Hey all, I am looking for ideas as to what could possibly be going on with my 2012 G37 Sport coupe. I currently have the flu & hadn't driven my car in a few days when I asked my roommate to run to the store for me. When they went to start my car it was a no go. The lights would come on but it wouldn't completely turn over. I had to ask another friend to come over to jump it. Their 1st attempt was using a jump box which I believe, actually drained what little bit of life I had left in my battery, out. Not only would it not start after they hooked up this "jump box", but the lights wouldn't even come on anymore. Just the "click, click, click"....I told them my battery was good & still under warranty. I purchased one through my local Infiniti dealership a while back. I'd have to check my records to get an exact date but I know it wasn't 3+ years ago. (Bear with me as I'm still VERY ill & my mind isn't at 100%.) Anyway, they had the battery checked & as I had told them, it was good. They jumped the car with jumper cables & all was well.....so I thought. This was 3 days ago. The next day it started/ran just fine, for the minimal driving it endured. Last night, once again, needed medicine so I asked my roommate to run to the store for me & guess what....That's right, another no go. This time, no power whatsoever. Just the dreaded "click, click, click". No lights were left on either time. No doors left ajar. Trunk was also closed. To top things off, I have an appointment at H&R Block tomorrow & need my car to get me there. I'm at a loss & praying someone here might be willing to offer suggestions or provide me with ideas as to what could possibly be causing this. I recently had a thorough inspection performed as my extended warranty was about to expire & everything checked out fine. The car is well maintained & has been over the years. I apologize if my description of events isn't the best. I know it could be better so feel free to ask for clarification on anything I've mentioned or anything I've failed to mention above.
Thanks in advance!!!!!!

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Mod edit: Title adjustment

 

I received an email stating someone had replied to my post & it appears from the email I was asked if my car has a manual or automatic transmission. However, I'm not seeing this reply when I access the thread.....not sure if the reply was deleted or what the deal is but in the event I'm overlooking or not seeing the question, my car is an automatic. (7-speed automatic transmission w/paddle shifters, and an optional 6 speed manual).

 

You need a new battery. Or take it to autozone to have it checked, and if it is good they can recharge the battery for free.

 

Thank you for your reply. I was told a few days ago the battery was/is good. It was recharged but then 2 days later, it was completely dead/drained. Forgive me for asking, & perhaps I'm overly medicated, but what am I missing here? This doesn't make sense to me.

 

Get new battery... 3 yrs battery has run its course..

Walmart battery are good for the bang & warranty.. GL

 

I still have my factory battery from 8 years ago... it didn't start to fade until I was out of town for a month and had to jump it. The jump box is just as good as cables... you need to drive around for 30-45 min to recharge the battery fully. If you tried to start it multiple times after it's died, then there's permanent battery damage. You can ask someone else to check your battery again, but I'd replace it just for piece of mind.

 

Use one of these when car won't be driven for extended periods of time.



https://www.costco.com/battery-tende...100519712.html

I still have the original battery from the G (from 2012). It's used for misc garage tasks when as 12V source is needed. Been on a tender since 2015 or 2016 when I first replaced the battery. I should bring it into autozone to see what state charge its still in.

 

NOT THE BATTERYUPDATE: IT IS NOT THE BATTERY. My friend did take it to Autozone to have it tested. They said it was good. Any other ideas?

 

I just checked my records & this battery was installed, by Austin Infiniti, on April 17, 2018, so it's not even 2 years old.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but unfortunately I don't have that happen....ever. I'm not sure what you consider an extended period of time, but this is my daily driver so it rarely "sits still". It's good to know about that lil gadget you shared, however. I may still look into getting one.....if I ever get my car running! 😉 Actually, it's going to a body shop first & foremost. I was hit twice within a 2 week period. One of the two times I wasn't even around to see it happen! Needless to say, my poor baby has been through a lot here lately & "mom" is barely hanging on.....lol
Thanks again!

 

Thanks for your reply. Are you serious about the 30 - 45 minutes??? I've jumped batteries before & don't think I've ever charged one that long immediately after the jump. At least not intentionally. I've never heard I needed to drive for that long to fully charge the battery. Learned something new. I definitely did NOT drive it anywhere NEAR that long after the jump was done a few days ago. Due to having the flu, I have only driven it once & that was for about 5 min before turning it off. It was driven 1 other time but not for 30 min. Is the 30 - 45 min excluding the time it's charging by being hooked up to another vehicle, or in addition to?

I'm attaching a screenshot of what my friend did when he jumped it for me. Not sure if this helps any or not, but here is what he said:

 

Just my 10¢ here:
1) all those chain auto parts stores use a cheap, digital tester that isn't worth a crap (IMO). Only a quality carbon pile tester will give you a good measure of how healthy the battery is;
2) if your driving route(s) are usually "short trips" (as most city driving typically is) the engine/alternator is not running long enough to fully charge a dead/weak battery. As such a battery can have a shortened life span;
3) a 2 year-old battery can go bad just as fast as one that is significantly older. For some things in life- age doesn't matter. That said (and having been down this road last week):

1) check the water level in the battery (if applicable);
1a) if you happen to have, or know someone who has, a battery hydrometer, test the cells of the battery (if applicable);
2) check that the post connections are clean & tight;
3) fully charge the battery with a battery charger, not with jumper cables attached to someone's running car as was inferred by the attached texts (really?);
4) check the voltage of the battery after it has sat for a few hours to allow the actual voltage to stabilize. Testing it 30 seconds after disconnecting the charging source does nothing as the surface voltage is always going to be higher than the static voltage.

If a fully charged battery dies overnight, either it is bad or there is a parasitic draw draining the battery- that is a horse of a different color.

 

Yes, once your car is started your alternator will charge the battery. You'll need at least 30 min if you needed a jump... I'd say more if it was completely dead (if you don't use a charger). Starting the car uses a lot of load. Like the previous post said, 30 sec is not enough time to determine voltage drop.

 

do you have a dashcam? i found out my dashcam was running and killed my battery

 

Most places that test batteries simply check the voltage. This can tell you if it is bad but will NOT tell you if it is good. They need to hook it up to more sophisticated tool that will put a load on the battery and check cranking amps.

You said it needs to go into the body shop to fix two accidents. Any damage near an electrical component (lights?) could be a short causing a parasitic drain. To test you need to put a multi-meter in line between the battery cable and the battery and start pulling fuses. Google it, there are plenty of videos on how to do this.