Ok so i installed a radio in my parents 09 versa.. they have been driving it for about two months and now the incab lights and the taillights dont turn on when i turn on the lights.. i have researched this for about two weeks and really havent found anything. I have checked all the fuses and all seem ok. Any ideas?????

Has to be a fuse or relay of some kind.

There are two places under the hood where fuses are located. And then on the lower left side of the dash. You have checked all three?

i have checked the fuse box in the car and the one by the battery under the hood... i dont see another place to check fuses under the hood???

i know both are connected because it needs to operates when you lock and unlock the doors. check if there are and voltage going through the interior lights and the tail lights. if there is.. its shoulds a relay that controls it and the relay is usually inside the cabin behind the glove box. you will have to remove the glove box.

I have the same problem, and we are not the only ones, I have yet to find the solution, but I am leaning to a fried dimmer switch. I been reading on-line for hours and the same keeps coming on, lots of versas and other 2007-2009 nissans like sentras.

I installed a new stereo on my friends 2009 versa. I shoreted the Orange Illumination/Dimmer wire to the the Ignition +12V while it was hot. after that, the tail lights get no power (verified at the socket), break lights still work, AC control panel light does not work and dimmer switch does not work.

Checked all fuses under the hood and inside fuse box and they all look fine.

You ever figure out what the problem was? It is dark now, but In the morning I am going to check all fuses ( for the third time) just to be sure.

All the wire and harnesses look good. there is a short somewhere in the system, but I don't know where to look. it all point to a blown fuse, but damn it, I can't find it, lol

Any help would be apreciated, taking this to the dealer will cost me a fortune. just cause I did a rookie mistake. (didn't isolate the + terminal after disconnecting it, and some how it ended making contact with the + post while I was inside)

If you have any insight on this,please contact me at (mast3r7 @ gmail . com)

Let me know if you fix it, I will do the same.

go to nissan forums . com and search for "Tail lights don't turn on, dash lights out too" you will see what I mean

Modified by mast3r7 at 7:13 PM 1/23/2010
Modified by mast3r7 at 7:14 PM 1/23/2010

...all running lights are still out. No +12V to them. Break, Turn, reverse and Head lights work fine.

At the dimmer wires, I got no +12V on any of them, but I did get ground on all 3 wires. So putting +12V on any of them will short out, so that is not a solution to the problem. I have read that the Versa, like lots of modern cars, variate the ground instead of +12v to control most electronics.

Also of note: On the fuse panel under the dash, there is no fuse labeled for running lights / tail lights. that is the first time I have seen that in 15 years of working in cars, imports and domestic. There is a notice that if you are looking for a system that is not mention to contact the dealership.

I tried jumping the wires at the dimer switch, but that didn't do anything.

I have talked to two different electro mechanics, and they are all hung up on "it's got to be a fuse man!". I replaced all fuses with new ones, ALL OF Them! I know that all auto systems HAVE to have a fuse or something else to act as a fuse (circuit protection).

So my next questions are:

Is there another fuse panel in the car that is not mentioned in the owners manual? Because, if there is, then that is where the problem probably is.

Could all 4 bulbs (2 front markers and 2 tail lights) be blown?

Has any of you blown a light bulb and have similar symptoms?

I am still suspicious about the dimmer switch, as the origin of the fault was when +12V was applied to the illumination/dimmer wire.

Another thought is that the problem could be in the actual light switch on the turn signal lever. I really hope that is not it, cause that will cost lots of money.

Any ideas will be appreciated, as always, if I find anything, I will post here and share with the community ASAP.

Big Al out!
Modified by mast3r7 at 1:48 PM 1/24/2010

I have looked every fuse and still have not found a bad fuse and have not found a fuse labeled for the incab lights or taillights... after doing some more research i have found that it could possibly be a dimmer switch that is causing this and that i will have to disconnect the orange wire.. can anyone verify this before i go out and pay 60 buxs for a dimmerswitch

2 replies from another thread:

"Did you try disconnecting the radio and see if the lights came back?From what I've read about these newer nissans is that there is no fuse for the dimmer module and gets its power from a variable ground at the dimmer switch."

"You may have toasted part of the dimmer circuit inside of the gauge cluster.

If I recall correctly, the center console lights are actually on the same circuit as the driving lights; I've had to replace the cluster on one of these that the cluster lights (speedo, etc) worked/dimmed, but the center console and driving lights were inop."

