Hi all,

 

Got another issue with the Zed.

 

I picked it up from Lee's on Sat, ran like a dream all the way home. However, after leaving it over night in the rain (as I have no garage), I went for a drive on Sunday (nice weather). I got 2 miles down the road and it started revving erratically and then just cut out completey and would not restart. I had to get the breakdown people out.

 

After spraying a bit of quick start we finally got it going again and he was following me home. It cut out again about half way back and again wouldn't start for about a further 45 mins. Got it going again and it was just revving eratically and changing gears with very high revs. (its an Auto).

 

Finally got it home and checked all the connections in the engine bay and everything seems ok.

 

I tested it again yesterday on the drive way by just starting it up and leaving it to run. It idles nicely while its cold but as soon as it get to operating temp it switches off and won't start.

 

I then stripped back all the carpet in the passenger footwell and found it was damp so I dryed it all out and brought the sponge carpet base in to dry properly. After leaving it over night last night (again raining) the below picture is how it looked. Could this be the issue?

 

If the floor is wet, its ok when cold but as the ECU heats up it lifts the damp and shorts something?

 

I also ran an ECU diagnostic check and it came up with code: 12 - air flow meter circuit

 

Just want to get this sorted as soon as possible now as I'm starting to get really down about it. I can't even drive it back down to Lees now as I would have to stop about 40 times in its current state and then leave it 2 hours before I can do another 2 miles:headvswal

 

check the targa drain pipe that runs down behind the door pillar trim which goes behind the footwell trim on wing side...heres the best bit though,Mr Nissan never made this a single pipe and it goes into another tube which then exits through the body behind the wing...so to cut a long story short get in behind the footwell trim and make sure the 2 pipes have not seperated..(common problem)

So, I checked the passenger side targa drain pipe last night and guess what....... it wasn't connected! So after lots of fiddling about I managed to reconnect it and I've tied a cable tie to it to hold for the future.

 

What a pain of a job. Tonight I just need to continue to dry it out and reconnect everything. Think I'll stick my dehumidifier in the car for a few hours to really get it dried out before I give it a try. Fingers crossed:hyper:

 

I'll also check the MAF tonight, didn't get round to it last night. The front wing and footwell was swimming in water. I brought all the ecu's into the house to dry out (hopefully theres no lasting damage to them!)

I would get some of that WD40 electrical connector cleaner from screwfix or the like and when you clean all your connections it helps get the shite off and gives them a bit of protection when you put em back together.

ye good point, was gonna give everything a quick spray and clean with WD40 anyway. Hopefully it should be all ok after that.

 

I've also seen these MAF's on ebay, was thinking of maybe changing mine aswell just to make sure thats ok.... does this look ok do you think?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151195447377?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true#ht_3396wt_1141

 

Also, is there anything else I need to do when replacing the MAF or is it just plug out and plug in?

Don't buy Chinese MAFs.

Are these the Chinese ones? They come with a 12 month warranty aswell from the UK?

Are these the Chinese ones? They come with a 12 month warranty aswell from the UK?

 

They would have originated from China. The originals were Japanese manufactured, probably by Mitsubishi Electric. I am 6,000 miles away from my Z, so can't pull it off and check the manufacturer's ident.

Ah ok, thanks. Is the best place to get a new one directly from Nissan or can I get one cheaper somewhere?

OEM items are manufactured by JECS.

Ah ok, thanks. Is the best place to get a new one directly from Nissan or can I get one cheaper somewhere?

 

I wouldn't go direct to Nissan to get one, but I would get an original; you have a number of options, buy one from a UK vendor such as MJP, or from the US or just get yourself a good known used one. They're quite pricey new.

Again I have a known good maff you can borrow and try if you need to.

If you don't mind Ian, that would be a big help. They are quite pricey to just guess if its one of the culprits and I'm starting to spend alot of money on mine now:(

 

Do you just basically switch them?

