2006 M35 Slow to start

[Murphman102761]

I have a 2006 M35 Basic and for years, the engine started immediately after pressing the start button. No delay. About a week and a half ago, a delay started happening between the button press and the engine actually turning over. The delay is very obvious and lasts about 5 seconds, which feels like an eternity. I had the battery checked and it was fine, registering 700 CCA. I found another post regarding improperly releasing the key fob from the dashboard slot and that did not help either. I had a parking valet leave the key fob in the slot rather than taking the key out. I replaced the battery in the key fob as well and tried using my wife's key fob. Nothing has changed the delay in starting. I am concerned that the delay will eventually lead to a permanent delay and I will be stranded. There are no codes on the OBDII SYSTEM either. One other point... When I turn the engine off, there seems to be a very small delay in the engine stopping and there is a beep sound that did not use to happen...

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[ezb57e]

Welcome to the forums.
Are you sure that it takes 5 seconds?
That would seem like an eternity.
No DTCs huh? That should leave out a CMPS or CKPS.
Is this only first thing in the AM, or after any restart?
I'm thinking loss of fuel pressure i.e. fuel pump check valve.
Id check that early in the process.
Good luck.

[Murphman102761]

Thanks for the reply. It is all day, every day. Hot or cold. It doesn't even try to start. All the dashboard lights come on but the actual firing of the starter doesn't happen for an eternity. It's not as of it is turning over. It is SILENT....for an eternity. And the it starts right up. Weird. I can't find anything. Thanks again...

[pedsemdoc]

I would start with the simple things first:
1. How old is your battery?
2. Was it tested under load?
3. Our cars do some funny things when the battery is going bad..may just want to make sure it's not that first, before spending uber amounts of moolah.

good luck, and don't forget to post your solution once you figure it out, cuz' it might help another member who ends up with a similar problem.

Craig

[ezb57e]

Sorry, I misunderstood.
As above, the battery and starter should certainly be ruled out.
Beyond that, The starting circuit is pretty simple, with the IPDM holding all the cards, containg a starter relay and a CPU to process the input from the start switch.
Take a look at SC11 in the ESM here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/M/2006_M45-M35/sc.pdf
The good news is that its not intermittent, so the problem can be isolated.
Look for power and ground into the IPDM where there should be, and outputs where they should be.
Good luck.

[svard75]

Because you have to press the brake pedal down while pressing the start button to get the circuit to complete try pressing the brake pedal harder than normal. Does that make a difference?

[The00Dustin]

The key doesn't have to be in the slot at all to start it, just in the car. I mention this because your post makes it sound like you might not know that. It doesn't sound like you have a key problem. If you did, the ignition switch would remain in the off position. It sounds like it is going to the on position, but then not going to the start position until later, which would be odd. More likely, it is going to the start position, but the engine is not cranking right away, which is also odd, but more believable. In reality, your description is pretty vague, and I'm guessing the engine is actually cranking slowly, which would be a normal behavior for a weak battery. Even if that isn't the case, as others have stated, our cars do odd things when the battery gets weak. To extend on that, there are several threads talking about how no battery lasts more than 3 years in the 06-07 M series. I mention this because you don't say how old your battery is, but do mention the car working for years. If you have had the M for years and never replaced the battery, then that is most certainly the culprit. Before getting my M, I had a car with a bad battery that tested fine on a load tester, but AutoZone's tester that they connect and have you start the car with to test battery CCA and alternator said it was bad and the alternator was fine. AutoZone's tester was right. I don't remember what the CCA is supposed to be on our batteries, but you might also look at your battery to see what it says, just in case 700 isn't all the battery is supposed to have. If it is less than the battery is rated for, then, again, weak batteries cause lots of weird issues in our cars. If it says 700, I'd still have another test done and think about replacing the battery based on my personal experiences.

[Murphman102761]

Thanks for the reply. Let me clear some of the vagueness... I am aware of how the key functions and the outlet purpose of the slot. I mentioned this because another thread had mentioned that they removed the key from the slot improperly by just pulling it out instead of pushing it in to eject and the car continued to look for the key in the slot. Not the case with my car. I think an additional load test on the battery wold be a good thing to do. On your other point, the car does not attempt to crank for about 4 seconds after pushing the button. I firmly press the brake, push the start button, the dashboard light come on immediately and 4 seconds later, the car starts normally. The extra 2-3 seconds to start feels like an eternity. I have had the car since it was new in 2006, so I am very used to its operation. Something is definitely wrong.

I am going to put some jumper cables from my wife's Lexus to the car and see if I get any different behavior. It certainly could be the battery. Will let you know what I find. I appreciate your input! Thanks!

[Murphman102761]

PROBLEM SOLVED....

I tried the battery jumper cables to no avail.
During the 2-3 second delay, I noticed a sound coming from the back of the car. My daughter had plugged in an AC Power inverter to the rear 12v connector and it had slid under the seat. I unplugged the inverter and the issue is resolved.

Sorry to post something so stupid, but I was dumbfounded. Thanks for all your suggestions and support.

[The00Dustin]

Thanks for posting your resolution. I can totally see why you were dumbfounded, and it's definitely one more thing worth checking if anyone else has a similar issue. Also, I see what you meant on the key. I do know the key slot has a latching push button behavior, for inserting and removing the key, but I don't know if that behavior is linked to an electrical switch. I'm guessing it's not and the keyfob in question probably had a weak battery. However, my key slot won't even detect the key (pretty sure that it wasn't reconnected after a warranty repair, but that was in 2009 and I didn't figure it out until way later, so I can't prove it), so I can't really test that.

[EniGmA1987]

Yes for some reason AC power inverters will cause a significantly long delay before startup of the car. Not sure why. My car does this too

[mexillis]

doesnt the car not allow any power to the cig outlets while it is off? Why would it cause such a load upon start up if it was plugged in when attempting to start it?

[The00Dustin]

Wild guess, and seems unlikely except for given the behavior we are seeing, but the rear outlet is a "power outlet" as opposed to a "cigarette lighter". Given this, maybe it has to give consistent power (per some Japanese law or something weird) when it's on and the delay somehow allows this to happen. For instance, it could be charging a capacitor to start the engine instead of directly drawing all power from the battery and causing everything else to dim like normal. Like I said, it's a long shot, but either way, this is an odd (and good to know about) behavior.

[mexillis]

the rear outlet doesnt allow any power when the engine is off. I use that one for charging my phone and ipod and it wont remain charging once the engine is shut off.

[Larz]

I reckon that when the car is started, having something that draws so much power in that outlet could cause a delay while the battery tries run that inverter whilst stacking up the amps to start the engine. You are correct that power in that outlet stops when the engine is switched off, but having a phone charger or other small draw on that outlet isn't enough of a drain to delay the starting sequence. We all know this car has all kinds of tricks it plays when the battery is not 100% during start-up.

[ezb57e]

I would like to know what the battery voltage is:
Right before the key is tuned on,
Again in "on"
And also during the start event.