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Power problem on first gen UPDATE 3/13/23

3K views 23 replies 5 participants last post by  Satito 
#1 · (Edited)
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Finally I have hit a wall I don’t seem to be capable of figuring my way around without creating an account and using my Ask the Audience lifeline. Let me get y”all caught up, and then I have a huge favor to ask all, or one (or any Number in between) of you. It is quite long, so get comfy cozy…

Approximately may of 2021 my boyfriend bought an automotive rooftop tent (one of the Free Spirit Recreation ones, it is very nice) for $2,300 and in doing so he also purchased the automobile it was mounted to. He immediately swapped the tent onto our F150 and then excitedly presented me with my “brand new (to you) 2000 nissan Xterra se!”
Our friend that sold us the car had told him that the power steering had a leak somewhere, the fuel gauge didn’t move (SPOILER: it did) but other than that the car drove like a dream(SPOILER: it did not) thankfully my boyfriend had insisted on taking it on a test drive and scanning her OBDII before any money changed hands. Which is how we found out that it had a code for mass air flow sensor, and knock sensor, which after a quick google he declared not a big deal.
my boyfriend did the knock sensor relocation for me, and we together did spark plugs (holyhell that #6 plug is a punishment from god levels of hard to get to), I did the MAS myself, we together swapped the power steering lines and then everything got even less awesome.
so around September after I finished the plugs my boyfriend walked me through doing an oil change, and I changed the fuel filter seemingly for the car’s very first time. As I was wrapping up the oil change he left to run to Lowe’s and forgot his wallet at home. I knew that two things had happened,1. He left with 7 minutes to get to a store that closed in 10 minutes, and 2. He left his wallet at home.
so overly confident I hopped in the Xterra and drove the seven blocks to meet him, and as I came to a stop to turn into the Lowe’s parking lot the Xterra died, luckily my boyfriend was pulling out, and we were together able to push it through the intersection, and then later tow the thing back home. For brevity’s sake I will spare you the lead up to December when I gave up on my original engine and ordered a replacement.
I got my original motor out and my new (to me) motor in place in only a month and a half, and yesterday finally was satisfied that everything was connected correctly, adjusted right, and ready to try the keys for the first time, which I fully expected to be the most exciting crank of my life…
But of course not, there is no power, to anything at all in the car. I took the starter back off and tested it to see if it works, and holy shit does it work. I double checked the ground cables, and they all seem fine. We are about to go grab a multi meter and see if maybe the brand new positive cable has damage under the insulation, and then just for fun we are gonna swap the equally brand new terminals for the originals to see if maybe the brass isn’t conductive enough?
However because my boyfriend has asked me 10,000,000,000 times if I am sure I have everything plugged in, I am starting to think that maybe I don’t? Would someone, anyone, pretty please be willing to grab their phone and take a video starting at the battery and walking through the wiring harness(es) in the engine bay just briefly showing me where there are connectors and what they connect to? Just so I can be sure I didn’t mess it up somewhere obvious before I give up, wipe down the inside and sell the thing to someone who has any clue what they are doing because clearly I do not? You’d be my hero.

EDIT on 03/13/2023: I am also adding this as a reply but thought I would put it up top to make it easier for new readers to find where I’m at.
Yesterday I made it to autozone and bought a replacement 100amp fuse and did my main battery fuse. while I had everything torn apart in the fuse box I tested for continuity and from the positive battery to the starter is good, as well as the starter plug back up to the fuse box. Both the body and the engine block are grounded, and my boyfriend used a multimeter to check both of the 80amp fuses in the fuse box, which looked rough but tested good. After everything was all hooked back up I turned on my hazards (as they should always draw power reglardless of the ignition) aaaaaand, nothing.
For good measure I swapped out the quick connect battery terminals I had bought off Amazon for the original terminals that aren’t made of brass, just to be sure I had a good connection for the cables at the posts. Still nothing.
I literally don’t have a clue what I could be missing.
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
I can offer something better than that, and it's free! Download the FSMs for your model year and you'll get not only the wiring diagrams, but all the other stuff you need to know as well.


Oh, and congratulations on the new-to-you rig, and kudos on keeping up on the maintenance!
While I appreciate the help, I assure you that I have spent a cumulative 40 hours pouring over the service manuals since Terra and I got stuck together and yet still . Mostly they are crazy helpful, but when I get to the sections on electrical issues my brain just breaks and I can’t translate or retain an ounce of data.
hence the request for a wiring harness/connectors walk through. My thought was that if I could see the information in addition to reading it I might be able to catch something i missed when reassembling Her.
mince the sun comes back up I’m gonna start rechecking the fuse block.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
so, my concern which I feel like I maybe didn’t properly articulate, is that NOTHING has power, locks, lights, nothing. If I still had dash/other lights but the stupid car wouldn’t start (like I had pre motor replacement) I wouldn’t be as upset/confounded.
Am I correct in my understanding that the only things that should prevent my brake lights and/or hazards from working so long as my battery has a charge and cables are connected correctly are:
1. A short in the wiring between the positive terminal and the negative
2. The ECU being toast?

also, thank you, again, for taking the time to respond but also for doing such a good job of not making my brain feel like it is full of Xterra flavored pudding instead of information. This has been the most emotionally exhausting car experience of my life, and I lived in a PT Cruiser for like three months a few years ago!
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
UPDATE: Yesterday I made it to autozone and bought a replacement 100amp fuse and did my main battery fuse. while I had everything torn apart in the fuse box I tested for continuity and from the positive battery to the starter is good, as well as the starter plug back up to the fuse box. Both the body and the engine block are grounded, and my boyfriend used a multimeter to check both of the 80amp fuses in the fuse box, which looked rough but tested good. After everything was all hooked back up I turned on my hazards (as they should always draw power reglardless of the ignition) aaaaaand, nothing.
For good measure I swapped out the quick connect battery terminals I had bought off Amazon for the original terminals that aren’t made of brass, just to be sure I had a good connection for the cables at the posts. Still nothing.
I literally don’t have a clue what I could be missing
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
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.
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!
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
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?
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
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.
Yeah, sorry, I may not have been super clear in my initial post. The car has only run for a total of about 2 hours in the last 2 years, but it did run when I bought it.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Satito, you are a saint. To remove a potential point of failure I removed the quick connects and replaced them with basic tinned copper terminals. Inside of the insulation on the negative cable itself there is quite a bit of green powdery corrosion that appears to run its entirety. While it doesn’t appear to be preventing a decent connection at either the terminal or the body I have some extra battery cable/lugs lying around so I may just make a new negative.
I haven’t watched that video yet, however I was just out at the car pulling the center console plastics off to get ready to dig into it and when I went to pull the carpet out of my way from up under both the driver and passenger side foot wells (whatever that area is actually called) both sides had a surprisingly decent amount of moisture on both the carpet and the padding underneath it. I’m guessing that wherever the hell that water came from it is likely the cause of my problem?
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
That cable is the poster child for needing to be replaced!
Yeah, that was my thought, but I was feeling hesitant to cut into the wiring harness to figure out where it ends/is supposed to connect to anything underneath the fuse box.
I did pull the ECM last night, and it is fine. I don’t understand this car, every single component individually tests fine until I put them all together and then, BAM no anything.
Also the damp carpet appears to be completely unrelated, while it was damp up higher than I would like (thanks osmosis) the Ecm itself and all associated wires were dry.
 
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