Does anyone know what the SPORT light flashing 16 times on K11 NCVT means?

Dear Micra Club Members,

Please could you help me with this little mystery?

We have a Nissan Micra 1.4 SE Auto K11 with the Jatco RE0F21A NCVT and torque converter. Recently when the ignition is switched on the SPORT light on the dashboard flashes 16 (sixteen) times and then goes out. The SPORT button and light then work normally. I have tried googling this condition but have not been able to find out if this is a fault condition or a service request indicator. The car drives well and is otherwise in very good condition for its age.

I tried putting the Jatco RE0F21A into self-diagnosis mode with a warmed up engine but the sequence did not seem to work. I have seen other pedal/shifter/ignition methods on-line but they seem to be for the older 1993 K11 Micras with the magnetic clutch. There are NCVT memory reset and re-calibration modes but these again seem to be for the pre-facelift 1993 car.

I have heard that the speedometer could be at fault due to a speed sensor or resistor problem but it seems to work correctly and be without any lag.

A year ago the car failed to start due to a faulty fuel pump and was towed to a local garage about a mile away with the front wheels on the ground. I have found that the handbook says that the NCVT version should have been put on a trailer.

I have had suggestions to take it to a Nissan Main Dealer for them to plug in their diagnostic computer for £114+VAT but have heard that this fault gives a no-fault-found quite often - could be wasted money on an old car.

Does anyone know what the SPORT light flashing 16 times means?

Thanks for your help.
 
Dear Micra Club Members,

Please could you help me with this little mystery?

We have a Nissan Micra 1.4 SE Auto K11 with the Jatco RE0F21A NCVT and torque converter. Recently when the ignition is switched on the SPORT light on the dashboard flashes 16 (sixteen) times and then goes out. The SPORT button and light then work normally. I have tried googling this condition but have not been able to find out if this is a fault condition or a service request indicator. The car drives well and is otherwise in very good condition for its age.

I tried putting the Jatco RE0F21A into self-diagnosis mode with a warmed up engine but the sequence did not seem to work. I have seen other pedal/shifter/ignition methods on-line but they seem to be for the older 1993 K11 Micras with the magnetic clutch. There are NCVT memory reset and re-calibration modes but these again seem to be for the pre-facelift 1993 car.

I have heard that the speedometer could be at fault due to a speed sensor or resistor problem but it seems to work correctly and be without any lag.

A year ago the car failed to start due to a faulty fuel pump and was towed to a local garage about a mile away with the front wheels on the ground. I have found that the handbook says that the NCVT version should have been put on a trailer.

I have had suggestions to take it to a Nissan Main Dealer for them to plug in their diagnostic computer for £114+VAT but have heard that this fault gives a no-fault-found quite often - could be wasted money on an old car.

Does anyone know what the SPORT light flashing 16 times means?

Thanks for your help.
Hi Arrow, I have had this very same issue for the past month or two and have not figured out what this error code could be, but I also have a 1.4 SE CVT k11 from 2002, sport light flashing 16 times before disappearing after turning over.

I'm not sure if this is related but it began not long after it had trouble starting a few months back which seemed to be due to a low battery at the time as I had the fan and radio running for some time before starting (very hot day, managed to start just fine about 20mins later though and the battery voltage returned to normal after driving around for a while so was thinking this might be the error even though 16 flashes doesn't seem to be on any official list I can find). I was planning on getting a new battery and trying to clear the error codes stored at some point to see if this resolves it and will update when I can, in the meantime hopefully someone else has also encountered and solved this issue and will post soon.

As an additional note I don't think my issue is speedometer related as it seems to be functioning normally and I have never had an issue so far (although as with many it is always showing approx 5mph above the true speed of the vehicle).

All the best.
 
16 blinks isnt a code according to the manual. Try the following steps:
1631873696608.png


And here is AT-7028 to get the codes for the self diagnostic:
1631873791952.png

And here are the codes:
1631873818142.png

1631873828885.png

1631873839334.png
 
OP
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Dear Western and Maarten,

Thank you for your replies to my post and I apologise for taking a while to respond.

