03 reg 1.2 Auto S - completly dead and won't start - help!?

[mikereadin]

Went camping this weekend - car (as ever) performed impecably to get us there, however get to Sunday morning to leave and nothing. Seemed a battery issue so we tried jumping it but no joy either...went home on a tow-truck and the mechanic reckoned that it is either the start-motor ignition gone, or something locked in the immobiliser..

Any thoughts? Car responds to key presses from the keys, but only electronically - indicator lights flash as they would normally when locking unlocking, but thats about it...turn the car over and nothing - not even an attempt to spark etc and dash doesnt light up.

We left the car unlocked for most of the time and are wondering if the immobiliser has kicked in for some reason...but don't seem to be able to find a way to test that...the bit in the manual about resetting the NATS doesn't seem to work either.

Any ideas/help gratefully received - having terrible problems finding a mobile mechanic available to come and look at it, and would rather avoid getting it towed over to the local Nissan dealer just yet - even though I fear that where it will end up!

 

[Tchaaa]

Maybe test it from a known working battery? Jump starts aren't always effective, as I've found in the past.

This is a shot in the dark but I'm going to say ignition barrel, if your car is unlocking and locking normally but you're not getting any lights on the dashboard when you turn the key my guess is that it doesn't even know you've done so, and from what I understand the ignition switches are prone to breaking in micras.

If it was the starter motor I'd assume you'd still get lights on your dashboard when you turn the key, and the immobiliser should go on and off when you lock/unlock the car with the key, however something I learnt from my K11 was that after a power cut the immobiliser/alarm system would arm itself, so maybe if you've got a battery that's on the brink of completely dead it's doing something like that.

Just my guesses, but maybe one of the more in-the-know members could chime in on this? I'd really not reccomend taking it to a Nissan dealership, they will tell you it's got every problem under the sun when it's probably something very simple, and you'll likely come away with a bank-breaking bill (tried to charge me hundreds of pounds for a new gasket fitment, when my oil filter was leaking just as one example)

 

[bforbtn]

Really would appreciate some further comments on this topic / thread as my car is exhibiting almost identical failure...

Mikereadin - any chance you could update with 'what you did next' and outcome?

 

[mikeanddot]

Hi, Mikereadin,
Your fault was most likely the fusible link module which is attached to the positive battery terminal and has a number of cables attached via a set of fuse wires contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. As you stated, operating the the remote key merely causes the dash indicator lights to blink and you are then misled into diagnosing a flat battery. This is exactly what happened to the Green Flag man who came out to me! Unless you know where to look, you won't easily find the fault because the fusible link module is hinged so that the wiring coming out of it is behind the battery. It's only when you (gently) bend the rear half of the module up so that it is level with the top of the battery, that you can then see the corroded fusible links in the clear plastic section of the module. It's amazing that this design fault which afflicts not just Micras but Notes and Qashquais etc is still news to some members of the Vehicle recovery indstry. Nissan dealers keep a 'sufficient' stock of this component on hand, about £63, so draw your own conclusions..........

 

[Belly93]

Hi, Mikereadin,
Your fault was most likely the fusible link module which is attached to the positive battery terminal and has a number of cables attached via a set of fuse wires contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. As you stated, operating the the remote key merely causes the dash indicator lights to blink and you are then misled into diagnosing a flat battery. This is exactly what happened to the Green Flag man who came out to me! Unless you know where to look, you won't easily find the fault because the fusible link module is hinged so that the wiring coming out of it is behind the battery. It's only when you (gently) bend the rear half of the module up so that it is level with the top of the battery, that you can then see the corroded fusible links in the clear plastic section of the module. It's amazing that this design fault which afflicts not just Micras but Notes and Qashquais etc is still news to some members of the Vehicle recovery indstry. Nissan dealers keep a 'sufficient' stock of this component on hand, about £63, so draw your own conclusions..........

dont these have a ignition fault where the small black switch on the ned of the barrel becomes faulty, we had to replace one at work as the lights came on but would only start occasionally, could it not be this fault gone firther?

 

[mikeanddot]

True, there is a well-known fault with fragile ignition switches, which is where your auto rescue man will look next, after discovering that you don't have a flat battery. When you say the lights came on, do you mean the headlights/side lights? If so, this doesn't happen when the fusible links corrode, same as having a duff battery terminal connection. It's a case of knowing about the fusible links problem and ,more importanly, where to look.

 

[bforbtn]

Hi, Mikereadin,
Your fault was most likely the fusible link module which is attached to the positive battery terminal and has a number of cables attached via a set of fuse wires contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. As you stated, operating the the remote key merely causes the dash indicator lights to blink and you are then misled into diagnosing a flat battery. This is exactly what happened to the Green Flag man who came out to me! Unless you know where to look, you won't easily find the fault because the fusible link module is hinged so that the wiring coming out of it is behind the battery. It's only when you (gently) bend the rear half of the module up so that it is level with the top of the battery, that you can then see the corroded fusible links in the clear plastic section of the module. It's amazing that this design fault which afflicts not just Micras but Notes and Qashquais etc is still news to some members of the Vehicle recovery indstry. Nissan dealers keep a 'sufficient' stock of this component on hand, about £63, so draw your own conclusions..........

Thanks very much for the reply and advice - it was exactly as you described! I got a price for the part from my local dealer approx. £24, but decided to take a look in a breakers yard first because my micra had been sitting around not being driven since May... of the 3 micras in the yard all had corroded links! So new 'un fitted and the little gem started first time - not bad for a SX dci with 188k on the clock

Nissan part no. is 24380-79915