1987 Nissan Laurel Fuse Fault

[oedgson]

Hello,

So I have a 1987 Nissan Laurel (automatic), which has been sat for around 14 years (it was my late Grandads). We bought a new battery for it to see if we could get it started, but there was no lights, nothing. On further inspection I found the continental fuse (found on the wire which attaches to the negative terminal) to be broken; I should note it didn't look like it had blown, just broke.

After replacing this fuse, I got lights. However, when you turn the key to start the engine, there's a single click sound (maybe the fuel injector or something?) but it blows the fuse. So essentially I can't put the key in that position otherwise it'll just blow the fuse. After doing that there is this smell of petrol, I'm assuming that's normal, but thought I should mention in case it isn't.

I was hoping someone may be able to provide some advice on where to start looking to stop this fuse blowing. Something is causing it to short but I can't figure out what. I have tried with the distributor wire disconnected, but to no luck. Same result with the actuator wire disconnected.

I am not particularly knowledgeable about cars, but I would like to try and get this car started. I appreciate all advice! I should also note the car has only done 23,000 miles, and was working fine when it was garaged.

Thank you,

Owen.

[stonyray]

Could be a siezed starter, drawing too much current. Only a thought. Do you have a pic of the link/fuse in question?

I've had 2 86/87 Laurels but never had this particular issue.

[Dez]

I’d start by undoing all the multi coloured multiplugs that go into the bottom of the main engine bay fuse box. Plug em back in one at at time til it blows. They’re known for getting corroded and causing issues.

What rating is the fuse though? If it’s 50a+ it can only really be the starter or alternator, or wiring directly related to them.

[oedgson]

Jul 14, 2022 21:10:37 GMT stonyray said:

Could be a siezed starter, drawing too much current. Only a thought. Do you have a pic of the link/fuse in question?

I've had 2 86/87 Laurels but never had this particular issue.

Hello, thank you for your reply. I agree it could be a siezed starter. I've attached a photo which shows the fuse, its the red one, it's a 16 amp continental fuse. You can also see where it connects with the negative terminal wire, in that black part which is connected together by the two light blue wires.

I appreciate your help!

Thanks.

[oedgson]

Jul 14, 2022 23:28:16 GMT Dez said:

I’d start by undoing all the multi coloured multiplugs that go into the bottom of the main engine bay fuse box. Plug em back in one at at time til it blows. They’re known for getting corroded and causing issues.

What rating is the fuse though? If it’s 50a+ it can only really be the starter or alternator, or wiring directly related to them.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your reply, I really appreciate the help. Can I just clarify which fuse box you mean? Because I can only really find one fuse box under the bonnet; I've attached an image, as well as an image with the cover over it. The only other set of fuses, which look more 'traditional' are the ones inside the car; I've also attached an image of this as well. 

The fuse that keeps blowing is a 16 Amp continental fuse. You can see a picture of it in my previous reply .

Again, I really appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Owen.

[colnerov]

Hi, That's a battery isolator switch with fuse bypass for the clock or radio memory, the knurled knob is missing from the middle hole which turns it on so it's now off. Either take it out of circuit or replace it. It should look like this. -




Colin

[Rich]

Seconded. The lock knob is missing, take the isolator out entirely and reconnect the terminal directly to the battery and I expect the car will be fine.

[oedgson]

Thank you colnerov and Rich. I did see something was missing there but incorrectly assumed it would be fine without. I believe this may have been a precautionary measure by my grandad to prevent theft, as my grandma was saying he would do something extra to make it more secure. I have no idea where the knob is now.

I'll either remove it or replace it, and I will keep you updated!

Appreciate the help!

[oedgson]

colnerov and Rich you were both right. I have removed the isolator completely and the good news is the car is now cranking. I tried for a while and one of the times I tried it it sounded like it was about to start. I'm now trying to figure out why it wont actually start. I've checked the oil level and it seems to be ok, a little bit red but nothing extreme. In terms of petrol, the car says its near full, and I do think it is because if you make the car rock by pushing down on it you can hear a swooshing liquid sound. I did wonder however if the gas is too old? Should I remove it and top it up with new petrol? I suspect this should be done anyway but I thought for a quick "let's see if it'll start" it would suffice. A near-full tank of unusable petrol is going to be fun to empty .

Thanks,

Owen.

[stonyray]

Was gonna say that blue wire is 100% not stock. As said put the original negative terminal on the battery and you should be good.

[oedgson]

Jul 17, 2022 11:46:16 GMT stonyray said:

Was gonna say that blue wire is 100% not stock. As said put the original negative terminal on the battery and you should be good.