Firstly Maarten's very comprehensive information is useful. I have tried the TCM Self-diagnostic Procedure (No Tools) before - albeit with slightly different wording - but it gave no readout on the SPORT light. The problem seems to be that the 16 flashes gets in the way of the error code coming out. I have tried doing the routine very slowly, waiting for the 16 flashes to finish at each turning on of the ignition, but to no avail.

Secondly I considered Westen's suggestion of a low battery voltage. Maarten's data SAT457FA "SPORT indicator lamp - Flickers as shown below" seems to show basically what the SPORT light is doing (but doesn't say 16 flashes exactly). As I have said, the car had been to the garage for a replacement fuel pump when the battery was probably taken off for a long time and also has been through several COVID Lockdowns with a low state of battery voltage so this may be the root of the problem.

I have considered just disconnecting the battery for a while to see if this is an easy fix but l don't have the code for the radio. We may have to live without the radio as I am sure the Nissan Main Dealer would want payment for getting this code back.

I hope Western has had some luck with his fault finding and that a new battery may be the answer.

Hopefully these responses help anyone else who has similar problems.

Thanks for your help Micra Sport Club members.

Yours sincerely,
ARROW
 
Dear Western and Maarten,

Thank you for your replies to my post and I apologise for taking a while to respond.

Firstly Maarten's very comprehensive information is useful. I have tried the TCM Self-diagnostic Procedure (No Tools) before - albeit with slightly different wording - but it gave no readout on the SPORT light. The problem seems to be that the 16 flashes gets in the way of the error code coming out. I have tried doing the routine very slowly, waiting for the 16 flashes to finish at each turning on of the ignition, but to no avail.

Secondly I considered Westen's suggestion of a low battery voltage. Maarten's data SAT457FA "SPORT indicator lamp - Flickers as shown below" seems to show basically what the SPORT light is doing (but doesn't say 16 flashes exactly). As I have said, the car had been to the garage for a replacement fuel pump when the battery was probably taken off for a long time and also has been through several COVID Lockdowns with a low state of battery voltage so this may be the root of the problem.

I have considered just disconnecting the battery for a while to see if this is an easy fix but l don't have the code for the radio. We may have to live without the radio as I am sure the Nissan Main Dealer would want payment for getting this code back.

I hope Western has had some luck with his fault finding and that a new battery may be the answer.

Hopefully these responses help anyone else who has similar problems.

Thanks for your help Micra Sport Club members.

Yours sincerely,
ARROW
Hi there I had the same problem with mine and it was caused by the online pressure sensor needing to be replaced. The 16 flashes are just an indicator that there is a problem with the cvt it doesn’t show the specific error, for that you need to do the self diagnostic procedure. Although I did it on mine and it didn’t actually point anything out to me. The garages I took it to thought it was the speed sensors so after a lot of looking round to purchase them I replaced them but still had the 16 flashes. I bought a cheap error code reader and it did actually show it was the inline pressure sensor so next I had the fluid changed and a new cvt filter. This didn’t affect it so then got hold of a used inline pressure sensor which fixed it straight away. Mine is a slightly later 2001 h cvt rather than the n cvt which means it doesn’t have the magnetic brushes but otherwise is very similar. I did also try disconnecting the battery for eight hours but that didn’t help in my case. There is a site online where you can get radio codes for around £10 ish and that worked for me. Hope this helps !
 
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Dear Richmicra,

Thanks for replying to this thread with useful information.

I have tried putting the gearbox into diagnostic mode but the 16 flashes of the SPORT light get in the way of any of it's output codes.

Please could you state the make and model of the fault code reader you used to discover that the online pressure sensor was faulty as my Streetwize Deluxe OBDII Fault Code Reader SWOBD4 only gives engine codes. I would prefer to have a proper reader I can use in future rather than to pay a Nissan Main Dealer just to tell me what the codes mean each time a fault occurs.

