... and I've screwed up my ECU. I tried wiring an iPod into the wiring harness going into the back of the Bose HU and long story short, I've lost illumination on the dashboard (speedo, etc), illumination on the heat/AC, and I've set off at least 3 ECU codes. I've checked the fuses and replaced a few that did blow. All fuses are good, but I have no idea what to do next. Any ideas/suggestions would be very appreciated. TIA.

Maury

PS- oh yeah I'm pretty sure my Bose HU is fried too.

 

Did you happen to check the dimmer switch?

How did you check the fuses? Just looking at them?

Did you only check the fuses that seemed relevant to you, or did you check them all?

 

How exactly were you wiring it? Which wires did you cut into?

 

I looked at every fuse not just the relevant ones. I tried the dimmer switch but I don't know how to test it for failure. I didn't cut into any radio harness wires but I did accidentally allow some to touch each other. Update: my radio does work but the lights on the radio display ( cd track # etc ) go off when my headlights are on. Weird.

 

Not for failure, I mean check to make sure you didn't turn the dimmer switch all the way down.

 

I wish.

 

do you know with wires you let touch? if you know that maybe you could trace it back to the problem

 

I have the FSM, if you can tell me the codes I can look them up for j00

 

Sorry no - they all basically touched - I had the 10-pin harness apart (accidentally) and I have no clue but I was not careful.

Thanks for offering - I have the Haynes manual but I must be reading the codes wrong . misunderstanding the check engine flash sequence. I see:

1 slow, 2 fast, 1 fast, 2 fast. 1 slow, 10 fast, 2 slow, 10 fast, 10 fast, 10 fast.

I feel retarded but I'm sure that's not a code in my book.

 

There's a wire (on each module) that is responsible for dimming the lights when headlights are turned on, so **** doesnt get too bright at night time. Look in your FSM under wiring diagrams for which wires they are, they should all lead back to your dimmer switch near your steering collumn. If something isnt grounding, or you have a forgotten live 12v wire hitting the metal frame everything mounts to, the whole thing will play up.

Does the BOSE head-unit have an onboard fuse in the back of itself?
I've never had a BOSE system, so I wouldnt know, but alot of head-units have their own fuse....and alot of people occasionally forget to check that one.

 

Well the Bose is working now so it's not a Bose fuse. I have the haynes manual but not the FSM. I'll check that, obviously.

 

I'm at autozone and they found 3 codes.. All ABS related. U1000. P1212. U1001. I'll check the manual too.

 

seems like something is unpluged or burned. How did you mess with ABS but working with the HU harness?

Lesson here, always unhook the battery when working with electronics...

Did you check the fuses under the hood? Try replacing them with each other if all of them seem fine at first glance or get a tester and test ALL of them.

 

I don't have a way to test the fuses . Update: I have no power to the moonroof, no dash lights and when turning headlights on the radio and ac/heat lights go out. I drove over some ice in a parking lot and my abs works fine.

I'll try and see my local mechanic tomorrow ( he's not a nissan dealer ).

 

What do you mean? as in when you turn, the lights on the radio and A/C go out? Not enough power to run the A/C, radio and turn signals at the same time?
Your hazard light switch on your dash acts as a master for both your indicators, and subsequently, your cornering lights. Check the wiring for that and the fuse. My bet is still, that you have a live 12v wire on the metal frame, or false grounding somewhere.

Good luck.

 

LOL took the words right out my mouth...i too when installing a radio in my max...i blew a fuse and my lights, blinkers and hazards were all messed up...and all that coulda been avoided but my cool *** was in such a rush cuz i wanted to show off my stereo HAHA

 

I'm so confused - how can I have a 12volt line touching the metal frame, or a false-ground somewhere? I put the 10-pin wiring harness back together per Crutchfield's instructions. At worst, when they're connected to the radio the radio works. At best, when the radio is not plugged in, these 10 wires are certainly not touching each other or anything else except the while plastic shell of its own harness. I'm not trying to be sarcastic - its just you guys have me wondering if I have a loose wire touching something and I can't see how I could. If I ever poke around inside this car again - anywhere besides filling it with gas - someone please punch me in the face!

 

Theres alot of wires behind your dash, and really without taking your dash off and checking each harness and wire, you can only take a stab in the dark. Maybe some previous electrical work (any previous owners?) has some old wires back there just taped closed (even Pro's take shortcuts like that sometimes). Maybe you yanked something a little hard - checlk the wires the fuse box. ?

