'99 i30 Issues

[dragonfly0201]

I have a '99 i30 that I got from my brother and I have some issues that I'm not sure how to diagnose.
First, the cigarette lighter socket doesn't work. I checked the fuse and that is good. My brother said it worked intermittently then it stopped. Is that a socket issue? If so, where can I find a replacement? The dealer locally says they aren't able to get one, they're discontinued.

2nd: the auto dim rearview mirror doesn't work. The mirror itself it really loose. I've never had a vehicle with this function before, so I'm not sure where to go with this? Does it have its own fuse? And how would I tighten the mirror so it's not floppy?

3rd, the power antenna is busted. Do I just have to replace it with a new one?

Unrelated for electrical: one of my fog lights lost a lens. Do I have to replace the entire unit to fix that? The light itself works fine, but the entire lens is gone.

Any help would be appreciated. I've not had a car like this before, only have had SUV's or trucks.

[VStar650CL]

Most Nissan power sockets have a thermal breaker built in, when they quit it's usually because the breaker died. You can check it by ohming from the power terminal to the center contact inside the cavity, if it shows open circuit then the socket is dead. In most cases you can replace Nissan sockets with a universal, but you'll need to rewire the connector and may need to do a little trimming.

When the ball joints in a mirror get loosey-goosey there usually isn't any good fix, if they're worn out then you may just need to find a replacement. The mirror gets battery power through the parking lamp relay plus ignition power and a dimming signal from the interior illumination. You can find the wiring diagram on EL-150 here:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 9%2Fel.pdf

I also don't know of any good fix for a broken antenna mast. The drive cables are usually just weedeater line and can often be replaced if you want to take the time, but the mast itself is a different story. There are aftermarket replacement assemblies out there for about $60, or Amayama in Japan has OE's still available for $312.

[dragonfly0201]

Ok, thanks for that info. Would any Nissan socket fit my car or does it have to be an Infiniti?

Do you know if the fog lights are one unit, or can I buy the lenses separately? The driver side fog light lens is missing. The light itself works fine but I need the lens.

[VStar650CL]

I thin you can use pretty much anything that fits in the hole where the lighter is concerned. There's nothing special about the Nissan/Infiniti parts except the internal breaker.

Dunno about the fog lamp, but they're usually sealed assemblies.

[dragonfly0201]

The reason I ask is cuz I'm not that electrically inclined and splicing wires kinda makes me nervous. I can see universal type sockets on ebay, but the plug on the ends don't match the connector in my car...this is aggravating. This is the only socket in my car, I do not smoke but I'd really like to be able to charge my phone..

I was thinking the fog lamps were one sealed assembly which sucks.

[dragonfly0201]

One I found on ebay...

[dragonfly0201]

Another one but requires splicing I'm sure...

[VStar650CL]

That should work fine. You just splice the red wire to the car wire leading to the center terminal, and the black wire to the car wire leading to the outside terminal. I strongly recommend you use solder-shrink splices and not crimp types. To use them:
1) Strip the ends on both wires
2) Slide the shrink onto one of the wires
3) Twist the stripped ends together
4) Slide the solder band inside the shrink over the twisted copper
5) Apply a heat gun or Bic lighter until the solder melts and the plastic shrinks around the wires

Voila, a permanent and waterproof splice. If you use a Bic, keep the shrink in the blue part of the flame and you won't get soot. The shrinks look like the pic below, if you enter "solder shrink" into the eBay or Amazon search bar you'll get a gazillion hits. Some parts stores are also starting to stock them (but of course you'll pay a premium):

Solder Shrinks.jpg (13.2 KiB) Viewed 1753 times

[dragonfly0201]

Either one should work then? I will find those soldier shrinks as you recommended.

I found fog light assemblies on eBay. Dang they are $$. As for the power antenna, I am still searching. The antenna itself is busted on my car. I can hear the motor running whenever I turn the car on and off, I think I can just replace the mast itself?

On these cars, does the instrument cluter show what gear your auto transmission is in? If so, where is that located? I notice a spot on the top center part of the instrument cluster that looks like something should light up there, but nothing does.

[VStar650CL]

I didn't think anybody was making the masts anymore, but I found this on PartsGeek:
https://www.partsgeek.com/zqwq6hn-infin ... -mast.html

I'm a Nissan guy and not Infiniti, but on most of the Nissan units you need a special wrench for the retainer nut.

