One very common problem on D21 Pathfinders is the rear hatch sensor. Usually after offroading a Pathfinder for some time, one finds that their interior lights tend to come on for no reason while driving down the road, even with all the doors closed. This leads to problems with the alarm, since the alarm wont arm if one of the doors appears to be "open". I was experiencing this problem on my '95 Pathfinder SE and so decided to get to the bottom of it and see if I could come up with a cheap fix. I didnt want to just unplug the sensor (some people do this.. the alarm doesnt sense the rear hatch then) and I didnt feel like spending a lot of money to buy a whole new latch assembly (the sensor is part of it). So, here is what I did.
Introduction
I disassembled the latch assembly to see if I could figure out what the problem was and I think I found it.
The above images show the latch assembly removed from the truck. The image on the top shows the rear side of the latch. The bottom image shows the top of the latch. The pink connectors run to the lock solenoid and the key switch. A rod runs from the door handle through the white piece. In the top view, you can see one connection for the door switch itself. The other connection is riveted to the body of the latch. The wires from the latch assembly run to a plug which can be disconnected from the wire harness inside the door.
The above shows the normal operation of the latch and switch. The top image shows the latch just before it locks into place. The bottom image shows the latch locked into place and the hatch switch disengaged (you can see its moved from the first pic). Normally, this would break the door circuit (its normally grounded when the door is open) and tell the truck that the door is closed and all is fine and dandy.
But thats only if everything is aligned right. The picture to the right shows the latch locked in place.. but a little higher up on the catch than the last photos. Notice that the switch is NOT slid back like it should be. Looking at the plastic slider inside the latch, I found that the latch on mine tended to strike fairly high on the catch (at the base of the doorsill). This wore away a small portion of the slider that the switch is mounted on. So, there wasnt enough material to push the slider back and break the circuit.. which is why my lights were flickering on and off inside the truck.. So, to fix it we can either lower the latch (not likely without major realignment the rear hatch), or raise the catch off the bottom of the floor (easy). This is what I did.
- Tools needed:
- 12mm box-end wrench or socket
- Phillips screwdriver
- A few washers to fit an M8 bolt (I found mine in the garage)
- Small hacksaw (if needed)
Procedure:
1. Unscrew the fasteners that hold the lower rear trim on. I found that I had to pull up on the trim as I was unscrewing in order to get a couple of the screws out. Be careful, these things are plastic. The trim will just pop off. There are some plastic retainers underneath that hold the rear carpet in place. Remove these and then set the trim off to the side.
2. Remove the door catch with the 12mm wrench or socket. You may want to mark or scribe around the screws before you remove this. The catch can move around for adjustment, so if you want to keep the current adjustment, you'll want to mark around where the bolts are.
3. Find some washers to fit the bolts you've removed. I found 4 that would work. The idea is that you shim the catch to move it upwards by placing washers under it on the bolts.
4. Now comes trial and error. Place one washer between the catch and the body over each bolt hole, position the catch over the washers, and then put the bolts back in. Position the catch back to its marked position in relation to the bolts. Now tighten the bolts down and see how the hatch closes. Watch the dome light to make sure it is turning off before the door latch reaches its locked position. If one washer doesnt help, try a second one. I found that you can only use up to two washers before you run out of threads on the original bolts. I also found that I could get the light to turn off sooner by pulling the catch to the left while tightening it down. The switch is on the left side of the latch, so by positioning the catch to the left a little, this allows the switch to fully engage.
5. Heres the fun part. By shifting the catch upwards, the trim will not fit properly now. Depending on how many washers you use, you may or may not have to cut the trim just above the catch in order to make it fit. With one washer, I was able to get away with cutting as shown. Two washers would require a lot more material to be removed. It only took about 2 minutes to cut the trim as shown though, so there isnt much effort involved.
And thats it! You're done. If all works well, your door switch will now have a few more years left in it. No more annoying flashing dome light, and your alarm will arm itself every time.