The wife has a 09 max that up until recently has been very dependable. 6 months ago we had one of the steering wheel servo/motors go bad and now battery issues. We've already replaced the original battery maybe two years ago. Now, just the other day, her car is dead. Steering wheel lock is on and even after trying to jump, couldn't get the steering wheel lock off. The battery was dead though. Lights wouldn't come on and neither would anything else. while I was jumping the car off though, I did hear a whining noise under the hood. Like a small electrical motor running maybe. Maybe fuel pump, but not for sure. Far as I could tell looking at front of car the sound was coming from firewall area on the right side. If I unhook the battery the noise fades to nothing in about 5 seconds. Hook the battery back up, the noise faded back in.

So, I unhooked the battery and put it on a charge over night. Next day hooked it back up, and everything was fine. Steering wheel unlocked and car started right up. Drove it around came back to the house and killed it. The whining noise was back. The car started right back up, so I killed it again. Left the battery hooked up and was frustrated and went to bed. Woke up at 2:30am this morning, 5 hrs later, and could tell battery was weaker, but car did start. Killed it and went to work. Get home today @ 6:30PM, car is dead. Start/push button barely lights up.

Could this actually be the battery? I know there is a battery draining issue, but this is happening while just sitting. No Aux equipment anywhere. I still don't have a clue about the noise from under the hood either. I would think if the battery was bad, it wouldn't just lose a charge with nothing going on and it don't explain the whining noise from under the hood.

What do you guys think?

 

You mention a whining noise under the hold. In my experience, that can be attributed to an alternator going bad and thus, not charging your battery.
Based on what you are describing, though, the whining noise, located on the passenger side of the car, and power slowly diminishing from the battery leads me to think of the alternator as what is going bad. Although if your alternator was going bad, the car should turn on the battery light and warning you, but you didn't mention any, so I'm slightly confused.
At any rate, try to narrow where your noise is coming from, and/or go to a local Autozone or Advance Auto Parts and have your alternator tested for free.

As for the battery draining issue, again, I'm guessing your alternator is bad, so check that first before finding out if your battery is draining or not.

 

Sounds like something is on while the car is off , perhaps check some relays or se if some accessories are still on that can kill your batter I hear people have battery issues hate to see you bring it to the dealer . Follow the sound the best you can I remember my wife's batter in her a6 died happened over and over again . Come to find out the passages seat the switch to move it was jammed causing it to stay pushed forward and eventually killed the battery. It was something stupid like that just check little **** that can be on I dunno

 

Is it a stock, factory battery? They've been known to be trash. Mine crapped out at just about the two year mark.

Grab a multimeter and run a quick check the drain on the battery. Get the battery tested to see if it's still holding charge. You should be seeing less than 50mA unless you've installed something else (i.e. alarm system). I'm not sure what our cars normally have. I'm gonna have to do that. In any case, you'll be able to see if there's something drawing power while the car is powered off.

There have been issues of different pumps running when the car is off, based on a google search of the issues you named. Try pulling out the fuses for the various pumps (i.e. fuel, powersteering, etc), see if the sound goes away after.

Hope you figure it out. Report back to us as well!

 

definitely could be the battery. if your steering column locked out though you'll want to pull that fuse ASAP to save yourself some hassle down the road.

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

 

I got the column unlocked and the fuse is pulled! Thanks for the ideas shipwreck. I might have been misleading earlier but the noise is on the drivers side. Sounds like it coming deep down in the motor bay. Just a slight hum/whine. But definately, when I pull the battery cable it stops. Its a gradule stop. And when I put the power back, it gradually starts back. I'm just about positive its not the alternator since the car isn't running.

When I leave the battery unhooked for 30 min and connect it back the noise isn't there. Its just after I start the car and then kill it again. I'll put a charge on the battery this evening and start troubleshooting various fuses and pumps.

No, it is not a stock battery. But the replacement is a 500a. But again, pretty sure its not the battery in this situation, but I might upgrade after all this is over with.

 

Found this on another forum: http://forums.nicoclub.com/electrica...f-t509086.html

THought they were pulling my leg, ELECTRONIC ENGINE MOUNTS?????? Never heard of them. Does the 09's have this?

 

I know my 00 had electric mounts so i would assume you do...

 

Pretty sure we do have electrical mounts

 

Well I'll be... we do. It's in the Engine Control section of the service manual. The solenoid valve for this system is located on the passenger side it seems. When you remove the engine cover, it's above and to the left of the oil cap. It is programmed to run after receiving a signal from the ECM after the engine reaches rpms over 950.

Sheesh... You know, I was once told by a smart person that the more moving parts you have, the more trouble you can get into.

That said, if it's anything like noted in that thread you found, it's not too important and you'll likely just feel more vibrations. Good thing to look into though. Nice find!

 

Thanks for the extra info shipwreck. I just got in from work and headed out to take a look. Looking at other posts, it seems the connectors are external of the cover, that is on older models? I'll look under the cover and see what I can find. I swear I would have lost a months pay if someone told me my "Electric Motor Mount" was bad!!!!!!!!!! I guess neoprene and rubber just don't cut it anymore!!!!

 

The electronic motor mount seems more of a convenience thing than a necessity. It shouldn't really affect normal driving if you have to disconnect it. Not really sure about that solenoid now. I just went with what the service manual said. Anyway, hope you figure out that battery drain issue. Did you take the battery to a shop to have it tested yet?

 

Sorry so long to get back Shipwreck. Long story short, it was the battery. The battery was only a little over a year old, I never suspected it. I finally had it tested after placing my charger on it and got a full charge from totally dead in about 30 min. Thank yall for all your assistance.

 

easy test...charge the battery...put in the car...start the car...unhook the battery while its running...if the car runs your Alternator is good..if the car shuts down then the alternator is bad...the car will fully run on alternator regardless the batter, after its started...
To me sounds like alternator is dead..and when you run the car off the battery then it drains it fast...also the noise symptom is probably the voltage regulator trying to load up the alternator to produce the juice...
my 2 cents

 

Ok, problem NOT SOLVED. New battery went in Monday. Car has ran fine till today. Not one issue at all. I go to leave for work this evening and I hear the electrical/humming noise from under the hood. Alt is good. Car will run fine with no battery. Battery is still good. Car cranks just fine. The noise does not stop when the car is running. With this GOOD battery, the noise is even louder than before. I can barely hear it while driving down the road. I get to work and unhook the battery. It sat for about 3hrs. I went back and hooked the battery up, noise is gone. Can't make the noise start again. The noise "seems" to be coming from the backside of engine, by firewall. Just a wild guess though. If you just unhook the battery cable for 5 seconds, the noise goes away. Then as soon as you put it back on, the noise comes right back. So, leaving the cable off for a while definately resets something. I still have my electric motor mounts disconnected, so I know it not that. I'll update when I find something out. Gonna try a few more days then take it in. This is driving me crazy.

Again, when this sound starts, it is continuous, while the car is running or not. And possibly, according to the wife, the car wasn't making this sound when she got out of it today. So the sound could start when the car is not running!!! I have my doubts about that, but.....after learning about electric motor mounts, who knows what's possible!!!

 

Any luck figuring this out? Did you take the car to a shop?