Long Time Listener First Time Caller
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.
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.