Yeah that was definitely the issue. It's now not starting beyond cranking, but I'm going to replace the petrol tomorrow, and maybe the oil (I'll inspect it again), and also maybe the spark plugs. The petrol has been sat for a long time so I'm guessing that won't be helping, even if that doesn't fix the issue.

[stonyray]

Check the dizzy and rotor, also there's a silver snickers sized and shaped block in the front passenger side. It's the resistor block for the injectors. It has a tendancy to rust and cause injectors to drop out. Oil won't make a difference but it's obviously good to change it.

How's the bodywork?

[oedgson]

Jul 17, 2022 13:38:18 GMT stonyray said:

Check the dizzy and rotor, also there's a silver snickers sized and shaped block in the front passenger side. It's the resistor block for the injectors. It has a tendancy to rust and cause injectors to drop out. Oil won't make a difference but it's obviously good to change it.

How's the bodywork?

Ok thanks I’ll check on that. Yeah I agree oil won’t be making a difference in terms of starting, though obviously long term it should be changed. The body work is near perfect, because it was barely driven (only has 23,000 miles) and was garaged for the last 15 years.

[datman]

be EXTREMELY careful with the L24 engine, do NOT attempt to start it on old petrol, I have seen it happen many times and if it starts, you are very likely BEND THE VALVES and possibly BREAK THE VALVE GUIDES. This will necessitate a lengthy and expensive top end rebuild. COMPLETELY drain whatever petrol is in there. Put at least 2 gallons of fresh in. I have had to do two top end rebuilds from running these cars on old petrol for a few minutes.

[oedgson]

Jul 17, 2022 16:27:10 GMT datman said:

be EXTREMELY careful with the L24 engine, do NOT attempt to start it on old petrol, I have seen it happen many times and if it starts, you are very likely BEND THE VALVES and possibly BREAK THE VALVE GUIDES. This will necessitate a lengthy and expensive top end rebuild. COMPLETELY drain whatever petrol is in there. Put at least 2 gallons of fresh in. I have had to do two top end rebuilds from running these cars on old petrol for a few minutes.

Thanks a lot for the warning. I guess I should thank my lucky stars it didn’t start then 😂

[oedgson]

Ok so I thought I would try and syphon some of the petrol today as I had some spare time, instead of waiting until tomorrow. Still about 3/5th of a tank left unfortunately. I don't know what I was expecting but I thought the petrol would have looked... older. It looks like the petrol has fared pretty well, but I'm guessing the degradation of the petrol is less about visuals and more to do with the chemistry.

I've attached a photo which shows the colour of the petrol just for interests sake.

[stonyray]

Jul 17, 2022 16:27:10 GMT datman said:

be EXTREMELY careful with the L24 engine, do NOT attempt to start it on old petrol, I have seen it happen many times and if it starts, you are very likely BEND THE VALVES and possibly BREAK THE VALVE GUIDES. This will necessitate a lengthy and expensive top end rebuild. COMPLETELY drain whatever petrol is in there. Put at least 2 gallons of fresh in. I have had to do two top end rebuilds from running these cars on old petrol for a few minutes.

How?

Detonation? Or the old fuel not burning fully and sticking the valve open?

[datman]

Old petrol can go sticky. If the car runs on it, when the engine starts to warm up the fuel evaporates when it hits the stems of the inlet valves leaving the sticky part, and starts to glue the valves into the guides. Then the valves start to stick open and in mild cases the cam fingers will fall off due to the huge gap under the cam but otherwise the pistons will come up and bend the stuck valves . This most often happens after the car has been running, and switched off, then restarted because the 'glue' has has time to set. I have had to take the head off and hammer out the valves from the guides with a drift as they are so stuck in with this varnish/glue. The last one I did the petrol was a very dark colour (see pic) yours looks much better and it may be safe to gradually add a small amount back in to the tank over a long period of use.

[oedgson]

Ive managed to remove about 15 litres I'd say, maybe more, but there's still about just under half a tank, according to the gauge, which I think is working accurately. I think I'm going to have to remove the fuel pump; seems like the easiest way to make sure it's empty, a syphon through the fuel entry just isn't working well.

[oedgson]

So I had a look underneath the car by the rear right side wheel, and I noticed the pipe looks like it’s corroding/rusting. I think that’s one of the fuel pipes but I’m hoping someone may know a bit more. I think its also leaking, though I'm not 100% sure. 

I’ve added a couple pictures because it was hard to get a good angle.