hpka365

iTrader: (2)

Tried searching here and google but didn't really find anything.

So the Z sat for about 3 months. I would go out and start it every week or two just to make sure everything was still good.Then I was in the process of getting a new car and didn't start it for about a month. So I go to start her up realizing it's been a while and it turns out the battery is completely dead. Nothing could get the battery going again. A couple weeks pass and I finally got a new battery today. I just got done putting it in and to my surprise...absolutely nothing happens. Nothing electrical is working and it still doesn't start. I've never had a car sit this long or go this long without a battery. Do I just need to wait a little bit since it's been so long or is something else wrong?

CLIFFS:
Car sat for a few months.
Battery died while it sat.
Got new battery today.
Nothing on the car works.

Should I give it some time and check on it in a couple hours or could something else be wrong.

surfcity40

correct battery voltage, clean connections, ground, starter, etc. start with the simple stuff. probably a connection issue.

any lights? radio?

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

Just went out to check it. Still absolutely nothing except the brake lights.
Gonna go check the connections and try to clean the terminals. Always forget about the little stuff when something goes wrong.

MUZZY

iTrader: (28)

buy a trickle charger cheepo one for 20$ connect it see if your acc lights come on, if it dosnt then its not a battery issue, you may have a grounding problem if only brake lights come on.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

just cleaned the terminals and cables. There was some weird red crap on the positive cable. But still nothing. Can anyone point me in the direction of where the ground issues might be? Maybe try jump starting since it sat so long?
I'm about to call AAA and see if they know what's going on.

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

Hook up some jumper cables to the battery terminals and see if you get dash lights, dome light, etc.

If you don't, move the negative jumper cable to the engine block, bolts for strut tower, etc. to see if you get lights from alternate grounding points.

If you still don't, I would start checking fuses to make sure you didn't have some kind of major short that blew a ton of fuses.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

By this you mean try to jump start it and see what works?
I'm just really lost in this whole situation. I've never had a problem like this before.

ok so aaa can't do anything and I really don't want to try to get it on a tow truck to bring it to the shop.
I would go check the fuses but have clue what to even look for once I get in there.

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

Yes, just like you were jumping the car off from another. Have the other end hooked to the other car's battery and then hook your end of the jumper cables to your battery terminals - do you have lights inside the car?

If yes, try to start car. Come back & report results.

If no, leave the positive (red) jumper cable on the battery terminal and clamp the negative (black) jumper cable to one of the bolts that attaches the strut bar to the car - do you have lights inside the car?

If yes, try to start car. Come back & report results.

If no, clamp negative onto a metal part of the engine itself - do you have lights inside the car?

Either way, come back & report results.

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

The idea is to try several different grounding points with the negative side to see if you have a grounding issue.

If there is no grounding issue, the next thing to check will be the fuses.

You did say that your brake lights will come on, right? But not headlights, dashboard lights, etc. And you can't get the engine to start either?

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

gonna go try what you suggested. And yes. The only thing working is the brake lights other than that it's like the battery isn't even there.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

tried everything suggested so far and nothing works. Thanks for the help so far guys. At least I'm narrowing iit down.

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

1) Check fuses in fuse box right by the battery under the hood.

2) Check fuses in fuse box in the driver's floor board.

Since you are getting power to the brake lights, I would hope that it's a blown fuse (or group of fuses) in one of those locations.

winchman

Where did you get the new battery, and what kind is it? It might be DOA. It happens.

Are you sure you got the correct battery? Some sizes come in two versions, and the only difference is that the positive and negative terminals are on the opposite ends.

Did you clean the connections with a terminal cleaner before connecting the battery?

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

Winch, he's also tried with jumper cables hooked up to another car, so it isn't just the battery or he would have gotten more lights to come on by connecting the jumper cables.

Also, in the fifth post, he explains that he has cleaned and checked the terminals, etc.

His brake lights are working, so it isn't a DOA battery & that wouldn't alone explain why nothing else worked even with the jumper cables attached.

My guess is that something happened that either A) blew a main fuse, B) blew several fuses, or C) damaged wiring. I wouldn't put it past an animal climbing up in the car while it was in storage and either shorted something out or chewed through some wiring.

We're walking throught the troubleshooting steps now.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

Thanks so much for all your help. Gonna go check the fuses soon. is there anything specific that will indicate blown fuses or will it be noticeable?
Sorry if these are stupid questions but you've been really helpful and I've never had to deal with an issue like this before.

I'm guessing it's a blown fuse. We really don't have animals like that out here that could've snuck in the garage. Only thing we have are coyotes and that would've been hard to miss.

When I tried to start it with the old battery that started this whole thing,it would make the clicking sound of it trying to turn over and then on the third try everything went dead. It's been like that for the past 2 weeks now. So maybe that blew a fuse that day when I was trying to start it and the battery was dying.

derekinthez

iTrader: (32)

OP, do you have any aftermarket LED taillights or anything? If so, may have caused an elec issue.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

Nope. All mods are listed in my sig. Aside from my Head unit absolutely nothing electrical has been done to my car.
And nevermind on how to determine blown fuses. google solved that issue

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

I went out and got a better look at all the fuses now that the suns out and I can see better. It looks like the fuse 120a under the red cap on the positive battery cable is blown. Must have happened during the original jump start or most likely from my neighbors ancient ghetto trickle charger we used.

Now I'm just trying to find out how to replace it without going to the dealer.

SparkleCityHop

iTrader: (30)

AdvancedAuto, AutoZone, PepBoys, etc. Any of them should have a replacement fuse for that locally. If you can't find it there, go to google and try "Nissan Courtesy Parts" . On phone & can't easily add a link for it right now.

hpka365

iTrader: (2)

Checked all the autozone type places this morning and nobody had it. Called a few dealers and nobody had it. Ended up ordering it from the closest dealer for a little more than what I saw it costs online. I'm getting it on thursday though so it made up for the extra cost through the dealer.

Just one fuse was blown but it's attached to that big plastic piece that's bolted to the positive battery cable. When you lift up the red cap on the cable,it's the mini 3rd fuse box type thing that has to be replaced.

I'm just happy it wasn't anything serious or expensive. I hope it works and nothing else is wrong.

Thanks for all the help. I'll update on thursday when I put the new piece in.