2002 Xterra 3.3L A/T Cranks but No Spark and No Fuel, ECM?

Forum for the Xterra, Frontier and Hardbody, the smaller workhorses of the Nissan lineup!
natbo3000
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:33 pm
Car: 2002 Nissan Xterra SE 3.3L

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I've search the forum and think I've tried all the suggestions. Could really use some guidance.

2002 Nissan Xterra SE, 3.3L VG33E, 2WD, A/T
188k miles
Daughter's daily driver

Where things stand right now: It turns over with starter (cranks) but wouldn't start. Appears to be missing 2 of the big 3 (spark, air, fuel).

My abilities: I've fixed major (engine rebuild) to minor (spark plugs and head gaskets) issues but suck at electrical troubleshooting.

Background:

She was doing 45 on a flat straight-away during a clear 70-80's warm Georgia March day when it suddenly died. Just stopped running and she was stuck in traffic. No sputtering, no coughing, nothing. With some help of the local police we pushed it to the side of the road and, not hearing the fuel pump running, immediately thought the pump had failed. Picked one up at a local parts store and did some roadside mechanic work.

Well, long story short, it wasn't the pump. Towed it home and did some more troubleshooting to find there was no power to the fuel pump or sending unit. Did the old starting fluid in the intake trick, wouldn't start. Pulled plug #1 and confirmed there wasn't spark either.
Looking back, the only warning signs might have been she had complained that it would occasionally stop running when she would warm it up in the driveway and it would sometimes run rough but I could never reproduce the symptoms (Dad's never experience what they experience, right?) But it was so infrequent and couldn't be reproduced that when this happened, it fed into the fuel pump theory.


Troubleshooting to date:

Towed to my mechanic whom I trust because of their competence and ethics. They couldn't figure it out and suggested going to the dealer. (Didn't charge after 3 days of testing.)

Dealer said it was the distributor, it wasn't. After putting in a new distributor they thought it was the ECM. But because they couldn't sell me a new one and didn't want the liability of installing a used one, troubleshooting stopped.

Brought it home and...
...Battery is strong (replaced 3/2020)
...Confirmed the rotor is spinning (not the timing belt)
...Checked all the fuses inside and under hood: none blown, all getting power.
...Checked relays (inside, under hood, ECM, fuel pump, etc) by swapping with working systems, all check out fine.
...Sent the ECM to a place in Miami who said they checked it out twice and didn't find any problems.
...Replaced crank sensor (pulled to test but I don't have a digital multimeter so results were unclear and replaced it anyway. Ever try to remove one? Ugh!)
...This generation doesn't seem to have a chip in the key and there's no dash indicator indicating the key isn't recognized. Security light flashes according to service guide. From what I've read, the security system, if engaged, wouldn't allow the starter to engage so it doesn't appear to be the security system.


Next steps (after exhaustive online forum searches and hours of YouTube videos):

1. Get a digital multimeter and some wire and confirm grounds and continuity for various parts (ECM, fuel pump, sending unit, etc.) using service guides and wiring diagrams (found online!)

2. Replace ECM (Why? I tried reading the codes with a pocket scanner and it says "No Link" which makes me think it IS the ECM.)


So my questions are:
Any more definitive testing suggested? I've done too much parts swapping and only found one more I haven't tried (fuel sending unit). Trying to avoid it if possible.

ECM sources: Who have you used? Who do you trust?

I'm sure there's some programming needed but, for troubleshooting, can I use one from a similar vehicle and program it later?


The original issue sounds electrical and I'm leaning toward the ECM but am hesitant to pull the trigger without a reliable source. My daughter and I really love this vehicle and would love to see it back on the road.

Any insights or suggestions would be helpful at this point. Thank you!


jlskibumps
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:35 pm
Car: 2007 Xterra Off Road, AT

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Try swapping the ECM relay with the fog light relay. It is located three relays down. You may do this for testing purposes but the ECM relay has a diode and is unique so I wouldn't make this a permanent change but should help you troubleshoot!

eggwhites
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:07 pm
Car: 2002 Nissan Frontier SC-V6 Crew Cab Long Bed

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hey sorry about your troubles, had the same issues basically,
and I sent my to Module Experts in Jacksonville.

https://moduleexperts.com/

My ECM was bad. They said the transistor that supplies the voltage to the crank sensor fail, and they said it was not a repairable part as it was imbedded in the ECU. so I got another one from them for $400. that was after the $200 test to check my old one. truck did start, but when the chip blew, it snapped my timing belt (was around 3k rpm when it happened) and that bent a valve, so yeah... working on that now :[

natbo3000
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:33 pm
Car: 2002 Nissan Xterra SE 3.3L

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Forgot I posted the question here too. Mine turned out to be ECM. Unfortunately theough it all spent about $1k (towing, dealer diagnostics, parts, etc.) but daughter is happy to have her vehicle back.
If anyone is reading this in the future, I should have just changed it when the code reader tool couldn’t read any codes early in the process. Apparently first hen Xterras don’t need their ECM programmed. Just Found one with the same part number and fired right up.
Good luck on timing belt.


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