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Thread: Nissan Safari won't start

  1. #1
    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Default Nissan Safari won't start

    My neighbour has just bought a 1988 Nissan Safari 4.2 diesel. He drove it home Ok and has been doing some minor panel work on it - tidying it up etc.
    [No, he hasn't been using a welder at all.]
    Anyway, he comes to me the other day and says "It won't start". So off I go to take a look. First thing I notice is there are no lights on the dash, but the engine does wind over.
    Under the bonnet I found a fuseblock - and in it a 65A fusible link marked "ALT". It was open.
    I bridged it with a resettable breaker and now we have lights up on the dash. However, we still don't have the glow light, and I pulled the plug that connects the fuel shut-off solenoid to the loom and there is no voltage there either - hence why it won't start.
    I've checked every fuse in the main fuse box (in the cabin) and they are all Ok. I've looked right round the engine bay and can't find any other fuses.

    I can't even find the controller module that operates the glow relay!

    Does anyone happen to know where this is or has had this problem before? I have no idea what caused the ALT fusible link to open.

    Sure, I can start it by bypassing the open circuit with a cable so that I get 24V on the fuel shut-off solenoid, but starting it isn't what I want to do. Fixing it properly is my aim.

    I've ordered a workshop manual for it as hopefully it has wiring diagrams etc and I can then at least try to trace where the voltage is stopping on this circuit.



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    Senior Member z80's Avatar
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    good luck mate, sounds like a bugger, any underbody damage??

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    Sounds like you have to do it the old way and just trace the wire back
    Dirty job and not much fun chopping open the wire harness to trace
    the wires back and find the fault

    good luck mate
    When you do things right, people won't be sure that you have done anything at all

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    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Cheers guys - I think I will wait until the manual arrives then have a closer look at what I am dealing with.

    The local Nissan people aren't much help as the Safari is a Japanese Import and they don't carry any info on it.

    It would seem that it's slightly different in the wiring to the Patrol as well... just to make things complicated LOL

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    Senior Member global88's Avatar
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    Is it a 24volt, Y60?

    Found this link at a pommy safari site
    The total wiring diagrams

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    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Cheers for that Global88 - that's the same site I found as well... but sadly the wiring diagram is different!

    Update on the job

    The workshop manual arrived and it has a pretty good wiring diagram in it that probably isn't 100% exactly the same as this vehicle, but is close enough to allow you to do some fault-finding.

    I discovered that the feed to the fuel shut-off solenoid comes from the glow relay controller, and it is fed via a fuse in the panel by the driver's right foot marked "Engine Control".

    According to the manual this fuse is the 5th one down on the left-hand side. Well, in this case it was 6th down.
    There was power on the fuse, power coming out the back of the fuse block, and into the brown wire with red spots - but it wasn't getting to the shut-off solenoid OR the glow relay controller.

    So, I did the obvious thing and ran a feed straight from where it exits the fuse box, off to the brown wire on the glow relay controller.

    Voila! Problem fixed.

    I don't know where or why the feed stops on its way to the controller - but the brown wire with red spots becomes a plain brown wire at the controller - so somewhere there must be a join - and obviously it gives trouble.

    I have since spoken with two other people who own these vehicles and they have both experienced exactly the same issue.
    It's obviously a recurring problem with this model of vehicle.

    Oh, and the glow relay controller is the module that sits directly BELOW the fuse panel by the driver's right foot.

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    It must feel good to get a win every now and then
    When you do things right, people won't be sure that you have done anything at all

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    Senior Member BCNZ's Avatar
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    Yes, I do enjoy being able to fix stuff - the problem ones that sit there in the too hard basket really depress me!

    I thought I'd just update it in case someone else strikes the same problem - it will save them spending hours trying to find the cause or having to shell out $70 on a workshop manual.

    My neighbour was impressed as well. Ticks me up some more brownie points!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Studio1 View Post
    Cheers for that Global88 - that's the same site I found as well... but sadly the wiring diagram is different!

    Update on the job

    The workshop manual arrived and it has a pretty good wiring diagram in it that probably isn't 100% exactly the same as this vehicle, but is close enough to allow you to do some fault-finding.

    I discovered that the feed to the fuel shut-off solenoid comes from the glow relay controller, and it is fed via a fuse in the panel by the driver's right foot marked "Engine Control".

    According to the manual this fuse is the 5th one down on the left-hand side. Well, in this case it was 6th down.
    There was power on the fuse, power coming out the back of the fuse block, and into the brown wire with red spots - but it wasn't getting to the shut-off solenoid OR the glow relay controller.

    So, I did the obvious thing and ran a feed straight from where it exits the fuse box, off to the brown wire on the glow relay controller.

    Voila! Problem fixed.

    I don't know where or why the feed stops on its way to the controller - but the brown wire with red spots becomes a plain brown wire at the controller - so somewhere there must be a join - and obviously it gives trouble.

    I have since spoken with two other people who own these vehicles and they have both experienced exactly the same issue.
    It's obviously a recurring problem with this model of vehicle.

    Oh, and the glow relay controller is the module that sits directly BELOW the fuse panel by the driver's right foot.

    Awesome! Had the same problem today and hard-wired the solenoid to make it back home. Will hunt the brown wire with the red dot tomorrow! So glad someone has done the legwork for me already! I will let you guys know how I go.

    Thanks!

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