May anyone help. I have a 2011 infiniti M56 that is intermittent starting. I started having this issue April of last year with this car and haven’t been able to figure out the issue. Its been to Firestone and the Nissan dealership and the problem was ruled as faulty camshaft sensors and a evep solenoid, which it did throw codes for both of those and they were fixed, but i still have the same issue. Was not the root issue. Codes were cleared and camshaft code coming back. I was told that it might have been my starter. I thought it was my cranking sensor but not throwing codes for it. Its had 3 batteries in it. 1 from Nissan and the other 2 from auto zone. They just bottom out or takes 10-15 minutes for an actual jumpstart to work. Everytime i put my multimeter on my battery to test voltage from my alternator i get 13-14 volts. The alternator fuse had continuity Idk if I have a parasite draw or a bad alternator. Please help. All the electronics are factory from what i know. No aftermarket radios or anything like that. Ive been running in circles with this car and im about ready to bury it in the dirt. Any tips that dont cost a arm and a leg? I’ve spent too much time and money on this car and getting nowhere. Only means of transportation so trying my best to figure it out

Lahjj616 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 19, 2021 1:50 pm

I thought it was my cranking sensor but not throwing codes for it.

It's very common for crankshaft sensors on N/I engines to act up without throwing any codes. Usually this occurs from sensitivity loss in the sensor, they start to miss teeth at cranking speed and cause long cranks or no-starts, but once the engine catches the faster speed of the reluctor wheel increases the magnetic flux and the sensor works properly. It's also common for engine temperature to affect this, mostly because the mechanical clearances change between cold and warm and a sensor that's "on the edge" may work fine in one state but not in the other. In any case, because it functions normally after the engine starts, the ECM never throws a code. In your case, it would be my very first suspect.

I'd like to clarify a few things. When you state "intermittent starting", what kind of starting issue is it exactly?
1. Do you hear a click but the engine does not crank (turn)?
2. Does the engine crank but refuse to turn over?

Case 1: Clicking but engine does not start
I ask because the M56 engine uses a starter that sometimes experiences a click-no-start issue in the Nissan V8 applications it's installed in. Sometimes you push the button and all you hear is a click. On your 20th attempt, it starts like nothing happened.
Other times the car starts perfectly on the first try. In both scenarios, the cranking attempt is strong and there are no signs of a weak battery (so a jumpstart will not help at all).

This is a starter issue. Nissan issued a revised part number for the OEM starter, and everybody that I know of with the click-no-start issue, has had the problems go away as soon as they got the new starter.
Someone also installed an aftermarket starter, see this link - m56-starter-from-rockauto-t629706.html


Case 2: Starter cranks, but the engine doesn't "come alive"
If the starter is working reliably, then the number of possible culprits increases.

Please post the actual codes that your car historically had, relating to this issue... and which ones are still present.

Secondly, please do not erase codes if you are still trying to figure out a problem. Erasing codes is counterproductive to the discipline of fault finding and troubleshooting.

Interesting. I just encountered this on my 2015 q70l.

Definitely case 1. It's only happened one time a few weeks ago, even managed to get it on video. I guess the question is, being a q70, should the car have a newer/revised starter already?

Dealer wasn't concerned and said hopefully next time it happens we can use roadside to bring her in.

What i meant my intermittent starting is sometimes it starts right up no problem, sometimes it goes to start but just cranks slightly and eventually I push the button like 10 times and it it doesn’t crank over and im stuck in a parking lot with a half dead battery needing a jump. Sometimes it has very hesitant startups. Sometimes it takes forever to crank over like a old Diesel engine in the winter. It takes like 6-8 seconds to crank until finally starting. Which is why I thought it was just the camshaft sensors causing the problem cause it seemed like the time was severely off. It has had a timing chain recently replaced. The only other serious codes it has thrown were O2 sensors (replaced), the crankshaft and camshaft sensor codes and a catalytic converter code. I dont have the actual numbers. I wasn’t sure was one code tripping multiple codes. Before all of these codes popped up I was having the exact same issue and couldn’t figure out why and the only code it threw at the time was the O2 sensor code and it was replaced which I thought was the issue until it just kept doing it with no codes thrown until 8 months later it finally throws the camshaft and crankshaft sensor code. I wasn’t sure if the camshaft code was tripping the crankshaft code but i took it to firestone to get looked at and the tech told me that i had 2 camshaft sensors going in and out so I didn’t worry about the crankshaft code. I guess sometimes the camshaft one would trip it. The only reason i have not looked at the starter is because thats the last thing I wanted to do because its under the intake manifold. I wanted to be certainly sure it was that

Lahjj616 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:16 pm

What i meant my intermittent starting is sometimes it starts right up no problem, sometimes it goes to start but just cranks slightly and eventually I push the button like 10 times and it it doesn’t crank over and im stuck in a parking lot with a half dead battery needing a jump. Sometimes it has very hesitant startups. Sometimes it takes forever to crank over like a old Diesel engine in the winter. It takes like 6-8 seconds to crank until finally starting.

