, at least you can get that replaced if to say it does have an accelerated death. Definitely keep an eye on it and hopefully it never happens again! But I'm glad that you got your car back.

On the roadside assistance, I think every dealership handles this independently so it would have to be up to Fairfax Nissan to honor or address it. If you do get it free, definitely active that thing! To give an example of a difference, ours is John Lee Nissan and they offer or did offer a limited lifetime warranty, extending beyond the factory, with the purchase of a new car including the Z. So everyone knows, if you plan on doing any mods to the car, it's out the window. I read the fine prints. But in your case, it sounds like you they treated you fairly.