Recently I had an issue with my 2002 Nissan Pathfinder. A battery that was causing a sluggish start needed to be replaced. I took it to Autozone. They replaced the battery. At that point the pathfinder had NO POWER. I mean NONE. I started poking around with the fuses and found that somehow the “Main Battery” fuse (a behemoth of a fuse in the engine compartment) had blown. I won’t get into the two hours or so it took the autozone guy to replace the fuse. It has two screws holding it in (yeah, the fuse has screws holding it in) and is encased in such a way that you cannot get to them without removing the whole box). Well, maybe you can if you have a special tool… but they didn’t so it took close to two hours.
Anyway, we took out the fuel pump fuse to make room for the screw driver. We got the battery fuse replaced and I hopped in to start the car. It made the worst noise ever. Then i realized we probably hadn’t put the fuelpump fuse back into its place. Sure enough. We put it back in and voila! It started. Now I had a new problem. The check engine light was on. The autozone guy read the code and said it read that the fuel pump signal was low (actually had been low)… obviously… it had no fuse at one point! I asked him to just reset it and he said they were no longer allowed to turn of the light! I would have to figure out how myself or have it done at a dealer / authorized service location.
So i looked around and found the following. It took me 4 or 5 tries. But it worked eventually. You have to get the timing just right or it won’t work so don’t give up too quickly.
- Turn key to ‘on’ for 3 seconds (but do not start)
- Step on gas five times within 5 seconds (I tried to do exactly once per second).
- Wait seven seconds (yes, count them).
- Hold gas pedal down for 10 seconds.
- At this point the light will start blinking out codes. I let it blink for what appeared to be a full cycle. I saw 10 quick flashes 3 times along with some other stuff between.
- Once you know the codes or decide you just don’t care you need to push and hold the gas pedal down for 10 seconds again. At the end of the 10 seconds it will quite blinking codes and just keep blinking 10 blink sets.
- Turn off the key. Wait 3 seconds. Start the car. The service engine light should be off. Enjoy.
If you don’t want to trust me on it (I was sceptical) here are some others that reference the solution. In the first link there is a guy who thought he screwed up his car using the method. He was wrong. There was another issue he needed to resolve. In the second link it is simply mentioned that this is the way to do it for an 02 pathfinder.
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1bom9-2003-pathfinder-rode-service
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/187086
Like I said, it took me a few tries to get it. I actually tried it a few times, came in side and got mad, did some more research (found the first link), went back out and tried a couple more times and it worked. Just try to get close to the specified times and it will work.
[Update, maybe the picture will help describe things. Looks worth a thousand words to me…]
Goodluck.
Awsome description! Thanks.
Hello,I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wishing you the best of luck for all your blogging efforts.
Incredible, this is exactly what I was shooting for! Your article just saved me alot of digging around
I’ll make certain to put this in good use!
I Just got this to work, just wondering how long does this fix last? I had an 02 sensor issue, but it was after pumping some cheap gas i believe. Thank you for posting this, and you have to time it right, took about 8 times for me.
Glad to hear this worked for you… it should… it is just hard to get right sometimes. Once it is reset though it should stay off until a problem is sensed again. If it comes back on for you then the problem was probably not just bad gasoline!
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I tried this no less than 15 times. I cannot get it to work. I used a stopwatch. No luck.
@Battmanf16: It works. I promise. I about pulled my hair out because of frustration, but it will work when you get it the timing down.
I have 2001 pathfinder with 78,000 miles, had the SES light isue 3 yrs ago; had it “fixed” for $1,200 at a Nissan dealer (coils replaced) and voila! It is pon again! Will the above method work on 2011 model?
Sorry – 2 typos above in my inquiry: the service engine soon light is ON again and will the method recommended here apply for 2001 model? (not 2011)
Sorry for the delayed response Blaz. Honestly, I don’t know if it will work for the 2001, but I would certainly leans towards a YES. Things like this tend to work across a number of different models within the same car manufacturer. If you get it working on yours it’d be great if you could respond back that it did work on your 2001.
I doubt this method will work on a 2001. The reason being it uses a completely different engine. Until 2001 VG33 motors were used. VQ35 was introduced in the R50 chassis after 2002.
An easier way to get it fixed is go to PartSource, they reset the SES light for free.
Enjoy,
Thanks a bunch – got it the third try!
Glad it worked for you! Hopefully it saved you some money (or atleast saved a little bit of hassle).
I followed all the steps you suggest and it really worked. Thank´s so much.
I could not get this to work, does it matter if it is SE or LE, 2wd vs 4wd?
It works. Sometimes it just takes a few tries to get it right. As far as the specific version of the 2002 pathfinder I can’t be sure… I just know or worked for mine and I’ve had many people thank me for this info because it worked for them. hopefully you’ll get it going! If not let me know what you end up doing… Maybe it’ll help someone else.
I have a 2003. Wil the code work for my pathfinder?
I have a 2003. Wil the code work for my pathfinder?
I tried over and over and it will not work?
25 tries later it worked.
Thanks,
This works!! It took a few try’s but was definitely worth it… Thanks!
Just wanted to leave a comment in case anyone else is having trouble with this. I tried it about ten times and used a stopwatch and it wasn’t working. The part that was throwing me was that on the 10 second gas pedal part, just hold it down until the light starts blinking. On my car, I was holding it down 10-11 seconds then letting off the gas and the light wasn’t ever starting to blink. Just hold the gas pedal down until the SES light starts blinking – on my car it was about 15 seconds.
Thanks for the assist. It worked perfectly (once I did it exact to time).
Thanks it took me several tries and then I got it after reading the comments. I don’t think you have to use 5 seconds just pump the pedal 5 times fast. That’s what worked for me and then after 7 seconds hold it down until the SES light starts to blink. Thanks for the help!
My service engine soon light was on two years ago and the mechanic said the catalytic converter on the right side of my 2002 pathfinder was bad. I let him change it light went out but a week later light was back on. Took it back and mechanic said it was the other catalytic converter and I didn’t get that done. Two years later I found your blog with the instructions on how to clear that light. I did it several times during a two week period and nothing happened. A month later the light went out and hasn’t been back on. Thank you for the information.
First time on your site. Have this problem all the time. THIS TOTALLY WORKED!!!!!!! Actually got it after just the 2nd time. You are a gentleman and a scholar! Can’t thank you enough! 🙂
Wooooooooooow
Soly Hit mang! Works first try. 02 R 50
Thx Highly appreciated. Only 1 code left to kink out. P0740 tcc
This worked on a Nissan Cube 2002 2nd generation … Must of tried it 10 times before it worked because you have to get it spot on and I’m crap at counting.
Many thanks for the clear description…saved me a few pounds 🙂
It worked on my 03 pathfinder. I was getting an “advanced timing” code and it was running bad. I had very low oil and I believe the low oil pressure was causing the camchain tensioners to be less effective. Heard of this? Should I try and drive it? Seems to be idling smoother and feels better.
Hey it really worked.. But try than again it came back on.. Bummer.. Gotta try again..
Thank You for the tip! It worked just like you said it would! Good Joo, Joo to you and everyone else who helped with this! Take Care, Archie
Worked at the first try.knowledge is definitely eternal. Thanks.
It actually works! Got it on the second try using a stop watch on iPhone. You need to use a stop watch or you’ll probably never get it. Great article
Tried several times without a timer with zero luck. Used my iPhone timer and it worked perfect. That 7 seconds is critical!! Thank you!!
It works, I used s stop watch, took me about 10-12 tries to get it but it definitely works.
Glad it worked for you!