Car trouble - Dead Nissan Primera

Dades

Hi folks,

The wife's car - a 98 Nissan Primera - appears dead as a doornail. This has happened before, and was solved by replacing a dead battery. This time I've checked the battery, and even tryed to jump from my own car to no avail.

Inside, the lights don't work and not even the clock shows. There is an alarm on the car but the car can be accessed with the key - central locking is out.

Wondering if it's something to do with an immobiliser? Any thoughts appreciated.
CHEERS!

Saruman

I would guess the alternator.... charge the battery and if it runs for a while then cuts out its the alternator... happened to my primera recently.

Dades

Saruman wrote:

I would guess the alternator.... charge the battery and if it runs for a while then cuts out its the alternator... happened to my primera recently.

Thanks for the response.

Wouldn't the lack of any action from an attempted jump suggest that it's more than just battery issues? Admittedly the jump was from a 34 yr old car...

ircoha

The Atheist wrote:

Thanks for the response.

Wouldn't the lack of any action from an attempted jump suggest that it's more than just ... issues? Admittedly the jump was from a 34 yr old ...

Should this not be in PI?:)

Interceptor

If the dead battery is REALLY dead and you don't make a very good connection with the jump leads then you won't get it going - you should be able to get the clock/lights/wipers to work also with the leads connected. Definitely sounds like a faulty charging circuit or a drain on the battery causing it to go flat when not in use.

'cptr

zuutroy

The Atheist wrote:

Thanks for the response.

Wouldn't the lack of any action from an attempted jump suggest that it's more than just battery issues? Admittedly the jump was from a 34 yr old car...

Sometimes a jump on a completely drained battery wont work.

Dades

Hmmm.

I did check the clock/dash readings with the leads attached - nowt.

I guess there is a chance they weren't connecting right, though I'm no stranger to jumping (cars, that is...)

Interceptor

Be careful - incorrectly placed jump leads can cause serious accidents. Double and triple check before connecting anything. If in doubt, take out the battery and get it charged before proceeding or you will kill the ECU - Primeras of that vintage are susceptible to ECU failure if the battery was allowed to flatten slowly and the cost of replacement is significant.

'cptr

JHMEG

If everything is out completely then check the main cables coming from the battery.

If they're ok, check the under-bonnet fuses. Sounds like the main fuse could be gone.

mloc123

Could be an earth issue too, check the Battery is earthed correctly.

Dades

I checked the fuse box. No obvious signs of fuses gone.
Have a battery charger - will try to recharge battery later and see what happens.
Ohh - battery earth. Forgot to check that.
CHEERS ALL.

Darragh29

The Atheist wrote:

I checked the fuse box. No obvious signs of fuses gone.
Have a battery charger - will try to recharge battery later and see what happens.
Ohh - battery earth. Forgot to check that.
CHEERS ALL.

First things first, check the basics:

(1) Are the battery terminals CLEAN & TIGHT???

(2) Check the battery earth strap, are the connections to the body clean & tight?

(2) Check the voltage at the battery terminals, what is the reading?

(3) If your trying to jump start the car and are having no luck, check that the wire core in one of the jump leads has not melted on a previous occasion due to high current. You can check this with a multimeter for continuity/resistance. Some jump leads on the market now are very low duty, I had a case before where the copper core melted during prolonged cranking and the leads were useless. If in doubt, throw them out! Get a new set and try again.

Left this to last... The main fuse for the battery is usually near the battery terminals/top of the battery and not in with the standard fuses... Its a strip of metal about the width of your thumb and wide at the ends (5 millimetres wide), with the bit in the middle narrow. Usually have a rating of about 150 Amps.

Darragh29

Meant to say above, check the battery electrolyte levels. If the cells can be inspected, take the screw caps off and you chould be able to see electrolyte/fluid covering each cell. If you see cells sticking out through the fluid, this is a problem. If the battery is maintenance free, check the charge state indicator and see what colour it is, green or black???

DublinWriter

The Atheist wrote:

Wondering if it's something to do with an immobiliser? Any thoughts appreciated.
CHEERS!

Sounds like the fuel pump is kaput. Very common with Primeras of that vintage and it happened to me once.

I went through two alternators in my old Primera, and a jump-start would always get me going, but she'll won't even respond to CPR if it's the fuel-pump.

ianobrien

I experienced something similar at home with a '96 Micra. I know that it is not the same car, but some of the electrical components may be the same. Basically Da parked the car the Sunday Night, Monday morning the car was as dead as a Dodo (no clock, radio, etc.)

The car didn't respond to jumo starting either. We "borrowed" another battery, chucked it in and the car started.

The battery may be dead only!

By the way, check the connections that go on to the terminals. I had starting trouble before and the cause was the terminal connections had cracked, and not enough current could get through for starting.

JHMEG

DublinWriter wrote:

Sounds like the fuel pump is kaput.

That'll hardly stop the clock from working. Unless of course the clock runs on petrol too...

Dades

Thanks for the help folks.

ianobrien wrote:

I experienced something similar at home with a '96 Micra. I know that it is not the same car, but some of the electrical components may be the same. Basically Da parked the car the Sunday Night, Monday morning the car was as dead as a Dodo (no clock, radio, etc.)

The car didn't respond to jumo starting either. We "borrowed" another battery, chucked it in and the car started.

The battery may be dead only!

This sounds very familiar.
But as the battery is only a few weeks old it might well be the alternator at the root of it as suggested. Hopefully tonite will get a chance to have another go at this.

Will post with "solution" when I have one.