Questions and Answers

Nissan Pathfinder PC Board Q. Vincent Ciulla, I have a few questions, same kind of vehicle: 1. Where is this PC board located?

Q. Hi There, I have a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder SE V-6 4x4. It has 109,000 miles and the temp. and gas gages are intermittently working. Sometimes when the engine is first started or I've noticed when I turn a sharp corner that they both start working. My question: Is there a common relay or a good hint of the specific wiring harness that I might start looking for a bad connection? I was considering the gas sending unit until I noticed that temp. gage was also not working properly. I haven't talked to a Nissan dealer. They always say bring it in. I didn't want to do that yet until I asked a few people. If you could point me in the right direction it would be great.

Thanks

A. There is no common connection between the two gauges. The wire for the temp gage goes directly from the sensor to the dash gauge. Likewise for the fuel gauge. The only thing the two have in common is the instrument voltage regulator. I have replaced a few dozen of these. It's a common problem for Nissan. They did come put with an improved VR that should be used as a replacement.

The VR sits on the back of the instrument cluster on the PC board. You can probably replace it yourself, depending on your skill level. Once you pull the cluster out and take it apart, you will see it.

2. I noticed my truck is very hard to shift gears. The clutch went from a lot of room to engage the clutch, to now you can barely push the clutch in (about inches) to shift gears and it is getting worse. could the slave cylinder be going out ? I have seen fluid underneath my truck, but I thought it was oil. you have to really manhandle the gearshift to get it into gear.

Thanks for your time,
Don

A. When you remove the instrument cluster turn it around and you will see it. It covers the whole back of the instrument cluster.

I would not be at all surprised if the clutch slave cylinder was leaking. Very common on this truck. Look in the clutch master and if it is almost empty, then it's certainly the clutch slave cylinder.