Qx80 battery

[Thatguydidit]

Please tell me this issue continues to the 2020 qx80? I have a battery meter in the cig lighter and it will read 11.9 fairly often, to which we have to jump it. My wife doesn't drive it much other than down the street and back during the week and sometimes not at all on the weekend. Just seems like it isn't charging very well

[VStar650CL]

Yep. Same old Red wire on IPDM pin 33.

[INFINITIplusone]

Created an account just to thank everyone who posted great photos and description of the fix!

I have owned our 2018 QX80 for 3 years now and for the past six months have had the dreaded dead battery situation described. The two main reasons it happens: short drives (5 minutes or less) and leaving the fob in the car when we aren't driving it (usually when we park in the garage). After diagnosing the car and the battery as fine, I found this forum.

If this post is still up, it means this solution solved my problem. Taking the car from a smart back to dumb might just give me the reliability I'm used to from the vehicle. Besides this issue, it's one of my favorite cars I've ever owned.

Thanks to all for posting!

[Rogue One]

Created an account just to thank everyone who posted great photos and description of the fix!

I have owned our 2018 QX80 for 3 years now and for the past six months have had the dreaded dead battery situation described. The two main reasons it happens: short drives (5 minutes or less) and leaving the fob in the car when we aren't driving it (usually when we park in the garage). After diagnosing the car and the battery as fine, I found this forum.

If this post is still up, it means this solution solved my problem. Taking the car from a smart back to dumb might just give me the reliability I'm used to from the vehicle. Besides this issue, it's one of my favorite cars I've ever owned.

Thanks to all for posting!

[Lumpur02]

Your QX has the same "smart charging" setup as late model Armadas. They're very problematic when people use them infrequently or make a lot of short trips. I.e., under those circumstances, it becomes "dumb charging" and results in flat batteries. The fix is to disconnect the "smart" wire which runs from the IPDM to the alternator. This puts the alternator on internal regulation, so it will output 14.2V without modulation like a normal alternator. The IPDM is located under a cover directly behind your battery.


Armada-QX80 Smart Alternator Fix.jpg

So my QX80 has been having this problem. The second time I brought it to Infiniti when the battery died, their master tech explained this problem to me. He said he would disable it. Fast forward, I get the car back, he charged the battery full and disabled the smart charging. Well several months later (yesterday), the battery died again. I checked the smart charging wire thinking the tech didn’t actually disable it, but he did. The wire was missing. Any ideas what on what could be wrong now? Could this problem have messed up the alternator with time? The battery? Thanks for any help.

[VStar650CL]

Disabling the smart charge simply puts the alternator on its own internal regulation. Basically it makes it work the same as any old school alternator. So the only way it can hurt anything is if the regulation fails, again the same as any old school alternator. That would be the alternator's fault, not the fault of the fix.

I would note that hidden sulfation of batteries before the smart charge is disabled is very common, as a result of chronic undercharge. Those batteries will often read "okay" on a traditional checker and will only show up bad on a diagnostic charger like the Nissan DCA-8000. So it's entirely possible your battery was already toast at the time the fix was performed.

[suttonce13]

I’ve had to boost my wife’s 2014 qx80 3 times in the past week. This is 2nd time I’ve had a streak like this since owning the car for 5 years. The first time I was able to get my local Napa to warranty the battery even though it continued to read good. Now this time it’s happening again and battery is nearly 3 years old and I’m also noticing heavy battery corrosion on the terminals. Would your wire cut Method work on 2014 qx80. I think I still need a new battery but want to do this method if possible once I get a new one

[VStar650CL]

Yep. FSM says the same old Red wire on IPDM pin 33.

[Bmr143]

After multiple dead batteries and replacements, I did this in my 2017 QX80 about 2 months ago after getting stranded in a car that wouldn’t start. I haven’t had issues with the battery since. But right around the same time I did it, the 4WD light went on and doesn’t shut off. Also, I feel like the transmission is sluggish. Could this be caused by cutting that wire? Or possibly something else?

[VStar650CL]

No, that's a coincidence. Did you pop the fuse for the AWD controller, maybe?

[Bmr143]

How would I check to see if I did that?

[VStar650CL]

There's a fuse in the cabin fusebox marked "Diff Lock" (#13) and another in the IPDM (#56), both of those should be hot with the ignition. Then there's a fuse (#34) and fusible link (#J) in the Fuse & Relay Box, those should be hot at all times. If they're all good, you'll need to get the AWD scanned to see what the matter is.

17 QX80 F-R Box.jpg (20.83 KiB) Viewed 3764 times

[Bmr143]

I appreciate this info. Since I don’t know how to check those fuses to see if they’re hot, I’ll take it in for a scan.
Thank you again.

[VStar650CL]

There's only one right way to check fuses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AWj2fcQS4

You need a $4 test lamp from Harbor Freight (or Walmart or Amazon or any parts store):
https://www.harborfreight.com/612v-circ ... 63603.html

[Bmr143]

I checked the fuses and they were good so I took to Infiniti for a scan. Again… 4WD light on and transmission sputter around 40mph or uphill. They kept it a day and this is what I’m told. 2017 qx80 with 96k miles. Is it worth doing or is it time to find a new car?

1) Customer States 4WD Light Is On. It Will Go On And Off While Driving. Please Check And Advise

Cause
DTC P1817 AWD/4WD SHIFT ACTUATOR. SWITCH FOR SYSTEM IS SHOWING THE CORRECT POSITION. ACTUATOR ON TRANSFER CASE IS NOT MOVING AFTER GETTING SIGNAL. RECOMMEND REPLACE ACTUATOR FIRST THEN TEST TRANSFER CASE TO MAKE SURE INTERNALS OF TRANSFER CASE ARE WORKING PROPERLY.

Correction
REPLACE, CONFIGURE AND CALIBRATE TRNASFER CASE ACTUATOR.

Estimate
$ 1,522.92

2) Concern
Critical
Customer States There Is A Shutter In Trans Around 40MPH And Uphill. Please Check And Advise

Cause
TORQUE CONVERTER FAILING

Correction
REPLACE TORQUE CONVERTER

Estimate
$ 4,236.04

TOTAL
$ 6,104.50

[Bmr143]

Or do I just ride this until it dies? Not sure if it’ll get worse. My wife is primary driver so I’m concerned about her breaking down somewhere.

[VStar650CL]

Yah, if you can't afford a transmission I'd say run it till it breaks. I'd recommend pulling the AWD Actuator connector so it can't try to go 4W. You'll get a constant AWD warning light, but at least it won't be able to hurt itself.

[qwertylolman]

how can I remove the relay from the ipdm? i want to try to clean the connectors for fuses and relays, they seem to be oxidized. and I'm stuck with relays, cannot pull them out.

[VStar650CL]

They're extremely stubborn nearly 100% of the time. I generally use a 5" channelloks adjusted to the same width as the relay, then grab the relay case at the very top (you can't grab very far down the sides because the plastic is thin and will cave in under pressure). Then wiggle and pull simultaneously till it lets go. Sometimes the cases crack anyway, even with due care.

[qwertylolman]

well, regular pliers didn't help at all... it's wiggling, but I cannot remove this bastard. didn't try the other relays yet.