# A peculiar electrical problem w/1994 b13 E



## Red_Barchetta_1994 (Oct 13, 2003)

Hi All

I love my 1994 Sentra,and i think it is a great car,however i have been having problems of electrical nature with it lately.First the interiour Dome light goes out.I put in a new bulb and it does not help.Then my trunk light goes out.Then my cigarrete lighter and rear defroster go out in a same week.After that,my brand new stereo stops working,even though i checked it out in another car,and the head unit works,just not in the Sentra.

Then i get a "Door open" light that constantly stayed on solid for few weeks,even though both doors were closed very good.And then that very same light goes away if i stay on the light,or just idling,but it flashes slowly only as i drive the car,and at the same time,the "on" button on my stereo flashes sumultaneously.

Please help me out fellas!!!I f this continues,very soon all the electrics will go out and i will have a dead car,even though the drivetrain and the body are in excellent shape.Help me save my car!!!!


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## Red_Barchetta_1994 (Oct 13, 2003)

*Also*

My right light does not work on high beam,only on low beams.


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## Jed118 (Nov 15, 2004)

You have a bad ground somewhere, or possibly a blown fuse. Check the ones under the hood for the headlamp.


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## atl (Jan 14, 2005)

*electrical problem 94 Sentra*

I agree with ground problem. There is a ground wire on right side close to wiper fluid container. I would remove neg. battery terminal when you check or clean any connections. Remove this ground or any other you find and clean the terminal and the screw and the spot on the chasis it connects to. I mean clean til they shine.. I have a 94 that I am working on now. Let me know how you make out and I will check somemore if necessary.


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## Modemagic (May 13, 2004)

This is actually a pain in the butt, but very interesting. Do we know where the grounding points are (where the grounds connect to the battery) on the B13??


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## Red_Barchetta_1994 (Oct 13, 2003)

*Ok*

Checked fuses,they're ok,but where and what are these grounding points you speak of?


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## toolapcfan (Jul 10, 2002)

Taking one thing at a time, I think your dome light issue is your door isn't shutting all the way. I had this issue in my car, in addition to the pin switch for the driver's door is a bit screwey. I've got a spare, I just haven't replaced it. Anyway, with your door open, make sure the three screws that are around the latch mechanism on the door, are tight. Mine used to come loose every couple days, I even used locktite on them. Finally I wrapped the threads with teflon tape and screwed them back in, and they've stayed tight for 6 months or longer at this point. That at least will take care of your door open light, it'll also keep the domelight from flickering on and off once that's up and working.

Since you said the domelight fuse is good, check the pin switch by jiggling it to see if the domelight comes on. It's located on the bottom right corner of the door jamb on the chassis, for the driver's door. If it's flat out crapped out, try getting one from a junkyard or from someone parting out a car. Although you only need a screwdriver to take the switch out, to unplug it from the harness, you need to remove the rear interior panel (2 door) or the B pillar cover (4 door) to get access to it.

Those two things should solve your domelight, door open light issues.

Your rear defrost is it's own circuit. When you push the buttom does the little light come on on the switch? Can you hear a relay click when you push the button? 

For your cigarette lighter, if the fuse is good, then check to see if your windshield wipers work. If so then it's not the relay, and your cigarette lighter is either bad (the lighter itself, the socket is corroded or the ground, or power wire has a break in it.) I highly doubt it's a bad ground, a ton of other components ground in the same spot and if that ground were corroded or cut, your car probably wouldn't even start. If the wipers don't work, then your relay is bad or there's bad wiring to it.

For your radio, it's just not turning on correct? Check the 10A fuse, fourth up from the bottom on the left column of fuses, as well as the 10A fuse, fourth down from the top on the right column of fuses. I'm guessing the second of those is the problem. The first fuse only saves your presets and runs the clock if your head unit has one, the second is what powers the radio. 

As for your headlight, all the headlights ground to the same point, and each dual filament bulb has a single ground, so it can't be a ground issue. If one headlight didn't work at all, then it could be a ground wire is cut somewhere before it joins the other ground wire. Additionally, all the headlights ground is shared with numerous other components, so a corroded ground is not the issue either. So my guess is that either the high beam filament in your bulb has burned out, or the high beam filament isn't getting power, which could be due to the socet being corroded, which I highly doubt, or the power wire for that filament has been cut. My guess is that the filament is burned out.

Keep us posted as to what you get solved and what doesn't and feel free to pm or e-mail me with questions. We'll get your problems sorted out for sure.


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## Red_Barchetta_1994 (Oct 13, 2003)

toolapcfan said:


> Taking one thing at a time, I think your dome light issue is your door isn't shutting all the way. I had this issue in my car, in addition to the pin switch for the driver's door is a bit screwey. I've got a spare, I just haven't replaced it. Anyway, with your door open, make sure the three screws that are around the latch mechanism on the door, are tight. Mine used to come loose every couple days, I even used locktite on them. Finally I wrapped the threads with teflon tape and screwed them back in, and they've stayed tight for 6 months or longer at this point. That at least will take care of your door open light, it'll also keep the domelight from flickering on and off once that's up and working.
> 
> Since you said the domelight fuse is good, check the pin switch by jiggling it to see if the domelight comes on. It's located on the bottom right corner of the door jamb on the chassis, for the driver's door. If it's flat out crapped out, try getting one from a junkyard or from someone parting out a car. Although you only need a screwdriver to take the switch out, to unplug it from the harness, you need to remove the rear interior panel (2 door) or the B pillar cover (4 door) to get access to it.
> 
> ...




Ok for now i fixed the radio(one wire was loose),cigarette lighter,and dome(fuses were blown but i could not see that right away).

Now working on the rear defroster,and the head light,will let everyone know how it goes

Thanks Tollapcfan,and everyone


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