Hello,

Small but annoying problem, maybe someone can help.

The rear hatch on my 2001 Pathfinder doesn’t always close tightly, I have to slam it pretty hard. But once I know it’s closed, the door open light/interior ceiling lights will stay on/flicker on and off while driving, indicating that it’s still not closed.

I tried adding WD40 to the latch mechanism in the hatch and I also moved the latch on the body closer out (toward the bumper) to help with the catching of the door, and it helped for a while but it the lights still flicker. The door is fully closed, but the lights will flicker, especially on hills (and I live in the Bay Area, so lots of hills and light flickers).

I don’t see any switch that causes it to go on an off like the door switch, but obviously there is something that tells the car that is closed

What am I missing?

Thanks!

I could be wrong but the switch is probably in the latch mechanism, if that is the case you might try sourcing
a used latch mechanism from a junkyard or ebay. I am sure a new one from the dealer (if still available) would
be expensive.

My primary symptom was different, but really the same thing.

topic626478.html

Serdriver wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 22, 2020 12:01 pm

I don’t see any switch that causes it to go on an off like the door switch, but obviously there is something that tells the car that is closed

4pathse is correct. The switch is in the tail gate lock assembly, that part at the bottom of the door that locks onto the back door lock striker, and it's almost $300 from a dealer. As much as half that elsewhere but still expensive. The Nissan part number is 90502-5W30B. With all the dirt and grime and water that can get into this piece, the switch can wear out or it might just be contaminated. Before buying a new or used one, I would remove the lock assembly and try spray cleaning the inside of the assembly with an electrical contact cleaner. It's a sealed unit so there is limited access you will have even with the spray tube on a can of cleaner. Others have successfully used WD-40 instead but there are plastic pieces in that lock assembly and I know WD-40 is not kind to some types of plastic so there is some risk going with that product to try cleaning out the insides.

Ok, thanks. I will try to take it apart this weekend and clean it out.

Hello, any luck after cleaning?

I haven't gotten around to revisiting it yet, but disconnecting the switch in the latch mechanism didn't seem to do the trick. The rear light is still going on and off seemingly randomly unless I shut it off, which I have done. Since I did cut the wire going to the horn relay from the alarm module at least the idiot detector hasn't gone off again but interrupting the switch didn't work. I'll dig into it at some future point, and since I disconnected the horn from the circuit at least I don't have people throwing rotten fruit at me anymore, but it still pisses me off that it's not right.

Mike W. wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:40 pm

... disconnecting the switch in the latch mechanism didn't seem to do the trick. The rear light is still going on and off seemingly randomly unless I shut it off ...

There are actually five switches that can turn on the luggage room light, plus the one on the light itself. Aside from the back door hatch switch, all four side door switches provide power to that light and all five switches' hot wire are connected to a single diode in vehicles with anti-theft. The rubber boot on those door jam switches are prone to failure by cracking and allowing water and corrosion to wreck the switch thereby setting off the alarm, if applicable, and/or making the light flicker at random, with or without the anti-theft feature.

Since it's only the rear lamp flickering, I doubt it's a door switch causing the issue. However, it's not unknown for the built-in switch in the cargo lamp assembly to get loose and fail. You should also pull up the flex boot where the wires enter the hatch and make sure the wires are all intact. The flex boot is the most likely spot for chafed or fatigued wires, since it must bend and un-bend every time the hatch is used. A low-grade short to ground on the latch switch wire would cause just those kinds of symptoms.

Good info, thanks guys!