 

After reading all of this I would have to agree wirh PMOHR and say check your dimmer switch. Use a digital multimeter and check ohms, with it diconnect from power.
It could also be a "pulled wire", if you have an aftermarket alarm or remote starter, check carefully behind the driver's kneepad for loose or connections or splices that are taped together.
Your ecm codes may have nothing to do with this problem, codes are sometimes stored but don't engage the SRS light.

BE SURE TO DISCONNECT BATTERY EXERY TIME YOU WORK ON ELECTRICAL. Sorry for the caps, but I see so many auto electrical issues because people skip this step.

 

Thanks. Yeah I can surely see the possibility of my causing a loose wire. I'll check it out. My car is at the shop today for a compustar remote starter install. Those techs offered to check it out too, while they're already poking around. My local mechanic pulled out the dimmer switch and thinks it might be that but wasn't sure. He had a multimeter in his hands but I didn't ask him to explain exactly what he saw.

 

I have kind of the same problem. A thief stole my stereo and now my dashboard lights do not work. The clock did not work as well... i think that it is the same fuse as the radio. That was fixed bit the dashboard lights still don't work. Does anyone know if I need a new bulb or is there a fuse that needs to be replaced?

 

UPDATE:I took the factory Bose radio out of my 2002 Nissan Maxima last week. While the car wiring harnesses were in plain view, I disconnected one (in a horribly weak attempt at adding an iPod- don't ask) and the 10 colored wires touched each other while the battery was still connected. Yes I am that dumb. It blew 2 fuses, and I replaced them.

Looked around the web for the correct pinout of the wiring harness and after finding 4 incorrect pictures and 3 incorrect faxes from friendly Nissan dealers, Crutchfield offered to help. I purchased a Kenwood in-dash CD player from them and they gave me the correct pinout. I reassembled the wiring harness and I can now get the factory radio AND the kenwood to work. The Kenwood is in-dash at the moment but I can put the old one back in if needed. Here's the thing... my car now has the following symptoms:

1- dashboard has no illumination. Speedo and tach work, gas & temp gauges work - but none light up.
2- On the Bose CD player and the heat/AC unit, the illumination goes away when the headlights are on. This does not happen with the Kenwood.

I can't find fuseable links to check them but I checked all fuses and local garages tested all fuses ... its not fuses. My garage tested the illumination switch on the dash - its not that. What can it be?

I told a Nissan dealer all this info and they said they'd help. I drove an hour to get there on Thursday, and after 30 minutes they told me (get this) "we checked the obvious - the fuses and the dimmer switch - its not them"!!! "This job is too big for us to tackle today, can you make another appointment?"

Anyway, I had a new appointment at a local Ford dealer today, but they could not find the problem. They think it could be a computer or controller of some kind.

Any ideas? TIA

Maury

 

Thank you all SO much for your help and patience. www.justanswer.com expert "Nissan tech" helped me diagnose this and in the end it was the dimmer switch after all. Ken Pollack Nissan in Wilkes-Barre, PA charged me $30 for 1/2 labor time last week to tell me it was NOT the dimmer. $30 was hardly a big deal, but their misinformation kept so many people from truly helping me resolve this. The tech at JustAnswer.com suggested I test for power coming out of the instrument cluster. It was easier for me to buy a junkyard cluster and try that, but after that didn't work, NissanTech guided me through a multimeter test and now we're all done. WooooHooooooo!!!!

 

part of my dashboard illumination cut out after i got my headunit put in, I literally just hit the side of the console and it came back on....however the other half is still off....gotta get on fixing that

 

What was the problem with the dimmer switch? Are you referring to the switch on the left side of the column that also functions for turn signals?

I remember in another forum about some type of connection within the shroud get loose with years of service?

Does anyone know what color the wires are for the tail light circuit?

Thanks

 

I doubt that you will get an answer from Maury. His post is almost 8 years old.

The wire color for the power to the dimmer switch is red with a white stripe.

The wire color for the tail lights and the rear side markers is red with a blue stripe.

The wire color for the front parking lights and the side markers is red with a yellow stripe.

 

THIS IS EXACTLY MY PROBLEM. Radio/Temp works but no backlight when headlights on. Did you figure it out???