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Troubleshooting a possibly defunct low gas / low fuel indicator light

5 messages,  Last post on Oct 26, 2010 at 3:44 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Pathfinder, Electrical, SUV

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#1 of 5 Troubleshooting a possibly defunct low gas / low fuel indicator light by owald

Feb 27, 2008 (9:39 am)

Just as the title suggest, I'm in the process of troubleshooting an issue with my 97 Pathfinder SE. A while ago, I had an issue with my spark plugs. This was maybe 3 or 4 months ago - one of the spark plugs was misfiring, so I went ahead and changed all the plugs, the wires, the rotor, ... in a nutshell, I did my own tune up. However being new to D-I-Y auto repair, I wasn't certain what the issue was until I had some friends point me the right way. One thing I did notice while this was going on was that a lot, if not all, of the indicators lights were acting bizarre - it reminded me of all those movies you'd watch where a plane cockpit dashboard lights would go crazy as the plane was crashing. All is fine now with the exception of the low gas / low fuel indicator light.
 
Since then, I've only seen it illuminate once. Usually it would brighten up when I was near empty, but well before I would run completely dry and could probably squeeze out about another gallon of gas, give or take a quarter-gallon before being totally stranded.
 
As I've been driving more recently to test and troubleshoot the indicator light, I have to believe that it's not working, because I've come close a few times since then to being bone-dry. The symptoms were pretty much what you could guess - the car driving in a way where you could tell it was going to shut off for lack of gas.
 
So, my question for anyone who can help me is what route should I take in trying to deduce what the issue is causing this problem? I'm guessing I should check fuses first, then perhaps check the back panel of my instrument display? Yes? No?
 
While it's not a critical thing since the fuel gauge works just fine and I use the trip odometer to help me figure out when I should refill on gas, I'd still like to know that the light is working.
 
Any help is appreciated.

#4 of 5 Re: Troubleshooting a possibly defunct low gas / low fuel indicator light [owald] by geewyzz

Apr 11, 2010 (7:49 am)

Replying to: owald (Feb 27, 2008 9:39 am)
Did you ever solve your problem? After having my car worked on by Firestone (replace spark plugs, fuel filter change, spark plug wires replaced, etc.), I now have a similar problem. My low fuel indicator no longer works.

#5 of 5 Re: Troubleshooting a possibly defunct low gas / low fuel indicator light [geewyzz] by audham

Oct 26, 2010 (3:44 pm)

Replying to: geewyzz (Apr 11, 2010 7:49 am)
Fuel Gauge Sending Unit Official Recall for '05-'08 Pathfinders
 
Just received in the mail this past week. Unfortunately!!! They only extended the N/C repair to 72 months/72,000 miles. I'm not sure where the !#** they came up with that figure.
  
The Recall # is WBI/10-026

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