Tarzan

The odometer in my '93 Maxima has been working fine until a year ago when it began stopping, then after a few months is stopped and could only be started for a short time if I reset the daily mileage. It has been over 6 months that it sropped working completely.
There was a page somewhere on the net, where a guy described how he fixed his in early 90s 300ZX by cleaning and lubricating the electric motor.
I am under impression that the algorithm also applies to the Maximas of the 3d gen. Can someone post that link here or maybe some information on fixing the odometer? I am going to perform the task over Xmas.

Also, I was shopping around for a toolset and realized that I had no clue if I needed SAE or metric heads for Maxima. Sounds silly, but what size do I need?

Thanks All!

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Metric 6 point

harrymay

i know i had a similar problemo with my celica, turns out that the linkage for the speedo was loose and was periodically disconnecting. this might not be the case, but im gonna say check that too, i dont think the maxima has anything like this

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

Maxima is electric not mechanical on speedo

Tarzan

It sounds like I have to dive in without a clue on what I am doing...

Well, here is what happened:
Taking out the cluster fascia, then cluster itself, putting it apart took 20 minutes. Then I am staring at the odometer assembly that looks spotless, like new. Then I am lubricating the motor and all gears and putting everything back togeter.
I drove around the community and it seemed that the odometer moved! Hurray... But only for 200 meters. It stopped again.
I am putting everything apart again, applying electric contact cleaner to the connectors on back of the cluster, lubricating the motor more... Same ****: it moves tha day trip 100-200 meters and stops. That sucks.

Before I do anything further of give up on the odometer altogether, that complications am I facing if I keep driving with dead odometer for a few years? Any ideas? I am not going to sell the car in the near future (ahem, 5 years or so - it's old, but I love it much).

Tarzan

My mechanic swapped the cluster for another very good one - this fixed the problem only for 13 km... I am returning his and putting back mine still puzzled - what is wrong with the odometer in this car? Any ideas?

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

bad wiring going to the cluster?
Just a guess.
As I haven't had to pull my dash yet so I don't know how the back looks

KRMaxima21

There's a wire in your engine bay that runs from a connector to the tranny. It runs right near the oil filter. Check that wire to see if it's burned by the oil filter, improperly connected, or if it's loose either at the connection near the top of the engine or the bottom of the tranny. The wire on mine got fried up by the oil filter and my friends and I can't figure out how to replace the wire. Anybody know how ?

Bill Brasky

iTrader: (2)

that wire would go the the VSS (vehicle speed sensor). Your ECU reads the voltage from that sensor and outputs the speed and odometer readings.

If that wire is burnt, then your speedo doesn't work, correct?

harrymay

replace them with the se gauges, there indiglo so they look so much cooler. just find some at a junk yard, or you can stick witht eh gxe gauges and i would just pick up some more

ghostmax

iTrader: (4)

does your speedometer work? if not, it's your vehicle speed sensor as mentioned above. i have the same problem. the part costs ~$145 w/o shipping from Courtesy Nissan. I'm hesitant to buy that until I actually check the voltage with a multimeter, but I'm almost sure that's the problem.

Tarzan

The speedometer works fine, it is the odometer that is dead. I am still driving around with the replacement cluster and today in the middle of the trip it started working again and did another 21km then stopped.
I have a lot of measuring equipment and can diagnose all electric problems if I have the wiring diagrams, which is not the case unfortunatelly.

Dave S

Here's a link to the instructions for a 300ZX. I was having the exact same problem as you (speedo worked fine). After I cleaned it up, it ran perfect for about 5,000 miles, but then I sold the Max. The workings in mine (93SE) were pretty much the same as described in the 300ZX writeup. Good luck!

http://www.angelfire.com/geek/vg30de...ix_Cluster.htm

Maxpwer

iTrader: (7)

Sadly, the odometers in the third gen maximas were poorly designed. I bought my 89 new in late 88 and by 20K miles, my odometer was dead. It was under warranty, and replaced. 200K miles later I havent had a problem with it stopping, so perhaps Nissan can help you. Sorry to say this is one of the few things on my car I didnt repair so I cant offer you much help.

Tarzan

That is the one I was looking for. What was different for me, mine looked absolutely clean and no signs of any grit in the motor, although I rotated it and spayed silicone. The endless screw was shifted out, but shifting it back onto the shaft towards the motor did not fix anything.
Guess, I will have to take a diagram of what is electric input from the computer and see if this is mechanical or electrical problem.

amaxima

same issue here... I'm considering purchasing an automated pump that automatically resets the odometer ever 5 seconds... jk