Hi all, long time scroller first time poster. First off, thanks for taking the time to read my post. I’ve owned my 2000.5 Maxima VQ30DE w/ 5 speed for about a month now. Previously, it sat for about 6 years. I bought it from the owner whose brother owned it, passed away and knew nothing about it.

For as long as I’ve owned it, the following problems have existed:
-Speedometer does not work when driving, stays at 0 mph
-Odometer does not track mileage, says at 178,133
- ABS light is on

The car has no other problems. The CEL is not on, and runs/drives great. Naturally, I have downloaded the FSM for the car and have been following the appropriate procedures for diagnosing the ABS light and the problems I’ve been having. So far, when attempting to find the flash codes for the ABS light by jumping pin 9 to pin 5 (ground), I repeatedly get a “12” flash code. The manual specifies that if this is the case, there are no codes. Interesting.

When diagnosing the speedometer issue, the manual points me to a faulty vehicle speed sensor. I have checked the gauge cluster in diagnostics mode and confirmed that the gauges do work by manual procedure.

This is great and all, but where the VSS should be on the transmission, there seems to be a block-off plate. There is also no apparent sign of a connector or wire in that area either. I’ve looked at the FSM’s transmission assembly and where the sensor should be, but my transmission does not have one. Additionally, I can’t seem to find a VSS replacement online for this model of Maxima.

Do you all have any ideas, help, or past experience with this? I can post pictures of the “block-off” plate, or whatever else is needed for help.

Thanks in advance.

Tanner

 

I'm not 100% sure on the 2000 and 2001 but on my 02 6 speed the speedometer works off the ABS wheel sensors. if your transmission has a cap on the rear portion like the one pictured below than your speedo runs off the ABS wheel speed sensor.

 

thanks man. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Do you happen to know which wheel sensor the vehicle speed is measured from?

 

I'm guessing it mainly goes off the front ones. the system has been pretty reliable to me so I don't have much experience with repairing it. my first guess would be to check the sensors for broken wires, clean the wheel speed sensors, and check if the CV axles have the ABS ring like the one pictured below. sometimes the really cheap aftermarket CV axles won't come with the ABS rings and people put them in not knowing any better.

 

Ok, I'm Tanner's dad, and we just monitored all 4 wheel speed sensors' output on a snap on Versus scanner. We took the car for a drive and all 4 wheel sensors are giving reasonable readings through the scanner, ie were reading 30mph when we seemed to be going 30 mph...

We are also getting an ABS light when both the scanner and the ground pin 9 method tell us no ABS codes. Kinda starting to sound like a control module problem to me. I did just remember both battery terminals are kinda crappy. I think I'm going to put some new ones on and check grounding really good before going any further. Ideas???

Thanks. Kevin

 

I'm wondering if maybe the speedometer itself has an issue

 

We ran a test mode (not sure of exact name) on the gauge cluster and the speedo needle moved. I guess that only proves that the speedo needle itself moves and not that the underlying electronics works.

It would be nice if I knew exactly how the speedo got its signal. I'm guessing that the wheel speed sensor pulses go to the abs module and are then converted to a mph signal which gets broadcast on the CAN network, where the speedo then pulls the MPH signal off of the CAN network.

I'm going to try to find a wiring diagram of the wheel sensors. That might tell me a little bit...

 

wiring diagram says theres a VSS on the trans for speedo operation in 00/01 cars. ill check mine when i get home.

edit: apparently vehicles without TCS get the signal from the abs ecu. with TCS have an actual VSS. abs ecm failure is not unheard of.

1. Drive the vehicle and watch the wheel speed sensors in the ABS system to verify they show correct vehicle speed.

2. Scope the Red wire at terminal 19 of the ABS actuator and electric control unit while driving - check the signal pattern and the frequency and see if the pattern looks good and if the frequency increases with vehicle speed even when the speedometer is not increasing. Possible unified meter control unit in the combination meter.

 

Factory service manual
https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals

 

Awesome, thanks for the detailed diagnostic procedure! I will slap a scope on it when I get home this evening.

As a side note, where did you get the wiring diagram? I have downloaded the service manual, but haven't found it in there yet.
Edit, I found it in the manual...

Sorry for the newb ?, but what is TCS? Edit. Duh, Traction control system... This is a manual trans car that does not have a VSS. There's a boss for it on the tranny, but it was never machined.

I'm assuming that the pulse output, red wire pin 19 on abs actuator is the VSS output that the abs module creates for cars w/o a VSS?

Thanks!

