[UPDATE]This was resolved, it was a failed steering column lock unit.[/UPDATE]


Hi there... 1st post and unfortunately it appears to be for a common problem with various possibilities. I've already searched/read a bunch of the historical posts, but have so far come up short with a fix.

First, I'm dealing with a 2009 Maxima with an Audiovox PRO-9056C remote starter installed at the Nissan dealer before we took ownership.

The original OEM battery gave up its life this morning when it was ~15* (F) outside. I put an Optima Redtop 34R battery in tonight and it started right up using the Nissan key fob in my pocket without any issues just like you'd expect.

I then tried the remote starter to see if it needed reprogramming after the battery swap and the car's lights would come on but the vehicle would not start. I assumed it was no big deal and started looking for the remote start reprogramming steps.

Before I even got as far as trying to reprogram the remote starter I tried restarting the car normally with the Nissan fob and nothing happens. The ignition button remains on LOCK and the dash shows me two lights, one a red car with a key inside of it and another amber "KEY" light to the left-hand side of the dash. Putting the fob into the dash slot makes no difference in behavior, it won't even go into accessory mode. Both of the Nissan FOBs unlock/lock the car without issue and both batteries are less than two months old. The dash wasn't warning of us any low batteries so I don't think there are any issue there.

I pulled the positive battery cable off 10 minutes ago and will reconnect it in another 20'ish minutes to see if I can at least get it back to the Nissan fob working once again so we can both get to work in the morning (and hopefully home as well). If that works then I'll avoid trying to use the remote starter until I can give the company a call and have them come out and look at it.

If you have any other pointers or known issues that would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

No joy. Even with the battery disconnected for >30 minutes the car refuses to start. I sense a flatbed in our future tomorrow, glad we have the extended wrapper warranty... although the company the dealer used to install the remote starter will be my first call.

One minor interesting fact is when I connected the cables after replacing the battery the alarm went off, but now the alarm doesn't even get triggered. Does the immobilizer have a capacitor that keeps it active for a certain amount of time?

 

A terrible quality video for anyone who wants to see "nothing" happen. I simply unlock the car with the fob, try to get into ACC mode w/o the fob in the dash, and then try with the fob in the dash. I didn't bother pushing on the parking brake to actually try to start the car since if I can't even get it into ACC it certainly won't be going any further.

http://sdrv.ms/UHuq7S

 

Your bypass module for your remote starter may need to be reprogrammed. What brand of remote starter are you using? Compustar or Viper.

 

Hi, it's up there in the original post, Advent/Audiovox Pursuit PRO-9056C.

The fobs look like this... http://www.adventproducts.com/search/?ks=9056c ... and the manuals are a bit rough to look at.

There is some vague wording in the installation manual about a transponder bypass unit being usable on page 13, but I have yet to find any public documentation on the different types and how to reset/reprogram them as page 13 in the IM seems to cross-reference an area that doesn't exist in the IM. I'll keep searching....

 

I'll crawl under the dash in the morning and see what if anything is plugged into the bypass port. I have a feeling it is one of these, http://flashlogic.com/product/product/product_id/51#, because the installer came out to the house once for a starting issue we had early on and on the back of his business card he gave us it says "FLCAN Swap for any more issues". So either it has one, or he was planning on upgrading it from whatever it has to one of those.

 

If it's one of those bypass modules you mentioned, http://flashlogic.com/product/product/product_id/51#, then it's pretty easy to reprogram it. It's basically the same modules used by iDatalink that plugs into the brains of Compustars. You can download the install guide on flashlogics website. To make sure what is really happening, open up your dash and look for the bypass module that is connected to the brain of the alarm/remote starter. When you find the bypass module, there should be a led on it. If it's flashing, then your bypass module is ok. If it doesn't flash, then you have to reset it. Read the instructions on the manual from their website to do that. If you reset it and it still doesn't flash, you may have a few problems. Check to see if you have ground and power going to the bypass module. If you do, then your bypass module is bad and you need to replace it. If you don't have power going to it, then check to see if there's any power going to the brain of your remote starter/alarm. Check the fuses on the main harness going to the brain of the remote starter/alarm. Next step is to check all fuses in your car. Make sure you use a multimeter to check all wiring and fuses.

If you download the bypass module install manual and look at the wiring for the Maxima, you'll notice some factory wiring is cut and connected to the wiring of the bypass module. So basically if the bypass module is not working for whatever reason, your car will not start normally with the push to start button, let alone with the aftermarket fob. There are times when you have to reset the bypass module and reprogram it if your car battery dies or if you replace your car battery.

Let me know how it goes.

 

After not finding a flash logic unit under the dash I gave the installer a call. He said it wasn't a Flash Logic bypass unit, but one from a different company altogether whose name I already forgot. I gave him the symptoms and he's going to look up what we have to do so we can try to quickly get the car running over the phone with the factory fob, and he offered to swap a flash logic in because that is all they use now so the install will be like all other ones they do now.

 

It is an EVO-CAN bypass module in the car now. Over the phone we bypassed the EVO-CAN unit and the vehicle still doesn't even go into accessory mode with the Nissan key fobs in both proximity mode or in the dash slot. I'm calling roadside assistance to tow it to the Nissan dealer. The dealership wants to check the steering column lock unit, which thankfully covered under the extended warranty if faulty as it would have been >$700. This would be quite the Murphy's Law timing if it really did fail at that time.

 

Let us know the result at the dealership.

 

Will do, waiting for a tow truck to show up now. I just found this in the owner's manual. I mistakenly thought the "KEY" light on the dash was just telling me "The proximity sensor sees your key" .. but alas, it's a warning indicator.

 

Back home with the car happily running and it was in fact the steering wheel lock that died. Boy that was lousy coincidental timing.

Both the new steering wheel lock and the tow were covered under the extended warranty so all it cost was time and aggravation. I'll hook up with the remote start installer and take him up on his offer to swap the EVO-CAN for the FLCAN so the install matches all other ones they do.

 

glad to hear it got resolved. go through this thread and pull the fuse for your steering lock module, its in the engine bay next to the battery. apparently the 2010+ Maximas have it already pulled because this was Nissan's apparent solution to the problem of them locking the car up

http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...ock-issue.html

 

Wondering if this only happens to those with auto tilting steering wheel/ column...

 

Ours is not auto-tilt, in fact I didn't even know that was an available option.

Oh and FWIW we did go back to the remote starter installer who swapped the EVO-CAN bypass module out for the Flash Logic unit for us free of charge.