JMRolfe

So… as an update, bought a OBDII plugin – this showed no faults? Possibly should have bought a different one? I wanted one that linked to my phone so got the white one per recommendations on here, shows various ECU items but says “no faults logged”? Dropped it off to the garage, he said the fault codes he was getting were a bit ‘meaningless’ (didn’t say what they were)? Checked various points and then found that the complete fuse box is corroded. He said it looks as though it had been submerged in water and was surprised I’d been driving??? He has scrubbed and cleaned it + replaced some relays. Car now starts and all appears to work with exception of the front wipers (which were on continuously as I stopped)? So next step for me is to Source / replace the fuse box. Work out how water would have got into that area of the car? There are several fuse boxes on ebay for around £35. Are their any variations? I know on the Clio I had to match one of the fuse boxes to the ECU. Anyone else had water in here? The car is almost always parked at with front right (OSF) corner pointing down a hill. I’ve not been driving through big puddles etc? @ZMANALEX thanks for your help / interest / support!

Have just ordered one of these! Last time I used one was approx 15 years ago. Cost £100+ and never really used so haven't looked at them since. Had not realised they'd gotten so cheap! Thanks

Even when jump starting / bumping does nothing? Battery is approx 4 years old so may well be due a change? I don't have a way of reading fault codes for this one unfortunately.

Hi My 350 has been sitting still for 4 weeks. Got in 1/2 expecting a flat battery but started instantly, not problems (had full tank of fuel if relevant). About 5 miles into my drive, the engine seemed to cut out for a fraction of a second, speedo dropped to zero, but then all restored as though nothing had happened. I tried accelerating / breaking / pulled over etc but didn't reoccur or show anything unusual. 10miles further on. It cut out again, this time not restarting. I was doing approx 60mph, in gear etc. but speedo said 0 and lights were on as though it was waiting to be started?? Whilst moving I slowed down to approx 15mph and effectively did a bump start but nothing happened at all. Engine turned happily but dials show the revs etc. but no speed? Accelerater pedal did nothing. Pulled over, and it's acting as though the clutch hasn't been depressed when trying to start it. Alternator seems to work. Battery went dead whilst at side of road with hazards, lights on etc. for 45min waiting for a friend. Jump start did nothing / made no difference. We retried bump starting whilst he towed it. Didn't work but did give enough charge for lights etc. for following 5min? Hence me thinking alternator isn't the problem? Don't know if it was a silly thing to do but ended up periodically putting it back in gear whilst on two as for downhills it kept tention in the tow rope and reinstated power steering / breaks / power etc. It was raining yesterday, and post this incident front wipers are not responding? Rear works fine? Does anyone have any ideas? I'm assuming it is either electrical or blockage in the fuel line & the ecu knows not to bother until fuel is through?? Many thanks James

Hi My 350 has been sitting still for 4 weeks. Got in 1/2 expecting a flat battery but started instantly, not problems (had full tank of fuel if relevant). About 5 miles into my drive, the engine seemed to cut out for a fraction of a second, speedo dropped to zero, but then all restored as though nothing had happened. I tried accelerating / breaking / pulled over etc but didn't reoccur or show anything unusual. 10miles further on. It cut out again, this time not restarting. I was doing approx 60mph, in gear etc. but speedo said 0 and lights were on as though it was waiting to be started?? Whilst moving I slowed down to approx 15mph and effectively did a bump start but nothing happened at all. Engine turned happily but dials show the revs etc. but no speed? Accelerater pedal did nothing. Pulled over, and it's acting as though the clutch hasn't been depressed when trying to start it. Alternator seems to work. Battery went dead whilst at side of road with hazards, lights on etc. for 45min waiting for a friend. Jump start did nothing / made no difference. We retried bump starting whilst he towed it. Didn't work but did give enough charge for lights etc. for following 5min? Hence me thinking alternator isn't the problem? Don't know if it was a silly thing to do but ended up periodically putting it back in gear whilst on two as for downhills it kept tention in the tow rope and reinstated power steering / breaks / power etc. It was raining yesterday, and post this incident front wipers are not responding? Rear works fine? Does anyone have any ideas? I'm assuming it is either electrical or blockage in the fuel line & the ecu knows not to bother until fuel is through?? Many thanks James

Gumtree! Brilliant idea. All the ones on Autotrader seemed over priced and eBay ones looked questionable. Love the fact you named them all. My problem is that I start with the "I might be reliable" but always get sucked in by the "Dream Machines"... I was half way to buying an FTO for £450 the other day!! I'm sure that would save me about £10 a month in fuel and cost £100 a month to run lol. Thanks once again for the help!

