2019 QX80 drain on battery

[Michael Campbell]

My 2019 QX80 continues to have some kind of battery drain. My son watched the factory DVD system for about 25 minutes, all of a sudden everything clicked off. A few minutes later I tried to start the car and it was dead. My dealer has already made an computer adjustment and replaced the battery once. I love Infiniti, as a matter of fact this is the 6th one that I have owned. I can’t believe that a $72,000.00 car will not start after playing the factory DVD system about 25 minutes. Something is not right. Is anyone else experiencing this??????

I'm trying to do a update with the CD navigation upgrade and it won't take so it's killing draining our battery because it won't complete the process in our 2011 Infiniti FX35 we got a new battery yesterday from AAA for free with our platinum account and it killed the new battery too

 

[CaptMorgan]

Has it helped or is it to soon to tell?

It appears to have helped a lot. I dare say that its functioning like its supposed to now.
I've gone out with the battery charger and the battery is maintaining nearly full charge.
Also the Voltage indicator on the dashboard keeps a solid charging voltage. Before it was very erratic and not charging properly.
Theres been no dashboard error lights since I snipped that wire either.

 

[MisterC]

I purchased a 2015 QX80 in August of 2017 and replaced the battery on 2/8/19 (about 4 yrs of battery life), then replaced again on 1/13/21 (about 23 months of battery life) and now replaced again on 9/15/21 (8 months of battery life). I'm told it is a common problem and they attempted to fix the wiring the last time it was replaced but evidently with no success. They just replaced another customer's battery after only 4 months. I can't believe that they can't come up with a fix, but guess it's cheaper to keep replacing batteries than to fix hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

 

[marctronixx]

welcome mr. c.

technically its not a "common problem" -- its a "feature" nissan implemented to keep emissions low and reduce your petrol usage. the ECM governs how much current the alternator puts out to keep the car running efficiently. it does NOT care about the state of the battery charge. removed the sensor from the negative cable causes the alternators to output the 14volts we are used to seeing on vehicles. if you driver the car on short trips, the battery will never recover and keep charged, plus if you are using cheap batteries, these are no good for the car because of all the sensors and computer network that exists on it. there are premium batteries out there that will give you a better capacity and output. i used odyssey batteries.

the "fix" is to change the programming in the ECM. some users have reported some dealer's did this for them, others simply had the dealer remove the pin as mentioned earlier. you would have to put the pin back if you have to do emissions.

______________________________

 

[G-744468]

VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROL SYSTEM



you guys need to understand its NOT an "issue" - rather its a "Feature" nissan implemented to help with emissions.

Its called The VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROL SYSTEM. You are free to do an internet search as other nissan (Nissan are the parent) owners have experienced this as well. This has been a "feature" for ever and not just recently.

IF you want to get around this, then you have to remove the sensor that tells the ECM how much voltage the system needs. It is NOT designed to fully charge the battery. At best your battery will stay around ~80-85% charged , and if you do short trips probably on the low end of that. So you end up trickle charging every so often if you want the battery to be at peak.

removing the sensor will allow the generator to output what we all want and love - 13.x to 14.x volts.

its a simple trick as primo and others have stated. here are some slides..

so its NOT a bug or software glitch. its how nissan implemented it. nissan/infiniti slyly state this in the owner's manual

taken from the 2019 qx80 owners manual , section 8-13:



what i used to do is plug a jump box up to the obd port overnight. this would send a trickle charge from the jump box to the battery overnight and "top it off".

Thank you. I have since did my own fix for I was fighting the same damn issue with the local dealership not having a clue what’s going on.

 

[Madmanpauly]

@Bradley. Not only would I be demanding a refund for what the service dept charged you to remove your Spireon device, I’d bill them to have it reinstalled as well. They didn’t fix the issue and were obviously wrong in diagnosing the problem with your battery draining.

I’m not a fan of Nissan’s design, actually more like an attempt in trying to improve mpg with their ECM-controlled alternator. It prevents the alternator from working as a traditional alternator and therefore the battery never charges 100%. Of course, when a battery isn’t running up to par, it can lead to all types of electrical issues.

