KevinKernaghan

Well, if you're driving a 90-95, Nissan implemented the GREATEST FEATURE EVER to stop you from wasting money on scan tools and mechanics with the exact same scan tools: Diagnostics are under the passenger seat! Woohoo! http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...&hl=diagnostics Unless, that is, you were looking for performance-related diagnostics, in which case, I have no idea what to tell you, there may be no way to hook up a reader.

Is this the ground? Because if so, well, there's some kind of problem... And if it isn't, well, I bet it was still important... If not, let me know where that ground is, since I've now messed with all the door/hood/hatch switches and everything seems to be working fine...

This post has been dead for a while so I know it may take some time to get questions answered, but... My alarm is finally going crazy! I've been trying to find symptoms like it on here, but no luck. I have no keyfob and have just been passive-arming for the last year or so. Finally today, after a long road trip, I get home and my car alarm starts going off 3 to 10 minutes AFTER it is fully locked and beeps "armed" 30 seconds later. What could be causing it to have such a delayed reaction? It's not even in "contact" mode, the switch is in the middle position. I checked all the doors with the dome light and they're all closing with no flickering, and I raised the hood switch up, but it still went off after 10 minutes or so. What's the best way to test and make sure the hood switch is functioning properly? Can I bypass the hood switch so that the alarm system thinks the hood is always closed? Kevin

Actually, it's just about the newest WD21 you could get your hands on, a 1995. I blame it on rapid temperature changes, a dry climate, and dust particles infiltrating every nook and cranny of my car (I do take care of my baby, it's just that Lubbock really, really blows) Anyway, it's a nice long crack running longitudinally almost perfectly above the steering wheel. I was wondering if this had happened to any of you, and if you had any interesting fixes or solutions. I probably don't sound like I treat my car very well, but I like to think of myself as a real perfectionist about the quality of the interior, which I have found so far on my Pathy to be extremely well-assembled. Thanks, Kevin

I've got it, for now, running off of an add-a-fuse going into my dome light section in the fuse panel. It takes really minimal power to keep the memory active, so I don't think I should run into much trouble, but it does bug me that I had to go to this much trouble already. Oh well...it works!

I need to find a constant 12V power supply under the center of the dash behind the radio somewhere, to splice in some units for satellite radio. The cigarette lighter, apparently, isn't of this type. Anyone have any ideas? I guess if nothing else, I can do an add-a-fuse on the fuse panel...let me know if you have any suggestions! Kevin

Oh, this poor Pathfinder... On the other hand, at least, because it IS a Pathfinder, it's life is surely not over as though it were any other car, however, leaving it in the hands of these guys is probably not such a swell idea. Jumping Nissan Video sigh...too many video cameras in the hands of too many people...

Yes! That is one of my favorite features of the WD21 Pathfinder: onboard diagnostics. No more paying some guy to hook up a circuit to your car to tell you what your problems are without actually fixing anything! Somewhere on this forum is a "pinned" list of the procedures regarding those blinking LEDS and the trouble codes you can read from them if anything is wrong. Otherwise, if you think you put the idle speed back close to where it was when you began, then everything should be alright. Keep playing with it to get the idle speed into a smooth range, I believe mine indicates on the tachometer at around 800 or 900 RPM when the engine is fully warmed up. Sorry the searching didn't work, the only thing I would suggest for answers is to search "ECU" or "ECU codes" for more information. Enjoy!

I think 88Path is right, it may just be bad gas...I'll wait a one or two months and see what happens on the next tankfuls...hopefully some major improvement

Well, a couple of times my battery connections have crapped out and I found that if I just took the connectors off and scraped away at the terminals with a wire brush, things would work again. One of these days I really need to go for an Optima battery and just be done with the whole mess entirely...