There's also this, which is more like a Z unit but you should be able to make it fit:
https://www.retromanufacturing.com/prod ... 1333900558

From what I see online, the '00~'01 I30's had a strip down the middle of the cluster showing the gear, but I don't see it on the '99 and downs. Maybe you can post a pic? Or maybe somebody else can chime in who has/had an I30.

[dragonfly0201]

Here are 2 different ebay masts: dunno if these would work, but they look exactly like the one in the link you sent me.

[VStar650CL]

Looks right. The mast part numbers for all those listed vehicles seem to be the same, so I'm guessing those will fit.

[dragonfly0201]

Here are pictures of my instrument cluster while in gear. It looks like the strip in the top center should be for what gear the trans is in? Or am I mistaken? I do notice if I hit the O/D OFF button, that lights up in that spot.
I just haven't had a vehicle not have the gear info in the cluster...

[VStar650CL]

According to the Owners' Manual, that one and the two at the bottom are all banks of indicator lights. It doesn't show which lights are where. There doesn't seem to be any PRNDL indicator.
https://www.infiniti-techinfo.com/refgh ... ti-i30.pdf

[dragonfly0201]

Ok, thanks. My car doesn't have an owner's manual..otherwise I would have tried to find it.

[VStar650CL]

You can download the OM for anything Nissan/Infiniti here for free:
https://www.nissan-techinfo.com/find.aspx?dept_id=10

[dragonfly0201]

Thank you!

[VStar650CL]

[dragonfly0201]

It's not giving me any option for the Infiniti..only Nissan. So what manual am I supposed to use?

[VStar650CL]

Whoops, my bad. Here's the Infiniti version:
https://www.infiniti-techinfo.com/depto ... dept_id=10

[dragonfly0201]

That worked. But it's telling me I have to have a subscription?

[VStar650CL]

Only for a Service Manual, and you don't really need that, we have them here in Nico. The OM's are free.

[VStar650CL]

PS -The pulldowns default to SM's. In the lefthand pulldown select "Infiniti Publications, then in the righthand pulldown select Owners Manual and fill in the model-year. After it searches, tag the "eyeball" icon next to the OM and it will open up in your browser. You can then download it.

[dragonfly0201]

Ok I see it now.

Now I have a new issue.

My trunk lid suddenly popped open while driving down the road. It will not latch shut. I am driving home with it tied down with twine until I can look at it. I can hear the mechanism from the driver door button, but I honestly have never worked on a latch before.

[VStar650CL]

You can find the wiring diagram on EL-151 here (PDF page 154):
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... 9%2Fel.pdf

You can see it's pretty simple-minded, the switch simply grounds the actuator. However, the circuit goes all over the place. When they pop by themselves like that, it's often because the door switch got water in it or there's a chafed wire in one of the two umbilicals the circuit passes through, at the door or the trunk. Damaged wires in the trunk umbilical are very common as cars age, Nissan really should use superflex wire in their trunk harnesses (ragtop harnesses too!) but they don't.

If you can't close it, it's either because the cam is rolled to the lock position and can't engage the striker, or because the mechanism is shot and stuck in the open position. See if the cam is obstructing the slot in the lock, if it is you can roll it back with a pick or screwdriver and that should get it closed. If it isn't then the cam is stuck open and it's possible the lock is shot. Try lubing it up with WD40 or PB Blaster, but if that doesn't help then you probably have a broken mechanism.

[dragonfly0201]

Here's a view of it. Parts of it are bent. My dad managed to bend it to where it will lock, but I am thinking it is going to have to be replaced?

[dragonfly0201]

[dragonfly0201]

[VStar650CL]

I can't tell from the pics whether the cam is obstructing the slot or not. The part pointed by the red arrow is the cam, it rotates counterclockwise (as viewed) to latch the trunk. If the section pointed by the black arrow is hitting the striker, it means the cam is in the latched position even though the trunk is open. If that's the case, rotate the cam clockwise by hand and it should latch into the opened position, allowing it to close normally. If it rotates clockwise but doesn't latch open, then the mechanism has an issue.

I30 Trunk Lock.jpg (45.22 KiB) Viewed 1302 times

[dragonfly0201]

That's the part that was bent, preventing the mechanism from locking. My dad bent it enough to get it to lock, but I'm not so sure it will stay that way.