I'm hoping someone here who perhaps has had the same problem I'm having can suggest what to do next. I have a 2005 Q45 with 109,000 miles. Here are the symptoms: Sometimes when attempting to start the car absolutely nothing happens. Other times a relay/solendoid clicking can be heard without the starter engaging. Normally, after several attempts (2 or as many as 4) the starter will engage and the car will start. My first inclination is that the battery was weak or had bad connections but it's a 3-1/2 year old Walmart Everstart Max and I've checked it's voltage and it's right at 12.7. I did thoroughly clean the terminals and connectors and treated them with anti-corrosion grease and that did not solve the issue so it's not a battery connection problem. Granted, I did not load test the battery but when the starter finally does engage it seems to have all the power it needs.

1. Does the Q45 starter have a separate starter solenoid like old General Motors cars of the 60s and 70s had and is it possible this solenoid is "weak" and not switching sufficient startup power to the starter?
2. Could what I am experiencing be related to the security system? I'm thinking not as a relay/solenoid is energized when I attempt to start the car, just that the starter doesn't engage. I would expect that an engine immobilizer would not allow any relay/solenoid to be engergized.
3. Is it just a bad starter that has a "flat spot" and doesn't want to rotate unless "prodded" three or four times?

Now, the car has yet to leave me stranded but it's taking more and more attempts to get it to start that I suspect one day I won't be able to get it going. Has anyone here had the same experience? What did you find out was the problem?

I actually do not know the starter config on the VK45DE, Prolly EdBwoy will--- and answer you on the external solenoid. I can tell you for a fact that the G50 and FGY33 platforms with the VH series engine DO have the external (starter mounted) solenoid. My FGY33 would do what you are stating. I refreshed the starter with new brushes and a new China-noid. Worked perfectly after that.

I'm going thru the same thing right now. Living in HELL. I paid $387 for starter replacement LABOR 2 months ago plus the starter cost. Now, my car has been towed to the dealer (i was out of town and didn't have time to mechanic surf). They didn't even have to diagnose it to realize the starter was DEAD. 2 months later. The same brand of starter has been in my Nissan Maxima since 2017 (tough one advanced auto). Idk why this car is eating starters. My maxima eats alternators though, every 2-5 years. Miles don't may matter. The warranty has a switch. Once they see it's lasting too long, they flick it lol.

All I'm gonna say for the 97-01 q45 is: don't buy crap remain. I'm reliving the same f*** nightmare that I did two months ago, except instead of breaking down in town, I'm an hour away from town stranded for over 24 hours, being exposed to COVID 19 and suffering from asthma.

Someone pray for me lol. Sticking with Denso starter or Napa. No off brand knockoffs.

Thanks 3Q JAY and 98_Q45. I finally figured I could find out what the starter actually looked like (i.e. top mounted solenoid or what) by just looking at some pictures of replacements at RockAuto.com and indeed it is a top mounted solenoid design. I'm becoming more and more convinced that the starter is bad.

In a post last year HollywoodJackson described replacing the starter in his 2002 Q45. Only he had to do a whole lot more than what's described in the Factory Service Manual including:
A. Move the fan shrowd.
B. Move the alternator.
C. Assemble approximatley 17" of extensions while snaking it thru a hole near the engine mount from the front.
D. Loosen both engine mounts.
E. Jack the engine up 1-2 inches to clear the mounts and frame at the same time with the alternator.

Does anyone know if you can remove and replace the starter without doing all of what HollywoodJackson did?

Again, without knowing the F50 platform I won't guess.
On the G50 (1st gen) R&R is somewhat of a pain, but you don't have to do anything special besides removing a heat shield over the right PS rack boot
On the FGY33 (2nd gen) it's necessary to lower the rack of the power steering so, yeah, kind of a big deal.
I would look into a factory reman (genuine Nissan) part. May still be avail for 3rd gen.
Or, assuming yours is the original Nissan stamped part, have yours professionally rebuilt.
Anything else is hit or miss as 98 Q is alluding to above.
The OE manufacturer for the G50 and FGY33 starters was Mitsubishi.
Also, as a quick refresher (sorry if obvious) the top mounted solenoid does two things:
1) it 'switches' the always hot battery post from open to ground thru the brushes. This happens when the solenoid pulls back the plunger to bridge the connection.
2) also when the plunger pulls back, it throws the drive forward to engage teeth to flywheel ring gear.

