GathrdOrphan

8/2014 I got a new battery, and by 11/2014 I began to notice corrosion on the terminals. I garage the car for the winter and don't have much access to work on it, only drive it periodically.

Drive the car the following year (spring). Brake and battery light come on. Battery tests good. Alternator tests bad. Decide to pull the alternator, replaced with a used stock alternator and same issue showing about 13.9. Take it to a shop I trust, they Try both old alternators and a new alternator, same issue, 13.9 as opposed to 14.2. They pull up the wiring diagrams and determine the wire inside the harness going from the alternator to the battery fuse box is bad. Run [this wire.](https://imgur.com/a/1SOxA) solves the issue. Lights are off and I'm back at 14.2.

Fast forward about a year. I go to start the car and it seems like my starter is beginning to go. A few cranks and nothing. After about 2 minutes it starts. 6 weeks later same issue. This time it takes about 5 minutes. I get one click you can hear the starter than I get rapid clicks. But I got it started after slightly longer. A week goes by and it's the weekend. I do an oil change and I can't do anything to start the car. I jump it and after about 10 minutes it starts. I drive it that day, no issues. The next day it won't start without a jump, and if I start it I can't shut it off or it will die.

Shut car off, had to jump it for about 40 minutes. Went trough 3 sets of cables. Finally got it started and go to turn on the lights, car died instantly. Interior dome lights and back lighting for climate control are flashing and a ticking is coming from the fuse box. We check all the fuses. None blown. Swap out the 10a alternator fuse just in case (that had the wire ran to it in the pics) and try jumping it again. It jumps after about 10 minutes and I get CEL p01614 and my anti theft light stays on the whole way home. Car has no electronics once I shut it off in my driveway, have to lock the doors manually. Wake up next morning, and the car has enough charge for all the electronics to work properly.

update: Bought a new battery, same issue. Car will start intermittently when it feels like it with the old battery and no different with the new battery. Can get one good lock/unlock out of it than will not even crank. Interior lights will flicker/ Dome lights stopped working. After trying to get the first crank battery feels strong, than will act as if its dead but will test strong (90-100% on new/old battery)

Also tested for [voltage drop](https://i.imgur.com/WMDprhm.jpg) and came back with the following results...

Car off/ headlights on than off: 12.7
1) 14.81
2) .02
3) 0.00
4) 0.00
5) every fuse .03
6) cannot locate alternator output stud


update 2: spoke with a buddy who is a Nissan master tech at a local dealer and suggested I start with the fusible link on the positive terminal than check the ipdm for corrosion. Will be replacing the fusible link this weekend and inspecting the ipdm...will post back. (11/30)

Update 3: This past weekend I went to start the car. No dice - figures. Got a constant clicking noise coming from the battery-fuse box area. Also same clicking coming from the Passenger side door by the window motor. While the battery was clicking, the horn was also going off "gently" it was pretty weird. Tail lights also like to flicker. I took a video and wil upload the video with pictures shortly. In the meantime, here is the thread I made blaming the ECU.

https://my350z.com/forum/tuning/6167...l#post10905303

7/31

Update 4: Videos 7/31

zakmartin

Check for bad grounds while you're at it.

GathrdOrphan

Thank you. Grounds seem pretty good...I'm sure I'm missing a few though as I only found maybe 3...Battery to chassis is a painted surface which hopefully isn't the issue because this has been hell of a problem due to a little bit of paint. Also I don't really wanna sand away the paint there. Chassis to engine was good. What grounds am I missing? The car is low miles and garaged during winter months so there isn't much visible physical wear on much of the car.

aqe040466

It could be an alternator issue, or a grounded positive wire or cable or the battery is not properly grounded.

zakmartin

When I changed out my battery ground cable to a heavier gauge after adding a bunch of aftermarket stereo gear right after I bought the car, I scrubbed down the paint at the connection point with a Dremel wire brush and added a little electrolytic grease to the exposed metal. I check the connection whenever I change my oil and 7 years later, it still looks fine. Results may vary if you live in the salt belt.

GathrdOrphan

Thank you.

I'll have to do that. To update, I've replaced the fusible link with a new one from the dealer. No positive results except knowing that my old link was likely good. No blown fuses. Ive also heard that the stock anti theft could be posing issues..

zakmartin

Getting back to basics, what's the year/trim of the car and the mileage? Have you checked out the troubleshooting flowchart in the FSM? The ground points are listed in there as well.

What kind of amperage draw against the battery (if any) are you getting when you try to turn over the engine?

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

I would guess a ground issue also, the car has that one ground cable from the battery to the body. I also took that off and wire brushed mine for a better connection. I then ran a wire from their right to the engine block.

Do you have anything screwed into anything that isnt factory? The cars wires are set up pretty good from the factory... Although if you store your car for the winter time it could have become home to a mouse that chewed some wires... Lots of places to hibernate in an unused car...

GathrdOrphan

A few months later and the issue persists, but to be fair I havent looked too much into it. Im going to replace the ground "bypass" the shop had installed from the alternator and see how it goes from there.