2000 Xterra Intermittent IC warning lights

I have a 2000 Nissan Xterra 3.3L with warning lights that seem to have a mind of their own. 

1. CEL - this will come on, and every time so far has been for the distributor, which is a known issue on these vehicles. (I have replaced the distributor as well.) But it will go off on its own, for no reason and stay gone. Then randomly pop its head back on and disappear almost as quickly as it came. Its like whack-a-mole merged with Jigsaw's Japanese cousin, Nismo.

2. Parking brake light. It used to come and go like the CEL, but now it just stays like a constant companion, reminding me the parking brake exists. (I don't use it.) It would previously go away after driving a few miles, but after loaning the car to a coworker who set the thing, I had to argue with the handle to even release it in the first place. (Maybe his brute strength, maybe just my car being an absolute beater...who knows?)

3. ABS light. This is the one that concerns me. The brakes are ok and work fine, the sensors are all ok. Last time I drove it in the rain, Georgia motorists helped me discover the ABS module works like it should. It will only stay on for maybe 5-20 miles and then go. It does have a 3 inch body lift and oversized tires if that helps. 


NOTE: This vehicle used to be my daily driver, but has now been delegated to my in-town/project car only. As my daily I would drive it about 60 miles a day, plus around 300 miles every other weekend for co-parenting child exchange. Its a rugged little beat-up beast that WILL operate just fine with the lights trying to give me seizures, but now that I don't need to drive it everyday, I would like to know if I CAN fix this.  Other than the occasional distributor code, there are no codes that set for anything in any other module.

The brake light stuck on seems like low hanging fruit. Try unplugging the switches. 

Give a Google a shot on retrieving abs codes, it's a good place to start with a light on

wrote:

The brake light stuck on seems like low hanging fruit. Try unplugging the switches. 

Agree 100%. If this were in my bay, this is what I would chase first. Maybe you've already checked, but how's the brake fluid level? If I remember correctly, the fluid reservoir on these are tiny. :lol: It doesn't take much to trip the level switch.

The ABS light will be harder. There's no scan data, just flash codes and flow charts. KOEO, ground pin #8 of the DLC and watch the flashing of the ABS light. It'll display up to three codes, most recent first. The sequence will always start and end with code #12. You decode the flashes like this:

 

As for the CEL, I'd say grab a cheap code reader and keep in in the car. Even if the light isn't on, scan the codes anyway. That'll give us a starting point.

Thank you all, the brake light was in fact a switch, so that problem has been fixed!

The ABS light is also currently off, and wasn't giving me any discernable codes either. (Fluid level is fine, but a flush may be necessary.)

There are no codes in history or current, and the CEL is currently off. As my daily driver, I would regularly put 600+ miles a week on it, and now it gets maybe 100, so it could be entirely possible some conditions haven't been met.