Seems everyone experiences a ticking noise coming from under their hood. But nobody comes back and says what they found out or if it ever got fixed! And they all seems to have some of the same symptoms. No tick in idle, tick only occurs below 2.5 RPM. This is mine, 2014 Versa 1.6, now at 112K. And an odd addition, it ticks everytime I turn on my air conditioner. And when the air is on, it ticks regardless if I'm sitting at a light or moving. Worse, when I am sitting at a light and the air is on, it starts squealing too! I live in the south and nothing sucks more than turning your air off when its 100 degrees and your at a long light with the sun hitting you, all because you start squealing. When I first bought it used, 7yrs ago at 60K, it only made the ticking when I had the air on. I don't put crazy miles on it, obviously. But I need to know what is going on. Every mechanic I took it too just shrugged. Where I live, everyone is stuck on lazy. So I need to have more background on this sound if someone is going to take me seriously. I have pretty good knowledge of cars for a girl, but I don't have the means to work on anything past oil and brakes because of my current situation. Help! It's getting worse and needs to stop before something serious and expensive breaks!

If it's squealing with the A/C on, the first thing to try is replacing the belt, cleaning the pulleys, and making sure it's tensioned correctly. Serpentine belts get a phenomenon called (erroneously) hydroplaning where crud builds up in the bottoms of the grooves and the belt "surfs" on the crud, preventing it from getting proper traction under load. If it still misbehaves with a new belt and a good cleaning, then it's likely your A/C compressor is dying.

Since the A/C was involved, I figured the compressor would be part of it, especially since the belt runs by it. And replacing the belt was my first stop. But what exactly is creating the noise itself?? Because it ticks even when the A/C is not on. This whole time I've assumed it was the belt or something the belt runs past. I just want to make sure I'm not running into something more major.

There are a lot of things which can make ticking noises in an old engine. The most likely sources are wear in the top end (basically "lifter noise") or sloppy fuel injector plungers. However, bearings can make ticking noises too, and Nissan alternators are infamous for noisy pulley clutches (they usually buzz, but they can tick too). Your best bet to locate the source is a stethoscope.
https://www.harborfreight.com/automotiv ... 63691.html

Very true. Unfortunately, using a stethoscope won't happen. It doesnt make the noise in park. Only when I'm accelerating. So unless I want to car surf with a stethoscope in hand, I probably need to find another way. Lol.
I'll start with the belt and pulleys and go from there. Will update.

There are China-cheap chassis ears out there today. We pros all want wireless, but wired units are still effective and nowadays Inexpensive:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/386788913032

PS - If it's only on accel, have you checked the exhaust heat shields?

Not yet. I dont have the heat shield underneath the middle of the car. A year or so after I bought thr car, a bolt ripped itself free and since it was as thick as aluminum foil the mechanic just took it off. Never replaced it. Nice way to warm your feet in the winter. I havent checked the others though.

Since its time to replace the serpentine belt anyway, that's first. Ill make sure everything gets cleaned around the pulleys. If the sound remains, my next step was check the exhaust.
Before I started this post, I read just about every other ticking noise threat on here. So I'm going to run down the checklist of what everyone else ran into.

Look for busted tack welds by prying under the shields with a screwdriver. Anything that lifts means a busted weld, and that will usually give you a clatter or bumblebee under specific throttle conditions. If you find anything, clamp it down with a stainless radiator worm clamp (yes, that's a Nissan-approved fix for loose shields).

Ok, simple enough. Thank you. I'll get it to. Will update as I go.