Hi guys. Cheers for all the advice, very useful. Grundy, I think you’re right. The cost of running two cars will add a fair amount, so I think the only way it would be feasible would be if I can find a banger for around the 500 mark. And yes, I am expecting a shed, but that’s why I’m keeping the Zed for the weekends : ) That golf you sent a link to is extremely reasonable! Shame its 200+ miles away : ( A couple of people have said stick to petrol, apparently they’re cheaper to fix? Paul, A Cleo dci 80 does seem the best option if I can pick one up cheap. £20 road tax, 70-80mpg! You best keep an eye on yours ; ) Payco, my father in-law works for Ford so he’d approve of a Focus… with all the criticism I give him for his drive looking like a ford show room I don’t think I could bring myself to do it! Lol. I’ve got two months before I start, so I’ll keep my eye out and let you know how I get on. Thanks!

Hi All, I’m interested to know what people use / would consider using as a second car? I’m looking to take a new job which will involve commuting for 2.5 hours on country roads each day. Although the 350z is a brilliant car for driving country roads, I don’t particularly want to put the miles on it (1,700 per month), or pay our for the fuel. Equally, I’d rather not sell it to buy something ‘sensible’. So… wanting the impossible… I’d like a cheap to buy car, that does many MPG and will easily overtake a tractor / pensioner when needed? I'm not overy worried about looks but dont want to pay out a fortune each year to get it MOT'd Budget is a difficult one, basically I'd like to pay £500 ish and accept that its reasonably unreliable and that I'll buy the same again in 2 years time. My alternative is £2,500 - £3,500 but I'll need it to last a good few years, not causing me any issues, and be a little nicer. Or anywhere in between. Also, is there anywhere I can get realistic MPG ratings? My misses drives a fiesta which claims 57 MPG on Parkers, non-motorway I’m lucky to get 42 in it. So far I've been recommended a diesel 307 or a Cleo 1.5 dci? Has anyone had any experience of these? Are they painfully slow? I suppose I'm more interested in 30-70 times than 0-60 times and diesels (is diesel a dirty word on here?) I believe are better than that? Any thoughts, advice, or recommendations will be very much appreciated. Cheers James

Cheers Alex I’ll have one ready painted if you do it I looked in the for sale section, but didn’t think to look in your sub section! Final piece of the puzzle will be to convince the misses! Cheers James

Hello Could anyone tell me where is the best place to get a reasonably decent, replica Nismo rear spoiler from? I am getting my boot lid resprayed next week (after someone keyed my car) so if I can find one that fits in my budget I’ll get it added on! I did spot one for £250+ postage but they were out of stock (and I’m not sure if they come recommended)? I have also seen one photo’d that doesn’t have the strip running along the bottom (between the two supports)? I think these look nicer but guessing there is a reason for the strip? Support? Ease of fitting? I wasn’t sure if this post should sit under ‘wanted’ or not. If it’s in the wrong place please could someone move it? Cheers James

Lol - that would have been a good excuse for an upgrade!

Cheers for all the support guys - it is truly gutting… Unfortunately there’s no CCVT in our car park. I tried the cameras in the adjacent car park but it doesn’t cover it at all. Security team said they’d take a more watchful eye but in reality that’s not going to stop someone : ( I’ll keep you posted on my repair process. Cheers James

We’ve just moved to a new office at work, been there 2 or 3 months, and I came out of work Friday to discover that some lovely person has scrapped their key from one end of my boot all the way across to the other :@ It’s quite a deep scratch, down to the metal in a couple of places. If it was the bonnet I’d use it as an excuse to get it resprayed and have all the stone chips taken out. Being the boot I’m reluctant to pay £250ish to get it resprayed just to find who ever did it, does it again. I’ve done a fair bit of scratch repair on the rear corners of my girlfriends car so I know the drill. I have not however tackled anything quit so long and I’ve also seen a lot of horror stories regarding getting this colour blue matched?? Just wanted to put a quick note out to see if anyone’s got any tips, do’s / don’ts or general advice before I make a start. If I try and it still looks awful I’ll reluctantly take it into the body shop at that stage. Paps attached… http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h193/ ... AG0138.jpg http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h193/ ... AG0137.jpg Cheers James

I'm not getting one reprogrammed - I'm just moving its innards from one fob to another. I've had both keys cut and it turns in the barrel (not that it does aything without the electronics). Erm... further details... Its a 2006 UK car This is similar to what I've bought: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Folding-R ... 3cb3e69fc0 I've had a local key cutting place cut the blank. They said to get a dealer to swap the insides over as I could risk wiping it if I do it wrong?? Ok, I'll just go for it and hope for the best... Cheers everyone

Hello I've had a search through the site but not yet found an answer that quite matches what I'm looking for... I've bought a cheapy flick key fob of fleebay, the instructions say to get it cut (which I've done) then swap the electronics from the old one to the new one. Before I go about doing this, is there anything I should / shouldn't know? I.e. if the battery drops out am I suddenly going to be going to Nissan to have it re programmed etc. Any other advise would be appreciated : ) Thanks James