That sounds 100% like crappy commutation to the starter armature or a pitted contactor ring with high resistance. Either way it's almost certainly a bum starter.

This sounds like the issue I was having.

But before I go into that, how far are your drives When this happens? If this is battery cranking amps related, the ECU has a feature that only enables charging via the alternator if you drive over a certain distance. I believe it's 8 miles or something of the sort.

As for my issue....it was two fold, the first fix solved the intermittent starting.

1. You might need to do an Intake valve clean.
2. The second issue had to do with my High Pressure Fuel Pump slowly dying...you should monitor your fuel pressure both rail and low pressure lines.

Im more along the starter side, but its only when i go to crank it. I could drive how ever many miles, and turn my car off for 10 minutes and go to turn it back on and the problems start. I normally just have to leave it running. Sometimes when it doesn’t start and if it just sits for a couple minutes/hours it’ll start right back up just fine no problem.

Lahjj616 wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:38 pm

Im more along the starter side, but its only when i go to crank it. I could drive how ever many miles, and turn my car off for 10 minutes and go to turn it back on and the problems start. I normally just have to leave it running. Sometimes when it doesn’t start and if it just sits for a couple minutes/hours it’ll start right back up just fine no problem.

That's exactly why it sounds like bad commutation or a bad contactor ring. When you power a DC brush motor, the juice is transferred through carbon "brushes" to insulated segments (commutators) on the armature (the spinning part), which shunt the power into coils of wire on the armature. The coils become electromagnets, and the fields generated interact with strong permanent magnets on the starter housing (stator). Opposites poles attract and like poles repel just like any magnet on your living room table, and presto, the motor spins. If the first brush and commutator happen to make crappy contact, the process never starts. So crappy commutators or brushes will tend to work sometimes and not others, depending how good the contact is in the spot where the armature last stopped. That's also why whacking a stalled starter with a hand sledge will often "wake it up", jarring the brush into better contact with the commutator. The contactor ring in the solenoid serves a similar function, transferring power from the main starter terminal to the brush terminals when the solenoid engages. If the ring is pitted and makes poor contact, there won't be enough power reaching the brushes to spin the motor. Same result, "click-click-click".

Sounds like my best bet would be to swap the starter?

Lahjj616 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 25, 2021 12:23 pm

Sounds like my best bet would be to swap the starter?

That would be my best guess. I know it's impossible to get on the starter terminals with a voltmeter on the V8's, but this may help you diagnose it:

https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/under ... tests.html

Are there any sites where I can get a quality starter shipped in a reasonable time? I use Car id but it can take quite some time for their parts to ship out and I will probably pay a arm and a leg if I bought it from the dealer. I get that it is the best option for it, but sometimes not always the best financial option

RockAuto is usually my go-to. They don't usually peddle junk and their shipping is prompt.

Ok. Is it possible that the starter relay could be the culprit with said symptoms. Just trying to get a accurate diagnosis before I make purchases. Not sure if a relay would make it act as such I’ve never seen it. Starter sits under the manifold so its not like I could pop that out anytime I want just to take it apart and inspect, or are you more on the side with the starter?

Possible but very unlikely. Most N/I starter relays have 30A contacts but in operation carry only about 6A for the solenoid coil. I've seen a few fail here and there, but we probably see 100 bad motors for every bad relay. You can make a definitive diagnosis with a test lamp on the output wire to the solenoid. If it lights dimly or not at all when the starter should engage, then there's resistance in the contacts and the relay is bad. If it lights brightly but the starter doesn't spin, the starter is bad.

I had this issue with my 2012 M56. Lost my mind trying to figure it out. Cleaned ground wires around the car engine bay. Did not help. Alternator is good. Battery was new. Finally replaced starter, did not help. Each time it had no start battery was at 9V. Finally(I had similar issue with Camry), I turn OFF AUTO option for a head light and problem disappeared. I could not believe it. But remember, if it is happened 10 times, battery is shot and need to be replaced, or you will be chasing a ghost. Before you get in to alternator, starter or other major components eliminate this issue first. Second culprit are door switches, disconnect them one at the time. When you eliminated these issues(cost you $0.00) than you can move to other heavy duty parts(starter, alternator...). This is my story, hope it is make sense and help some of you with similar issue.