2005 Pathfinder help needed. Dash lights galore

[WinterFang18]

Hey all. I'm new here and new to the Nissan Pathfinder life.

I bought a pathfinder recently. Clearly been conned but that's another story. The guys I bought it off said they were mechanics and it had X,Y & Z work done and had garauntees. On viewing day I arrived and they came up to meet me, they drove through a stream and when I took a look inside there were lights on the dash. They said that had just happened as the sensors got wet and they would sort it out before I collected the car or they delivered it. 

Happy with how it was driving on the day with it's giant mud tyres on, couldn't obviously do to much with it on the road but seemed ok. The deal was they got the sensors sorted and MOT'd it and I'd pay their asking price. Which was agreed

 

Come the day of me getting the car, they brought it over to me and said it was sorted. I paid and they went on their merry way. I got in to take my mother home and low and behold all the lights were still on the dash. The lights on are 4WD warning, ABS, ESP and Skid.

 

I had obviously not been able to really give it a good test drive on viewing but now I needed to hit the Motorway and drive for an hour. It handled like poop. Wheels screeching around corners even at low speeds, abs clearly not operating but Worse was it was skidding all over the place. Power seemed lacking and there's a thud when changing gears. I took it to a garage on the way back (I was picking up some used wheels with road legal tyres on. He put the OBD on it and it came up with No errors!! Even with 4 warning lights on. So We fitted the wheels which are Nissan original wheels and the driving was even worse! It's like driving on a slicked surface all the time. 

 

So I set about taking a look myself at home. I've replaced 2 front wheel hubs (with ABS sensors built in) 2 rear ABS sensors and cleaned up the ABS rings. I've not been able to test the sensors yet as my multimeter has gone walk abouts but since doing that job, I now have a 5th warning light appeared (!) So I also replaced the ABS control unit for good measure. I checked the fuses and one was blown which I replaced, can't really check the relays as same multimeter issue but I swapped 2 matching relays over (ABS 1 & 2 in the engine bay) and there's no change. Obviously maybe both have blown, or both are fine and the issues are not relay related 

 

So far nothing I've done is clearing these lights and the ECU isn't reporting a fault, yet clearly the ESP,SRS,ABS are not working. 4wd does engage on ignition and you can select what mode if your quick but 2WD seems to default to Rear wheels rather than front wheels (not sure why or it it's supposed to. I assumed it was a front wheel drive car when I'm 2WD mode) so I leave it on Auto to be safer. In Auto there's less skidding but issues steering sometimes where it's lumpy and resistant at lower speeds whereas on 2WD it seems fine.

 

I've been and bought an OBD2 scanner, hooked up with Torque and I've been checking the real time information today and noticed I'm getting no read from the Accel, throttle is reading fine.

Could that be the Yaw/gravity sensor? 

 

These lights on the dash and the corresponding faults are plaguing me. I need to at the very least get the ABS to start working and for it to stop skidding all over the road. 

Does anyone have any wisdom for me. I really need some help with this. Spent my last Penny buying the car and been working on it on credit. I've got to fix this myself somehow. Does anyone know what might be causing it? 

 

Any help and support would be appreciated!

 

[Trevor]

Sorry if its blatantly obvious but it seems that you are driving it in 4wd on the tarmac?
This is why the wheels are skidding, thumping and lower power as you are driving all the wheels at the same time and this is detrimental on tarmac only to be done on soft ground or loose surfaces

Also the transmission is 'winding up' which is causing the issues with the ABS and speed sensors

Try running it in 2wd all of the time and you shouldn't have any issues
Good also to put in 4WD when on the appropriate surfaces every so often to keep everything in the 4WD system working free

[WinterFang18]

No I'm not driving in 4wd everywhere. I'm driving in 2wd and I have also driven in Auto mode just to see if there was any effect. Seems to be the same and 2wd is defaulting to rear 2 wheels.

As I said in the main text, the 4wd seems to be working as you can hear it engage before the 4wd error light comes on and the image of the drivetrain selection dissapears. It shows all 4 wheels and the diff lock on the image. You hear it lock into place and then it errors up. If I sit with it in 2wheels, same thing. This happens the same every time I startup the car, no matter if I change the selection or not. I drive only in 2wd daily but still have the same issues. I replaced the ABS control module/pump today. Driven around 50moles with the warning lights still on, OBD2 scanner showing no errors and the car still acting the same. 

 

no change even though I've not basically replaced every part of the ABS system 😞

[Trevor]

A very long shot but if the 4WD but I had similar error on my L200 and it was broken and perished small bore rubber hoses running to the axles and transfer box....replaced them and error disappeared

[WinterFang18]

Hi Trevor, thanks for the info. I'm going to be replacing the transfer box sensors shortly so I'll take a look whilst I'm under there. Im not 100% sure what I'm doing but trying hard to get the car operational asap. I've tried everything I can think of so far and still no dice. I appreciate the thinking and will let you know how I get on 

[WinterFang18]

Ok so I hit a snag replacing the transfer case switches and I'm still stumped. 

 

This is a 2005 2.5l Diesel, manual Pathfinder 

 

Black switch and Grey/Green switches replaced successfully

Wait detection switch (All grey switch) seems to be none existant. I can't find it anywhere. It's just not here. Every Google image, every YouTube video ect shows it in the same place, towards the bottom of the transfer case kind of between the fill and drain plugs. On my car, it's just not there and I can not find any wires leading anywhere else other than the 2 switches I've replaced and 2 other switches/sensors on the gearbox. I'm just stuck and would really appreciate some guidance.

 

Once I've replaced the grey switch my job is to remove the prop and replace the seals then refill with 2ltr of Dextron3

 

So far, The only change with the issue is that now the Dash lights show the 4wd Lo indicator flashing constantly until it errors out (which I believe is synonymous with the wait detection switch needing replacing)

[WinterFang18]

Ok, got the third switch. It's right in the top in a recessed well. However it isn't the same as the switches I received.

What I got as replacements was 2 grey,one with a green band and 1 without that are seemingly identical otherwise and 1 Black. My cars switches that I have now removed are 2 black seemingly identical and 1 grey with no green band. Found a sticker on the top of the transfer case showing that this is an EA700. All the info I found suggested it was EA310 so clearly I need to be more attentive 😅 looking at it, I need another black switch to replace then I can do the diff seals and oils and hopefully I'll be all set then

 

In my defence I'm not a mechanic, just trying to get this car right 

[WinterFang18]

Just come across a video suggesting that the neutral position switch on the gearbox may also have gone.

Diagnosis is to turn on the Engine heater switch then engage a gear. Revs should return to normal idle if the switch is operating. My car does not return to idle. Stays revved up and I canove forward without there being any change

 

Could this contribute to the error lights I'm facing? 

 

[Trevor]

This may possibly be the solution, let us know if it works for you