Let's see, my Pathy is not configured for off-roading as much as the rest of yours, and I also don't live in such a cold climate to need all the snow stuff, but I try to keep it self-sustainable in the event of a mechanical problem: - Chilton's guide (don't leave home without it!) - Mini-Maglite - Giant Maglite (with dead batteries, really more appropriate as a hammer/weapon) - Multitool - $7 Wal-Mart basic socket set (the driver probably isn't well-built enough to survive more than one emergency) - Bungee cords - Jumper cables - Wire brush - 4-way tire iron (locks up nicely to the spare tire carrier) - Extra belts leftover from when I replaced all three at once (I know two of them are only an inch different in length and are probably interchangeable, but I forget which two...but I suppose if you were in a REAL tight jam you might just have to sacrifice power steering for an alternator...) - Assorted fuses and junk (though Nissan, in their occasionally extremely awesome forward-thinking, provided us with a few fuses inside the fuse panel door) -A bunch of old blankets and sheets, to protect the cargo floor and protect me in the event that I have to get under it in an awkward place. Almost all of this stuff fits in the commodious pre-airbag-era glovebox, and in the amplifier access panels in the back (which is probably stupid, I'm concerned I might accidentally pull too hard on the jumper cables and rip out my taillight wires so I just be careful). I still need to get a portable air compressor, because those are just handy. They make a few that take forever to use, but are at least small enough to squirrel away under the drivers' seat... OH and a golf club under the rear seats. I actually have no idea what that's for, but hey, who really knows what anything is for on these newfangled automobiles?

I recently replaced vacuum tubes leading in and out of the carbon canister and vacuum tubes attached to the brass circular sponge-sandwich object near the throttle (I have absolutely no idea what that thing is, but there was a broken vacuum tube on it), and my highway mileage, once set at about 300-320 miles per tank, jumped up to 400 - 420 miles per tank. Now, however, my city mileage, which was once 260-280 mpt, has dropped down to maybe 200-240 mpt! What's the deal? Has anybody else experienced anything like thks before? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very satisfied with the increases in highway mileage, only I simply use my Pathy in highway driving much less than I do in stop-and-go traffic. Let me know if you have any suggestions! It's a 2WD (blasphemy!) without a roof rack or running boards, but with a spare tire carrier.

Well, I tested it cold and it spun pretty freely...so I suppose I should look elsewhere. My "coolant temperature gauge" (if you can call it that) only pegs after hours of driving at about a quarter of the scale...this is why I wish car companies would give us actual temperature readings instead of dummy gauges(though now I think most cars have digital displays that can tell this information). So I suppose it's probably most likely a thermostat issue; either that or maybe Pathys just have a really competent cooling system? How long do yours take to warm up (measured to where the heater starts to blow warm air after a cold overnight rest), and where on the "gauge" do they finally land?

Interestingly enough, I HAVE occasionally noticed a loud school-bus-like whooshing sound at low speeds and high revs...I guess I may have just answered my own question... Are they rebuildable or should I find a new one?

My '95 has been very slow to warm up lately. How do I test if the cooling fan clutch is working properly? I figure this is the first step I should take before I dig through the entire engine to get to the thermostat... I searched but couldn't find anything about the stock cooling fan...

where is this air idle bypass?

I know, but with me 300 miles away, I'll just have to walk her through it on the phone. She's got a boyfriend too, but I don't know what he's worth (too soon to tell)

My sister got her first car recently, a Ford Escort Coupe, and for her gift this Christmas I was hoping I could cobble together for her some kind of halfway decent roadside emergency kit. Now, of course, there are the ones you can buy at Target for 20 dollars. However, I distinctly recall that I broke a lot of those components on their first use, and I eventually got my Pathfinder to a high level of emergency equippage (lots of stuff squirreled away in the rear amplifier access panel). Of course, my baby sister doesn't have a high degree of mechanical savvy, but I think she, as a girl, should be able to get stuff done quickly and easily without having to flag strangers over for help. So I think I'm going to get her a kit with quality tools and materials that I wish I had had when I ran into trouble: Here's what I've got so far: 1. 24-pc. (or so) metric and english socket set (I assume the Escort is probably some bizarre combination of both) 2. Big bag of additional fuses 3. Various sizes of zip ties 4. 2 Bungee cords 5. Pliers/knives multi-tool 6. Duct tape, electrical tape, taillight tape 7. Stiff wire brush 8. The venerable 4-sided tire iron 9. Mini Maglite (or something equally sturdy but with LEDs) 10. Tire PSI gauge 11. 12V Air compressor (though it will have to be quite small) 12. Rags 13. Jumper Cables (better than the ones that come in $20 kits) Let me know what additions you can suggest, based on any strandings you might have had in your life...I know I'm leaving out plenty of stuff but this kit is gaining size very rapidly and it will probably have to be small and flat enough to occupy the under-trunk-floor area alongside her spare tire (except for the air compressor) so I was thinking I would put it in some kind of heavy canvas zip bag...a very romantic Christmas present, I know, but hey, what are big brothers for?

