Jump to content

350Z Broke Down Today - Very dangerous!


HampshireRob

Recommended Posts

Owned my Jan 2005 GT for about 1 month now. All Ok so far apart from a slightly lumpy idle...until today :angry:

 

After ~45 minutes I was coming to the end of the motorway and joining an inner-city fly-over (no hard shoulder). Backed off the accelerator and noticed that the Rev Counter was bouncing all over the place (my foot was off the pedal at this stage). When I tried to apply the accelerator there was zero effect. No power. Still loosing speed. Rev Counter and engine speed bouncing up and down frantically.

 

Oh crap I'm thinking - no hard should and going up an incline on a fly-over at rush hour. Quickly put into neutral and thankfully had enough momentum to get me over the crest of the hill and down the other side where I could guide it into a (slightly) safer place - with the engine cutting out and the loss of power steering (boy it gets heavy).

 

Expecting the worst I turn the ignition off and take a few deep breaths. Then, turn the ignition on. Car starts perfectly and idles fine. Try to drive off and it stutters again and I'm forced to stop 50 yards later.

 

Wait 5 mins and try again - everything fine! Drove another 15 minutes home no problem.

 

Note that no warning lights came on at all.

 

Please, any help welcome?

 

Prime suspects (from reading thes threads):

 

1. Battery (although it superficially seems fine);

2. Throttle sensor/body dirty?

3. Vacuum leak?

4. Earthing problem?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you bought it from a dealer then take it back pronto!

 

If you have extended warranty e.g. warranty direct -then we will pray for you!

 

If it was private purchase & no warranty then as Mike says, try cleaning the throttle body or check the MAF sensor - dead easy to remove.

 

Maybe a ECU reset / throttle learning ecu reset? Just a thought.

 

Hope it's a cheap fix

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I`m pretty familiar with cars with poorly MAF sensors and they usually just won't pull at higher revs or have very poor idle. IMO a faulty MAF is unlikely to be ok one minute and not the next (unless it is the wiring connector which is loose/bad).

It sound like a cam or crank sensor problem to me.

If the car has been that bad then it will have a fault code stored. Get it hooked up to a diagnostic and get the codes read. Most garages will be able to do this for you )or buy your own reader from eBay, they are quite cheap). Once you have the codes you know the problem (hopefully).

Do NOT do an ECU reset if you want to read the codes as you will wipe them out.

 

Just noticed you said the engine revs were actually jumping, not just the rev gauge. I have changed my opinion to the throttle pedal sensor :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Exactly the same as mine at the moment mate.

 

Still going through everything to get it back to health again.

 

I bet you will will get codes . p0300 multicylinder missfire, p1283 bank 2 lean

 

I did get a code once for the heated oxygen sensor number 2. I am going to replace it but i reckon its only brought that up due to the car having a running issue.

:(

 

Good luck mate and if i sort it i will let you know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm heavily leaning towards thinking it's one of the two Cam Position Sensors or the Crankshaft Position Sensor.

 

Both would cause a (catastrophic) misfire. Whereas throttle position problems generally wouldn't (logic not experience talking here)?

 

Think the rev bouncing thing is either the left or right bank turning on and off as the sensor is flicking on/off/on/off.

 

Looking back through the paperwork it's already had a new Crankshaft Position Sensor a year or so back.

 

Anyone know any traders on here that sell the Cam Sensors?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

not that I know anything but wouldn't the fact that it had a crankshaft position sensor a year ago suggest that there was a problem back then that wasn't really solved by replacing that part? Would it go again so soon?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Latest update...

 

Called into Nistec in Portsmouth - local independent Nissan specialist. Owner/mechanic was a Nissan mechanic for years before starting up.

 

Computer diag indicated a crankshaft position anomaly.

 

But he said that while at Nissan he worked on loads of Camshaft Position Sensor failures - sometimes taking up the majority of his work schedule. Yes, the crankshaft sensors failed too - but not half as much as the camshaft sensors.

 

Anyway, booked in for all 3 sensors on Thursday (my choice as it's bugging the arse of me and want to guarantee a fix).

 

£53 per sensor and £60 to fit. Fingers crossed.

 

Rob.

 

P.S. Nissan quoted me £75/sensor but couldn't fit me in for ages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

P0335 CKP - Crankshaft Position

 

But the mechanic said this can be misleading - it implies that the logic within the ignition system that processes the cam1/cam2/crank positions (which are all relative to each other) has spotted something out of spec - so in reality it can still be any of the sensors that's shot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See i dont get that code at all. I was getting p0300 multi cylinder misfire. That went and i was getting the code fro oxygen sensor 2 bank 2 and then bank 2 lean code.

 

Peice of crap car i tell you. Lumpy idle and now and then stutters it tits off down then road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Double-checked the usual suspects?

 

1. Battery (easy to get this tested)

2. Throttle body (easy to clean)

3. Vacuum leak (harder to spot I guess)

4. Earthing problem (harder to spot)

5. Crank Position Sensor (or bad connection to harness - a bad sensor housing can leak oil onto the electrics)

6. Cam1/Cam2 Position Sensor (or bad connection to harness - a bad sensor housing can leak oil onto the electrics)

 

With mine i'm sure its either 5. or 6. above which is why i'm having the lot changed. £160 gamble for you though I guess? You're welcome to borrow my old sensors if you'd like to do some tests? 2/3 will probably be ok (might be obvious once they're off).

 

Let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad to hear you're getting somewhere.

 

Sorry your experience hasn't been great so far Madden. I guess as these cars start to age we will find out what niggles and faults they MAY develop. Although it's no direct help, these sorts of faults are very few and far between at the moment. The few of us that are still around that have had them from new or nearly new have been used to pretty much fault free motoring (touch wood!). Really hope you can get it sorted quickly so you can enjoy it! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha you can have the old sensor if you want. :lol:

 

Just gone through the whole wiring loom and all is good. Earths are spot on and no shorts to live when ecu is disconnected :)

 

Also got someone to check a crank postion sensor and there is meant to be no resistance between any of the pins where i have restance between pins 1 & 2. So is looking deffinatly shagged. Hope it sorts my car out :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well i found something today.

 

Crankshaft position sensor plug had copper showing and a bit smashed up. Checked the sensor and is seems broken :)

 

Waiting on some new parts and hope all is ok :)

 

I had a loose harness on a Camshaft Position Sensor and it caused all sorts of trouble too. What's up with these things getting damaged like they do?

 

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=19425

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...