ineedamaxima

Hey Guys,

As I was trying to reset the CEL (It's emissions time) I somehow triggered the NATS on my SE-L.

Called AAA and the locksmith showed up only to tell me that the 1999's require a special adaptor to re-flash the Immobilizer which naturally he didn't possess. Now AAA are trying to find a 'smith that MIGHT have one, failing that I'm looking at a tow to the dealer which I want to avoid at all costs...

Anyone else had this issue? Any workarounds?

Thanks!

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

There must be mobile locksmiths in your area that can do this. Start calling. If they can make a key for your car and program it, then the only question is - will they come to your house?

Be prepared. Make sure you have all the keys available for them to program in, as the process starts by erasing all the existing keys from the NATS memory. If you don't have a spare key, this would be an excellent time to get one.

Once the car has been immobilized, there is no easy way around it. It will cost you more money to get around it than what the locksmith will charge.

asand1

iTrader: (1)

Swap in an earlier ecu.

ineedamaxima

I have four spare keys already, so that is not an issue. Replacing the ECU with an earlier year will help me in the future as I wouldn't have to deal with this ever again; however that doesn't make my immediate problem any easier.

So basically it looks like I have two options: tomorrow morning I will call the dealership and see if they can reset it without having to reprogram all the keys.

Failing that, it looks like a locksmith that has a correct connector will have to start from scratch and reprogram everything including new keys.

The connector thing has kind of thrown me for a loop, As I have never heard of anyone having any issues with getting their ECU/immobilizer reflashed on the '99s. Has anyone ever heard of this or experienced this before? I'm just trying figure out if the locksmith actually knew what he was talking about or not

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

special adapter for what? hmmm.... never heard of that.

So none of your 4 keys work?

ineedamaxima

Correct, non of the keys work.

The locksmith that came to reset the immobilizer claimed that the 1999s used a different connector versus the 2000 on and that it was used by Nissan for that model year only. If that's the case and it could be challenging finding a locksmith that has the correct connector. But if he's an idiot and doesn't know what he's talking about that will be good to know before tomorrow!

Wizard thanks for posting a working link to the FSMs. Looking through that, I was able to determine that the locksmith is talking about the data link connector for Nissan CONSULT (EL-298) and the connector for the 2000 and up is the CONSULT II... Seems he was right. YAY!

99maxwell

iTrader: (1)

hate to be the first one to say it, but you may be looking at a tow back to the dealer..

ineedamaxima

Yeah, I'll be calling them as soon as they open tomorrow.

Thanks for all the feedback guys and I'll keep updating as I know more.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I missed this little tidbit. There is no 'special' adapter. They use the OBD port. IIRC, the connector is positioned 90 degrees different between the 4th and 5th gens, but that's it. Unless the software for the laptop is different. That I don't know about.

ineedamaxima

Hmmmm well when the locksmith hooked up to the ODB port he kept getting a failure to connect error. Now I'm wondering if I could have damaged thd ECU somehow when I was trying to clear the CEL. Anyone know whether that would trigger the NATS?

Amerikaner83

iTrader: (17)

how did you try to clear the CEL? What procedure did you do?

ineedamaxima

Well I ASSumed it was no different from the '97 I had prior to this one. So I grabbed a flat head screwdriver and went to the ECU to turn the idle adjustment.

Given the tight spacing, there was no way I could see inside the hole (Accessing it by removing the sticker completely) and I thought that I was able to turn the screw all the way to the right and then set it back but when I tried the CEL was still there. Apparently the 99s use a hex screw? On the second attempt I couldn't find the screw and the car would not start so then I tried to clear it by disconnecting the positive on the battery and it was sometime after that when I realized that the immobilizer was tripped.

aackshun

iTrader: (3)

Hrmm AAA saved my *** here....

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...mobilized.html

Fauken

iTrader: (6)

I wonder when you tried to do the cel flash code if you just left it in diagnostic mode. Car won't start if its still on diagnostic mode

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

I was gonna post the same thing

ineedamaxima

Hey aackshun,

I think that yours was the first thread I looked at!

Were you actually with the locksmith from AAA when he was reprogramming it for you? If so, do you recall if he just used the ODB port or if they did actually use the consult port?

Thanks!

ineedamaxima

I couldn't seem to locate any screw inside the ECU after the second attempt but I'll take another look.

ABIGBRAIN

iTrader: (1)

Very small phillips head... Pull the seat as far rearward as it will go, grab a flashlight and stick your face right in there almost to the point where your left ear is touching the brake pedal. You should see it tucked in there a bit. It doesnt sit nearly flush as the pre 99's regular headed screws. If by chance you bent or broke the screw the first time by blindly feeling for it you may be SOL.

Andy

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

In the 4th gen, they have to use the Consult port. I screwed up and forgot the Consult port was still there. The 5th gen doesn't have a seperate Consult port, it was merged into the OBD port.

ineedamaxima

Nope, I can't see it.

I called for a tow truck and off to the stealership we go!

This couldn't have happened at a worse time financially, as my clutch went out two weeks ago which already wiped me out then and now this...

Thanks to all for your help, it's much appreciated! :-)

Igor911

iTrader: (10)

You're not supposed to use the OBD II port for NATs programming on a Nissan. He needs to use the smaller port inside the fuse box under the dash...

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

It's been 4 days...what was the final outcome?

ineedamaxima

Sorry guys, I got the car back from the dealer the next day. All the dealer could come up with was that one of the connectors going to the ECU had become dislodged.

So I think that was something I did after when I was trying to remove it before I decided to go to the dealer. But as for what was the original problem? I really have no idea.

Thanks again for everyone's input!