# "Hot Wire" sparking on metal??



## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I was removing a power wire from an amp. I did not disconnect the cable from the battery before removing it from the car. When I was getting to pulling it out near the firewall, inside the car, it hit a pice of steel and sparked. Now when I turn the key, it makes all kinds of weird noise and doesnt do anything. Anyone know anything, that could have commonly shorted out, or some kind of module or something?


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## obxstyle (Nov 22, 2002)

check all of your fuses under the dash, and maybe iunder the hood is sometime a fuse box.


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

you only need one post. thanks.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I checked all of them. Iit weird too cause all went bezerk yesterday and wouldnt start, then it started today. Now again this afternoon, it wont start. 

Is there anyway to get an electrical problem diagnosed?


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

Did you remove my other post? Thats pretty lame. 

Are you the board bully?


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

97SE-R said:


> Did you remove my other post? Thats pretty lame.
> 
> Are you the board bully?


yes and yes.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

What if someone over there has knowledgable information and they dont patron this board?


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

No ones replying because they are probably shaking their heads in dismay....... Don't ever mess with power wires around bare metal, disconnect the battery first. What is meant by "weird noise" ??


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## MagicPie (Jun 23, 2004)

thou I not entirely sure it truth 
but I've talked to some guy awhile back who was in the battery business he told me that a old battery that gets its postive and negitvie to touch each other, can cause the battery to go bad even if its just a quick spark , he also mention how this can create havoc on the electrical system causing to act crazy and only a new battery can slove this problem. He sound like he know his stuff and had no reason to make this up.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

Just lots of clicking and improper function. It wont start either.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

97SE-R said:


> Just lots of clicking and improper function. It wont start either.


You might have just blown some fusible links. If you got real lucky, the battery mighta been slightly weak, just needs a recharge. Check the cable connections on the battery itself, try a jump start. Don't freak out yet, not til the engines run backwards........


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

What are the fuseable links? Are those the big black square fuses under the hood? Is it possible for it to function properly sometimes, and then just have a meltdown?

If those big black fuses are the links, how do you check that they are bad? They dont have see-thru windows to look for damage, or a burnout.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I just went out and hook the battery cables back up. All the lights on the dash (seatbelt, check engine, oil, etc.) without even having the key in the ignition. I think I am doomed!


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## 88pathoffroad (Jun 6, 2004)

Do you know ANYTHING about electrical systems, or are you just taking stabs in the dark here?

If the stereo amp cable was run direct to the battery with no fuse, it's very likely that you've shorted your ECU. Expensive boo-boo, man...

Does the amp cable still have power, or is it dead? Check with a voltmeter this time...don't spark it against something to see if it still has power on it...


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I'm just taking stabs. The amp cable did have a fuse on it. But I dont think the fuse on the cable had burned out. After that the AMP would not power up. The car has started and ran for a while after this incident, but now it decided to take a shit. I know its associated. But why the work sometimes, and then sometimes not?

The amp is also out of the car now.

ACU???

Although I dont have much experiance with electrical systems, I am more into finding things out myself and experimenting. In the long run you educate yourself, and you can save a fortune.


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## PSr_SEX-R (Feb 1, 2005)

97SE-R said:


> ACU???



ECU its located behind your radio on the floor. once you locate it take it out and take the cover off. i did something similar to my car. youll know if it the ECU when you look at the circut board if you see any burn marks on it its fried. just go to your local junk yard and pick a new/used one up for $15.


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

Ouch, no, hot, bad. We don't thread live wires throughout the car. Bad.

I really doubt it's the ECU. It's very hard to fry the ECU, unless it's already defective from the factory, which is also rare. $15 for a new SE-R ECU? Haha, first of all, you'll have to do a national search on car-part.com (since it's rear to see one near you), you need a 95-97 SR20 ECU (auto or manual), the average cost is $50 + ship. It just so happens I just bought a 95 SR20 M/T ECU last week for $75-shipped, it'll be going to JWT real soon.

First off, you say the wire touched the firewall, what was on the other end of the wire and what was it connected to? I doubt you fried any wires, a spark only takes a fraction of a second and the temperature of a wire is a function of time. It is somewhat possible you fried some sort of connector or switch or relay, you'll have to trace anything between the wire and the battery. 

