The Max

Today's update: Replacement battery was definitely MUCH healthier, measuring in at 12.66V. Unfortunately, no change to the original problem though. Start button illumination is still dead. Checked the BCM, power is present at the BCM, the switch contact definitely has continuity to the BCM and grounds when depressed. However, the illumination pin is not being grounded by the BCM, which leads me to believe the BCM has gone bad here, as also indicated in PCS-64 of the G37 FSM. This will need someone with a scan tool that has the immobiliser support (lacking in mine) to facilitate the replacement of a BCM.

So for the benefit of any keen readers here, this is what we've found so far: Battery is not really doing a great job at retaining charge. Fresh off a three hour charge or so, we saw only 12.1V and declining at a relatively brisk rate. Quick in-circuit current test showed a draw of around 200mA upon initial connect and then around half that soon after. Consult III+ software was showing 11.8V at the OBD port, while the battery was still measuring in slightly above 12.0V. After a few minutes, this dropped to 0.0V. No systems were powering up because we couldn't even get the car to switch the IGN power circuit (totally dead start button, including illumination), so no chance of the Consult II+ tool detecting any systems for testing. While I have had my vehicle power up fine with the battery sitting on 11.9V or so, this is likely to be a bad battery. So the advice has been to charge the battery up, until the charger shows approximately 1A draw or less (indicating a fully charged battery). Disconnect from charger, let sit unconnected for 30 minutes or more, then measure the battery with a meter to see if it sits on or around 12.5V at least. If the battery still sinks to around 12.1V or less, it's a dud and a warranty replacement should be obtained. If that still doesn't bring the car to life, the next step will be to check the IPDM, as it is responsible for feeding power to the multiple systems, including the OBD port.

Not so much that a specific scan tool is needed, because the diagnostic protocol is industry standard. My argument is that the Nissan one gets straight into the meat and potatoes of it, especially since the software can diagnose JDM vehicles as well, and provide the clear definition of those diagnostic codes in Nissan-speak. Some aftermarket scan tools have a limited range of vehicles in their database for directly translating the diagnostic codes to something in relative English, so they can give you a rough idea of what that affected device is but maybe not necessarily provide every finite detail to describe it. I'm just thinking that two out of two dudes with aftermarket scan tools were pretty much bugger all help to you. I'll talk to you in private. I may not necessarily solve your problem but we can at least drill down to what the culprit is likely to be.

Ouch dude. The little control unit behind the kick panel? If that is the location, that's your BCU. You definitely want that guy to be well-protected before you have more than just an annoying parking brake light stuck. My severe hatred for the sunroof is once again vindicated.

Dude, you're definitely having a rough ride here. My heartfelt sympathies. This is part of the risks of purchasing an import (and why I chose to buy my own Consult3+ scan tool)! Anyway, you definitely need to take it in to someone with a proper Nissan Consult 3+ scan tool, instead of third party stuff. I can understand why these guys need a third party scan tool (to work with more than just Nissans) but either they don't know their own tools or they are overcomplicating things with import vehicles, which simply aren't all that different. Are you located in Sydney?

Yes, you do need the battery to be reasonably charged in order for all your circuits to actually power up. If they can't power up, they can't be diagnosed. The scan tool does not provide power to the vehicle's electronics. You need to get the basics out of the way first - why is your battery dying so quickly? Dud battery or excessive current draw from the car's electronics. Disconnect the battery (positive and negative), charge it fully with your charger (overnight, whatever). Once it's charged, disconnect and let it sit for about an hour, measure the battery voltage. If it's sitting around 12.5V, hopefully your battery is OK. If it's less than 12.0V it's screwed. If it's somewhere in between, it's of questionable health. If the battery is seemingly healthy, connect the negative of the battery and with a reasonable multimeter that can measure up to 10A current, set the meter to measure current, connect the positive probe of the meter to the positive terminal of the battery, connect the negative probe of the meter to the car's positive lead. With the car still turned off (not even Accessories), measure the current draw. If it's anything more than 0.5A (considering any aftermarket accessories with that limit), you have something seriously sucking the life out of the battery. If you have an aftermarket alarm and/or car audio system, that would be the first place to look. If you don't see anything more than 0.5A, but the battery dies after even just a few days, let alone one day, then you have a bad battery. Hope you kept the receipt to claim warranty on your battery, depending on how new it is. With any luck, the sparky will check for these basics anyway.