Again, thanks for your help Micra Sport Club Members!

Yours faithfully ARROW
 
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Dear Marrten,

I tried the Self-diagnostic Procedure you gave me again and managed to do it correctly this time.

The 4th judgement flicker indicator points to LINE PRESSURE SOLENOID CIRCUIT.

When I switched the ignition off and on again to drop out of diagnostic mode the SPORT light and sports mode button went back to working normally.

I will see if the fault returns over time and at least I now know what component to keep an eye on.

Does anyone have any information on where this solenoid is on the gearbox and whether it is a part I could replace myself if needed?

Thanks for your help and that of Westen and Richmicra.

ARROW
 
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Sorry to revive an old thread but does anyone the answer to this? As in where the sensor is and can it be replaced?
Hi Scott,
My flashing SPORT light sorted itself out after it dropped out of Diagnostic mode and has not reoccurred. Please read all of this thread for how to put it into Diag Mode and it will tell you which sensor is at fault. With any luck it could clear the fault by itself (as it did for me) or tell you where to look. Good luck.
 
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Dear Scott,

I will try to give you a better answer to your question.

Short answer:

You need to put the gearbox into Diagnostic mode for it to tell you which part is at fault. Some of the sensors and solenoids are on the outside of the gearbox and some are internal. I have found a splendid diagram of the internals of the gearbox from www.automaticchoice.com and they can supply some of the Input and Output Speed Sensors but you may have to go to a specialist to have them fitted.

Complete answer:

Please note that the following is only for the JATCO RE0F21A N-CVT gearbox with a torque converter used in the Micra K11 from 2000 onwards. Pre 2000 cars have a magnetic clutch RE0F05A gearbox which has a different diagnostic system.The SPORT light flashing 16 times when the ignition is turned on is an indication of an N-CVT gearbox fault.

If you put the gearbox into its Diagnostic mode by doing the ignition/pedals/selector sequence as described in a previous post in this thread entitled "TCM Self-diagnostic Procedure (No Tools)" then the SPORT light will flash out a code which will tell you which of the gearbox sensors or solenoids are at fault. The procedure needs to be done EXACTLY as it took me several attempts to get it right.

The readout on the SPORT light will give a long pulse and the a stream of short pulses, one of which will be SLIGHTLY longer than the others. Count the short pulses, after the long first pulse, and do not worry if you miss it as the code will keep repeating until you switch off the ignition.

In my case it showed a slightly longer fourth pulse which pointed to the Line Pressure Solenoid Circuit according to the "Judgement of Self-diagnosis Code" shown in a previous post.

When I turned off the ignition and then back on, the 16 pulses of the SPORT light had stopped and they haven't returned after much varied driving. As described previously, I suspect the error was logged in the gearbox control system because the car was towed in Neutral to a local garage with its front wheels on the road, which is forbidden according to the Nissan handbook and Haynes workshop manual. I suspect that some of the gearbox internals were rotating whilst the engine driven CVT gearbox oil pump was stopped and as it was a short low speed journey then there was no permanent damage and the fault code was cleared.

I have not been able to find out the position of the Line Pressure Solenoid Valve on the JATCO RE0F21A but as the problem seems to have fixed itself I have left it for the moment.

I hope this answers your question.

Yours faithfully

ARROW
 
Thank you Arrow for your detailed reply, much appreciated!
I did manage to get it into diagnostic mode and did point to the same issue you mention I.e the line pressure system as such. My sport light is still flashing afterwards and even had an issue where my girlfriend was driving it and said it was like it was stuck in 2nd gear and was very high revving after she turned the car off and on it was ok on the shirt journey back home. I clear the dtc code with my scanner and the eml goes out but comes back on a day later with the same error. Just trying to see if it’s an easy fix or a gearbox out job…
Will speak to a mechanic I have used for years and see what he comes back with after having the car for a few days and make a decision after that if to keep the car and repair or sell it. The car is an SE in really good condition inside and structurally, no rust on the sills etc and has been serviced well…just this cvt gearbox issue ?
 
