patrickdowdle08

ok so i just bought an 08 s from a highway patrolman.dude gave me a list of all the preventative maintence on the car and everything .car sounds brand new.. today i went to turn the car on after a normal day of driving and the car barely turned over. then after work it was dead....... i read some of the threads online before finding this place and people were saying everything from emissions valves to alternators might be bad...but im also hearing i just need a bigger battery? can someone tell me what did or didnt work for them if they had a similar situation

also real quick i can get free optima batterys on base (marine corp) but the red top post are on the opposite end of the battery from where these short *** cables go..any help on what i should do if i want to install a red top in this thing or if theres a battery you guys reccomend

evil-G-nius

iTrader: (1)

It sounds like it might be a bad alternator. With that said, don't get a red top...use a yellow. I had in my last car when I was having issues similar to what you are experiencing now. It worked out for a short period of time then the problem persisted. What I found out is the red to is designed to be drained completely and then recharged. It doesnt work well for daily use but the yellow top does. Once I switched to that I had no issues. The idea behind the red top sounds counter intuitive but it did not work for everyday use. Good luck

patrickdowdle08

ok thanks man,yeah im having the alternator checked today and did the yellow top fit right in like the old bosch that comes with these things??

2008G-Man

I have a Red Top in my '08, fits/posts are just fine. There are a gazillion posts about older G's and battery issues. There was a TSB about it, some sort of control valve (or something) continues to draw power when the car is turned off. Over time it takes it's toll on the battery being in a constant drained state. If I remember correctly it's a fairly expensive fix to have done outside of warranty.

My37s0805

Happened to me I changed battery and never happened again.... weird it was right after I bought mine as well

ExoDus3252

This happened to me a few months ago. Car would start weaker and weaker, and eventually died. Turned out the battery was just bad.

Can't you jump start it, then unplug the -/+ terminal and see if the engine is running on the alternator, to rule that out? Anyway, if you're not hearing a loud whirring or whining sound, chances are it's probably not the alternator.

SwissCheeseHead

iTrader: (6)

You can check if it's your alternator or battery by using a voltmeter. With the car off, there should about a constant 12ish volts. With the car on, there should be a constant 14ish volts. If the car is on and there isn't 14V, then you have a bad alternator. If the car is on, and there is 14V, then you have a bad battery that can't hold a charge.

I would jump the car and do this first before throwing money into repairs/parts.

Glenn2008

iTrader: (3)

It's likely the battery. I'm on my third "Infiniti installed battery" in <2 years. I do have a powerall battery booster that has come in handy three times. You can buy them on Amazon.com The alternator is fine, it's the batteries that are not holding the charge.

erinmac

I'm running a napa battery on my 2008 - it was put in June 2012 (65 month battery) and it just started that slow turn over and died on me 2 times..first time I put a charger/jumper on it and worked fine for a few days. I had to travel out of town for a few weeks and came back .. 3-4 weeks of sitting in the garage - dead again. I swapped it out at Napa ($32 pro-rate charge) and all is crisp and clean...course, I lost all my favorite radio settings and had to reset my window and seat/mirror memories. haha