I would say it's 95% likely you just blew a fuse. Up by the battery there should be 2 black fuse boxes (I believe SE-Rs have 2, non SE-Rs have just 1). First, check out the big ones, they're green or brown ranging from ~25A to ~70A, it's prolly in there. If you don't see one that looks blown, get a fuse tester and check them all again. After that, check all the smaller fuses by the battery with a fuse tester. If nothing, your last (but least likely) bet is that it's one of the other fuses in the dash under the wheel.

If nothing came up run the following diagnostics:
1. check headlights, are they dim?
2. put the key in and turn it once to ACC. Do you hear a click coming from the dimmer switch area?
3. While the key is in ACC, does the radio work? Does the cig. lighter work?
4. turn the key to ON. Did you hear another click from the dimmer sw. area?
5. right after the key is placed in the ON position, you should hear the fuel pump for about 2 sec, it's a motor or hissing sound.
6. in ON mode does the AC blower turn on? are there lights in the instrument panel? Do the power windows work?


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## PSr_SEX-R (Feb 1, 2005)

Ninety-Nine SE-L said:


> I really doubt it's the ECU. It's very hard to fry the ECU, unless it's already defective from the factory, which is also rare. $15 for a new SE-R ECU?


local junk yard sells any ecu for $15. yes it is used but since its hard to fry the ecu it should work, like new. i didnt have any problem finding one for the b13 but since you need one for the b14 sr20 it might be a bit harder to find.
And i should comment its not that hard to fry the ECU i did it quite easly, not trying to brag about doing someting dumb, but it can be done.


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## matcapir (Feb 20, 2005)

PSr_SEX-R said:


> but since its hard to fry the ecu it should work, like new.
> 
> And i should comment its not that hard to fry the ECU i did it quite easly, .


Ummm, so which one is it???   :thumbup:


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## PSr_SEX-R (Feb 1, 2005)

matcapir said:


> Ummm, so which one is it???   :thumbup:


i was just quoting what Ninety-Nine SE-L when is said is was difficult to fry
sorry


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## matcapir (Feb 20, 2005)

PSr_SEX-R said:


> i was just quoting what Ninety-Nine SE-L when is said is was difficult to fry
> sorry



Oh, sorry, I was just being a jackass anyway. Just thought it was funny, but now it makes more sense, and isn't that funny. Ha.


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## PSr_SEX-R (Feb 1, 2005)

matcapir said:


> Oh, sorry, I was just being a jackass anyway. Just thought it was funny, but now it makes more sense, and isn't that funny. Ha.


alright as long as we got this straightened out :thumbup:


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

Ninety-Nine SE-L said:


> First off, you say the wire touched the firewall, what was on the other end of the wire and what was it connected to?
> 
> If nothing came up run the following diagnostics:
> 1. check headlights, are they dim?
> ...


The wire that sparked underneath the dash, on a metal bracket, was a power supply wire for an amp. I took the wire off of the amp before disconnecting it from the battery. When I attempted to pull it through it hit the metal. So one end was on positive post of battery, and the other end was bare and live; at this point it wasnt grounded either.

1. Headlights dont come on when its acting up. Before everything went all wrong, when I would hit the blower switch the lights would dim a little then brighten back up, kind of a flicker. Its also dimmed when I went into reverse and the reverse lights came on (this is all after the fact that the wire sparked, it ran for a little while after that but obviously wasn't correct due to lights dimming).

2. There is clicking in the dimmer switch area I belive. All the clicking and buzzing is very spuratik and a non-functioning characteristic. 

3. No, nothing works. Everything is just making noise and dash lights are on sometimes when the key isn't even in the car. Nothing works, but there is power making everything buzz click and light up.

4. Not really sure if I hear another click. There is clicking from behind the Cluster though. There is also clicking and buzzing coming from the ECU on the floor, under the dash, in the middle of the floor.

5. I know exactly what sound you are talking about. That is not happening. Fuel pump does not engage as with anything else that should when you turn the key.

6. No, nothing works in on mode. 


Ok, now that I have answered all of those, I will throw this info in due to the fact that I just went out to move it. 

