i left last sat to come on a weeks holidays in waterford in the z i was really looking forward to having it to drive during the week

 

travelled 100 miles a bit of it hard(all the fault of 2 scoobies who put it up to me on a very decent bit of private road) stopped to get lunch. came out car wouldnt start, turning over and trying but nothing and a very very strong smell of petrol,

as luck would have it i was about 5 miles from chewies house, i rang him we towed it there and i had to leave it there for the week, he rang me later to say it had started and has started every day since, he cant drive it as not insured, so i am collecting it today, but any ideas of what it could be?

 

i did replace the petrol pump this year with a 2nd hand 1 and the symptoms seem similar but how come it has started since, i also thought it was hotter than usual when i stopped but all gauges were and are reading fine.

 

any thoughts guys, thanks

Have a look at the fuel pipes on the top of the plenum, right near the balance bar, I had a similar problem, they were leaking, turn the engine over or start it, and have a look at them and a sniff around, see if you cam smell where it's leaking....

 

HTH.

Similar problem to mine. Trouble on Thursday, managed to get it home, left it until Saturday, turned the key and the bugger started straight away. took it out for a thrashing and it's run as sweet as a nut. Bloody un-believable these cars.(see Difficulty starting thread)

 

At least YOU didn't get asked to check your compression ! !

Sounds like a PTU fault to me.

You got the car hot and it has failed when you stopped for lunch.

It then cools down and restarts.

My PTU failed a couple of weeks ago, I just got home on the drive and it cut out, wouldn't restart until the next day. Took it for another drive, within 5mins it cut out again & wouldn't restart. Fortunately I had borrowed a spare PTU, replaced it and it started immediately, swapped it back and it wouldn't start..case closed.

I have since bought a generation 2 PTU and have had no problems after fitting...

HTH

collected it this evening, drove it home, 100miles, took it handy, just as i got home it cut out, wouldnt start, gave it 15 mins started, parked it started every time since!!!

thanks for all the advice, now what is the function of a ptu?

where would i get 1? and how much will i pay for 1? cheerz

The ptu (power transistor unit ) is an ignition amplifier. Its role is to take the signal from the ecu (which is small and does not have sufficient power to directly trigger the coil packs) and boosts it up to provide the req'd electrical current to the primary circuit of the coil packs.

This unit is a real common failure point, when it gets hot it fails, then it cools at works.

Surprised you got 100miles with it.

See if someone local can lend you one....

thank you turbocraigy for that simple explanation of what a ptu is, someone local to me:D we can never all seem to have our zs running at the same time, did you see my location we are a rare enough species over here

btw what is the fitting time/difficulty?

Fitting time and difficulty of changing the PTU?

 

30 minutes taking your time.

1-Very easy, 10-Very hard.......probably 1, assuming you can use simple tools.

Looking at the engine from the front, remove the LHS throttle body boost hose to reveal the PTU under it screwed to the cam cover. 2 plugs & 4 (suppose to be) screws securing it. You can only plug it in one way so can't get that wrong. simple swap.

I have changed mine to a brand new revised PTU, this comes with an additional harness for fitment and takes slightly longer to fit, but still very easy.This revised unit is supposed to be much more reliable where as changing it for a 2nd hand original will only buy you some time & is likely to fail again.....

I had to repair my loom a little as it is some what brittle from the heat so care is req'd with the plugs.That's the only pitfall really.

Brand new PTU from the UK approx £200 all in from say MJP autos.

I got mine from the US for much cheaper ($170+$55 shipping=$225) was sent as sample;)

This worked out at £138 with a saving worth having.

Brand new PTU from the UK approx £200 all in from say MJP autos.

I got mine from the US for much cheaper ($170+$55 shipping=$225) was sent as sample;)

This worked out at £138 with a saving worth having.

 

I got mine from Ebay USA, cost me £80 delievered

collected it this evening, drove it home, 100miles, took it handy, just as i got home it cut out, wouldnt start, gave it 15 mins started, parked it started every time since!!!

thanks for all the advice, now what is the function of a ptu?

where would i get 1? and how much will i pay for 1? cheerz

 

Why dont you check for error codes first before wading in and buying a new ptu.Diagnosis by replacement is an expensive hobby.Youll kick yourself if it turns out to be dirty connection which needed cleaning up.What i find bizarre is it made 100miles then died.You waited 15 minutes then it started everytime since.A zeds engine bay wont lose much temperature in 15 minutes.The reason the ptus fail when hot is because of joins inside that fracture then expand under heat so the circuit is broken.Worth a look.Ptu,s do fail but its not as common as people make out.I know of loads of cars running series ones that have never missed a beat.Mine included.

Why dont you check for error codes first before wading in and buying a new ptu.Diagnosis by replacement is an expensive hobby.Youll kick yourself if it turns out to be dirty connection which needed cleaning up.What i find bizarre is it made 100miles then died.You waited 15 minutes then it started everytime since.A zeds engine bay wont lose much temperature in 15 minutes.The reason the ptus fail when hot is because of joins inside that fracture then expand under heat so the circuit is broken.Worth a look.Ptu,s do fail but its not as common as people make out.I know of loads of cars running series ones that have never missed a beat.Mine included.

 

That reminds me, Darryl still has my dam S1 spare ptu LOL!