Greta333 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Had an ongoing thing where the gear shift doest happen. After jiggling a few wires to see ifitwas a bad connection i now haveonly 1st gear.I checked the wires around the gear lever inside the cab then checked wires to the gearbox/transfer case - one wire to a switch in transfer case was broken. I removed the switch and reconnected the wire, but problem stillexists. Wondering if i shoudnt hqve soldered it or if heat from the soldering iron may affect the switch. Switch looks like this https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkwa9jg9wJzhPvgXqee9odAEh_z-uM695hlUUopzHgh5nzpNKfjdO0SgjCbut I'm not sure if it's the neutral switch or the other switch. Looking side on the transfer case, there are two switches, the broken one is the switch higher up, nearest the top of the transfer case. I have a few questions, what is the name of this switch, how to test the switch? On the contact points it looked like it was attached with some kind of brass solder, would normal solder affect it? Once contact with this is broken do I need to reset the TCM? any ideas on how to resolve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Check your fuses I'm certain something might be blown there. Look to the bottom right of your drivers seat and check the fuse panel - bottom row, 2nd fuse from the right side. It should be a 10A fuse for 'Shift Lock'. I remember when I lost reverse and it was this fuse that had blown. As for the electrical connector next to the trans I wouldn't solder it just yet. You might be able to connect up some brand new heavy gauge wires. Crimp and put shrink tube over the top. I wouldn't go trying to solder old wiring together. Cut out the old wires and put brand new ones into the connector if it's possible to get them out of the plastic coupling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta333 Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Thanks for the suggestion, I've checked the fuses, all intact. I'm trying taking off the battery for a bit to reset the TCM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I'm not familiar with that particular switch, but it does seem plausible that, if it's the neutral position switch (as opposed to the one for the 4x4 light on the dash), it might be blocking the trans computer from shifting. It's not difficult to miss low range and accidentally stay in neutral, and with the trans in drive, I imagine it could otherwise work its way through a couple of gears before you figured out why the truck didn't move. If you then attempted to stuff the transfer into gear (without putting the transmission back in neutral and giving it a minute to spool down), I imagine you'd get a hell of a noise and possible damage to the engagement bits in the transfer case from having one side spinning like crazy and the other not at all. You can make it grind by doing that in first, but probably not as bad as it would in second or third. This is of course pure speculation; I haven't had occasion to screw around with the trans controls on mine and I haven't done much research into them either. To test the switch, hook a multimeter set on ohms to the two switch leads and see if you get continuity. Then press the button and see if you get continuity then. Some switches are normally open (circuit completes when pushed) and some are normally closed (circuit is broken when pressed) and I'm not sure which that one is--should be a clear difference on the meter though. You could also use a battery and a test light for this. Soldering should be fine generally, but I have melted plastic bits and knackered components by putting too much heat into a small lead, especially when fighting to make solder stick to a lead that doesn't want to tin properly. I can't imagine the TCM needing a reset besides turning the truck on/off, but if checking the switch doesn't show a fault, you might try unhooking the battery and then plugging it back in to see if that does anything. If you want to trace wires and look for diagnostic procedures, the AT and TF sections of the service manual are a good place to start. If you run out of ideas, you might go back to the harness you shook and look for loose connections there. Might've been the one at the switch letting go, might be other wires/connections in that harness have issues. I think you're on the right track wanting to test the switch, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta333 Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 I agree, it's hunting down the electrical connection. If I put it in 2 it goes fine, only in 2 though, 1 is good but D just does 1st gear. I'm having trouble finding a workshop version of the manual, I can only find the manual that has the cute pictures and procedure for fault finding, but doesn't seem to have the actual wiring diagrams, unless I'm mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialWarr Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Those are most likely in the Wiring Diagrams appendix. It came as a separate manual. There are a few things listed in regular manual but none of the schematics. I have one but there is no way for me to scan it or take anything less than 4-5 pictures of one single page..( for clarity ). But I can lay it out on the floor at home tonight and post pictures.... lots and lots of pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 The EL section has most of the wiring IIRC, with the rest covered by the Foldout file. Those are in the '95 folder, I think '94 is the same, not sure why but the older years seem to be full of TSBs and dealer training manuals and other odd stuff. Any luck trying the switch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta333 Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks for the links to wiring diagrams, I don't know if the 1991 wd21 has the same wiring as 1994, can anyone confirm? I've tried the switch, I get continuity when pressing get the switch. Wondering if it may be electrical connection to the shift solenoid. Thanks for all the help everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Alright, sounds like the switch is working. No idea if Nissan changed the trans wiring, I don't know why they would've, but then they did change some other stuff they didn't need to over the years.There's a bit in the AT section where you can read transmission computer faults through the light on the power mode switch (I'm assuming yours is set up with this). Basically it flashes some Morse Code looking sequence that decodes to whatever the computer's unhappy about. It can only tell you so much of course but it should be able to tell if a solenoid is disconnected or shorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terranovation Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I'm assuming he has a jap import, same as what was imported to Australia. I believe the wiring for the trans might be slightly varied in comparison to Pathfinders because Japanese imports had sone nice luxury pieces included. Whether it's related to the trans I don't know. I know I have the exact same plug in switch next to my trans underneath that plugs into the side but mine is working fine. I cleaned it up since I was cleaning under there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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