Hi Maarten, no not yet… I’ve checked the cvt dipstick and has clean fluid up to the max line. I probably will get it changed, just really trying to ascertain where this inline pressure sensor is (inside or outside) the gearbox housing. Also read on the internet could even be a hydraulic pump of some sort inside the gearbox which may have stopped but not sure how true that is and if one is fitted inside this gearbox…Kinda wished it was a manual or easy to swap it to a manual box ?
 
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Hi Scott,

I am sorry to hear that you were not lucky enough to have cleared the problem as easily as I did.

I have found the section in the Nissan Service Manual which refers to the Line Pressure Solenoid and the Line Pressure Sensor which I include as attachments.

The position of the CVT Fluid Pressure Sensor is shown here:
N-CVT Exploded Diagram.jpg

I recommend that you look at the RE0F21A data at www.automaticchoice.com. It has been suggested to me by the print magazine Car Mechanics that the Line Pressure Solenoid is somewhere on the Valve Block on the base of the gearbox and that cleaning the electrical connections may help. I have not done this, in my case, as I believe in leaving well alone. If this doesn't work then you will need an Automatic gearbox garage who is also a Continuously Variable Transmission specialist to properly diagnose and fit the correct parts. CM Mag recommended to me www.sat-ltd.co.uk/services and www.automaticman.co.uk or www.brittanic-autos.co.uk. They may also help you decide if it is worth your while to repair it. I have been quoted £114+VAT for a N-CVT diagnostic session at a Nissan Main Dealer in the past. I have also seen N-CVT reset/recalibration sequences online but they look like they are for newer versions of Nissans.

Our SE makes a fine city car but this vintage of Nissan has a problem with paint peel.The silver top coat blisters easily and leaves the unsightly primer coat on display but without going rusty. I have repaired several of these patches but it comes back in other areas.

Hope this helps

Yours faithfully

ARROW
 

Attachments

  • N-CVT Line Pressure Sensor info(1).pdf
    270 KB · Views: 146
  • N-CVT Line Pressure Solenoid info.pdf
    394.8 KB · Views: 134
OP
OP
A
Hi Scott,

I am sorry to hear that you were not lucky enough to have cleared the problem as easily as I did.

I have found the section in the Nissan Service Manual which refers to the Line Pressure Solenoid and the Line Pressure Sensor which I include as attachments.

The position of the CVT Fluid Pressure Sensor is shown here:
N-CVT Exploded Diagram.jpg

I recommend that you look at the RE0F21A data at www.automaticchoice.com. It has been suggested to me by the print magazine Car Mechanics that the Line Pressure Solenoid is somewhere on the Valve Block on the base of the gearbox and that cleaning the electrical connections may help. I have not done this, in my case, as I believe in leaving well alone. If this doesn't work then you will need an Automatic gearbox garage who is also a Continuously Variable Transmission specialist to properly diagnose and fit the correct parts. CM Mag recommended to me www.sat-ltd.co.uk/services and www.automaticman.co.uk or www.brittanic-autos.co.uk. They may also help you decide if it is worth your while to repair it. I have been quoted £114+VAT for a N-CVT diagnostic session at a Nissan Main Dealer in the past. I have also seen N-CVT reset/recalibration sequences online but they look like they are for newer versions of Nissans.

Our SE makes a fine city car but this vintage of Nissan has a problem with paint peel.The silver top coat blisters easily and leaves the unsightly primer coat on display but without going rusty. I have repaired several of these patches but it comes back in other areas.

Hope this helps

Yours faithfully

ARROW
 

Attachments

  • N-CVT Line Pressure Solenoid info.pdf
    394.8 KB · Views: 120
  • N-CVT Line Pressure Sensor info(1).pdf
    270 KB · Views: 132
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