You will find you will spend a lot more on them too. They're not cheap to maintain.

 

You've also answered your situation, get yourself a good used MAF to rule out the possibility of it being the culprit.

If you don't mind Ian, that would be a big help. They are quite pricey to just guess if its one of the culprits and I'm starting to spend alot of money on mine now:(

 

Do you just basically switch them?

 

Yep unplug and unbolt one install and plug in the replacement, simples. I could pop over with it one evening if you like.

Do you mind? Don't want to be a pain for you mate... Are you local?

Do you mind? Don't want to be a pain for you mate... Are you local?

 

I don't mind mate I'm near Rochdale I work in heywood so can pop over after work maybe.

Ye ok, what night are you thinking? I usually get home from work at about 6. I was on a half day today which is why I've been messing with it again lol

So, I checked the passenger side targa drain pipe last night and guess what....... it wasn't connected! So after lots of fiddling about I managed to reconnect it and I've tied a cable tie to it to hold for the future.

 

What a pain of a job. Tonight I just need to continue to dry it out and reconnect everything. Think I'll stick my dehumidifier in the car for a few hours to really get it dried out before I give it a try. Fingers crossed:hyper:

 

I'll also check the MAF tonight, didn't get round to it last night. The front wing and footwell was swimming in water. I brought all the ecu's into the house to dry out (hopefully theres no lasting damage to them!)

 

glad i could be of help:whistling::D

Yes, it defo needed doing.... Was a horrible job but it was absolutely drenched. At least I've now got a dry not working zed, rather than a soggy not working zed

This may not be related but, should the engine fan come on when started cold?

Just an update, everything seemed dry so I started it up. Left it running and sure enough 5-10mins later it started missing something and then cut out. Won't start up again now.

To me, it really does seem like the dying PTU syndrome. Car starts and runs from cold, 10 minutes later cuts and dies, allow engine to cool, starts up again and repeat...

Although I read about you water leak issues, I think that's just a coincidence and you found that out of luck tracing this fault.

You need to borrow a good series 1 PTU. Start the car allow to run and fail, then immediately swap the PTU and see if it restarts. That's exactly how I confirmed my PTU failure.

I think I still have a good series 1 you are welcome to borrow if you need to...

I've got a working s1 ptu on its way from Mondo. In the meantime I was really thinking it was something to do with damp getting to the ecu (as the car warmed up the damp rises I to the ecu etc)

 

I suppose its good that I have got that sorted anyway... it was pretty bad.

 

Just starting to get down about it now though.... just had nothing but problems so far. Just wanna start enjoying the car now:(

 

Ian mentioned earlier about trying his spare MAF aswell.

 

Other than that, the other thing that I keep thinking about is could it be a fuel issue?

 

I picked it up from Lee Dent on Sat and filled it up with Esso's premium fuel - never used this before as I've always used Shells V-power.

I've got a working s1 ptu on its way from Mondo. In the meantime I was really thinking it was something to do with damp getting to the ecu (as the car warmed up the damp rises I to the ecu etc)

 

I suppose its good that I have got that sorted anyway... it was pretty bad.

 

Just starting to get down about it now though.... just had nothing but problems so far. Just wanna start enjoying the car now:(

 

Ian mentioned earlier about trying his spare MAF aswell.

 

Other than that, the other thing that I keep thinking about is could it be a fuel issue?

 

I picked it up from Lee Dent on Sat and filled it up with Esso's premium fuel - never used this before as I've always used Shells V-power.

 

Yes, its great you've sorted the water leak, long term not good for corrosion never mind the electrics, but honestly this really seems like the PTU syndrome.

Try not to let it all beat you, my Zed has put me through the mill, and still has a whole load of problems to sort out, but to be fair on the car most of them are caused by abuse, lack of TLC and proper maintenance from previous ownerships.

Keep us posted on this though, always really helpful to hear the conclusion of these various faults.