I know there have been many posts about the very annoying dimly lit SES light on 2002s. Only a few of them have actually posted fixes for the problem. However, I never could find the reasoning behind the fixes.


Here it goes... The dimly lit SES is glowing by a faulty diode in the instrument cluster. Unfortunately, the diode is integrated into the cluster. So, to fix the problem, you will have to get the entire cluster replaced. Your dealer will send your current mileage to engineering so that the new cluster will have the correct mileage.


Cheers!

 

are you speaking from experience? Did you have this done? Did they have to keep your car for a few days? It seems if they have to send mileage to engineering, you can't drive the car during that time or the mileage would be wrong.

please, do tell.

 

The part about the faulty diode and replacment of the entire cluster is correct. The portion about milege and engineering is not. I had this done. Part was ordered and delivered to my Nissan dealer in 2 days. The tech uses his Nissan scan/tech tool to 'load' the milege from the original cluster into the new cluster. Whole replacement process takes less than an hour.

 

The explaination regarding the faulty diode is correct. His expalination about haveing the cluster shipped with the mileage loaded was also correct. Maybe Nick's case was the exception to the rule as my cluster was also "pre-programmed" with my mileage by Nissan when it was shipped.

 

is anyone going to answer the "how long were you without your car?" question?

 

That is interesting as I asked the dealer service manager how they would get the milege correct on the new unit after it arrived and I had it installed. I was told it would be programmed using the actual milege from the old unit they were taking out using the Nissan scan tool. It is also odd that this would, per the previous posts, be done before being shipped from Nissan engineering as the milege would almost certainly be less than actual as it would take several days to a week to get the part from Nissan (this presumes one doesn't have to leave their car at the dealer the whole time). In my instance, I had zero down time. I went in, the service people called the Nissan tech line to get authorization to ship the new unit, it arrived in in 2 days, brought my car back in and the part was installed (with the exact milege as when I brought it in the second time) in less than an hour.

 

Yes, I am speaking from experience. My cluster was replaced yesterday. Once the part was at the dealership, it took about an hour to replaced the units.

It does sound like some dealer use their scan tool to reprogram the new cluster with the current mileage. This may be right too. For me, the dealer gave my current mileage to engineering for programming prior to shipping the cluster.


As far as timing goes, I dropped my car off Wednesday evening. Thursday, the dealer was calling around trying to find a engineer that knew about the "dimly lit SES" problem. Friday afternoon (at about 3pm), he finally talked the right person who immediately said what the problem was. They overnighted the ppre-programmed cluster to the dealer. Monday at 11am the part came in. By 1pm the technican started, and finished by 2:30.


I was told that technically, they have to keep the car once the mileage has been submitted to engineering. However, I was told I do have some mileage allowance of a few 100 miles. It was easier to simply leave my car at the dealer until Monday, so I did.



I hope this helps.

 

I left my car at the dealer on Friday morning and picked it up on Monday in the afternoon for the same problem. They gave me a voucher to rent a car for free. So I rented a 2K1 Ford Taurus. That thing was sweeter and faster than my Max. I think I'll trade in my Max. for one of those.....NOT.

 

you do not want a mileage deviation. it can kill your resale later if buyer/trade-in requires an affidavit from the state on your ODO replacement/deviation. Big hassle. Its worth letting them keep it so it will be exact.

 

True, but I was told (by multiple sources) that if you have to get your ODO replaced, as long as it is within the 0-200/300 miles allowance you do NOT have to report any deviation.

 

Agreed, but how would anyone know there was a deviation? The only way to track mileage would be through maintenance records. If the car wasn't serviced for a few months, there's no way to confirm/deny the difference in mileage. A few hundred miles in the big scheme of things isn't a big deal.

 

Okay guys, i have had this problem since last may 2002, and Canadian dealers are so STUPID...

ANyways, now that we know the problems, what are the long term effects of NOT getting it fixed (i have 7 years/160,000 kms ASP warranty) so i can get it fixed later, but this year i have no time..

What will this do to my car with a faulty diode?

I noticed that it now blinks with my stereo (aftermarket 1000watts of course), kinda neat.. haha

I just don't have the time this year to have down time on mycar..

ED

 

thanks for the info...my appointment is this saturday at 10am

I will post what happens