What gave you that impression in our sticky threads? If the post refers to a Skyline and not an Infiniti, then it's a Jap import, just like yours and there have been some references made to fellas in NZ doing the conversions where applicable.

I'd expect so after seven and a half years. Which particular model are you seeking the FSM for?

Yeah, the clean look still works for the V's. Love it.

Interesting. The parking brake switch only makes contact to ground when the lever is actuated in the engaged position. Likewise, the fluid sensor is meant to only make contact to ground when the fluid is low. So by disconnecting both (I assume they were both disconnected at the same time), they're open circuit. If the parking brake light in your dash didn't go out, there's likely to be something else wrong.

If the "scan guy" didn't give you the actual codes, he can jump off a tall building. If your mechanic has a trusted sparky, then follow his advice. The fact some things have come alive, since the recharge, are a clear indication that your battery ran flat, in the very least during the car's downtime. Just because your car is off, doesn't mean it isn't still drawing juice. Anyway, keep the charger on it in the meantime. It's a decent charger that will achieve a bit more than just a trickle, thankfully. At this point, without scanning the diagnostic codes myself or putting at least a meter to the connector plugging into the steering lock module, I'm inclined to think that it's probably the steering lock module itself having gone bad. Good luck dude. Keep us posted.

No need to get NRMA out. Buy yourself a cheap little digital multimeter. Measure the battery voltage. Tell me what it reads. If the battery is really bad, the trickle charger may not have enough current to restore any usable life in it. Trickle chargers, usually supplying 1A of current, are only good for maintaining an already reasonably charged battery. If yours is as flat as the other guy suggests, it may not be good enough for the job. The scan tool photo is meaningless to me without the actual diagnostic code (one letter followed by four digits). Did he not give you those codes as well? If not, then I wouldn't be calling him back in as that makes him and/or his tool about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

Hang on a second. Now we have conflicting information. NRMA guy says your battery is fine, auto electrician says it's not. Did either of them tell you the voltage of the battery? With the battery at 12.0V, your steering lock module should still actuate. If it's lower than that, it could be a problem indeed. The photo in your previous post, I can't get access to. You've got it locked out. If the lighting around your ignition switch is non-existent, then it's more likely that you've got a dead battery than an IPDM problem. Not saying that it's impossible for an IPDM to go bad but it's less likely than your battery. Until we get a more conclusive statement about your battery, I think we're back to blaming your battery for now. Does your photo have any information about the battery power?

Unplug the sensor cable on the brake fluid reservoir and see if it goes away or not. If doesn't go away, it is not the fluid level switch. How did you test the parking brake switch?

IPDM is the Intelligent Power Distribution Module, which lives next to your battery (sandwiched between the battery compartment and the front guard panel). Basically, it's the one which manages the distribution of power to many (if not all) electronic components in the vehicle, powering up only what is needed, when it's needed. This includes your steering lock module. Once you give me access to your scan results, I can take a look at the FSM for the relevant codes and see what they refer to. If there is something going on with both BCM and IPDM, then my guess is that the problem will be between the steering lock module and the IPDM. The IPDM is then throwing an error code back to the BCM, to let it know that something didn't go right. I'm hoping that's the case because steering lock modules and IPDM are easy to replace. BCM, on the other hand, is a bitch because it is your vehicle's security system (i.e. the immobiliser), and that requires diagnostic tools that can register the replacement BCM with the ECU, Infotainment system, Instrument Cluster, etc. If you happen to need an IPDM, you might be able to make use of my old one, which had nothing wrong with it but under the bad advice of some less knowledgeable folk, I replaced it, thinking it would extinguish the bonnet pop-up diagnostic code after my front-end was hit. I couldn't be bothered swapping it back. Something to keep in mind but probably not the module at fault, in my opinion.