# No Electrical Power (except for door ding) to the entire car



## Shadfurman (Mar 11, 2013)

'98 Sentra 1.6l

NOTHING comes on (except the door dings). No lights, no blinkers, no dash lights, starter, no relays click, nothing.

I have verified power to fuse box under the hood and to the starter. I hooked up a different battery, no change.

I bought a car that didn't start (had to push start it). It had power and was running great initially. On the way home the blinkers quit working. I was pulling the starter to take it in to get tested and get a new one. I forgot to disconnect the battery, I shorted something with the ratchet pulling the starter (quick spark, I quickly pulled the ratchet out) I disconnected the battery, in so doing found that the positive terminal wire clamp was a little loose, I thought (hopefully) that might be the problem, tightened the clamp, reclipped the control wire, put the terminal back on, went to try it, aaaand nothing... no power to anything. I thought I'd left the lights on or the door open while I was working on it so I pulled the battery from my wifes car.... nothing. No radio, no dash lights, no fuel pump, no head lights. Power to the starter (not the control wire). Power to the fuse box under the hood. The body of the car and the engine block are connected to ground (tested with meter). Pulled and tested every fuse in the fuse box next to the battery and under the dash. I've searched a dozen different threads, I can't seem to find any post with similar symptoms. I'm so frustrated at this point I can't think strait. Weird thing is... the door dings when open and the key is in, that's the only sign of life I can derive.

Ideas?

I just downloaded the FSM and I'm going to pour over the schematics tonight, but I'm at a loss to where the break is.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

There should be some fusible links near the battery. Check them. There's usually one with a high amperage rating that powers that alternator, among other things; it will likely be rated at 100 or 75 amps. This is the one that usually blows when you short the battery cables or cross-jump the battery.


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## Shadfurman (Mar 11, 2013)

Yea, the big ones. The 75A is good, I found a manual in the forums and I'll see if I can isolate the problem. That was my initial thought as well. 

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## always_shifting (Mar 1, 2012)

There is an Electrical Manual at this link Nissan Sentra/200SX Service Manuals - Nissanhelp.com
On page 6 and 7 of the 1998 GA manual, there is a schematic of the power routed to all electrical components including the chime. It seems on the 98 GA Sentra, if the chime is working, several other components must be working, or affecting it's operation. However, you can try something that might narrow down the possibilities. Open the door so the car starts ringing, then cycle through the dome lamp switch positions (off, auto, on) and see if the chime does anything. Also, with the car ringing, switch on/off the rear defog. And if you have fog lights, cycle through that switch as well. That might help us narrow down the possibilities. Let us know what combinations of things change anything. If you don't want to register to get the manual, PM me your email address and i'll email it to ya.


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## GeorgeS (Nov 22, 2012)

Any luck solving that issue?


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## Shadfurman (Mar 11, 2013)

I haven't had as much time to work on it today as I hoped. So... No.


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## Shadfurman (Mar 11, 2013)

I'm super embarrassed about what turned out to be the problem. I loosed the ground accidently, it's pretty corroded. I don't know if I tested from the terminal or the post or if it was just a really poor connection, but bumped the negative terminal, it sparked and the headlights flickered. Sooo... That was the problem. Thanks for the help, sorry for the panic. It's always simpler than I think it's gonna be. 

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## always_shifting (Mar 1, 2012)

Well, we're glad you got it figured out. Electrical stuff is always like that. but then again, sometimes it does get super difficult and complicated. Those are fun days....


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