Kevin

 

mitchell1. also checked the OEM manual and it also shows a VSS on the trans. clearly this is incorrect as my 00 5 speed also does not have the sensor.

 

OK, confusion... I went looking for the ABS control module last night to probe the output wiring for the speedo and took off the LH kick panel, where the manual said it was supposed to be, but it wasn't there. I only found 2 relays. There's no other wiring that would look like the ECU was disconnected or anything. Everything looks as it left the Nissan factory that way... Any ideas?

Here's where the EL section of the 200.5 Maxima FSM shows the ABS control unit..

 

I would still pull all the wheel speed sensors and clean and inspect them manually. Pull you Instrument cluster and inspect your connectors for corrosion or damage.

 

Yeah, I think I will do that. The wheel sensors are obvious, and are 99% of the time the issue. Thanks for the idea. The dash cluster has been out before, evidenced by loose trim, missing screws, etc.

The documentation issues with the FSM is interesting. I normally work on Volkswagens and generally, the documentation is right on the money. The vw wiring diagrams are hard to read, but if you can decipher them, they are correct. There are 100+ pages of the VW FSM that are just wiring diagrams.

I worked as a production engineer in a Japanese manufacturing plant for a while and the lack of correct documentation is very similar. It must be a Japanese cultural thing and the fact that the documentation process is not a selling point and doesn't add recognized value to the common consumer... 🤔🤔. It's not a cupholder...😄

 

verify the cluster that is in there since its been out. the TCS cluster apparently wont work in non-TCS cars.

 

Looks like the cluster has been replaced, from the junkyard scrawl.. how do I confirm the correct part? Does Nissan offer an online parts manual?

TIA, Kevin

Part number sticker?

Rear, obviously
[img alt="Junkyard scrawl
"]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/maxima.org-vbulletin/2000x901/img_20250813_150147648_986023ec1ab2506096b9a6e52c0 4a05098050550.jpg[/img]
Junkyard scrawl

 

Any way to confirm part number / application? Thanks, Kevin

 

well considering you have a manual...that is most definitely not the right cluster as its for an auto. you would have to disassemble it and see if theres a PN on the speedo head.

manual PN 248204Y922
auto w/TCS 248204Y920

 

Wow, thank you! I took the pics and had my hands all over it, yet didn't see the obvious PRNDL. Doh! 👨‍🦯🦮🧑‍🦯. To my defense, I'm at home recovering from a cornea transplant surgery that I had Monday, so one eyeball is currently off duty. Thanks again. I will see if I can find a manual cluster.. Kevin

 

Welcome to the forums and speedy recovery! Cornea transplant is a significant surgery!

 

Thanks for the welcome and good wishes! What I had was called DMEK, where they only replace a thin layer of cells on the back of the cornea that pump fluid out of the cornea. Very little recovery time compared to a full replacement. Here it is a week and a couple of days after surgery and my vision is already at 20/40 an improving. Very impressive what the docs can do now. My right eye was done back in Jan, started at 20/80 and today was 20/15. It's never been that good.

Regarding the maxima, I found a manual cluster and installed it this evening and Great success! Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

Nice find, looks great. I wonder if that one has better illumination than the silver 02-03 SE gauges.

 

One final question on this topic... The new cluster shows 199k miles in the photo above. Is the mileage data for the car only stored in the cluster?

On VW's, which I'm more familiar with, the mileage is also stored in the ECU. I'm wondering if there's something similar in the Nissan? It would be nice to actually know how many miles are on the car, as the cluster had been replaced before I got the car..

Thanks, Kevin

 

what was the mileage on the old one?

 

Happy that you got it figured out! Finding a manual cluster for a 2000 Maxima isn't that easy (at least when i was looking for one) Here's a thread talking about mileage being stored in the chip inside the cluster..

https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...t-mileage.html

Another option is to purchase a Carfax report to see the last smog/safety inspection mileage if you state conducts them.

I'll look into the DMEK procedure and I'll talk with my eye doctor about it. Thanks for the info

 

I didn't have too much trouble finding the cluster. I ended up looking on car-part.com and they didn't show one for a manual, but I ended up calling a guy in NH who didn't have it, but he looked it up on car-part and found the listing for the one I purchased from a yard in PA. He gave me their phone number and a couple of calls and an email or two later, it was on the way. I've found that it's a LOT quicker/easier to just call the folks listed on car part than send emails back and forth.

Anyhow, the previous cluster showed 178k, while the new one shows 199k, but since the previous cluster was for an automatic in a manual car, I have really no idea how many miles the car actually has. It runs great and my son was given the car by a friend, so I guess, who cares? 😜