Hey im Kenny im new to nico forums Im hoping for some some diagnosis advice with my 97' q45. Ive owned it for about 4 months now, when I purchased it, it was bone stock. Ive replaced some suspension parts so far to it, added a custom exhaust to it and added some of my own style to it (Had to put some 20s on it with high performance tires).

Back to the question. Sometimes when I get into it ill turn the key over (all the lights turn on as normal) but the starter will not crank so ill turn the key back off and flip it over again and it will normally crank and fire immdiatly. Over the last couple of weeks its taken a few try to get it to fire but as of today I was stuck at the grocery store for about 10 minutes trying to get it to turn over. I replaced the batter about 2 weeks after buying the car so I do not believe that is the problem. Ive replaced the negative terminal also and I would of replaced the positive but my local auto parts stores dont seem to carry one like that. Im also unable to locate the starter ive looked on the passenger side by the tranny and im still not seeing it. Some help or opinions on location and diagnosis would be greatly appreciated thank you.

Welcome to NICO!

I've seen this problem occur in Infiniti I30s from the same period when the starter switch goes out. I can't find a video of how to test and replace the switch on a 97 Q45. Though there are some videos for this for I30s and Maximas from the same time period.

Thanks for the input ill try to find more out about that, if im not able to it looks like ill have to take it to a mechanic since this is my only car at the moment and Ill need it to be reliable for work..

(Not sure if I can double post) Well my local mechanic thinks theres a bad spot in the starter. I insisted the ignition switch needs to be tested first, he said he would test it first but I could see him just replaces the starter from the get go so I should probably find out how to test it on my own first this way to I dont replace uneeded part. In my opinion and many others, hes a great mechanic as long as you can get him to do the work and not just get the car in replace something and kick it out the door. Anyone know how to check the ignition switch?

Here's a removal test procedure for a Maxima from the same period. I'm sure removal is more involved for a Q.

I've seen people take some tape and make a shim for the switch arm that fits into the switch. Once they take up the slack the switch will work for a while. You should be able to use a screw driver like the guy in the video to start the car. If you have a "chip key" for NATS make sure it is in the ignition so it can be picked up by the receiver or the car will not start. NATS and chip keys appeared on the 99 model I30. I'm not sure about the 97 Q45s but I think sooner than the I30.

I don't know if you can try this but sometimes hitting the starter with a wrench or small hammer can free it up so it will move.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ykT9uCJXSY

Honestly I would be more suspect of the starter.. Easiest way to determine if it's the starter or not is to check power between the solenoid and ground.. When you turn the ignition switch to start, you should have 12V between the solenoid trigger wire (single wire) and body ground. There should only be 2 wires going to the starter, a single big one for main power, and a smaller one for the solenoid trigger.

kenny2303 wrote:Well my local mechanic thinks theres a bad spot in the starter.

The "redneck" test is to have a friend with a small hammer crawl under the vehicle while you're attempting to start the engine, instructing him to immediately whack the starter with the hammer as soon as you get a no-crank.

Leave the key in the "START" position while he whacks it - If the starter immediately cranks, the problem is almost certainly in the starter.

UPDATE: Well I dont know how but about two days after posting this it started to work everytime, its been about 14 days since its done it so I was unable to ever do a test on it. Im glad nothings broke but I kind of was hoping something would break of broke so I could get the repair out of the pay, ill keep this updated if anything changes. (Car started miss-firing on cylinder 8 last week, and had an o2 sensor code come up. Replaced all plugs and it ran great, next day it's chugging along again, next day after that I go to install the new 02 sensor, bank 1 sensor 2. and after i removed the old sensor and went to install the new one I then realised they gave me the wrong sensor, the plugs were different. So I re installed the beat up 02 sensor (Had been heated up beaten and yelled at) and it runs like a dream again. Still going to replace that o2 sensor just waiting for it to come in, apparently its not a common sensor around where im from and any part I try to get thats not from the dealer is almost always impossible to get.) Aww the struggle.

for me it was my starter relay, check the starter by hot wiring it before you go through hell removing it