M35 Stagea 4wd Light On..

[BezerkR32]

4WD light on dash cluster is on all the time. Has been since i bought the car. Didnt think anything of it until lately.

Was wondering if it was normal or if it might be indicating a transmission fault. Car seems to drive fine.

Any help much appreciated.

[andy65b]

That is not normal.

Have a look for the method of reading the diagnostic codes in this section. That will tell you what is creating the fault code.

Cheers

Andy

[zei20l]

check the attesa fluid in the boot, its behind the hidey-hole on the drivers side. i bet you the fluid is low.

[Daleo]

check the attesa fluid in the boot, its behind the hidey-hole on the drivers side. i bet you the fluid is low.

+1, this was my first thought. That little cubby was a bugger to get out in mine, thought I was going to bust it, then it finally popped free.

[zei20l]

ahh good, thanks for letting me know that. ive never taken mine off, i should because i get the 4WD light sometimes (must be fluid, only happens on inclines)

the book lists the g-force sensor as a potential fault, fluid, make sure the 'S' light appears next to the 4WD light on the dash if you move the switch.

also check the plugs to the attesa ecu which is next to the fluid bottle

[BezerkR32]

thanks guys, i will check these things tonight.

[180JDM]

This is happening to mine, only sometimes... i'll check my fluid too.

Im guessing power steering fluid

Edited November 12, 2009 by JDMWGN

[zei20l]

yeah its auto tranny fluid 'D'

[180JDM]

where abouts is the bottle? lol i had a quick look but couldnt see anything

[andy65b]

where abouts is the bottle? lol i had a quick look but couldnt see anything

It is in the boot. On the right side is a small hatch on the side wall (similar to the one on the left). To get to the attesa bottle you need to remove the front cover and the whole side compartment (black plastic inset). To remove this it is easiest done with a small (thin) screwdriver or similar. There are latches in the top corners of this inset box. By pressing down on the top of them you will be able to pull the box out. You will the see the Attesa bottle.

Good luck

Andy

[Stagea Gazza]

After 6 months ours started displaying the 4WD warning too. It is never on just after start-up but will display anytime within the first minute. Usually if it doesn't come on within a minute it won't come on at all.

So I bled and replaced with Matic D in the Attesa system and replaced oils in transfer case and both diffs. Problem remained.

Sometimes I can sense that the warning light is about to display. When driving away the car will bind up slightly and want to straighten up - like as if the centre diff is locked and the fronts what to rotate at the same speed as the rears. The warning light will come on, the steering will relax, and I guess it then is a rear-drive only?

Also, if the car has been allowed to fully cool then the warning light won't display but is very likely if the car was recently switched off.

My next attempt will involve reading those fault codes.

[180JDM]

Finally got around to opening up the rear and finding im on the 'Low' mark for the 4wd bottle.

will top it up today and see how we go

[zei20l]

one day ill do that too! one day when i drive my car more than once a month lol

[STAG250]

Finally got around to opening up the rear and finding im on the 'Low' mark for the 4wd bottle.

will top it up today and see how we go

I hope you used the right fluid

[BezerkR32]

put the car on our scanner at work and it displayed a 4wd motor fault. im guessing this is the pump motor in the boot. Can anybody confirm this.

I hope you used the right fluid

[Jetwreck]

put the car on our scanner at work and it displayed a 4wd motor fault. im guessing this is the pump motor in the boot. Can anybody confirm this.

Yeh pretty sure it's under the back on the RHS .....right behind the rear wheel.

P.S. Any chance I can get on that scanner......I think I may have the same problem

Edited January 10, 2010 by Jetwreck

[BezerkR32]

sure, no problems, just give me a call. 0425 349 923

Yeh pretty sure it's under the back on the RHS .....right behind the rear wheel.

P.S. Any chance I can get on that scanner......I think I may have the same problem

[aaron b]

I have recently had the same problem on my NM35.

My 4WD light was coming on after a few minutes of driving. This then turned into every time i started the car the 4WD light would be on.

While the 4WD light is on the ATESSA is not active so it will be running in RWD.

The problem end up being (after a long time troubleshooting) a relay located under the air filter. This relay controls the ATTESA pump. Without the pump no 4WD.

This relay in not available threw Nissan anymore so i had to addapt a generic 40A relay.

This has fixed the problem completly and 4WD light has not come on again and ATTESA is working perfectly.

I have attached some schematics that helped me out.

I hope this helps someone out as i spent ages figuring this out.

Cheers

[Jetwreck]

this is great....thanks for posting.

[Mtecher35]

SDIa0728J.jpgSDIa0727J.jpg

I have recently had the same problem on my NM35.

My 4WD light was coming on after a few minutes of driving. This then turned into every time i started the car the 4WD light would be on.

While the 4WD light is on the ATESSA is not active so it will be running in RWD.

The problem end up being (after a long time troubleshooting) a relay located under the air filter. This relay controls the ATTESA pump. Without the pump no 4WD.

This relay in not available threw Nissan anymore so i had to addapt a generic 40A relay.

This has fixed the problem completly and 4WD light has not come on again and ATTESA is working perfectly.

I have attached some schematics that helped me out.

I hope this helps someone out as i spent ages figuring this out.

Cheers

Thanx sooo much for posting this. It fixed my car. I bought my car from a Sydney Importer & the 4WD light came on 2 weeks after I got it. His Mechanics looked at it once then they told me to go somewhere else the next time. I found this and took the car to my mechanic, who checked through the whole system then the relay and it was dead. He wired in a 40A generic and BOOM attesa pump fired up and no light.