Ok, can anyone please help me out here?

 

TBH I think I may have two probs, I'll explain;

 

Firstly it's a pain to start, it takes quite a few attempts to start it from cold. Its as if the fuel is returning to the tank, and its having to pump it back up before it'll start :confused:

 

Second, with the first problem, its draining the battery, not too much if I've used it the day before, but I last used it this week on Monday. When I got home from work this afternoon, I tried to start it, but as it didnt strike on the first attempt, it then lost the battery power and I just got a clicking on and off sound :confused: . I've got a Scorpion alarm/imobiliser fitted, which is switched on all the time when I'm not using it, I'm persuming that it is this that is caursing the bettery drain............. any ideas of what I could do here, as it's not garaged, so I dont wana leave it without the alarm on.

 

Dave :cry:

Same problem as me mate .... You need a new battery .... High cca over 550

 

That should solve your click click click relay madness ....

 

HTP

 

chris

It could also be something draining the battery ..... search the posts on the forum .. I saw a good way to check the battery with a multimeter and hunting down what could be draining it ... just can't remember at the mo ...

Same problem as me mate .... You need a new battery .... High cca over 550

 

That should solve your click click click relay madness ....

 

HTP

 

chris

 

ty, I was told when I got it that it had had a new battery recently fitted, due to "it wasnt being used enough, so it had flattened the battery"

Now I see why it was flattening the battery :D .

 

Yeah, I'll have a good look around to see if I can find anything that might be draining it

 

Cheers m8 ;)

 

Dave

It could also be something draining the battery ..... search the posts on the forum .. I saw a good way to check the battery with a multimeter and hunting down what could be draining it ... just can't remember at the mo ...

 

 

id say if something had gone wrong then it would drain your battery overnight, sounds to me like to seperate probs.

 

not sure on your fuel prob, but on the battery front it sounds like your battery is on its way out, when the weather starts getting cold it roots out all the batteries that are on their way out.

id say if something had gone wrong then it would drain your battery overnight, sounds to me like to seperate probs.

 

not sure on your fuel prob, but on the battery front it sounds like your battery is on its way out, when the weather starts getting cold it roots out all the batteries that are on their way out.

 

Does the car only take a while to start when cold ?. When warm does it start without a problem ?.

You have exactly the same problem as my Nissan....but mine is in a Micra :(

 

Anyway, the problem I have is when cold it takes a little while to start, and every now and again, you can hear the revs go down, and it loses a little power. I've even had it when going 90 odd, all of a sudden it drops to 70, and then i've also had it drop from 60 to 0 (not fun), and then it not start again. Your problem is not as serious as mine, but mine started just like yours - I thought there was something wrong with battery (cos it only happened when the radio was on), and then a few months later it all went screwy.

 

I would check the following:

Battery water (or even maybe a new battery) - mine was empty when I looked, so I added more water.

Fuel Filter - get a new one

Fuel Pump - maybe new one?

My mechanic told me to replace both the above parts, and go to him, so he could clean up the whole of the fuel system (in case there was a block). Cos I am too poor :cry: (saving for my Z though :cool: ) I just went and replaced the filter - but still have problems.

 

Also, a few other people mentioned having a look at the carburetter, but I don't think yours is that bad. Anyway, my mechanic also told me to pump the accelerator a few times if its quite cold, and hold down the accelarator a tiny bit when you start it.

 

Anyway, the car is still giving me problems (not as bad as breaking down 4 times on the A3 on the way to work though), and if I don't warm it up for a good 15 minutes, it still loses power, so I am off this afternoon to find a cheap car, so I am still on target to buy the Z in about a year or so :dance:

Theres a white BMW on eBay for 400 slightly modded with MOT/TAx until July only wants £400 for it. I'm sort of looking for a station car at the moment and it caught my eye. The boss probably would not let me have another one car at the moment.

 

On topic - Dave it does sound like somethings pulling the battery down - how about getting one of those solar chargers as temp measure until you can find out what's still running?

Take the car to a good garage/battery stockist and they will check the battery. Easy.

 

Gotidude, theres no carburettor on a Z. If you think there is I would question your advice, but I am sure it was meant well.

