After picking my Z up, I've had a little play and found some problems with it;

 

* Turbo whine when hot only - I tried mid temperature and it didn't make any noise at all

 

* Speedometer not working at times, then it comes back to life intermittantly

 

* Power steering going heavy and HICAS light coming on - been told it could be down to the auto gearbox sensor being damp - common problem?

 

* No rear fog lamp - how easy is it to rewire one into the centre light panel?

 

I also have a couple of switches, one which looks like a damper and another on the gearbox (not on the lever itself), and I'd just like to know what they're for.

 

Thanks,

Rachel.

If it's an auto there will be switch with A/T marked. The power mode keeps the car in the lowest gear possible to give max performance, but the kickdown will switch it into this mode. The hold is really used to hold it in the highest gear possible for starting in snow and icy conditions to prevent wheelspin etc

 

On the gearshift itself there is also a switch which is used to engage/disengage the overdrive feature of the auto box. If the switch is in the 'out' position it also lights a warning light on the dash

 

The speedo problem could be the converter chip if it's been converted to mph from kph... some are more prone to not registering at low speeds than others

 

Power steering... could be fluid low or a slack belt

 

No rear fog ? How did it get through the MOT ?

 

Turbo whine could be that the turbos have been updated ro roller bearing which do have a tendency to whine at higher revs

 

Hope this helps

speedo:

either speed sensor coming loose on gear box or loose plug on back of speedo (if happening at any speed)

or

bad soldering on speedo, and/or cheap speed converter (normally only at low speeds )

 

power steering heavy / hicas light:

either low power steering fluid

or

caused by speedo not working (power steering is speed sensitive and defaults to heavy if no signal from speedo) if the loss of speedo continues for a while this will also bring on hicas light

Where abouts is the speed sensor on the gearbox? It would just make the lads at my works life a lot easier thats all!

 

Thanks for the quick responses :)

have a look at... http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=122118

id also say speed sensor for speedo and hicas. you should already have wiring for fog light unless brand new import ? and do a boost leak test to find noise

it might not have an external fog light, is possible that it has been wired in to the light cluster itself, instead of the whole top red unit being brake lights check and see if the right hand side inner one has been used as a fog light it has on mine.

it might not have an external fog light, is possible that it has been wired in to the light cluster itself, instead of the whole top red unit being brake lights check and see if the right hand side inner one has been used as a fog light it has on mine.

 

The MOT still requires that you have an illuminating switch to show that it's on......

Hey Paul, how would I do a boost leak test? We have most garage equipment here, but for turbos and such it's usually passed on to another company.

 

Dragonback, it's been here since 1999, and a previous owner had blacked out the lights and knackered the centre panel doing the fog light. I do know of an electrician who could do it, but obviously it's better cost wise if I try :p

check to see if you have a switch for fog light first usually on centre console by gearstick or on plastic by steering wheel even sometimes on the panel underneath by your knees lol. to do a boost leak test you will need a tester that looks like a big lump of circular alloy with a tyre valve in ! remove the nose panel and MAF and put the tester in there ! use the search button on the top and you will find a link and step by step guide ;-)