MrT

Yes, this is always a great place to start. My stock ground terminal has small bolt stud jammed in it because it got loose and sloppy over the years. It's very easy. Should have 12.6-8 with the car off at the terminals and 13.8 with it on.

P.S. Holy long amp wire run Batman!

It's completely normal. That's what it's there for. If it really bothers you turn the A/C off.

test the voltage at the terminals, then the terminal connectors, then the starter hot and bat neg. Then test them AGAIN when it's running (minus the starter) plus at the alternator. Should let you know exactly where the juice is lacking. EDIT: wouldn't hurt to test resistance from the Neg terminal to the engine (pretty much anywhere metal) and then the body for ground continuity. As well as from the Positive terminal to test for some type of a short.

Speaking from experience... it's a bitch. It shouldn't be but it is. Since it looks like you live in a salt state, have fun getting all those bolts holding the rear bumper cover off in one piece. I had to drill them ALL out and re-tap every single one.

Take it to a different shop... (You know, one that looks shaby and has some old dude at the counter) That rust isn't that bad at all. Fix the brake lines for piece of mind a long with the CV. For what you'll put into it to fix it you can't even touch something as reliable if it truly does "run like a champ."

This is because your factory amp converts the "speaker level" signal back into a line level signal to amplify it again at speaker level. Not an ideal situation but not necessarily bad either, just depends. All things being equal, if you didn't pay attention to the arbitrary number on your volume dial, which sounded better at the same loudness? That's what would make my decision for me. I'm not sure what you mean. Are you using an aftermarket amp then? I don't think the factory amps have a "gain" setting other than the speaker level signal you put into it/

If you're connecting two wires together that is called a splice. Some adapters have the stub for the factory amp turn on lead and some don't. Either way you need an acc on lead from the radio connected to the turn on lead of the pathfinder's harness. Doesn't really matter how you do it, it just needs to be done. This is why people hook up after market radios and get no sound, they miss the amp turn on lead. Glad you figured it out. Enjoy the new sounds!

This is pointless. Your radio gets plenty of power already ESPECIALLY if you want to use the factory amps. Your harness is wired incorrectly. It's not as simple as connecting like to like. You need to splice the amp turn on lead (or ant on depending) to the turn on lead for the factory speaker amp. That simple, VERY common mistake to make when installing a stereo in a Pathy. EDIT: Haven't had a WD21 in a coon's age but the diagram says it should be the purple wire. (it says 'P' not sure what else that would be.)

Yes, I believe so...

just to be a nerd. Pure water is completely nonconductive. It's the ions in the water that conduct electricity.

Yes, I have. It's just as capable as any stock pathfinder if not a little more so. I think people around here will change their tone when they get cheap enough to bring home and mod. It's still kinda ugly though. I'll admit that much.

Maybe some of them just rust more??? Between my father and myself we have had 2 WD21s and two R50s and NONE of them have had any issues at all with rust... as in zero. And I do live in a state where there is salt on the road 4-5 months out of the year. Maybe they just use stronger stuff up there in Canada?

Not if you're willing to spend the $2.00 a month to spray off the underside of your car in the winter like I do... And wouldn't you know that my pathfinders don't have rust problems

I was with you until you said this... Now I know you aren't to be trusted

Silly question but did you put the belt on too tight?

So what would you call an HMMWV? Seems to me like one hell of a truck... and it has independent suspension all around. I'm pretty sure it can out wheel any pathfinder too (as long as the trail is as wide as an airstrip )

A lot of people still used horses into the 20's too. To each his own...

The R51 has a larger wheelbase but overall is not any bigger than an R50. And that longer wheelbase combined with the loss of the live rear axle make the handling a lot better on the R51 in my opinion and experience. While the live axle is better for off-road, on road there is no comparison. How can you love axle hop going over (even small) bumps???

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html Look at it this way. You'll save the money you spend on this in gas by not having to drive around seeing if the things you did had any effect. You won't regret it. It's the ONLY way to accurately trouble shoot wiring.

Get a multimeter so you know what is going on instead of just randomly guessing?

just an FYI. While they might work together the R-134a molecule is smaller than that of R-12. This makes a lot of converted systems leak because the the hoses are not made for R-134a.

put a glove on and pull harder... If that doesn't work I'd recommend a set of pliers and some good old mechanical advantage.

That is a pretty good guide. It covers cars with a built in amp. I think that throws A LOT of people for a loop when they replace the stereo. And if you have the factory amp and want to run your speakers from aux amp (instead of just your subs) have fun running all new speaker wires. And just to throw in my $.02. Don't waste your money on "car audio" power wire. Go to your local Electric Supply store and just buy the proper gauge Stranded Copper THHN wire. It's easier to install, just a "shielded" and way, way, way less $$. And don't buy over sized wire because you think it's "cool." All you are doing is spending more money to give yourself a bigger headache. To find what gauge wire you need you should take the total RMS wattage (sum of RMS/ch you plan to use) of your amp divided by 13.8. This is your amperage draw. Give yourself a reasonable buffer ( x1.5-2). under 40A = 8ga 40 - 55 = 6ga 55 - 75 = 4ga 75 - 100 = 2ga

Well, I guess I'm a little late on this one but I would have kept it. That is a very common spot for it to rust through since the water collects in that flange. I can't really tell from the pictures but these mufflers come with a heat shield that rusts apart but usually leaves the muffler in tact. Either way if anyone ends up here with the same problem all you need to do is cut the flange off and use a section of new exhaust pipe (~$5) cut it to size and slip it over the two ends. Then you just put a clamp on either end and call it a day. I fixed mine for $10 and it's never given me a problem since.