97 hardbody instrument cluster wiring

Forum for the Xterra, Frontier and Hardbody, the smaller workhorses of the Nissan lineup!
727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

I have a 97 hardbody.
Ka24e 5 speed.
It did not have an instrument cluster when I got it, so I bought one. I got the cluster placed, but I dont know where the wires have to go to.
I have the back of the cluster wired up, I just dont know where the wires have to go to.
Kinda annoying driving without any gauges.
Thanks in advance for help.


whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

IF you are talking plug placement. There are 4 plugs -two black - two white. Looking at the back of the circuit board the smaller plug toward the fuel and temperature gauges has 3 copper strips facing towards the dash pad and 2 copper strips facing towards the floor. One of the smaller harness plugs will have the same. Plug it into the dash board. IF it’s the white plug ,plug the other white plug next to it. Do the same thing on the other side. Assuming your vehicle is equipped with a tachometer the smaller plug will have 2 copper strips on the circuit board facing toward the dash pad and 2 strips on the circuit board facing towards the floor plug them in and it’s ready. Before you install the dash A - I should of done before I installed it would be check all the bulbs. Do one at a time.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

So I plugged it all in and I'm getting nothing at all. Is there a fuse or something I'm missing?
Also there is a plug behind the cluster that dosent seem to go to anything.. anyone know what its for? I've attached a photo.. the 2 on the left and the 2 on the right plug into the cluster. The plug up high is the one that isn't plugged in
Attachments
20200306_182403.jpg

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

The wire up high goes nowhere. Open the fuse box the. There is a row of relays above the fuse box. The last relay towards the passenger side is the one that powers up the speedometer.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

Okay, are there relays for each section? Because my whole cluster is dead

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

This one is for the speedometer. Not sure about the others. I had a squirrel chew the wiring harness going to the fuel tank. I believe I had to replace a fuse in the fuse box. Check the fuse box?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

When you visit the Home site click on the site SERVICE MANUAL you will find a FREE!!! Detailed Factory Service Manual. Excellent source of information. And of course you will find members that will be glad to help.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

Okay thank you I will check for the service manual. I checked fuses, no problems which makes me even more nervous. Checking relays later on. Can you advance timing with the the distributor?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Yes you can advance the timing with the distributor. You can check the timing with a timing light. Remove the pan below the radiator. Rotate the crankshaft until the timing marks are visible from underneath the vehicle. Throughly clean the area making sure the marks are clearly visible . You can use some kind of marker to mark the correct timing number setting so it’s visible with the engine running. Also clean the pointer. IF the truck has power steering it makes it more difficult to see the pointer. There are 2 hold down bolts on the distributor. One is a little difficult to loosen. Spray the bolts that hold the pan on with penetrating oil before trying to remove them.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

I have an aftermarket yacht that has 4 wires. Red white black and green. I'd like to wire it to my I instrument cluster tach wires so I can see if it's the clusture that's bad. Also I have a AFR what wires do I plug into that for my reading?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Sorry I can’t really answer your question. Have you tried checking the plugs that plug into the cluster with a test light? Also on the positive battery cable there is a Fuse link (wire) and various wires check the link and the wires for bad, broken or corroded wires. Possibly the link is bad? Did you get any of the gauges working? Do the dash lights work?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Something else. Pull the relay and take the test light and check for power.

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Given your location some part stores will check for engine codes for FREE. Being your experiencing dash issues it’s possible the check engine light isn’t on. Might want to take it in and see if there are stored codes could possibly help diagnose the current situation?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Has the starter been replaced real recently?

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

IIF the starter was recently replaced look around the solenoid to insure the wires were ALL reinstalled. Another words if you discover an extra wire just hanging out that would not be a good thing.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

No gauges or lights at all. I'll check the relays tomorrow, and check the starter and every other wire under the hood. I pulled codes just haven't looked into them quite a list.
P1165
P0500
P0335
P1130
Going to decode them tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice so far!

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Another possibility given all the codes you might have a bad ground to the ECU? There’s also a smaller ground wire located on the inner fender located just below the battery and various other spots.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

okay so I'm doing my interior, floors and seats, so I've been busy.
tomorrow when I finish my interior and do another compression test ill check the starter.
After I sea foamed and flushed oil and put in synthetic now when I turn it on it seems to be leaking around the head so that's why I want to compression test again.
my horn relay I thought was broke because it was jammed on. replaced it same thing..
no cluster..
I don't know where to find the problem with the wires, its like a rat got hungry or something.
Do they have a page where you can put your build log?
I have 2 swirl valve codes
wheres the swirl valve at?
P1130
P1165
anyways I'm hoping there's an easy way to find these problems with these wires.
any advice. I have the tool that can tell if voltage is coming I just need to know what voltage to look for.
any advice or anything your saving me!

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

The starting place with the wiring- You have a extra cable that is attached to the positive side of the battery. Remove the cable remove the tape around it. There is a couple of plugs and the fuseable link wire. Check for corrosion and make sure you have power at the plugs. Easy way reattach the cable to the battery cable- check with test light.

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Question- when the key is on the on position do the fan and all the accessories work? Another possibility could be the ignition switch? There is a wiring diagram located in the service manual this will help tracking wire location. The actual swirl valve is located in the intake manifold. On the backside of the intake manifold there is a valve with a vacuum hose attached to it which goes to a solenoid switch. Make sure the hose is good and connected on both ends. Test the solenoid switch with a ohmmeter. Check the wiring for power.

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Open the FREE service manual to the EL index On page- EL-65 and beyond. It goes into detail about the instrument cluster. On page - EL-155 there is a harness layout sheet. The section IDX page contains a lot of helpful information.

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

727G35 wrote:
Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:23 am
I have a 97 hardbody.
Ka24e 5 speed.
It did not have an instrument cluster when I got it, so I bought one. I got the cluster placed, but I dont know where the wires have to go to.
I have the back of the cluster wired up, I just dont know where the wires have to go to.
Kinda annoying driving without any gauges.
Thanks in advance for help.
UPDATE:
Hello everyone, so 95% of my instrument cluster does not work.
The fuel level works(thank god)
But mph,rpm,CEL, engine temp, engine mileage and temporary mileage does not move.
Illumination does not work no matter how high or low its set too.
High beam indicator does work.
Turn signal and emergency signals also flash.
Battery light seems barely illuminated, will show picture.
Plugged in a amp meter in the cigarette lighter and is getting 13.6..
Blast the AC it will drop to the 12s and climb back up.
I bought a heads up display that plugs into the obd2 port and on there I get engine temp and RPMs.
I tested lights in the cluster and they do work.
replaced speee sensor, no fix.
attached is a picture with the engine running and headlights on.
(trying to)

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

Image

727G35
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 6:38 pm
Car: 03 5at g35 sedan

Post

another update. i guess the cluster was really damaged
pulled one from a v6 pathfinder. still trying to dial in the rpm and speedo.. does anyone have pictures of where the dials are supposed to be pointed?
4 cyl
stock tire size

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Probably just me. I don’t fully understand when your asking about dialing in the tachometer and speedometer??? What is working and not working on the instrument cluster? I noticed on a previous post you were looking for a way to wire in an aftermarket tachometer.


Return to “Nissan Trucks Forum”