prginocx Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Small roller switch with light bulb icon just below the left-center heater "regulator" (Vent to us normal people) and just to the left of the Hazard light switch. What does it do ? Instrument dimmer ? Doesn't seem to do anything. How does the alarm system work and what does the rocker switch on the center console do ? Near my hood release pull handle on the plastic trim piece there are mounted two switches with gray wires. One toggle switch, one pushbutton switch. Obviously aftermarket add-ons.....What do they do ? Don't seem to do anything. I do have a problem with the temp sensor. With the truck fully warmed up the temp guage reads just barely above the bottom line. I assume this is wrong. Wire to the sensor is reading about 8.5 VDC when disconnected, and if you ground it the guage reads FULL HOT. This tells me the guage is working right ? Guage reads absolute zero when this wire is disconnected. I'm thinking to try a new sensor ? This truck doesn't have an alternator guage or oil pressure guage. How can I add them on after market ? These are two critical readings I'd really like to keep track of... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Mine did the same... Turned out the "professional mechanic" who worked on it for the previous owner kinda forgot to put the thermostat back in. They are a bear to install, but still... So in my case, the gauge was accurate - the engine was just not heating up properly. Quick check. With the engine cold, start the engine and hold onto the radiator hose for about 5 minutes. It may get a tiny bit warmer, but it should not get really warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticker Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 (edited) welcome- the roller switch should be controlling the dimming of your gauge cluster. As far as the Alarm goes: the alarm switch has three settings-OFF which is the end closest to e-brake depressed. Middle-ON but with "impact sensor off". ON-end closest to back seats depressed. Your thermostat may be messed up but on my 95 the temp never really goes up past about 1/8th of the gauge. As far as the button and switch near your hood release are aftermarket. I don't have any on my 95. Maybe light switches? Any holes in your bumper? good luck ticker Edited December 12, 2005 by ticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 With the truck fully warmed up the temp guage reads just barely above the bottom line. My truck would read maybe 1/3 up on the temp gauge at operating temp. The radiator was replaced and now it reads maybe 1/4 way up. I have found that the cooling system is very efficient in these trucks. That said, I'd be concerned if my temp gauge ever hit the 1/2 way mark. Some people in cold climes report thaty their trucks don't really/take a long time to warm up. What is the temp where you live ? I also plan to add oil/coolant temp and alt meter cluster. I believe you put the oil temp in the pressure sensor hole above the starter ? I would T it. The cluster should come with instructions... I haven't looked into it; I'm sure someone will chime in. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 aftermarket oil and volt gauges are very easy to put in. just to clarify you would be after 'Oil Pressure' and 'Battery Voltage'. Battery current draw is a different story and a bit more complicated, besides batterty voltage will give you more of an idea of whats going on. oil gauge will need to have a 't' piece as precise1 stated. battery voltage can be wired across the battery terminals while your putting in gauges if your truck has an auto gear box, putting in a trans oil temp gauge is a good idea. you can use a t piece and sender on the line to the trans cooler. the two switches with grey wires sound like aftermarket stuff, likely for some spot lights, which may have been on the car at some stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prginocx Posted December 13, 2005 Author Share Posted December 13, 2005 (edited) This vehicle does have fog lamps (Clear) installed within the front bumper, they look factory stock ?, left one is shattered. It also has a switch on the center console which I thought was for them, it is for sure a factory Nissan switch. The small toggle switch and pushbutton switch just below the hood release pull handle are for sure after market. I just don't have a clue what they are for... They are soooo far down and back it would be really tough to manipulate while driving, I'm leaning toward them having something to do with the alarm system, but mostly the alarm system is stock on these vehicles, right ? Like for example, you want to pop the hood, and you somehow use these buttons to disable the alarm. Most alarm systems try and prevent access to the engine compartment, right ? And by the way, what does that red led mean just below the cruise control. It is on solid on all the time and I do have the alarm switch in the off position. Correct ? I do want Oil Pressure and it sounds like that won't be much trouble. I did a T connection on my other truck, and the worst problem was getting that little tube up to the dash. I also do want Charging Current not voltage. A dead battery still measures the right voltage (without much load), what I like to know is how much current is going into and out of my battery at all times. Seems to me that is a better way to track what is going on with your whole charging / discharging system. I know battery voltage is easy, that is why I asked about charging current. The chilton manual does have some quasi-accurate schematics, so I will try and figure out some why of monitoring the charging / discharging current. When I get it working, I'll post the information here. I guess you all are correct on the little roller switch. It must be for instrument dimmer. It sure doesn't have any effect on the instrument brightness. How in the heck do I take all that plastic crap apart ? I hate prying all this stuff apart, then the clips / tabs / slots break off, and you are stuck with a mess of broken plastic parts which you can't find in the right color at the junk yard. Maybe some one who has done a stereo could help me out.... Stereo doesn't work either, guess I'll be in there sooner or later anyway. This truck doesn't have a stock stereo at all, there is a Pioneer CD player stuck in there, but it doesn't light up at all... The temp guage is working better now, swapped out the sensor and cleaned the contact, it reads slightly under 1/4 scale with the truck fully warmed up (Takes about 5 minutes). And it is only getting up to 40 or so ambient during the day up here... Edited December 13, 2005 by prginocx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chainsaw Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 90 degrees and above in servere stop and go traffic you are going to wish that the thermostat was installed because once that meter passes the 3/5 mark you WILL need to pull over and kill the engine. speaking from expereance in charlotte NC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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