...and... if the dash annunciator lights (could also prove with any incandescent light or better yet a voltmeter) don't dim when the ignition switch is turned to "start", then either the ignition switch is bad, or no current is flowing to the brushes.

Howdy. Glad you were able to get a picture of the starter/solenoid combo.

RE: When your hear a click, but no start
When this problem was prevalent back in the day, some people were able to address it by checking all the ground connections between the battery & starter. Most however, had to replace the starter.

With regards to replacing the unit, there are various ways and generally the ease of replacement depends on how vast and varied your tool selection is. The consensus is that it is not a walk in the park.
My tip would be to remember to loosen/remove the lower engine mount nuts as soon as you start the job; you might find yourself raising the engine for better access & you don't want to damage the mounts while lifting it.

I doubt your specific symptoms have anything to do with the security system, just as you pointed out. There is a starter relay in the engine bay. For the sake of simple troubleshooting, I'd swap it with a similar relay and see if the behavior improves.
2002-q45-major-fuses-relays-and-modules ... 22905.html


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RE: For when the car does absolutely nothing
It randomly happened to me with some Nissan vehicles. If I quickly unlocked the car, opened the door and attempted to turn the key in the ignition there would be no response. I call it the carjacker-block.
I felt like the security system was still performing its handshakes and although the antenna allowed the key to turn in the tumbler, the ECM hadn't fully allowed the major components to go through.
I never got to thoroughly test my theory, but in the few times it occured, the only consistency was in how short the time between unlocking & starting attempt had been.

EdBwoy - Thanks for chiming in as I know you have a lot of experience with these third generation "Q-ships". I'm thinking it's a starter solenoid problem as when the thing finally "catches" the starter spins up as quickly as it ever did without any "drag" or hesitation. Of course, just like with my GM cars, the fix is to install a new (rebuilt) starter to fix the problem. I've ordered a Denso rebuilt unit from RockAuto because it seemed to me that Denso was making the highest quality rebuilt units currently available (just my opinion - I don't have any statistics). There are cheaper units remanufactured by companies I've never heard of but I'm trying not to go down the road of poor 98_Q45 above who is having to the do the job multiple times (98_Q45 you have my sympathy). Again, thanks for the input.

If anyone else out there has any tips on making the job go easier, please let me know. The FSM says to remove the right side engine mount bracket to get the mount heat insulator underneath it out of the way. HollywoodJackson in a post in January of last year mentioned that he moved the fan shroud, alternator and jacked up the engine 1-2 inches to do his. Naturally I'm looking to find the easiest way to go about this which is probably what EdBwoy has already stated.

BadDog42 wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 27, 2020 6:29 am

my sympathy). Again, thanks for the input.

If anyone else out there has any tips on making the job go easier, please let me know.

Thanks! I have some good news: there is a way to make the job go easier: take it to the Infiniti dealer you get to chill and drink coffee and soda and watch Coronavirus updates, while the guys in the back probably have some special shortcut to breeze thru things. I even got a small bottle of Infiniti hand sanitizer and water.

Update: just got mine back. $537, labor only. $353 for Denso starter. Fortunately, the auto parts store was helpful in crediting me back and partially reimbursing me for labor, considering I just had the thing towed out of my garage 3 months ago for the same issue. This repair would have ate a good chunk of my stimulus money, that I need to like...find my own place to live. But with the reimbursements, most of the extra money spent is the fact that Infiniti charged almost double the amount of regular mechanics.

However, considering the rack and pinion was removed (98 is different from 2005 removal), I finally got a full scale manufacturers alignment, and my steering wheel is so smooth to turn now. I’ve had like 5-10 alignments in the 2 years I’ve had it, and only once or twice have I ever got it perfect. The steering was so stiff. Now, it’s finally easier to turn. I personally feel a trip to the dealer atleast once or twice during the time you own a car, is a good idea. But only if you have REAL issues, that other mechanics can’t figure out lol (and even still, those same mechanics probably worked for dealers, and eventually opened their own business). No oil change “free stuff” lol. Because they’re going to find a way to make MORE money. Do that home.

The bad news: after all of that, I’m still having issues with warm starts (taking too long to start, then fail). So now, I need to schedule with my local mechanic ASAP to get to the bottom of this, because I’ll be damned to burn up a Denso starter. The service rep said that shouldn’t burn up a starter so quickly, but I’m not taking any chances. I wanted Infiniti to figure that out, but they are short staffed...and I woulda probably had to pay an extra $169 for diagnosis.