Car Trouble(Infiniti Q45)

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Hyped

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pdawg731
Hello everyone. I drive an Infiniti Q45, and today it completely died on me. Almost everything on it is dead; interior lights won't turn on, lights don't work, etc. I can't move it at all, since it's stuck in park, and when I turn the key, it doesn't do anything at all. Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be? When I drove it home from school it worked fine, no problems, but when I tried to take it to the store, I got no response. It's a second gen(1996-2000) Q45, and has been fairly reliable(until now) with it's only troubles being with battery corrosion and loose connections, which I already checked.

Any insight is much appreciated.
 
I know some Nissans have a big inline fuse on the positive battery cable I would check that.
 
Ditto on fuses. I'd check them first. Only time I remember a sudden and complete loss of power it turned out to be a fuse.
 
Does it turn over or do anything when you try boosting it with another car?
 
I asked my parents about the battery and they said it was new and wrote that off. I'll try jumping it if I know for certain it won't further the problem.
 
Hyped
I asked my parents about the battery and they said it was new and wrote that off. I'll try jumping it if I know for certain it won't further the problem.
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Did they buy the battery or did it come with the car?
 
If you had' a previous issue with battery connections, then that's likely exactly what it is this time. Connect jumper cables to it, if it doesn't light up or do anything, then it's definitely a connection issue.

The big inline fuse would make all sorts of lights come on on your dash, but it should still do something when you turn the key.


EDIT: Also, a new battery doesn't mean the alternator was working, or that the car doesn't have some kind of parasitic draw, or that you didnt accidentally leave something on.
 
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If the car starts with a jump and the alternator turns out fine, then what sort of parasitic draws should I start looking for?
 
Constant draw from the stereo if it hasnt been wired proper.

I was betting on main fuse. Did you jump it when this happened or were you just turning the car over?
 
Perfect Balance
If you had' a previous issue with battery connections, then that's likely exactly what it is this time. Connect jumper cables to it, if it doesn't light up or do anything, then it's definitely a connection issue.

The big inline fuse would make all sorts of lights come on on your dash, but it should still do something when you turn the key.


EDIT: Also, a new battery doesn't mean the alternator was working, or that the car doesn't have some kind of parasitic draw, or that you didnt accidentally leave something on.
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Exactly. Also, a "new" battery means nothing either. My friend bought a new battery and a year later it went again, but since his battery was only a year old he never assumed that it was the problem until we went under the hood with a voltage meter and found out it was the culprit.
 
I would say battery, as even with main fuse gone some stuff should still work. Unless more than one fuse is gone.
I convinced my friend to buy a skyline cheap years ago, because the dealer thought there was something seriously wrong with it. They could get it to run with a battery pack, they thought it was a power drain. I knew the main fuse was gone, I could even see it. Usually a 75 amp fuse. Anyway my friend had a perfect running cheap skyline in the end.

Edit: after reading the OP again, it's probably the fuse.
 
I've got a few updates from today..

I got home from school and called my friend who has cables over to see if we could start the car. It doesn't do anything the first time, so we try again, and the car starts. Everything is going fine until I try to drive it, which is when it died. It did this after every time we jumped it, not matter how long we left the cables attached. The car would run for maybe a minute or two at a time before it cut out. Am I right in assuming the problem is the alternator?
 
Hyped
I've got a few updates from today..

I got home from school and called my friend who has cables over to see if we could start the car. It doesn't do anything the first time, so we try again, and the car starts. Everything is going fine until I try to drive it, which is when it died. It did this after every time we jumped it, not matter how long we left the cables attached. The car would run for maybe a minute or two at a time before it cut out. Am I right in assuming the problem is the alternator?
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Or the battery is so dead it wont even hold the charge from the Alternator I have had that happen too.
 
Is there any way to test if the battery won't hold a charge, or do I have to buy a new one?
 
Might be a chance the alternator is bad. Something to think about.

Hyped
Is there any way to test if the battery won't hold a charge, or do I have to buy a new one?
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First, see if the alternator is indeed bad. Have the car jump started, and let it run for a little while. Don't do anything, just let it sit there. Then shut it off after about 5-10 minutes. Come back hours later, maybe even the next day and see if it starts. If it does, the battery is fine alright and holds a charge. If it doesn't, the alternator isn't charging it or your battery is stupid fried. You really should get a meter to check your voltage. 12.6 volts is fully charged IIRC.

If you got it running and it doesn't stay running, that could be another issue entirely, unless you mean you shut it off and tried to start it up again, and it wouldn't. If you tried to drive it and it died repeatedly, I think you have something much more serious on your hands.
 
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Badasp5.0
Or the battery is so dead it wont even hold the charge from the Alternator I have had that happen too.
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But most cars will run off just the alternator, so once they're started, they should stay running. If its dying at idle, than I would assume alternator.

If you want to know for sure, get your hands on a digital multi meter and read the battery leads with the car running. If its 14+ volts, then the alternator is working ok, if its less than that, especially less than 12, then you know the alternator needs to be changed.
 
SRV2LOW4ME
But most cars will run off just the alternator, so once they're started, they should stay running. If its dying at idle, than I would assume alternator.
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It should stay running regardless of it's bad or not. The alternator is an accessory running on the belt powered by the crank.
SRV2LOW4ME
If you want to know for sure, get your hands on a digital multi meter and read the battery leads with the car running. If its 14+ volts, then the alternator is working ok, if its less than that, especially less than 12, then you know the alternator needs to be changed.
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This is also true.
 
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Hyped
Is there any way to test if the battery won't hold a charge, or do I have to buy a new one?
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If you take it into your local AutoZone/O'Reilly's/NAPA/Pep Boys/Advance/etc, they should be able to test it.
 
Slashfan
If you got it running and it doesn't stay running, that could be another issue entirely, unless you mean you shut it off and tried to start it up again, and it wouldn't. If you tried to drive it and it died repeatedly, I think you have something much more serious on your hands.
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I got it running, pulled it out onto the street, and started off when all the electrical components shut off and the engine cut out.
 
Hyped
I got it running, pulled it out onto the street, and started off when all the electrical components shut off and the engine cut out.
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That definitely should not be happening.
 
Figured it out. The negative connection was loose and corroded. Took it apart, cleaned it off, and it started fine with a jump.
 
Hyped
Figured it out. The negative connection was loose and corroded. Took it apart, cleaned it off, and it started fine with a jump.
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Still die when you drive it? That is just plain wierd.
 
I couldn't find a socket to fit the bolt on the negative, so I couldn't clean it as well as the positive end. I'm going to try and drive it in a bit to see if it's still working
 
We should have told you it was something serious and to go to the dealership to get it fixed so you would have a huge repair bill to remind you of how many face palms you caused GTP.
 

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