Two weeks ago my car would not start. My wife was driving it around town. Seemed like a battery problem, totally dead engine, click click. I got to the car with jumpers about three hours later. I thought that I would try starting it, and it started right up. The engine threw a code - cam position sensor. Car ran fine. I took the car in for a new battery, as the old one was old. Technician reset the code and told me to wait and watch, as a low battery can cause glitches.

Last night the same thing happened, dead car, click click, and the entire dash board lit up. I waited two hours, and the car would not start. I had it towed to the repair shop. I went back and tried to start it this morning - hope springs eternal. It started. All is normal. No code, nothing. Since then, as the has engine cooled, I have tried to start it every hour, and all is normal.

I wish that it hadn’t started. I have never encountered an intermittent that is this strange. I have no idea what the possibilities might be. Can somebody give me an idea of where to look?

You may have two separate issues. If the battery is good and so are the connections, the starter simply clicking and not turning the engine over points to a bad starter. A cam sensor could prevent the engine from starting but WILL NOT prevent the engine from turning over. Sounds like a bad starter with a possible failing cam sensor. Starters when they start to go bad do just that. They work and then don't work. The starter motor stops on a bad part of winding or brushes and doesn't make the electrical contact it needs.

The idiot lights on the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. (I wish that I had thought to take a picture, as there might have been diagnostic evidence to be had.) I don’t know why this would be the case if it were a starter motor.

Also, I got a preview of this last failure as I started the car and left home last night. There was sort of a hiccup in the startup sequence, as the steering wheel was coming down and the seat was adjusting, etc. But the car then started normally. Then I drove to a restaurant to pick up some food, and when I came out 10 minutes later and tried to start the car it didn’t turn over. Then I had the car towed. Then I tried starting it at the repair place today - a very cool morning, about 50 degrees - and it was completely normal. Since the starter motor hadn’t turned at all since it was failing to start last night it seems as though the position of the rotor would not have changed. Also, when my wife had the problem two weeks ago and I started it normally several hours later the position of the rotor was the same as when the car failed for my wife. So, I don’t think that this problem seems consistent with the starter motor being bad.

I was wondering how this particular car handles a bad cam position sensor. You say that the car should crank. Good to know. It seems as though this rules out the CPS as the root cause of the car not turning over although, as you say, it may be going bad, too.

A question for you: If the CPS fails at, say, highway speed, what happens with this car? Does it stop dead or does it just run bad?

I've developed a strange issue similar to what your going through. I have had cam sensors in my maxima go out and I don't recall it having this issue like what I've got going on.

I put a brand new Interstate battery less than a year ago and it doesn't appear to be going back. I need to have it assessed again, I hope this time they don't scratch my damn fender again. Sometimes it's like you'd expect from a new battery ie quick starts other times is slow starts to completely dead. If it were the sensors it would still have starting issues even with the jump box starches, I think.

I'm sick of this issue

If you all have this issue give me some things to check.

Also when my car has a real rough time starting under its own power my two center vents don't work. I'm sure it's the car trying to conserve power.

WTF

Andy

I took my car to my tech. He cycled the starter in the car 80x, cold and hot. Then he had it bench cycled, cold and hot. There is no indication that this is a starter problem. He is stumped. I am stumped. This is a serious problem, as we are afraid to take the car for any extended distances from home.

Does anybody have any ideas for things that I can inches cigarette?

Car didn't want to start, it did but it was barely going to happen. When I jump it it is an instant start maybe it's the battery that just doesn't have enough reserve.

I even turn oft my AC and audio (stock) but it doesn't make any difference. The battery is a b**** to do but I need to do it before it gets real cold.

I really need a check up for the car.

I even have a jump starter in my car, thank God.

Any new ideas

Thanks
Andy

BillK, I somehow missed the original post. I hope you have it solved by now.
However, those are classic camshaft (and also crankshaft) position sensor failure symptoms. It is fortunate that it threw a code for you, most times they don't and we just diagnose by symptoms.

Buying an OEM sensor and replacing it would have been the best course of action...after making sure the replacement battery isn't a dud either.

I was having starting problems and codes firing when I got my M56, about 2 years ago. As BillK mentioned, a low battery not only can (but in my case did) cause codes to fire. My memory isn't serving me right now so I can't recall the codes, however I was to the point of replacing my starter and coils. In the small time frame of 2years, I went through 3 premium batteries, which were "defective". I read somewhere in this forum about how our alternators do not sufficiently recharge the battery, apparently it's by design. Well in my case, instead of going through the pain & money of replacing the starter and coils, I bought a trickle charger for the battery and it alleviated the car's problems and battery "defect" issues. I figured the battery was the common denominator with my car's issues and if I was wrong, well I needed one anyways. This may not solve the problems BillK was having, but it may help. I installed a retractable extension cord from my garage ceiling, bolted the charging connector to the battery and fed it through the harness port. it's plug and charge. I hope it helps someone!