 

My Z takes a while, 4-5 seconds, to start if I have left it for 2-3 weeks, and in my case I think it is the fuel taking a time to get up, but i should not e as the presure is quite high on these pumps. When it starts does it run on 6, or missfire a bit, if it misfires it could be the injectors leaking.

Right to answer a few replies, as I wasnt on-line last nite :)

 

In order to your reply;

 

1) SMW1 - It takes quite a few turns, I'm talking of minutes on cold. On hot if I've left it all day, it may take a couple of turns, but if its only about an hour or so it'll start first time.

 

2) gotidude - The water level in the battery is fine, but I may still get a new one anyway, its only 60ah and a 440, so may see if I can get a bigger capacity. Having just stripped the rear interior trim out for having my new shocks fitted today, I've noticed that the fuel pump is speeding up and slowing down on idle, so I may get a new fuel pump and filter at the same time.

Oh! and carburetter, lol, I like it m8 :dance:

 

3) BarryD - Last night I left the alarm switched off, although the imobiliser still switches itself on, tgis morning the battery was fine, still took a bit to start, but at least the battery didnt die on me. Although I'm still not convinced that this is the answer.

 

4) markstevens - It does seem to run on all six cylinders, but it takes a while to get there, still think its fuel starvation, while the pump is presurising the system.

 

Thanks very much everyone for all your help, the cars of to my mechanic this week anyway for the shocks and exhurst, so I'll ask him to check the battery out.

 

Dave

If it runs on 6, but it takes a while. Almost as if the engine has to wind up to 6, this 6 could be your problem with starting.

 

When ijectors get a bit old, they can leak, this makes no difference when running but when stopped for a while the fuel runs out of the injector and needs to be refiled before it fires the cyclinder.

 

I have not seen this on a Z but have on many other cars. ???

Sounds like the auto choke is not working.

 

...isn't there a AIV? valve at the back of the engine that acts like a choke? Standard to a lot of fuel injected cars. Suggest you find it, remove it and check that it's working. By removing the pipes you can get at the moving valve. It gets stuck as there's oil in the air that it's processing - more so on turbocharged cars. I used to have this problem on a Saab turbo - haven't had it on my NA. A squirt od WD 40 used to solve the problem. If it's been stuck for a long time then there's a possibility that the bushes on the motor have burnt out. It's easy to pull apart but difficult to re-assemble.

 

good luck

 

Jack

 

...and buy a new battery - you'd be surprised how a failing batter affects the Z

Also, a few other people mentioned having a look at the carburetter, but I don't think yours is that bad. QUOTE]

 

Obviously still don't know enough about the Z to deserve getting one this year :o

Also, a few other people mentioned having a look at the carburetter, but I don't think yours is that bad. QUOTE]

 

Obviously still don't know enough about the Z to deserve getting one this year :o

 

It's ok m8, we'll let you off :D

 

Thank you for your reply :cool:

 

Dave :hyper:

I have had a similar cold start problem recently which mechanics traced (they reckon) to a faulty spark and timing computer which was pushing out a resistance way above the spec resistance (above 5000 ohm) and causing overfueling. So they stuck a resistor in somewhere in parallel which brought the resistance down to the spec level and my car now starts properly on about the 5th crank.

 

The mechanics decided not to replace the spark and timing unit because of the cost (even second hand).

 

Only problem now is that I have developed a misfire on one of the cylinders. I am hoping that this is simply a loose connection on one of the coilpacks, but does anyone know if it might be related to the above-described hack job with the resistor?

could be the battery when people say they fit a new battery it's not always brand new,sometimes it's s/h,also not sure if the z has the same thing but i had a urvan once that drained the battery when stood turned out it had a diode in the alternator that failed and allowed the current to drain back

I had a cold start problem once...

It was found to be the temperature sensor for the ecu

it was sending the wrong signals and flooding the engine...

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=48206

As it turned out, I changed the battery and that solved the problem, although I was expecting it to come back last winter in the cold weather, but it didnt :D

 

 

 

Nice to see one of my first subscribed/owner threads to come back to light :D