ha ha I KNEW the 4x4 DeLorean would be in that list...what a tragedy...sort of. One of my favorite things about WD21 Pathys is that I've never seen one that looks like that Jeep posted above. I know they're out there somewhere, but I've still never seen one. Makes me happy. EDIT ...still searching NOOOO I spoke too soon. Dang.

IMHO Pathfinders look better with the carrier, the back of the car (stock) is completely flat and doesn't have much character without it. I do agree about some of the hassles, though...I guess it's to each his own. At least it opens in the right direction, unlike the Isuzu Rodeo carrier. Maybe if the rear got a custom bumper, and the tire went up on a roof rack, now THAT would look pretty alright.

Tailgating season is here, and in Lubbock, TX of all places I've found quite a few great grill-related inventions. I was looking at my spare tire carrier today and pondering one of my own: Instead of building something that fits into my receiver hitch and has to have a bunch of complex hinges built in to clear the way for the opening tailgate, why not build something that can bolt on to the existing swingarm of the spare tire carrier? Though it will stick out further than a spare, if I keep it lightweight so it doesn't weigh more than the tire (which I would take off and store in the rear) and make it easy to connect/disconnect and empty, what problems could I run into? I don't need a particularly large grill for me and my friends, I was thinking maybe half or 2/3 the height of a steel barrel turned on its side and hinged in the middle. So far the only real difficulty is getting it far enough away from the car so that the residual heat coming off of it doesn't screw up the paint finish on the car or the tire carrier. Not only that, but I have absolutely no idea as to the legality of such an invention, but I know I've seen lots of trailers at tailgating events that are in no likely way legal... Thoughts?

I noticed the other day that the inside of my left headlamp was getting quite moist. I think this is the beginning of that thing that most cars get where one headlight is brown and the other is clear. So, I suppose, does this indicate that it's time for a new one? Or is there a ventilation hole somewhere that has been clogged/opened? If it is time for new ones, how much? Do I buy just the bulb or entire bulb/lens assemblies? Thanks, Kevin

Recently my girlfriend and I were discussing tactics to improve gas mileage and the subject of air conditioning came up. We have differing opinions on whether or not the fan speed setting will affect the total engine energy loss caused by the air conditioner. My question is, if the fan is moving air through the condenser at high speed, will it cause the compressor to work any harder? Or, once the compressor is clicked "on," it is just "on" and your car will work at the same efficiency if the fan setting is at "1" or "4?" If the latter is correct, it means I've been sweltering in my girlfriend's car for 2 years now because she refuses to turn the fan speed up above about halfway. Thoughts?

I need to lubricate the rear windows on my '95 WD21 as they are quite loud and squeaky to roll down, a condition which will probably get aggravated this winter. Does anybody have any recommended brands of silicone lubricant to use or any tips/tricks for its application?

Well, my car got broken into, and luckily at the start of a weekend where every auto shop is going to be closed until Tuesday, and hung over until Wednesday. I would like to get it fixed soon, since it's also an incredibly rainy weekend and cardboard and plastic bags only hold up for so long. My question is: Will a front passeger-side window from a Hardbody fit in the front passenger-side window of my '95 Pathfinder? This shouldn't matter, but it could help a little in case the auto shops can't find any to order. Or I could go to a junkyard and just take one...