Shit is still acting up when I hook the battery back up. Buzzing right when I get in the car, no key. I put the key in, different things happen depending on what postion the key is in. If i have the key in the "on" position, and them I hit the brake, a different buzzing or clicking will start. So then I turn the key another time, after playing around with it, and I hear the fuel pump slowy fade into function. Then the lights came on properly on the dash, and it started. All the lights and gages freaked out then it stalled. I tried it again, still acted up a little. Gave it one more try and it started, this time it ran for about 20 minutes while I moved it into the garage. RPM gauge is something that never worked since the "spark" so that wasnt working. Everything else on the last start worked. Windows went down, lights, lighter, radio, etc. So who knows what is going on with this deal. I am hoping that this essay'ish type post provides better details to help you understand whats going on.

Thanks for the help guys...


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

Try a different battery before you go any further.


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

♣Zen31ZR♣ said:


> No ones replying because they are probably shaking their heads in dismay.......



Bingo. It'd also help if he spoke proper English, you know, complete sentances and all. Not to mention, anyone who would pull a hot wire through a metal hole, would be a nightmare to help troubleshoot because they're likely "all assholes and elbows" as far as knowing what they're doing.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I didn't know we were graded on our grammar.

Maybe next time you should keep your opinion to yourself.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

OK OK quit pissing people.... 

Did you ever swap the battery out and or solve your problem?


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I am not trying to piss people off, but...

I have not looked into swapping the battery out yet. I went out to start it yesterday and it started right up. so maybe the battery had a chance to sit and get enough life to run for a while. I am not sure. I am going to get a battery this week, if I can keep it running long enough, she is going up for sale. 

Anyone intersted in a fully loaded 97' 200sx se-r? 4 grand


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

97SE-R said:


> I am not trying to piss people off, but...
> 
> I have not looked into swapping the battery out yet. I went out to start it yesterday and it started right up. so maybe the battery had a chance to sit and get enough life to run for a while. I am not sure. I am going to get a battery this week, if I can keep it running long enough, she is going up for sale.
> 
> Anyone intersted in a fully loaded 97' 200sx se-r? 4 grand


We have classifieds for this sort of thing... Post it there and you might also want to point out that you have in fact fixed the electrical problems or it may not help you sell the car....


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

It was not an attempt to sell, was just pointing it out. I am going to put it on the street for sale and hope a sucker comes along. I'll put a battery in it and hope it just starts a few times for someone to cruise it around town...lol...

I am wanting to get a Nissan truck I think. I really love this little se-r though. I dont know. If its just a battery I might keep it, who knows.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

97SE-R said:



> It was not an attempt to sell, was just pointing it out. I am going to put it on the street for sale and hope a sucker comes along. I'll put a battery in it and hope it just starts a few times for someone to cruise it around town...lol...
> 
> I am wanting to get a Nissan truck I think. I really love this little se-r though. I dont know. If its just a battery I might keep it, who knows.


I hope you never intended to sell anything on the forums because you just pointed out to the entire forum that you're shady as hell..... 

Dude... bite the bullet and fix the damn thing, trouble shoot it properly and it will be running and you will be happy again and not have to try and scam someone.


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

I don't think that I would have got very good results selling it here, due to the known electric problem, so that wasn't my intension. It was intended to be sarcastic ;-) 

I am about to head out there and give a run at a few things, now that I finally have a night off. I'm going to take the new battery I just bought for my other car, and hook it up and take er' out. 

Question about the ECU, now that I am actually going to get into it. Would the ECU even read out anything that could be electrically wrong? I was under the impression ECU codes, for the most part, are sensor related. I was looking at the list of codes, on the link provided under the walk-through thread. Most of them seemed to be fuel and air problems. I don't recall seeing any codes defined as electrical issues.

BTW, I am a little shady!! :thumbup:


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## 97SE-R (Feb 23, 2005)

Well, I think I finally found the problem. There was a wire lose on my alternator. I am not sure if you are all familiar with the conenctions on the alternator. There is the obvious big bolt on wire, a plug in, and a little screw on one (i'm guessing the ground). Well the little screw on one was lose. I can take the screw out by hand. I tightened it up and away she fired. Losened it back up and got the same symptoms. A free fix and now shes back on the street. Time to get her out for sale now. There is a 02' Nissan pickup in town for sale. She is a beauty. Going to try to get into it. The owners are in trouble with it, they just want the pay-off on it. 

Thanks for everyones help.


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