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Power problem on first gen UPDATE 3/13/23

3K views 23 replies 5 participants last post by  Satito 
Thank you so much for your response, yesterday I was almost ready to throw in the towel and sell the thing as is. Just a couple more questions if it isn’t too much to ask:
Where is the main ground strap located? I’ve located several grounds, the two that connect to the intake manifold, the ones that go to the fenders, and the one up behind the fuse box, which is the main ground, or am I missing one? Is the ECM above or below the radio in the center console? The guy I got this piece of cough car, from had pulled the radio when he decided to sell it. Maybe the Ecm will be the first thing that isn’t a pain in the ass to get to!
I'll leave you in the capable hands of the "Satito" but I expect he might agree that the "removal" of the radio by the previous owner may be the glue that you are looking to follow up on.
 
Well he was kinda twitchy if you catch my meaning, however the electrical issue is recent, when I got the car it ran. Very very poorly, but it did it, so maybe I am missing something as to why the old radio being pulled like two years ago would have effected my power now?
Two years ago....you're right...probably not the issue. Thought you had just bought this. I would follow Satito's advice about chasing the ground starting at the battery negative connection heading towards the engine block.
 
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).
Correct you are on the ECM relocation for Gen2.
 
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