The negative terminal has a battery current sensor which is part of the ECM-controlled alternator. There is a 4-wire connector that plugs into this sensor and one of the wires is the signal wire for the ECM. I disconnected the signal wire (blue) and the alternator on my QX80 functions as an alternator should. The battery on my QX80 is a constant 14+V.

Hi Primov, I've got a 2018 QX80 and can't seem to find which wire needs to be removed for the ECM fix. There isn't a blue wire, where can I find this information?

 

[primov8]

Hi Primov, I've got a 2018 QX80 and can't seem to find which wire needs to be removed for the ECM fix. There isn't a blue wire, where can I find this information?

Search online for an OE service manual, specific to the year of your truck. If you can’t find one and know how to use a multi-meter, then that would be your next option. From what I’ve seen online, the current part # for the battery current sensor fits our Z62s from 2011-2019. With that said, the location of this signal wire should be the same as my ‘14.
When you unplug the 4-wire connector from the battery current sensor, looking at the female end of the connector, said signal wire will be at the upper right hand of the connector. Using a multi-meter, with the truck set to IGN, probing that signal wire should yield at least 5V.

 

[G-347732]

I own a 2018 QX80 that was having the intermittent charge and failure to start issue. I took it back to the dealer 2 times and the response was, the charging system is working as designed by manufacture. After reading the threads on this forum I tested using a 14 gauge jumper wire from the battery side of the “GROUND CABLE“ (-minus cable) to a metal body fast and my problem went away. I enjoy my QX80 but I was ready to trade it for a different brand until this corrected my issue. In my opinion sense this done, the vehicle’s performs better, shifting and engine response.

______________________________

 

[KelliS]

I just did to my QX80, of the 4 wires on the battery current sensor two were hot (5v) with the car in ON. One is blue and the other is green. I removed the BLUE from the connector and now have 14v+ going to the battery so I'm calling it good.

I have a 2011 QX56, and we bought it new. This has been going on for years. We have had 6 batteries from different places. Have taken it to the dealership 2x and they just replace the battery each time. Has left us with our kids stranded so many times I cannot count. This BS with short trips, long trips, double clicking the start button, not leaving on the lights, the heated seat function....we have TRIED EVERYTHING. I'm getting ready to try this disconnect of the blue wire this week and will respond if this works on every forum I can. I'm so over this. I have a 2017 Nissan Maxima and have never had this issue. I am however kicking myself that I didn't just stick to a Honda. They aren't the prettiest of vehicles, but my old one had never left me stranded.

 

[AZ_G]

@marctronixx Thanks for the helpful info on this "feature". Do you have any idea how much this helps with gas mileage? I have had this issue twice during 3.5 years of ownership and I know what usually causes it and can put it on the battery charger. If the fuel savings is worth it, I guess I'll keep doing it. If not, I'll do the mod.

 

[marctronixx]

at the end of the day i think its a hassle and more trouble than its worth. i don't think you would notice much mpg improvement but you WILL notice your battery and charging system working as it should! speculation but i think nissan installed this to appease the epa and to brag about lower emissions on this beast of a car!

 

[G-12754]

My 2019 QX80 continues to have some kind of battery drain. My son watched the factory DVD system for about 25 minutes, all of a sudden everything clicked off. A few minutes later I tried to start the car and it was dead. My dealer has already made an computer adjustment and replaced the battery once. I love Infiniti, as a matter of fact this is the 6th one that I have owned. I can’t believe that a $72,000.00 car will not start after playing the factory DVD system about 25 minutes. Something is not right. Is anyone else experiencing this??????

Yes my qx60 had to get multiple battery replacements like once a year since I purchased the car , my battery has been so bad that leaks and destroyed the terminals twice , ridiculous for a car this nice to have such a terrible battery

______________________________

 

[Madmanpauly]

YouTube already has several videos of this exact process. I’ve watched a few myself.

Any chance you could paste the link?