Have you checked all the fuses in the Intelligent Power Distrubution Module (IPDM)? If you are standing in front of the car looking at the engine, it is on the driver's side. There is a black cover that is snapped into a white plastci bracket. The main engine room harness goes into that module which is where all your relays and fuses for most items are distributed. If you unsnap the module and gently pull it up, you can get to all the fuses and relays in on the back side. Don't take the black cover off because it's a circuit board under there. You don't want dirt or anything in it by accident.

The front turn signals and rear tail lamps are run through the same 10 amp fuse in that module. If it's not in there, it could be the dimmer switch. I'll keep looking for you.

ok well after looking threw the IPDM i have found the fuse that has been burnt. Thank you promise land

Very happy to help out. Now, you just have to stay around and post more.

I'm having the EXACT same problem. I the orange dimmer wire touched metal somehow and now my tail lights won't come on when my head lights are turned on.

I'm trying to find the fuse that 09versWI said fixed his issue. Are there more than two areas where I can find a fuse? I've checked all the fuses inside the driver side kick pannel and they were all good. the only other fuse box I have found is by the battery under the hood. this has a black plastic cover on it. None of the fuses in there are bad.
assuming that the dimmer switch is bad, where can i find that?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Here this should give you a hand i finding all the fuses in the Versa

Thanks McLeod1981
So I've found the blown fuse that had my tail lights out. for some strange reason, putting a replacement fuse in has caused my tail lights to work, but my dash/console lights to go out. pulling the fuse reverses the issue.

I'm trying to figure out what the orange illumination wire should go to. my radio install guide says it's unused. I had everything working fine, but had to remove the stereo recetly and now i can't figure out if orange should be unused, to ground(though i think that's a short), to 12v battery, or to ignition wire.

any help anyone can provide would be amazing!

Thanks

The orange wire should be wired to the head-unit illumination wire if so equipped. if not equipped then terminate that wire to where it will not touch or ground out on anything.

When I installed the radio in my versa it would only turn on if I had the lights on and if I messed with the dimmer switch it was cause the radio to sound like static. I found out the radio was grounded to the dimmer switch or something weird so I hooked the grounding wire up to the metal piece that you screw one of the screws in and it worked perfectly after that.

.... and The Culprit is ... Fuse #8, 10A, an ordinary red mini-blade fuse, labled "POS LAMPS" on the underside of the "lid" of the Intelligent Power Distribution Module" (IPDM), which is that approximately 7 in x 7 in flat black box just to the right of the battery as you face the front of the car. There is even a legend, giving position numbers and purposes of the fuses, printed in relief on the upper right hand corner of the upside-down lid of IPDM after you have turned it over and rotated it so you can read the letters (Be careful, there is little wiggle room and you don't want to break anything). Its Honor #8 also apparently fuses the front parking lamps and the dashboard lamp/PRNDL dimmer switch, as these were also restored to function by its replacement.

I make no claim to special knowledge, all I'm doing is giving the exact coordinates of the fuse, having simply "followed the string" to about Jan 23-24 2010, which mentioned all the same issues I was having (tail, front parking, dimmer all nonfunctional), where I found the suggestion to look for the offending fuse the IPDM, followed by a "victory dance" by the guy who found it.

So THANK YOU ALL for saving me an awkward and expensive trip to the dealer.

The owner's manual, by the way, tells you that there are fuses in the IPDM box, but then tells you it's a "dealer only" deal to pop it open and access them. Gimme a break! No tools and about four minutes from popping off and popping back on!

My particular sin was causing a short at some point while installing trailer lamp wiring. It was probably the point at which the "near" end of the driver's side rear lamp wiring harness connector exploded into a thousand pieces under the tool pressure I was exerting to make the disconnect, whereby I discovered it was NOT the part to pull on for disconnection, and resulting in the five tiny metal spades inside getting momentarily in contact, followed by the tedious sequelae of discerning which spade serves which widget, as their wires are ALL black - not color-coded - on the near side. But that's another story. I'm just glad I didn't do more damage. And if the dealer wants to charge more than five bucks for a new connector, I'm improvising my own.

What pamitawaapa posted worked for me.

2009 Nissan Versa

Symptoms: No shifter light, radio works but buttons don't light up, no illumination around climate control knobs, maybe the light around the power window/lock controls too.

Then after who knows how long we discovered no tail lights but brake lights work.

I suspected a fuse weeks ago and checked them all inside and all I could find under the hood. They all looked good so I just replaced them all anyway. Still no workee!

I did not know about the IPDM - a little awkward to get to the fuses since the wiring harness is tight.

The red 10A fuse #08 in the IPDM was blown. Went to that one first since there are many in that thing.

Don't know what caused it but about a year ago the red 10A radio fuse blew but that was inside the cabin fuse panel so I has some spare fuses :-)