Does anyone know where the memory for the odometer is stored at? Over the weekend I decided to tear the dash out to find the circuit card that has been causing the "Gauge dying" problem that has been reported here many times.

It didn't take long to get the gauge cluster out and find the card. Turns out, it is THE circuit card. I took some pictures of it to show everyone.

Front: Rear:
Large versions are here: Front and Rear

As you can see this card contains the LCD for the odometer. But I can't tell if it also has a memory chip to hold the odometer mileage. I want to buy a new card to replace the faulty one but I don't want to reset my mileage (as that would be illegal).

So, back to my original question, would the mileage be stored on this card or somewhere else?

When my circuit controller board was replaced, the mileage had to be programmed onto the new one at the dealership. I do not think there is a chip that you can switch over to the new one.

What are the numbers shown on IC2, the 8-pin IC just above the big chip? It looks a lot like a serial EEPROM, a device typically used for non-volatile memory (like odometer readings).

The numbers on the small IC are: B15AD and 93C56EN

And for completeness,

the big IC has K 29451VB200 and 9933KM11

The bar coded stripe is 7Z060KT92950161

If that small IC is indeed a EEPROM I guess there is no recourse than to let Nissan replace it so they can reprogram the new chip. That may also explain why when I called my local place for a price they said it was a restricted part. Although they didn't say what that meant.

We as a dealer are unable to set the mileage ourselves. We send it to a company that Nissan specified, and they set it for us. We'll order a cluster, have it drop shipped to them, and then they'll send it to us. We have to give them an estimate of the mileage for when the vehicle comes back.

One guy played us though, and after we ordered the cluster, went to Canada on a fishing trip, drove back down through the New England area and basically took a tour of the US. 3 months later, he came back and had us install his cluster. I know he planned it that way, I just know it! But, he got the trip with free miles on his truck.

The 93C56 is a Microwire serial EEPROM with a 2k-bit capacity. It's almost certainly where the odometer info lives.

They are simple devices to program if you know the message format used. I'm sure Nissan would prefer that we don't know it.