Started the car this morning to go to work and it fired up fine but started making a horrendous noise - best way I can describe it is it sounded like a loud vacuum cleaner. I turned it off straight away and took the keys out, but the noise continued for about another 3 minutes before it eventually got gradually quieter and then stopped altogether. Opened the bonnet while it was making the noise but couldn't tell where it was coming from. It did sound like something gradually spinning down while it was stopping. Is this likely to be a turbo failure? Eeeeeek

 

If so, how much does it cost to get a reconditioned one? Am really hoping this isn't going to be the end of my Z for me :angry:

 

Now there is no power whatsoever, no ignition or anything. I have had some alternator charging problems recently so went to put the battery on charge, but my battery charger turned itself off immediately. Should I not attempt to charge it or start it again?

could be the fan....had mine replaced last year,,,,if so its not much expense.....does it get louder the more you accelerate?

didnt read the bottom bit about it not starting......when my fan started playing up though,,there was a horrendous vaccum cleaner type noise.....

Not sure if it gets louder when you accelerate cos I turned it off the instant it made the noise. Can't tell now cos it won't start again :(

Sounds like your Electric Rad fan.

Does your car have a turbo timer ?

Has the starter stayed in mesh flattening the battery ?

Oh why oh why do I know absolutely nothing about mechanics? Might as well be Chinese for all I know and I'm really frustrating myself! I'll ask my partner to have a look at these suggestions and get back to you. Thanks for your help so far :) Spent the morning looking for cheap vans on Ebay and it's not a welcome prospect ..

Started the car this morning to go to work and it fired up fine but started making a horrendous noise - best way I can describe it is it sounded like a loud vacuum cleaner. I turned it off straight away and took the keys out, but the noise continued for about another 3 minutes before it eventually got gradually quieter and then stopped altogether. Opened the bonnet while it was making the noise but couldn't tell where it was coming from. It did sound like something gradually spinning down while it was stopping. Is this likely to be a turbo failure? Eeeeeek

 

If so, how much does it cost to get a reconditioned one? Am really hoping this isn't going to be the end of my Z for me :angry:

 

Now there is no power whatsoever, no ignition or anything. I have had some alternator charging problems recently so went to put the battery on charge, but my battery charger turned itself off immediately. Should I not attempt to charge it or start it again?

 

doesnt sound too bad mate it sounds like your aircon sub fan kicked into life for some reason they are very noisy, it shouldnt run for 3 mins with keys out unless you have a turbo timer fitted? i found mine under the steering behind the panel...

i guess you've spiked out....taking the battery off is a good start...after 15-30 mins the ECU resets so when you put battery back on all is ready for a reboot. just bang it back on and try to turn it back on...if the fan cuts in the engine temp sensor is fooked i reckon....its the yellow connector front of the engine as you open the hood...get furred up...clean the spades until they gleam copper :)....failing that try a new temp sender :D

Edited June 4, 201015 yr by Uno

it couldn't be the starter motor stuck on could it? i.e. problem with the ignition barrel?

Thanks Uno/everyone. My partner is home now. We have tried to plug in the battery charger again and it blew the fuse in the charger immediately (for the second time).

 

We took out the air con relay from the fuse box, changed the fuse in the charger and it didn't blow this time - the battery charger worked and the fan (sounds like coming from under the middle of the bulkhead) started up. After 30 seconds or so, smoke started coming from the neutral terminal of the battery charger so we unplugged it.

 

We then took off the yellow temp sender cover and cleaned the terminals inside with sandpaper - you're right Uno, they were furred up, clean now.

 

We know we have an earth leak/short somewhere that is causing the battery to go flat regularly - could this be what the problem is? Is there a way of testing the temperature sensorder before we try and get a new one?

* Sorry, typo, last line should read "temperature sender". Not allowed to edit my posts

Hi again - does anyone know of anyone local to me who could come over and fix this for me please? I've not been able to find a mechanic locally to work on it. Thanks in advance.

Follow the leads from the battery, something has made one of the leads ground out where it shouldn't.

Should be obvious if its got hot enough to melt.

Are you in the aa? or any breakdown service? They are good for an unbiased diagnosis...

We have removed the battery for an hour thereby resetting the ECU and upon reconnection, whatever is spinning up is still spinning up - the noise is coming from very close to the left hand turbo near the engine as you look at it - is this where the air con sub fan is? Even with the engine temperature sender disconnected, the noise is still happening.

 

Is there a method of testing the engine temperature sender without running the car?

 

What's the relation between the turbo timer and the air con sub fan/system?

 

In summary, as soon as you reconnect the battery, this fan is still whirring up. Is there any further tests we can do without starting the car? Is there a way of disabling this fan so that we can just drive the car?

 

Is it safe to start the car or should we not attempt to start it?

 

For the last few times I started the car before this noise began, it delayed slightly on starting but ran fine when started.

 

My partner gets the feeling its connected with some ignition process or a faulty relay somewhere. Any ideas anyone please? Many thanks for your help - much appreciated as always.

 

Do you know of anyone who might be able to come out and help us to fix this?

the noise is coming from very close to the left hand turbo near the engine as you look at it - is this where the air con sub fan is?

This is where the starter motor is. I'm sure you have a starter problem

wires shorted out on starter??

also sounds like stuck starter to me

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I've given Silverbullet a call and he's going to try and get over and have a look for me. Many thanks as always for your help.

Yay! Thanks guys, the Beast lives :) It was indeed a stuck starter motor causing the problem. After having a chat with Silverbullet my partner whacked the starter a few times and bingo! Many thanks to all of you and especially to Silverbullet - you guys are tops :)

jolly good, guess you'll be needing a 2nd hand starter now...or failing that keep a hammer in the glovebox :D

good thing you cleaned the temp sender they are a regular weak spot on zeds