Hey Gang,
I have an '02 X that I recently purchased. I bought Nissan (aftermarket) key fobs which are identical to the one I got from the previous owner.

I was able to program them no problem. The head lights blink and the horn chirps when activated.

But, the security indicator light on the dash does not blink/light up, nothing.

There is a toggle switch down below the parking brake along the door trim. I've flipped it up and down. Still the light doesn't turn on.

Any suggestions??

Thanks

A toggle switch?????? not sure about that, does it look like it might be something aftermarket, put in by the previous owner?

I wonder if you switched something when you re programed the new fobs,... I think there is a process where you can disable, re-able the security, or the horn beep and such on the X so that one or the other may , or may not activate each time you push the lock buttons on the fobs
.

Mine's an '03 and there is a way to enable/disable the horn when setting the alarm (I'd have to look it up to tell you how to do it). BUT, the security light should still come on, either way.

There were a couple of mods you could do that added a switch like you mention. I have one on mine, but it's to turn on/off a rear wiper delay (thanks electroken - it's still working like a champ!). So my suggestion to you would be two things. First, as you bought the truck used and don't know what the switch is for, you could either ask the previous owner or trace it back to see where it goes. That would give you some idea of what it is for. Second, test the fob by activating a panic. If that works, you know that fob is activating the alarm. You could also lock the truck and let it sit for a short bit. Then go back an just hit the unlock button to unlock the truck. Then not do anything. Don't open any doors. After a short bit (10 minutes I think) it should relock all the doors. If that works, then I'd feel comfortable that the system is working as designed (WAD).

It may be as simple as the security light is toast/disconnected.

Report back what you find.

-G

""You could also lock the truck and let it sit for a short bit. Then go back an just hit the unlock button to unlock the truck. Then not do anything. Don't open any doors. After a short bit (10 minutes I think) it should relock all the doors. If that works, then I'd feel comfortable that the system is working as designed (WAD).""

REALLY??? Did I read that right ? The doors should re-lock themselves? Is this something that you have to program it to do?

Nope. Part of the system. If the doors are locked and you hit the unlock button and NOT open ANY doors, they will relock themselves after 10 minutes (I think - could be more, could be less). Automagically!

-G

thats cool, I'll have to try it to see if it works on mine.

The "toggle switch" on the door I have reason to believe would be a Valet switch. That turns the alarm on and off if you valet the vehicle at work/restaurant/etc.

I had tried opening the door thru an open widow with the alarm activated. But when I did so, the alarm did not sound. Which I assume it would. As if someone used a slim-jim to unlock and steal your car.

When the door is breached while locked, the alarm should sound.

I've also tried tapping on the vehicle to see if that would make the alarm chirp or sound full. Unfortunately it did not.

Before the winter hits, I plan on having an auto start installed. I'll ask the install company if there is an alarm. If they find one I'll see if they can activate it.

Otherwise I'll just have a whole new auto start/alarm installed.

If the toggle switch is an aftermarket addition, why would my new keyfob work with the Nissan instructions on programming a new keyfob?

I might have to look under the hood to see if there is an aftermarket alarm. I don't know if I would find one. It could be installed under the dash.

See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1WoKPLK_Ac

As none of the X's so far have a switch for doing this, I would assume it's something the previous owner did to the truck. I'm not really getting the resoning for doing this, valet switches are used to lock the trunk so valet's can't get in it, not to turn the alarm on/off. Why would you not want the alarm on if it's being valet parked?



My question here is, IS the switch an aftemarket addition? If it is, and at this point I think reason would say that it is, what is it for? You mention that you "have reason to believe" it's for turning the alarm on/off for "valet parking", but you you haven't said that you traced it to see where it actually goes. IF it's NOT for the alarm, it could be for something entirely different, which COULD explain why your new fobs were programmable.

So, what is this switch on the door actually for? Where does it go? What is it actually connected to?

Also, does your truck even have an alarm? I think there were some that didn't. If it's an SE, it would have, but I think some of the XE's didn't. They had fobs for locking/unlocking the doors, but not an alarm. Yours may fall into that catagory as you've established in other threads that you don't have an SE. I.E., you may not HAVE an alarm.

-G

According to all the trim on my vehicle, I have an XE/V6 Xterra. So you may be correct that I do NOT have an alarm.

If there was an alarm installed, where would I find it?

I'm curious about the toggle switch myself. Anytime I've seen a switch down along the driver door, it was always for a Valet switch. I'll have to take the kick panel off and see where it goes too.

At the moment, I have no idea what it's used for. I don't think the previous owner does either. If anything, maybe the Original owner had an aftermarket alarm installed and then yanked it out before he sold it. So that's why there is a toggle switch left behind.

by asking if it was an aftermarket addon, what I meant is not that its directly related to the alarm at all, it may have been something the owner put in for some other reason all together, and that it may have nothing to do with the alarm.

Regarding the toggle switch - Is your truck a manual transmission? If so, someone could have rigged a clutch interlock by-pass by connecting a toggle switch down there.

k_enn