Kareem,

Did you permanently attach the battery tender to the top cover. Did you do a writeup on what you did?

They have those at Costco now so I might pick one up.

It got want to text me some pics
Cell is 801-809-6698

Thanks
Andy

Andy,
sorry, I didn't do a write up but I'll explain a little further. The Battery Tender isn't attached to the car, I attached the extension cable that comes with the BT unit to the respective positive and negative. I then fed that cable through the harness port for easy access. Plug and Charge it! KB

I am resurrecting this thread as I still have not resolved the problem. I had the car in storage over the winter and have had it out for almost a month with no problems. But it hangs over my head and I am afraid to use the car on out of town trips. I have to get to the bottom of it.

Edbyog stated earlier in this thread that the problem is likely the cam position sensor, given that the replacement battery is good (it is). So, given that the starter was endlessly cycled without problem, my best option is to replace the CPS. Before doing this, I have a couple of questions:

First, the car would not only not start, it would not turn over at all. This occurred twice. The first time it threw a CPS code. The second time, there was no code at all. One person posted that if the car will turn over the problem is not the CPS. Is this the case, for certain?

Second, is there only one CPS? If so, is it on the passenger’s side? Is it easy to access, or should I be taking it to a technician?

It could be the ECM controlled alternator. Apparently, the alternator does not begin charging until after 8 miles. I was having trouble because my work is exactly 7.2 miles from home and I had to jump the car a few times while running errands on the weekends. I found the video (link below) to a guy that has a fix for it. You basically disconnect the ECM from the alternator and it charges full time - no 8 mile delay. Since then I have not had any issues and the car seems to run better. The youtube channel owner is FixYourNissan and can help if this is the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9C5-OkxrJU&t=10s

There's more info on another thread titled, "Trickle Charge"

trickle-charger-t623786.html

madmanpauly, this makes sense. It fits the experience that I had. Old battery gives out, engine won’t turn over, throws CPS code. New battery. Then, another dead car about a week later.

If the new battery wasn’t fully charged, the second failure could have been due to a week of short drives.

It’s an easy enough fix, based on the youtube video. My question to you: why in the world would Infiniti prevent the alternator from charging the battery for 8 minutes?

For some reason Infiniti t thought that it would improve has milage.

I finally have up and bought a trickle/charger to refresh my battery about once a month.

It's been working great and my car seems happier or maybe just me.

Andy

Got it. Thanks. I don’t know what the test cycle is, for EPA mileage claims, but they just might have done this to show better fuel economy for that test, at the expense of real world problems for people like us.

I don’t know what I will do. Maybe I will just plug into my trickle charge periodically. Maybe I will look for the wire and clip it off. In any event it is a relief to finally understand what my problem might actually be.

The truth is this doesn't do anything to reduce my or anyone else fuel economy. I don't think it's just the M either. I started to have this issue in my G37xS as well.

I was going to go to infiniti and purchase a battery from them so they would have to deal with the removal and reinstall of said battery. Then I figured that I'll just do this about once a month and keep the battery tip top as long as possible. If you feel you need to replace your battery I went to Costco and purchased a Interstate battery. Best price on the battery by far.

I didn't want to mess with the wires even though it appears simple.

Good luck.

I'm replacing my starter on my 2012 m37x , and I was wondering what else do I have to remove to get it out? It's a very tight fit. Looks like it has to come out through wheel well. Do I have to remove axle and motor mount for it to come out?

Providing another data point. Same issue. Trickle Charging works. PITA. Just happened on a road trip 5 hours from home. No start, No start, wait for the tow truck. 4 starts in a row with no problem. Issue reared it's head for the first time several months ago and I thought it was a weak battery. Charged battery, charging system checked out okay. I thought it was a one-time fluke. Obviously a periodic fluke. Le sigh.....

Last year, we needed to trickle charge daily to avoid No-start. Removing the ECM controlled alternator wire may have helped a bit. Still the intermittent no-start problem remained and we got stranded a few times. Grrr. So we carried a jump-starter in the trunk, which saved us quite a few times. It seemed like a battery issue, we thought. Swapped batteries, but still had an unreliable car.

Then I changed the starter motor. Since then (2.5 months later) it ALWAYS starts on the FIRST button push, EVERY time. It's 100% reliable start. No more need for trickle charger. It really was a starter motor problem, not a battery/charger problem.

Update: I asked my mechanic to take a look at this issue in February 2022. He tightened the far end ground. No issues as of September 2022. Kudos to Diehl Automotive in Huntsville, AL.