Help! No Power - No Dash Lights!

[Sk0pe]

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I got on here... life has been really hectic. Anyway, I now am in dire need of some help.

Driving into a shopping centre car park today, the head lights came on as it got dark under cover, and without warning the car immediately shut down. The alarm came on and I could not turn the alarm off or restart the car. Almost straight atway, the alarm started sounding sick, as in weird pitch shifting down, almost as if it was draining a battery...

OK, sounds like either the immobiliser/alarm has carked it, or I need a new battery, with the alternator as another possibility. Hazards on, they work, the key alert works, lights seem to work (parkers anyway).

I called the guys who installed the alarm, and since they are about 5 min down the road, an installer came out to check if it was the alarm causing the problem. He pulled out the control box and rewired it so the alarm was now removed from the system, and should work normally.

Tried to start, no luck. No lights on the dash, the engine doesn't turn over or anything. Hazards etc still work.

Replaced the battery, and same deal! No dash lights, no activity from the engine bay.

Now, please help me with my logic here. I have checked relevant fuses, there is a new battery, and the alarm is (supposedly) out of the picture.

What the hell else could this be?? The car is still in the car park, and I have a massive weekend of work ahead, so I really need to get this sorted today if I can.

Thanks in advance guys.

[AlexCim]

Previously ive had an issue with a friends car where the ignotion relay was stuck open or closed, swap the relay in the bonnet around, maybe take on from say... the sunroof/rear boot or something useless and put it in the IGN place.

Just a thought, worth a try?

[Sk0pe]

That could be it. Would that relay failing cause the car to shut down? Or could the relay have died as a result of the power problem?

Is this relay near the firewall on the drivers side?

[AlexCim]

Its in the box next to the battery. The big blue and brown things.

A relay is an electromechanical switch, operated by passing current through a coil of wire wound around a steel core, which acts as an electromagnet, pulling the switch contact down to make or break a circuit.

The way it works for IGN is that you turn the key to the ignition on bit and the relay connects the battery with the starter motor, therefore starting the motor. Then when you let go, the key just goes back.

I am not sure, i am just suggesting from experiance.

It doesnt explain why the car just shut off though. Also, if the starter motor went the car would run until stopped, just wouldnt start again right?

[beastien]

Sounds like an ignition feed problem, could be the relay or the main fuse, double check all the fuses in the box near the battery with a multimeter.

The alarm would be hooked to the constant power coming into the car, sounds like you've lost that for some unknown reason (would cause the alarm to do silly things).

If it was the alternator, a charged battery would get it going temporarily, i've had that problem before.

Edited February 3, 2006 by beastien

[EGA41T]

you may have blown a fuseable link, which could have been caused by a short when the alarm shat itself...(in the engine bay...in some cases they are installed in the engine bay as what may look like a fuse and you will be able to see if its gone by looking thru the clear plastic at the top of it, but generally its just a wire you will find floating around in the engine bay, which you wouldnt be able to see if it had blown)

[Techo]

i know it sounds silly, but did the guy connect the battery up after he replaced it? Did he test it to see if it had any charge?

I'm a big fan of checking the simplest things first.

[CruiseLiner]

ive had it where it just cut all dash/lights/everything, and it was the IGN fuse in the fuse box next to the battery, it says it on the fuse box cover which fuse it is. mine ended up just being a wire under the engine shorting on the body which kept blowing it.

the fuses r available from nissan as they are special ones, not regular blade type ones.

worth a try

good luck

Brad

[Sk0pe]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have done as suggested, and checked fuses, relays etc. I was unable to find a RELAY labelled IGN, but there was a 30A fuse in the engine bay fuse box which I swapped with another to check (both looked ok). My mate (who is an electrician) offered to help me out, and he figured out that there was actually no power getting to that IGN fuse. He hooked up a wire directly from the positive battery terminal to the terminal that fuse plugs into, and lo-and-behold, I can now start and drive the car.

It's basic fuctionality only - no accessories (air-con, stereo). Interestingly, the headlights don't work, but the parkers and fog lights do. Also, the car is permanently in 4WD, with the dash light on.

So, any ideas/wiring diagrams/suggestions out there? Obviously I am only driving the car in ABSOLUTE emergencies, and the wire is unhooked from the fuse box whenever the car is not being used.

[Tangles]

Sounds similar to a problem I had when the stereo was installed - has anyone been near your wiring loom laterly?

My stereo installers put a CD player under the passengers seat, and drilled thru a heap of wires, ended up losing my 4wd and abs. Needed an auto-electrician to find & fix the fault.

Best of luck - brendan

[CruiseLiner]

hey bwilkinson,good point, i recently traced the attessa/abs wiring from the factory ecu and yes it runs directly under the pasenger seat and under the rear passenger side seats too to the back passenger side cargo area behind the side panel, so maybe someone has drilled a hole through some wiring from inside the car or underneath, or just check the last few things u did on the car (even if basic minimal stuff u wouldnt think could cause a prob) and u r bound to find something cut/disconnected. check under the ignition area firstly i reckon, and maybe its a turbo timer hooked up wrong?

good luck

Brad