jwright8

Hello everyone, I found a thread that was similar to my problem ( https://my350z.com/forum/2003-2009-n...ing-noise.html ) with no clear solution.

Also on that thread is a link to a YouTube video of the sound. It is the exact same in my 350z ( ).

When I try to start the car, the dash lights flash rapidly and I hear a very fast clicking and nothing happens. I believe that every time I do, it drains more of the battery. What I've done:

1) Replaced the battery
2) Replaced the starter
3) Tried to jump the car - this did not work

I ordered some relays from amazon that I thought were compatible ( ), but when I replace the ignition and starter relay in the IPDM with them, nothing happens when I try to crank it - the dash lights light up, but there are no clicking sounds. When I put the old relays back in, though, I get the fast clicking; this still makes me think something to do with the relays. I have tried switching the oem starter relay (marked with a 4 on the back of the relay) with the high beam headlight one (also marked with a 4). The ignition relay has a 6 marked on the back of it, so I have not tried switching anything there yet.

Anyone have any ideas? Is it possible the relays are bad and I simply ordered the wrong ones?

jwright8

Additional context, if it matters:

Car was running fine previously and I drive it regularly. Drove to the grocery store, got out and got a few things, and by the time I got back out of the store it had started doing this and I had to have it towed. Have not been able to get it to fully start since it happened, with jumper cables, new battery, etc.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Try turning the crank by hand with a long breaker bar or something just to make sure it can rotate with only compression resistance (I'm sure it's fine, but best to rule that out). It's possible your starter is seized or stuck. That sounds like the starter solenoid trying to engage the pinion gear with the flywheel, but might be jammed or something blocking it. Might be work checking the starter mounting bolts, make sure everything is good there (not loose or anything). I would even go as far as to pull the starter out and bench test it. (Note: Don't mess with starter cables until after fully disconnecting the battery).

Relays don't make noise that loud, but there is a chance something is wrong with your IPDM with the dash lights flashing like that.

Try scanning the vehicle for any stored codes that might give more of a hint to the issue.

-Icer

jwright8

I have replaced the starter entirely with a reman one, so I made sure the two housing bolts were tight. It came with the solenoid as part of the housing. I will, however, take the old starter to O'Reillys or something and have them bench test it tomorrow.

I will take a video tomorrow to clarify, but when I'm under the hood and someone cranks it, I do hear faint fast clicks from the relays, but down where the starter is the clicks are REALLY loud.

I will scan for codes (though I've had the battery out for an extended period of time after I replaced it); any there should be from when the problem started only.

I will turn the crank tomorrow and make sure the engine isn't seized.

Will update this thread with the results of all that tomorrow. Thanks for the reply and the help so far!

I also realized that I didn't include that it was an automatic transmission model

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Some other thoughts I had...

Make sure your main power and grounds are in good shape between battery, starter, and alternator. Be mindful of proper insulation around the +/Pos wiring, make sure there aren't any shorts! Also make sure all your grounds in the engine bay are in good shape. Look for signs of corrosion, sometimes the crusties can creep up the wire insulation making it hard to detect. Basic checks with a multimeter can help identify a poor connection (checking resistance).

You could have a bad starter relay, but since you already tried swapping things around with no major change, I don't think it's a relay issue...at least not for the starter relay. It could be related to another part of the ignition start circuit, upstream of the starter relay. When you did the relay swap, had you already swapped out the starter with the reman unit?

Other things to check....brake pedal switch rubber bump stop. Make sure it's present. I don't know the ATs as well as the 6MTs, but if you need to press the brake pedal to start the car, this could also be causing an issue.
Battery Fuseable Link on positive post.

Otherwise, it's time to deep dive into the ignition circuit wiring diagram and start tracing/checking each wire.
-Icer

bre240z

I know you said you changed the battery but this kind of behavior is very similar to a bad battery. Did you put in a brand new battery or used?
Make sure the battery terminals are clean. Sometimes the cables inside are corroded but it'll be hard to see. I think this was mentioned above. I would definitely take the starter out and bench test. Good luck

jwright8

Just wanted to report back in on everything (the weather has sucked so it was hard to get everything in).

It was not throwing any codes at the time. This was a new (not used) battery (Die Hard Gold). I had the original starter tested and they said it failed. Obviously that wasn't the only problem, so I kept looking.

I had previously measured some of the cables for voltage drop/resistance, but overall I didn't see anything. Once, the cable from the negative terminal of the battery to the frame (its about a 15" long cable, oem part link here https://nissan.oempartsonline.com/oe...a&gad_source=1 ) briefly showed a drop but I couldn't get it to show again. However, I noticed once when I was cranking on it that the same cable got a bit warm to the touch.

Long story short, I replaced that cable and it worked. I did not want to buy the $100-120 oem one that had the two holes, so I simply used a single-hole one from Advance with the existing screw and a large metal washer to ensure a good connection for about $15. The old/oem cable itself didn't show any obvious signs of corrosion (white, etc), but someone had apparently previously replaced the terminal on the wire and left some of the uncrimped wire exposed. Perhaps that was it. Regardless, the cable solved it and at least I feel only marginally like an idiot for buying a battery I possibly didn't need (though the battery was 4 years old). I guess the short in the wire made the starter go bad? Who knows.

Thank you guys for all the help and pointing me in the right direction.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

That's good feedback, thanks for responding with the solution/fix details. Out of curiosity, I would wager that if you cut open the insulation for the the main power cable that runs from the Batt + post down to the starter & alternator, you would find signs of corrosion inside. Even though the visible crimps may look "OK" this type of corrosion creep can lead to this type of symptom and cause a lot of confusion during troubleshooting. This is a perfect example of why it's important to put some dielectric grease on electrical connections, especially if you live in a humid climate. To really get the most bang out of the electrical system, I would inspect the primary grounds in the engine bay. There's one next to the power steering reservoir (passenger side) and another behind the headlamp on the driver's side. The starter is grounded through the engine block, so make sure the ground strap from engine to chassis is also cleaned up (should be on passenger side of engine, on the cylinder head or timing case). What I did was pull the bolts out, lightly sand off the paint around the bolt hole (also clean up the terminal/lug/ring), re-install, and add some dielectric grease to prevent further corrosion. It's annoying, but most auto mfgs paint the surface where the ring terminals make the most surface contact, this means only the bolt head & threads are providing electrical flow (not bad, but not the best).

Another indicator of a bad wire is heat. If you only cranked it for a short period of time, the wire shouldn't be getting hot, perhaps slightly warm, but not hot to the touch. Starters require major Amperage/Current to effectively turn over an engine and an insufficient cable (small gauge or poor conductivity) can't handle those amps resulting in major heat built up. This can lead to insulation either melting or the wire itself burning up. I just recently had this issue on my outdoor HVAC unit. One of the wires between the contactor and capacitor succumbed to corrosion and started to melt the insulation. Luckily my early spring tune-up caught this before it became a serious issue (see pic). The green crusties had set in and crept up the wire inside the insulation a good few inches. This resulted in burning out the capacitor pole from the heat and the wire was obviously trashed.
Cheers!
-Icer

Example of corrosion - leading to heat - leading to burnt/melted wire.