Is there accually any more circuity in SE models or with there just a jumper move that can give us OR owners a lil trip computer lovin'?

There was talk about trying to hack the code to get it to work, but there has not been anything new for a few months. If you look, the LCD display is there and I assume wired. I think it's just a matter of what information it displays from the computer. This is a feature I would have thought they would have offered in the OR.

It's weird. Our OR models sometimes cost more than the SE's. You would think they would throu it on as a freebe.

If the hack doesn't pan out, you could just get one of these:

Linky...

I just got the service manual and have spent a few hours trying to decipher how this works. It looks like it is controlled by the "unified control meter" in the gauge pod. According to page DI-56 under the electrical section, there is a "board computer" that takes the fuel gauge and speedometer inputs to calculate DTE, etc. I might try to pull the dash this week and see if the "board computer" installs into an empty slot in the gauge pod (called a combination meter M24 in the manual)

I am concerned that the whole gauge pod is a factory sealed unit, and can't really me modded, but we'll see later on this week, I guess.

Anothe rhint is is the SEPERATE part numbers for the unified control meter between a 4x4 Off-Road AT and 4x4 SE AT.

If they are different part numbers then yep, I bet it's a sealed unit. If they are the same part number then it's a small board that plugs in.

According to page DI-4 of the service manual under the electrical heading, the unified meter control unit is built into the combination meter (gauge pod).

Maybe I was wrong about the Board Computer being part of the combination meter. If this is true, then the Board computer might be a stand alone part number. Anyone have access to a micro-fiche? Maybe the Board Computer is listed as a separate part.

Take a look at this site Woodmen Nissan Parts . You can search for any part. The listing goes down to the Instrument Cluster level. It does not give part numbers but the prices for SE and OR clusters are identical. There are 2 basic prices but the way the prices line up with model descriptions strange - SE with OR(?). Take a look.

The problem is not the instrument cluster, but the computer that controls the trip computer. If you look closly at the OR display you can see the MPG, etc. There is just nothing to control the display.

Muzikman,

I agreee completely. The display is there and the ECU is producing the data. What must be missing is either a wire harness or interpreter component.

That's exactly what I stated in my earlier post. The signals for wheel speed and fuel level are read by the board computer and displayed in the dash. Hopefully on Friday I'll have time to pull the dash and look at it. I've got the wiring diagrams from the service manual, so I'll just see if something's "missing".

This would be a great mod to have. I hope you guys with the diagrams and such can find something and create a nice how to for this. Waiting patiently........

Yeah, it would be nice. Yeah, knowing if the 4x4 OR and SE gage cluster has the same part number would be the clincher.

Eagerly waiting to see what the outcome is. Also did look @ the other thread on the earlier post about the ScanGuage tool that plugs in the OBD II port on the vehicle. Looks like it might be the solution if there's no way to do with the existing Nissan instrument cluster. Good luck.

B.

I did rip out my instrument cluster last week, and I took a few pictures that still need to be downloaded off the camera. The short of it is that it looks like it's not possible to mod the cluster. I do still need to check with a dealership to see if the SE and Off-road use the same cluster part number. If that's the case, it's possibly just an ECU programming issue.

The cluster is the same. If you look closely at the LED display you can see the MPG, etc. It's the fact that the computer is not sending the information to it.

Kind of ironic, but it probably cost nissan more to have two versions of the software and/or have a routine to only enable the trip computer for certian models, than it would have cost to just give it to everyone.

All the necessary info is obviously generated, as the Scan Gauge I installed on my 05 S is able to provide all the trip functions via connection to ODB2 port.

I agree, it seems everything is there except for the software. I just find it odd that it's not even an option in the OR model.

seems cost ineffective to us as the knowing consumer, but to someone whos shopping for bells and whistles in there new ride its a reason to spend the extra cash for the higher model. i bet Nissan does this to allow their top model to be not so close to the lower tier. I think the off road should have had this feature but, in the world of marketing i can see why they limited the use of this feature. bottom line is its one more line of text on a window sticker, and it just might make them that much more money.

Even if it isn't standard on the OR, I don't under stand the reasoning for not having it as an option.

Nissan does do some odd things when it comes to options. A friend just bought an 06 Murano and in order to get the VDC you had to get the Leather package. I mean what do the two have to do with each other. She ended up forgoing the VDC. As it would have cost her over $5000.

Just because the all clusters show the "mpg, DTE, etc." in the display, doesn't mean that they are the same part number. I suspect they are, but I'd like to make sure.

I couldn't image an LED display having the correct lettering and not being able to light it up. It's the nature of how an LED screen works.

Any new updates to this at all?

Other than verifying that the part numbers for the Instrument cluster on the SE is the same as the other trim levels, I think the best thing is for someone who works as a nissan mechanic to figure it out with the ECU. I asked the nissan dealer two weeks ago when I had my hitch replaced, and they didn't seem to know. I'd think someone who reads this has a code reader/ECU interface software. My hope is that there's a code or a simple software enabler.

Just to recap:

We need to know if the 4x4 OR and 4x4 SE gage clusters have the same part number.

No one out there has access to a parts book?