Hey all,

As of last wednesday I been having an issue with my car starting up. I click the push start and it just clicks. I push it again to turn it off, wait a couple seconds and try again and the car turns on after and I am able to drive it. It's been happening on and off. I have a video to show an example of what I mean.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fTwRbXCGihE

I can't tell exactly what's going on there, but if the ignition just cycles without cranking, you probably have a bad brake pedal switch and not a bad starter. The BCM needs to see the brake lamps lit in order to allow cranking, so if your pedal switch is making poor or no contact, the car won't crank and the dash lights will just cycle on and off. Before condemning the starter, give a look back at your third brake when it misbehaves. If it isn't lit then your problem is crummy contacts inside the pedal switch.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 05, 2023 4:45 pm

I can't tell exactly what's going on there, but if the ignition just cycles without cranking, you probably have a bad brake pedal switch and not a bad starter. The BCM needs to see the brake lamps lit in order to allow cranking, so if your pedal switch is making poor or no contact, the car won't crank and the dash lights will just cycle on and off. Before condemning the starter, give a look back at your third brake when it misbehaves. If it isn't lit then your problem is crummy contacts inside the pedal switch.

interesting, will definitely give that a look next time i'm about to start the car and see if it's lit or not. thanks for your response, I appreciate it!

You're most welcome. That's actually the most common problem we see with I-Key no-starts. Way more frequent than bad starters, no matter what model you're talking about.

The starters on these and the other V8 Infiniti do that, mine has done it for years actually, It really comes down to a weak Armature (motor) in the starter from what I have found out. You can keep putting up with that or just replace the starter. They don't really completely fail very often. Mine has 185K on it actually

UPDATE:
So I ended up buying a switch from autozone on July 6 (non oem) and for the most part it seemed to have fixed my issue. It has been starting up fine no hiccups, but as of last week i started having the same issue again. Not sure if its because the switch wasn't oem and its from autozone or if theres another issue with the car itself, but yeah, I'm back to square 1 now unfortunately

LIBRILZ wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 11, 2023 4:33 pm

The starters on these and the other V8 Infiniti do that, mine has done it for years actually, It really comes down to a weak Armature (motor) in the starter from what I have found out. You can keep putting up with that or just replace the starter. They don't really completely fail very often. Mine has 185K on it actually

oh okay, this is good to know. maybe that's what's wrong with mine then. because it takes 3 times for it to start as of the middle of last week. first two times i try to start the car it just clicks, but then the third time it turns on and I'm good to go. I'm just worried of getting stranded and having to get it towed to the shop. I've already had that happen once to me way back when I had my 350z and don't wanna go through that again lol

The starter can USUALLY be 'jumped' from below (under carriage) AND IF you can video the digital voltage readout ( a voltmeter alligator clipped to battery) video WHILE someone tries to start-just like your trying in that posted video , one can make a really good assessment of Battery & starter.

TIP : ALSO , before hiring a clown to do an R & R of starter without the FULL thorough diagnosis , I myself would figure out from wiring diagram HOW MANY and WHERE ALL ANY RELAYS IN THAT START CKT , (IF'n you at a humid/wet climate!!)
My guess between 3 and 5 relays , relays fairly easy ( unless of course waaaaaaaaaa under dash) and clean and relatively cheap fixes . You can "shot-gun" and buy ALL , OR pick a guess - buy 'em one by one

TIP # 2 : Those difficult to get to relays BETTER BE DEALER-OEM = "the real F'n thing I mean here. AND I'd even go for ALL of them being copasceticly GENUINE , ya know .FROM Japan ,or Joe Jitsu will flip you badly
Lastly , now this may hurt , BUT it is "best way" to by @ dealer and they typically cost DOUBLE @ the A-zone's & O;relly . Like $35-$40 ea. not the sketchy $14.99 for overseas junk - too critical here - you wanna be " In 'n Out " !

Because relay contacts can downright be the cause , faking & clouding judgements. FAKE NEWS YA GOT THERE , huh?