Happy Sunday, Xterriers.
Today being my first quiet Sunday at home, I decided to catch up on some to-do items for my '01 Xterra - primarily the air filter replacement and some general cleanup.
However, as I was done with planned activities all too quickly I decided to fidget a bit, and try and figure out why the crappy aftermarket spotlights the previous owner installed don't work. I started by tracing out the wires from the hodgepodge switch, and realized the installer had an unhealthy obsession with daisychaining wire nuts. One wire eventually led straight to the battery by the way of a 20A fuse, with other one going up to the lights, which were then wired in a roundabout way to a spot under the left side of the dash. However, in 2 places the wires were disconnected from the chain; as reconnecting them didn't make the lights come on, I decided to just take out the whole thing.
Well, I disconnected the battery connection for the lights, took out all the loose, disconnected wiring running up to the lights from other side... and now the X won't start.
The exact symptoms as follows:
Battery is showing a healthy 12V charge
When driver's door is open, continuous rapid clicking can be heard, coming (most likely) from a white plastic box located behind the fusebox/ODB connector.
When key is inserted and turned, it interrupts the clicking but does nothing else.
No other electrical systems are responsive (cabin lights, FOB locks, etc)
My guess is that one of the "disconnected" wires I came across was, in fact, loosely connected to something until touched, at which point it lost contact - but I have no way of telling what that may have been. Alas, car electrics are really not my specialty; I hope my botch is fairly straightforward
Thanks in advance for any pointers or advice you may have.
Today being my first quiet Sunday at home, I decided to catch up on some to-do items for my '01 Xterra - primarily the air filter replacement and some general cleanup.
However, as I was done with planned activities all too quickly I decided to fidget a bit, and try and figure out why the crappy aftermarket spotlights the previous owner installed don't work. I started by tracing out the wires from the hodgepodge switch, and realized the installer had an unhealthy obsession with daisychaining wire nuts. One wire eventually led straight to the battery by the way of a 20A fuse, with other one going up to the lights, which were then wired in a roundabout way to a spot under the left side of the dash. However, in 2 places the wires were disconnected from the chain; as reconnecting them didn't make the lights come on, I decided to just take out the whole thing.
Well, I disconnected the battery connection for the lights, took out all the loose, disconnected wiring running up to the lights from other side... and now the X won't start.
The exact symptoms as follows:
Battery is showing a healthy 12V charge
When driver's door is open, continuous rapid clicking can be heard, coming (most likely) from a white plastic box located behind the fusebox/ODB connector.
When key is inserted and turned, it interrupts the clicking but does nothing else.
No other electrical systems are responsive (cabin lights, FOB locks, etc)
My guess is that one of the "disconnected" wires I came across was, in fact, loosely connected to something until touched, at which point it lost contact - but I have no way of telling what that may have been. Alas, car electrics are really not my specialty; I hope my botch is fairly straightforward
Thanks in advance for any pointers or advice you may have.
