# 2009 Versa 1.8 won't start but all accessories come on when ignition switch is on.



## steakbite944 (Jan 18, 2021)

I have an odd issue with my Versa. The battery had died so I put it on a slow charge until I could start it. Once it started I allowed it to idle for about 15 mins. When I returned to the car it had stalled out. When I attempted to start it again, all the accessory lights on the dash came on but it would not crank over. What I found most peculiar was the radiator fan would come on with the ignition switch in the on position. The headlights work, power locks and windows, windshield wipers, blinkers, and I can hear the fuel pump start. However, no power to the starter at all. All the while the radiator fan comes on as if the motor was hot. I connected an OBDII reader to the diagnostic port and this is what it said, "Unable to establish communication. Verify the connection at the DLC and that the ignition is in the ON position. Press ** to re-link".

So I am checking all the fuses now and relays. Does anyone have any suggestions. I appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.


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## steakbite944 (Jan 18, 2021)

OK I have an update. I discovered the 20amp EGI fuse was blown. I replaced it and the motor turned over fine but would not start. Once I stopped trying to start it, I found the EGI 20amp fuse had blown again. Anyone know why the EGI fuse would keep failing?


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

There's a whole lot of stuff sharing the EGI fuse with the ECM, usually the coils, IVT/EVT solenoids, evap vent valve, VIAS valve and others. The reason the fan comes on is because that's "failsafe" for the IPDM if it loses communication with the ECM. One thing you can check immediately is the drive belt, if it's "shredding" it may have whipped your IVT wiring and caused a short. It's also common for a spark coil to short-circuit if it overheats, so check your coils and wiring. If the problem proves to be a coil you should check your engine ground too, Versas are infamous for corroded ground lugs at the transmission causing the spark coils to "wart" and fail.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

steakbite944 said:


> OK I have an update. I discovered the 20amp EGI fuse was blown. I replaced it and the motor turned over fine but would not start. Once I stopped trying to start it, I found the EGI 20amp fuse had blown again. Anyone know why the EGI fuse would keep failing?


The IPDM may be bad or the ECM relay is bad.


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## steakbite944 (Jan 18, 2021)

VStar650CL said:


> There's a whole lot of stuff sharing the EGI fuse with the ECM, usually the coils, IVT/EVT solenoids, evap vent valve, VIAS valve and others. The reason the fan comes on is because that's "failsafe" for the IPDM if it loses communication with the ECM. One thing you can check immediately is the drive belt, if it's "shredding" it may have whipped your IVT wiring and caused a short. It's also common for a spark coil to short-circuit if it overheats, so check your coils and wiring. If the problem proves to be a coil you should check your engine ground too, Versas are infamous for corroded ground lugs at the transmission causing the spark coils to "wart" and fail.



Thanks for the heads up. I'm looking into all of this today.


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## steakbite944 (Jan 18, 2021)

So I have found the 20amp EGI fuse blows just by turning the key to the on position. It will allow me to crank it over but once I stop cranking it, the fuse blows again. The fuse will blow even if I just leave the key in the on position after about 5 seconds without trying to crank it over. I can't even get an OBD2 reader to make contact with the ECM long enough to get any codes. I get an error message. I have checked all the other fuses, checked all the relays, checked all the grounds. All ok. I am leaning towards the ECM being shot at this point because I can't pull any codes from the OBD2 reader. Any thoughts?


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

_Very bad idea._ It's unlikely that the ECM itself is shorted internally. More likely there's a shorted component (such as a solenoid) or a short in the wiring. If it's a solenoid or solenoid wire, it may well have damaged the ECM, but if you replace the ECM without first finding the underlying cause, you will simply blow up the new one.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Time to get the multimeter out and start looking for shorts. First thing, disconnect the negative (-) cable from the battery. Disconnect the ECU and IPDM connectors.* Do NOT* trouble-shoot the ECU and IPDM; if you introduce multimeter voltage on the wrong pins on those two components, you can fry some internal circuitry.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

The only effective way to find a short in the ECM circuit begins by disconnecting _everything_ on the circuit. On your car, the WD shows these connections:
ECM Fuse
ECM pin 106
Evap Vent Valve (on the Evap Canister, rear of the car near the fuel tank)
Evap Purge Valve (top of the engine)
MAF
IVT Solenoid (in the timing cover)
Spark Coils (all 4)
Spark Coil Condenser (taped to the EGI Harness near the coils)
For an ohm reading on the wires to mean anything, the connectors on _all_ of those components must be pulled. Disconnect the battery ground before pulling anything and leave it disconnected. Once the listed items are all loose, you can ohm the power wire to ground at any point. If it reads infinity then the wiring is good and one of the components you disconnected has an internal short. If it reads anything but infinity, there's a short somewhere in the EGI harness. If there's no short in the harness, re-connect the components one by one and ohm to ground. Any reading under 1 ohm should be suspect. As you test each component, disconnect it again before testing the next one. Since the ECM drives all the other components, having it connected will make your readings meaningless, so disconnect it first and test it last. Good luck!


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