I am in Australia and own a 1993 Nissan Bluebird SSS, from my digging on the 'net, it appears that the US and overseas equivalent is the Altima. My model was originally delivered and sold by Nissan from 1993-1997, and in Aus all Bluebirds of this vintage came with the KA24DE 2.4L petrol (gasoline) motor. It is NOT a 2.0L turbo. It does have the head-up display (HUD) which is brilliant when it works. unfortunately the whole speedo has stopped working, and as the HUD works off the normal speedo, i have none. thankfully the tacho still works and i know my speeds based on that.
I have done numerous web searches over the past couple of years and had the car to Auto electricians, and even Nissan. No one seems to be able to solve the problem without having to spend hours on it and/or pull it apart. Needless to say, as there is no engine or performance issue i have been unwilling to spend the money.
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Does anyone know what the problem is ? has anyone else experienced the same problem ? If not suggestions on causes would be appreciated. it seems that the normally mechanical speedometer in my Bluebird has something electrical that is playing up. Originally it only started to stop working in cold weather, and would generally be fine when in the sun, until the aircon had been running for a while and it would pack it in. Now, it rarely works unless left out in 35+ (celsius) temperatures, and then only for a very short time. I have recently started hunting for a speedometer sensor, but wrecked Bluebirds in Aus are almost as rare as hen's teeth, and when they do come around are quickly stripped. Any help would be appreciated.
i had the same problem, i just have a 97 US altima...my speedometer, tach, and fuel gauge went out.. i too looked everywhere, and my only solution was to take it to nissan. since they dont make the whole cluster for the 1st gen altima nemore...they had to buy all new parts which cost alot of money around $700 but since its you tach speedo itll be cheaper i dont know how it is in AUS..but thats my only solution...
Thanks for the reply. I sourced a part on the net called a 'speedometer sensor' that looks electrical, went to Nissan who quoted almost $400, but none of the wreckers I have been to seem to know what it is. I just bought the speedo sensor assembly off a gearbox from a wrecker and I will see how it goes. Perhaps the 'speedometer sensor' i have found on the net is somewhere behind the instrument cluster ??
Im having the same problem with my nissan bluebird over here in sydney. Did u find out how to fix it? if so could you tell me step by step on how to do it?
Unfortunately the speedo assembly off the gearbox did nothing. Gave up with teh speedometer sensor and eventually sourced a whole instrument cluster over the net. replaced the cluster and it works. Only now the speedo registers 'speed' at idle/stationary depending on revs. However, when the car is in motion the variance is only 4-6km/h depending on speed. I.E. at speeds below about 80km/h (that's about 50 MPH in ancient US terminology) the car shows 80 but is doing about 76 (checked with a gps), at freeway speeds of 100-120 (62-75MPH) the variance can be as much as 5-6km/h, always showing a higher speed than actual speed.
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icfreely, it seems that the easiest solution is to simply source a whole cluster, as no one seems to be able or willing to investigate. As I said previously, i had it to Nissan etc. and short of spending huge money on the time for an auto electrician to search for the problem the most cost effectove solution was getting the cluster from a wrecker, then it was fairly easy to remove the old one and put the new one in.
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For your information i am not far from Sydney, and enquired with speedometer specialists (there's only two in sydney) in Sydney and they could not help.
As long as your tacho is still working and you have some idea of your km/h per 1000 rpms you should be able to get by until you fix it. By the way if your not sure the rule of thumb I used to follow was 40km/h per 1000 rpm in fifth gear (manual obviously). E.g. 2000rpm in fifth was about 80 (turns out a bit less), same speed in fourth was 2500. fourth gear 2000 was just over 60. 40km/h school zone, about 1500rpm in fourth, baically as you go down each gear the same speed is about 500rpm higher on the tacho. Hope this is helpful. (or borrow a gps if you don't have one and do your own testing)
I also have similar problem. My speedometer works from time to time. Sometime it is enough to hit the dashboard and it will start working until the car jumps on something. Do you guys think it maybe just a loose cable? How do I get to the back of the speedometer to check connections?
Same issue
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