 

[Free2b]

this has been a long standing issue on the armada as well.

it's a very long story but nissans charging system is not designed to fully charge a battery as one would expect. there is a sensor on the negative cable that tells the computer the state of the LOAD on the SYSTEM and it adjusts this dynamically. if you do a lot of short trips and you don't let the car charge up the battery will slowly lose a full charge.

Remember how in the old days you could REV up the engine and the volts would increase? yeah no not with nissan's strategy. they do this mostly for emissions and petrol savings.

some have removed/modified this sensor to allow the battery to charge up more as we would expect the system to. There may be how to steps over the internet to show how this is done.

bottom line, you are seeing normal results from running the car with the engine off.

I just want to thank you for this...was planning to disconnect myself, but decided to ask dealership while my qx80 is still under warranty. They did it!

 

[jlow@lawofficeofjulielow.]

My 2019 QX80 continues to have some kind of battery drain. My son watched the factory DVD system for about 25 minutes, all of a sudden everything clicked off. A few minutes later I tried to start the car and it was dead. My dealer has already made an computer adjustment and replaced the battery once. I love Infiniti, as a matter of fact this is the 6th one that I have owned. I can’t believe that a $72,000.00 car will not start after playing the factory DVD system about 25 minutes. Something is not right. Is anyone else experiencing this??????y

My 2018 QX80 battery dies for no reason. Something is seriously wrong. is infiniti doing anything about this?

 

[marctronixx]

hi,

have you read this thread? the explanation is here as to why you are seeing your battery being undercharged. there is a mod you can do today on your own to increase your voltage going to your battery. Nissan are not doing anything about it because to them its a "feature".

______________________________

 

[qx56CA]

QX 56 2013 model. I have gone through 8 batteries in the time frame of owning the suv. Dealer replaced 7/2021 and at dealer now to replace battery again 5/2022. They want to charge $95 to disable the smart charging system. My problem is not that the car is dead. My Issue is that I will push start the car and all the lights on dash light up but the car makes no attempt to turn over. i can push to start 4 secs later and it turns over. Sometimes it takes 3 attempts to start. It has been doing this to me for the last 4 yrs each time i "note it" and dealer replaces battery. I'm not sure this is the same issue as most are having on this forum as mine does not or has ever needed to be jump started. Any help would be greatly appreciated. As my extended warranty is about to end.

 

[marctronixx]

you should be testing the battery first to see if it passes or fails. don't blindly replace a battery.

are there any trouble codes present at the obd port?

is the dealer testing/diagnosing your car to see if there are any issues with a sensor (crankshaft sensor, knock sensor, faulty ignition push button, etc etc)?

you can remove the sensor from the battery cable to disable this "feature" so your alternator pumps out the better voltage. the instructions are clearly laid out in this thread.

 

[qx56CA]

you should be testing the battery first to see if it passes or fails. don't blindly replace a battery.

are there any trouble codes present at the obd port?

is the dealer testing/diagnosing your car to see if there are any issues with a sensor (crankshaft sensor, knock sensor, faulty ignition push button, etc etc)?

you can remove the sensor from the battery cable to disable this "feature" so your alternator pumps out the better voltage. the instructions are clearly laid out in this thread.

Yes i see the instructions on how to disable it. But i just didn't feel like the same things were happening to my SUV. I don't have to pump mine to start. It just needs a couple of pushes then it starts. The dealer has advised previously that no codes were popping up. But I asked again for them to verify that no codes are showing on the ODB. My dealer extended warranty is about to expire 6/2022 and i feel like they are just putting a bandaid on the issue. With there quick to replace battery scenario.

 

[marctronixx]

not sure what you mean by "pump".

the issues with this nissan "feature" is it basically ends up killing the battery because the battery is not being charged as it is expecting. removing the sensor lead on the battery cable will help you achieve a more constant charging voltage. if you want to try this procedure, you may like the benefits. its reversible if you dont want to keep it.

in terms of if this will help you with other issues on your car is something no one over the internet can be qualified to state since none of us can see the car nor have the wherewithal to diagnose it.

if you think your dealer is not fixing the problem, go to another dealer. if you dont have one, find someone specialized in imports.