my gas tank light among other lights is always on (when the car is on) and i was thinking it might not be connected right, but i cant seem to find the wire that goes to it, can someone help me figure out whats wrong


oh and since this is my first maxima (having a integra before [got stolen]) can someone tell me about the y pipe for 88 maximas, or does it have to be custom made, and how would i go about doing it or can one from a diffrent car fit

 

Someone with a FSM and a scanner can help you with the wiring. As for the y-pipe, we have a crossover pipe that runs over the bellhousing, not really much you can change there. If you were adventurous enough I suppose a set of 300ZX headers could be modified to work, but I think most of us have just gone the 2-1/4" cat-back route, with or without a high flow cat. BTW, Flowmaster 40 series mufflers sound great on Maxima's.

 

Thanks Man

 

Lemme see what I can dig up.

S

 

what other lights come on?

a scanner won't diagnose that problem. the low fuel light is connected directly to a thermal switch on your fuel pump housing/sending unit. the thermal switch is nothing more than a special wire that varies resistance when it's immersed in fuel. I've had a problem with mine never working and it was because that wire corroded. yours probably corroded through and touched the side, which is grounded. the light's (+) side is constantly receiving power when the ignition switch is on (like all your other lights - charge, washer fluid, etc), and the ground side is what goes to the thermal sensor in the gas tank. if the fuel level is sufficient, that is, that sensor is immersed, it's kept cool by the gas and there's enough resistance to keep that light off. but when the gas drops below it, it cools down and allows current to flow to ground, turning the light on. something you can try is finding the harness for the fuel pump. it's either under the back seat or in the trunk, and has a gray harness over the wires. turn your ignition on, and then disconnect that harness - the light should go out, and your fuel gauge should drop FAR below the E mark. if the light stays on, there's a short to ground somewhere causing the light to stay on the whole time. if it goes out, that thermal switch is probably bad. since that thermal switch isn't available separately, and can only be bought with a new fuel pump, just cut or disconnect the wire for the low fuel light.

other lights work similarly. they all receive the (+) from the ignition, and a ground elsewhere. the charge warning light goes to the diode trio in the alternator, the washer fluid light and low coolant lights have the same thermal switch type sensor that the low fuel light has, the door open light has 4 pin switches, one in each door. the seat belt light has its own computer control, the SENSOR light is connected to a relay module that turns the light on every 30,000 miles (it doesn't monitor anything under the hood!), the brake light is connected to the alternator light (for a bulb check), the parking brake lever and a hydraulic sensor in the master cylinder, and the headlight and tail/stop warning lights have their own sensors to detect burned out bulbs.

one more thing, nissan, along with some other foreign car companies rigged a bulb check feature for the warning lights that is rather STUPID. here's how it works: some lights come on normally, with the ignition on and engine off, like the alternator light, cos the electrical system is energized (ignition on) but the alternator isn't charging (engine off). so with the ignition just turned ON, the alternator (battery) warning light glows. the oil pressure light also glows cos with the engine not running, there's no oil pressure.

lights that don't normally come on when the ignition is first turned on - for example, the stop/tail warning light or brake light - are wired directly to the alternator (battery) light through diodes. so as a bulb check, you'll turn your ignition on and see the alternator light come on with the stop/tail or brake lights, then once you start your engine, they all shut off at the same time. although you know the bulbs are working, there's still a problem. say you're driving and your alternator goes bad or the belt breaks. this causes the alternator warning light to come on. but you'll also see your BRAKE light come on, and probably some others, because of the bulb check. this could also be causing your problem, although there is no bulb check for the fuel light.

let me know what other lights come on and I can probably be more specific.


Dan

 

You didn't say if this problem just showed up...all the dash warning lights being on? On my 86se , the dash warning lights all came on as I was driving. It turns out the problem was the alternator. When it happened the voltmeter would read 12vdc or less. I was still able to drive the car running off the battery till I got home 20 minutes later. So it was easy to figure out.

Now if this problem has been with you for a while and the battery hasn't gave out yet, then you probably have some wiring problem. It would make life easier on you if you can get the factory service manual with the wiring diagram. Check on eBay since someone is always selling one there.

You have a lot of good suggestions here so I say try an get that manual too.

Good Luck, Al

 

^^^ what he said ^^^ he had an alternator issue, which caused the alternator light to come on.

like I posted earlier, a lot of other lights are wired parallel into the alternator warning lights, and they'll also come on when it does, like allw86 said happened to him. BRAKE, SENSOR, low coolant, tail/stop, are a few. but I know that the low fuel isn't. it operates independently on its own circuit, and if there's a problem, I'm 99% sure that it's a problem between the bulb socket and the thermal sensor in the gas tank.

if I can get my scanner working, I can scan wiring diagrams from my 88 factory service manual.

Dan

 

well the other lights that come are the seat belt even when i have it on,well really its all the lights except the door open one, it happened for no reason really

 

hmm, try doing this. go under the car and disconnect the 2-plug wiring harness from the alternator (one thin white wire and one thicker white wire). the thin wire is for the alternator light. then release the parking brake and turn the key on. the alternator light should stay off, and so should BRAKE, SENSOR, and low coolant and stop/tail (if you have them, my 88 max didn't). then start the engine, they should stay off too. if the alternator light still comes on, that white wire is shorted to ground somewhere, causing all the lights to come on too.

don't drive the car with that wiring harness disconnected, cos the alternator will not charge unless you rev the engine past 3000 RPMs. then it will induce its own field current and the regulator will operate in a "default" mode which can harm the battery.

but like I said, other lights like seat belt, washer fluid, and low fuel operate independently and don't have a bulb check, and the only time they'll come on is when the condition it's monitoring isn't being satisfied. the seat belt light has its own computer module. do you have power seat belts? if that seat belt light stays on, there's a self-diagnosis on the seat belt system that you can do which is highly similar to the ECCS self-diagnosis. I can explain if necessary.

Dan

 

no i dont have power seat belts, but i will try the altenator thing