Hey everyone this is kinda a small issue. I am wondering about the electronic compass in the center console. I am sure there is something wrong with mine. It never seems to be accurate no matter what direction I'm moving. In fact it almost seems to be in the exact opposite of the direction I'm moving. Is this happening to anyone else?

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT

 

Try recalibrating it. Electronic compasses are sensitive to local magnetic distortions. If you go on a road trip and come back home, it may need to be recalibrated again. The instructions are in the manual. I think you hold the button on the compass in until the display clears, then drive in a tight circle for a minute or so until the compass comes back up.

Had an old '91 Grand Prix in the family with an electronic compass, and it's recalibration also required you to point the car north after driving in circles. At least we don't have to do that.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

I think you hold the button on the compass in until the display clears, then drive in a tight circle for a minute or so until the compass comes back up.

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First time I did that, the neighbors thought I was drunk or crazy when I was going in circles in my driveway for a couple of minutes.[img]/w3timages/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

 

There are 15 or so zones that you have to choose from. There's a map in the owner's manual that will tell you which zone you're in. Mine was all jacked up until I did this.

 

Oh, right... that's important too. Extremely important. If you've ever used a magnetic compass while hiking, you have to know the local deviation of magnetic north to true north. That's what you're doing by selecting a zone.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Mine was screwey ... I held down the comp button to shut it off.....
turned it back on and 3 blinking lights were showing
I couldnt get the numbers or find a portion to select a number ....

at that point drove around in tight circles real slow and it came back up....

mind you it didnt matter inputting the number location, because it works perfect now..... right on perfect.

and I was drunk too..... weird.

JK [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img]
later bro

 

What If I do donuts instead of circles? Would it essentially do the same thing?

"Dont start none, won't be none"

 

Cool! So I'm not going insane, (don't answer that). [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] I will try recalibrating it tonight, sounds like that's exactly what I need to do. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

-Jason
Laser Red '03 6MT

 

Donuts would be more fun, but the compass actually needs you to just idle in a circle so it can get a bearing on the local magnetic fluctuations. Once the compass is happy, do all the donuts you can get away with. I'll stand clear. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

i thought that difference is very small, but i guess if you are closer to either pole then it might make a difference

-----

G35-Forum.com

 

The difference is about 7 degress from the east coast to the west coast. The magnetic north pole of the planet does not line up with the geological north pole, so there aren't many places where a compass actually points directly at true north.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Hey bro, I had the same issue with mine sometime back and found that I needed to follow the 'Correction procedure' that's outlined in the O/M. I had to pay special attention to the "less than 3 MPH". To do that I went to an empty parking lot to do the turns at the right speed.
BTW did you select the correct Zone from the 'zone variation chart'? Most of Cali is 4. Just a sugestion but that may have been changed by someone 'exploring' your compass.
You've probably seen the chapter on Compass Display (2-6 to 2-8) but it's easy to miss the last 2 paragraphs about the 3MPH speed and the full turns. G/L bro and watch out for the light standards in the p/lots. [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

<font color=green>GSM</font color=green>

 

GSM IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! welcome back buddy
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<font color=green>-Ramb0</font color=green>