No power to anything sounds like the main battery fuse might be blown.
It is not uncommon for it to blow if you accidentally short the battery lines (or hook up jumper cables backwards... don't ask how I know ). Accidentally hooking up the battery backward will also blow this fuse. It will be in the fuse box behind the battery under the hood. It's either 40 or 80 Amps, I don't recall exactly. It can be a pain to replace, as there is a special cover that has to come off in order to access the screw that holds the fuse in place (it goes through the metal leg of the fuse. You can get a replacement from Autozone or another place for fairly cheap ( I think mine was under $8). I don't recommend getting an OEM fuse, unless you have money to burn.
There are some videos online that show how to replace this fuse.
Just checked. It's an 80Amp on the 2.4L (my Frontier is 2.4L). The 3.3L will have a 160Amp. You can't miss it. THe fuse is located in the middle of the fuse block. If that fuse is blown the entire vehicle will act like there is no battery in the vehicle at all. Nothing will power up.
I think the best road forward is to gradually work your way down the positive line and test for power at each connection. Test using the chassis of the vehicle as your negative, not the battery terminal. Also test different parts of the chassis, engine, etc to make sure that it is all grounded. With your car in park/neutral try jumping the starter with the starter installed. Just jump from the positive terminal on the battery to the positive terminal on the starter. Careful of the fan belt and pulleys of course. This will tell you if you have good ground at the starter.
You can also jump from the negative terminal to a metal part of the chassis to test if the main ground strap is bad.
Check the chassis/frame where the ECM is mounted for ground. You may also want to check the ECM relay. It's located in the center console on top of the ECM.
Tracking down electrical issues can be a very frustrating thing. Slow and methodical generally the best way to go. Start at your battery and work your way out from there, testing as you go.
The ECM is located below the radio. It's actually mounted on the "hump", which is why if you drown your gen1 in deep water there is a tendency for ECM issues (Obviously this requires water coming into the cabin and being deep enough to cover the hump, but it does happen.
They moved the ECM to high up on the passenger side of the engine compartment in the gen2 if I'm not mistaken.
I do wish that there was a diagram of all the ground straps. It's a question that gets asked a lot.
There should be bonding straps to the intake manifold, engine block, exhaust system etc. When in doubt you can always jump from the negative terminal to the various parts of the chassis and engine (avoid positive leads etc. when you do this).
The main concern would be the main ground strap that goes from the negative battery terminal to the chassis (inner fender in the engine compartment). If it doesn't have a good connection then you have no ground on the rest of the vehicle even if the other straps are in place. Also check to make sure that it's not corroded where it connects to the vehicle.
I would also test for power just on the other side of the battery quick connects that you installed (the wires leading out of them. DOn't test against the metal on the connectors themselves). I've had problems with quick connects in the past. I have one on my Frontier, because it was draining the battery for a while. The some times it would stay connected when the knob was turned out/off, and sometimes it would not be connected at all when it was turned in/on. It was just due to cheap parts (that I bought on Amazon).
There are also similar threads for the Frontier. Remember. Any time you look up info on the Xterra, look up the same info on the Frontier. Often there is more out there on the Frontier, or at you at least double your results. ClubFrontier is often a good source of info.
Hi, here is an interesting problem I hope you can solve for me. 2000 Frontier,no lights, no start, no radio or interior anything. All the normal things have been checked. Fully charged battery, clean terminals,100 amp fuse ok and so on. This is the fun part, with the light switch on pull up...
www.nissanforums.com
And here's one from our forum for Xterra. It ended up being the quick disconnect on the positive battery terminal.
Wife came home, dropped in for 10 minutes, got back out to our 2000 Xterra, turned the key and nothing. No clicking like a dead battery. No horn, no lights. I don't mean a faint horn or dim lights I mean NOTHING. It's like it doesn't have battery. Nothing leading up to this. I thought it was...
The water could be a part of the issue. The only way to find out is to get at the ECM and check it over for signs of water damage. DO NOT disconnect or reconnect the ECM with the battery connected.
Water down in that area could be caused by a number of things. The ones that come to mind are.
1) The drain for the ac is clogged so the water is emptying inside the vehicle.
2) A leak in the heater core (though it would smell like coolant)
3) a missing or broken plug in the floor or firewall (usually about 1" around and plastic)
4) A leak in the windshield. The adhesive/sealant gets old and brittle as well as corrosion can cause the paint and sealant to lift and allow water through (I have this problem in my Frontier, but just haven't had time to fix it).
5) a leak in the rubber boot between the floor and the shifter. I'm not sure how the automatic is put together as I've never had mine off, but the manual in the frontier has a rubber mat with a boot on it to keep out the elements, and then the more ornamental rubber boot that you actually see inside the vehicle. Over time the rubber can get brittle and allow water from the road to splash up and get inside the vehicle.
Yeah, Follow that green copper to where it terminates. It's quite possible that the end is corroded and needs some scuffing to clean it up. Likewise, it never hurts to undo the main ground line from where it attaches to the chassis and make sure that there isn't corrosion and dirt in between the contact points. That includes the bolt the holds it down.
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