Last night, I was changing the gauge lights in my car and figured, maybe I should also change the shifter light too. When I tried to start the car, I realized that my battery was dead because of the radio being played. So I quickly got out the jumper cables and this special portable jumpstarting battery and connected the plugs backwards For like 30 seconds I was wondering how come my car didn't start and wondered why I was smelling something being fried. I quickly corrected the wiring and tried to start it again. It started, but all kind of electrical problems surfaced. My wipers, interior lights, a/c fan, gauge lights, park lights all wouldn't work. I figured the fuses under the steering wheel may have blown and I was right. I changed the fuses and all of the problems still persisted. I got frustrated and just left the car thinking it was because of a drained battery that wouldn't recharge even after a jumpstart. I figured the incorrect jumpstart drained my battery, so today I went out and got a new one. I installed it, and the car started fine, but the electrical problems still didnt work even with the new fuses. I then drove the car for a little bit and brought it back home. I came back in 10 minutes and it wouldn't start. I knew it wasn't the battery because of course, its brand new. Right when I was about to take it to the nissan service garage, it won't start. Before I call my mechanic to come to the house (becuase I don't want to tow it just yet if its driveable to the nissan service garage) what is going on with my electrical problems, and now with the ignition? I know this has been a long post and I thank anyone for their time and consideration in reading it, but can anyone help me with this serious problem? What is there that I can do to bring it back to normal?

 

check the other fuses in the engine compartment. plastic box on the drivers side next to the fender.

 

fix the problem then I would suggest taking down go the dealer (especially if it's still under the 3 year/36K warantee)... just 'forget' to tell them what you did... Good luck.. hopefully you just missed a few fuses and that no serious damage was done...

 

Man!!! See, I'm not in the warranty anymore because of my mileage (70K). Thanks for the advice though. I know its going to be expensive to get whatever is needed to be replaced. Do you think I fried some wires or other electrical units? I truly hope I didn't, and I hope I don't have to really come out the pocket with the labor.

 

Just as a side note....fuses aren't biased to current....so when you reversed the current and the fuses blew it was because major stuff screwed up....

 

I think that the frying you smelled was your alternator going burning up. Since you replaced the battery, you drove home on its power and thus drained it. Call your mechanic and explain to him that its probably your alternator.

 

Today, I went ahead and had my mechanic come to the house. He knew it wasn't the battery either, and because my fuses blew to the power doorlocks, he says the alarm is what is keeping it from starting, and the fuses to the blinkers and the horn are also blown, that's why I wouldn't know if the alarm has been tripped. Funny huh? So, he unlocked both sides of the car with the key and and tried again. It started and I was able to take it to his shop where he changed ALL the fuses and made sure everything worked perfectly. Just when I was thinking it was the starter or some cables, you guys were right, it was the fuses under the hood. Thanks again for everyone that put in some advice.

 

Pray you didnt fry your ECM/PCM... blah blah the car computer... cost $500 bucks for my TBird

 

Congratulations on finding the problem...times like those are scary. I remember the first time my check engine light went on two weeks after i got the car. Totally freaked me out. Happy for ya that things are running great.

By the way i was noticing your tint on your windows...is that mirrored?

 

Thanks. But yeah, I chose the 20% mirror over the usual smoke tint because I thought it would match more with the chrome door handles, grill and the wheels.

 

Sweet

I have a silver max and i was thinking about the mirror tint but i was wondering how it would look. It looks good on your car so i may try it out. Is it pretty dark where people can't see in or not?

 

I see that you have that in your "Next Few Mods". Just wondering if you are on the list yet for the group deal?? I think we are really close to the 25 mark and the low price of $425 will be a great after Christmas present, since that is when I am getting mine. Can't wait!!!!

 

Damn, Sorry I read this post too late. I could have gave you more info, but your mechanics took care of it. There was another guy on the Maxima mailing list that did the same thing few weeks ago. The problem were the fuses under the hood. They aren't really fuses. They are called fusible links. Anyway, that's what happens when you mess up the polarity when you jump start.