Bryan91SE

(posted on 3rd gen board too)

I've recently had escalated a simple bad battery issue into an all out electrical problem.

HISTORY:
came to the Max one morning, battery was dead. I jumped it later that day and drove 15 miles without any problems. I parked it, and attempted to start it back up - it did. The next morning however, it was completely drained again. So, out come the cables again, this time however, they were put on wrong and reverse polarity ran through my car. Very bad news and a very careless mistake. They were then put on correctly, the car started and would only run for 20 seconds before completely dieing. "It must be the battery," I said to myself.

WHEN STARTING THE ENGINE:
So today I went out and got a new battery, under warranty. I came back and put it in. (I had a friend take me). Turned the key and the car started right up, but on came several issues while it sat there idling:
(1) My tachometer jumps all over the place and over-reads the engine rpms.
(2) My climate control fan motor hums and wines when turned on run.
(3) My power windows do the same thing, humming the same noise when run.
(3) Bose and CD player do not work.
(4) Radar detector looked to have fast fluctuating power when I turned it on
(5) headlights, domelights, doorlights were all steady while it idled.

WHEN TURNING THE ENGINE OFF:
(1) Relay/breaker clicks and I have no interior power
a. dome lights don't work
b. door lights don't work
c. my clock is reset to 12:00
d. headlights work
e. I believe the horn works
f. When I turn the ignition to "on," --absolutely nothing until I start it, in which case everything resumes working.

AFTER LETTING IT SIT: (20 min)
(2) Interior power is restored after awhile (breaker/relay allows power)
a. I can turn the ignition on, the lights on the dashboard light up.
b. HOWEVER: (while the engine is still off and ignition on) I turned on the climate control fan and it ran fine on setting "1." (no humming) Upon moving to setting "2," the breaker/relay clicked and everything was dead again. I then started the engine up, and then all the lights worked- but I still had the crazy tach, wining motors, and no radio whatsoever. I turned the motor off, again (immediately after) no interior lights.

POSSIBLE CONCLUSIONS/ QUESTIONS:
I believe the reverse polarity has caused the issues. I think the jumper cables were on there reversed for about 20 seconds. At first I thought I may have ruined the alternator, hence the humming of the two electrical motors I ran while the car idled. But how can the power issue be explained when the alternator does not spin? Why is there a breaker/relay cutting out intermittently while the engine is not on? It seems as though as soon as I draw some power (turning up the climate control fan), something clicked and off went my interior power. Luckily the fuel pump still runs or I may not be able to start it. What do you think may have happened? I think there is a branch in there that is severely shorted somewhere? Any ideas on what to troubleshoot? Presently I have it sitting with the negative battery terminal disconnected.

Thanks for reading this, I appreciate any input anyone can give me.

Bryan91SE

I think I may have gotten very lucky. After talking to Kaleb at Courtesy Nissan, I discovered that that my fusible link was burned up. It might have saved me. I have a new one ordered and think that is the problem. I'll keep you all posted on whether this fixes the problem.

Lj90Se

Did the fusible link ever correct the problem,b/c mine is basically doing the same things..rpm all over the place,security indicator flashing,,when i press on the brakes i hear kinda of a whining noise...but the car starts fine then my windows work, but i cant take the car out of shift lock,the radio turns on but i get no sound,my rear lights work...... what did your fusible link cost also did you have to replace your fuses the ones in the interior by my knees are fine,but i cant tell if the ones that the by the battery are blown do you know how to distinguish them.
Thank you
Larry

Bryan91SE

I killed my 3 amp fuses (one on the back of my radio and one on my CD changer), so I can't tell you what my radio would have done. What was happening was partial contact with that broken fusible link.

Yes, once I replaced it, everything was back to normal. I had Courtesy ship me one for something like 12 bucks. It fixed everything. Then I replaced those 3 amp fuses. She's been great ever since.