Hi everyone,

 

I've got a nasty problem with my Z (90 NA SWB).

 

I stopped in the road earlier today and the engine suddenly cut out! I tried starting it again and it wasn't having it. I went to find some help (I was outside a TVR garage!) and when I got back it started straight away. 10 minuets later I was driving around a supermarket car park and it happened again! Couldn't start it for another 15 mins. Pushed it on my own to a parking space and called the AA. 10 mins later it started again but then cut out after I'd left it running for a while.

 

The bloke from the AA said that the plugs were stopping sparking after it was warmed up.

 

It's now at the Nissan garage waiting for someone to look at it. Can anyone give me some advice as to what it could be?

 

I've got a feeling it could be expensive unless I get advice from you guys.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

Sounds like it stalls dead and as it doesn't restart for a while then I would think about the CAS, the PTU or the wiring. Hope for your sake it's the wiring, the other two are unpleasantly expensive.

 

If you have to buy new parts try getting them from the US (www.courtesyparts.com) and if you have to buy a new PTU make sure you get the upgraded one.

 

If your CAS is dead/dying, then by combining two dead ones I may have enough to make one good one (although the dead one I have isn't mine!)

Whereabouts are you ?

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks for the reply - I'm in Chippenham Wilts but the cars in Cirencester.

 

What are CAS and PTV? I'm afraid I don't know too much about cars.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

PTU = Power Transistor Unit

CAS = Crank Angle Sensor

 

Between the two of these they effectively perform the function of a distributor on a traditional car engine. i.e. create sparks at the right time by sending electricity to the plugs.

 

If one packs up, then no sparks. My money would be on the PTU or it's connection at the moment. When facing the engine it's on the left hand side at the front, metal box with small fins on the front with 6 or 7 wire connector on it. Get the cable off and check the condition of the pins. If they're covered in green shite then get 'em cleaned up. If they're not then I think you need an expert help.

Somebody (Andy Duff perhaps) has a pic with an arrow showing the location of the CAS and PTU. Hopefully, they'll post it for you.

Just remembered there is also the online manual ...

 

[This message has been edited by AndyP (edited 05-12-2001).]

Thanks again Andy, in the worst case senario what sort of cost am I looking at to put this right at a Nissan dealer/garage do you think?

 

I've just put in an offer on a house!

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

I hate to think ! Try to get it away from a Nissan dealer and to someone who knows what they're doing. And from their perspective their options are limited - new Nissan parts or nothing !!!

 

I think a PTU is about $275 + shipping, which means about £350 + fitting if you buy it in the UK. But it may not be that ...

A CAS is more !

What's the advantage of upgrading the PTV? Does it give better performance? Unfortunately, there's no one round here that knows what they're going with Zs so it might have to stay where it is. I'm going to phone them soon, I'll let you know what they say.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

There was a recall for all the old PTU's in the US, but the feckers didn't do it for the UK, hence they'll supply the old one which is likely to break again. If you go to :- http://www.courtesyparts.com/cgi-bin/miva?onlinestore/merchant.mv+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CP&Product_Code=22020-00Z32 you can see the one you need (and I notice that I got the price wrong yesterday). Anyway, hope it isn't that.

 

Give it some time today and you may be able to find someone on here who is close-ish to you who can may be help out.

Nope, the PTU wont give any performance gains, its basically the distributor that fires each spark plug, well known to fail after a few years on early models, inside is a transistor for each cylinder and over time heat causes the connections to seperate. Hence why after 15 mins its cooled down and the contacts are made again and off you go - for a bit. Try and get one off a scrapper or off someone nearby to test it before splurging on a new one.

Watch Nelson for ripping you off if it is the PTU, you should pay about 250-275 squid for the part and fitting is about 5 mins work!

 

Someone on here was quoted over 450 squid recently for a PTU, I was fortunate enough to have my invoice on me from Middlehurst.

 

Try swapping it with a known good one though first if you can

PTU - 99% deffo

 

I seem to remember somebody saying they could fix PTUs??? Try doing a search...

 

As far as fitting goes it's a 5 minute job if that - 2 connectors and 4 bolts (8mm I think) - doddle When removing the connectors be carefull with the little wire clips that hold the connector on - if you lose these the connector will keep coming off

 

One way of determining whether the fault is the ptu overheating could be to remove the 4 bolts and fix it to something else that doesn't get as warm in the engine bay TEMPORARILY. If the car runs for longer then there you go - no guarantee that it is the engine heat and not internal heating though so may not deffo work

 

CheerZ,

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

 

Is yours the beast I see going into Lucent from time to time? I work in Corston.

 

There is a really good place that I use for my RX7. Malmesbury specialist cars. They mainly do Lotus and classics but if they can get their head round my rotary nightmare then a Z should be a walk in the park. I use I guy called Tony. He is the perfect mechanic. Honest and always prepared to talk about the problem rather than ignore you then spend a fortune fixing the wrong thing.

 

Phil.

I can have a stab at fixing the PTU, but it's no means guaranteed and you'd want to prove that it's a dead'un by swapping with a known good one first.

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for all the help, the garage ain't looked at it yet but I'm going to pass on this additional info and get them to quote on a part.

 

Phil - I used to pop into Lucent a bit last year but not for a while. I work in Sherston though so you may have seen and heard me about. My Z is very loud!

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

I agree, this definately sounds like the PTU (Power Transistor Unit) has gone as these are exactly the symptoms I experienced.

 

An ECU diagnostic will confirm this. (http://www.ttzd.com/tech/diagnostictech.html)

 

You will expecting "21" Ignition signal circuit. The ignition signal in the primary circuit is not entered during engine cranking or running. Harness and connector

Power Transistor Unit.

 

Note that when cold the diagnostic will not record an error ("55" all clear!) but if you leave the car running till it cuts out and then do it it will confirm the PTU is knackered.

 

If this task does nothing for you it will at least get you to learn how to do an ECU diagnostic and marvel at the fact that this car tells you what's wrong with it!

 

Bloody marvellous!

 

But I wish the car could tell me where my bloody shocks, springs and breather kit have got to as this is a complete mystery!!!!!!

 

Simon P.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Simon (edited 05-12-2001).]

Hi all, just heard back from the garage and it is the PTU that needs replacing.

 

364 quid including VAT and fitting. I'm sure it would have been a load more if I hadn't been able to point them in the right direction.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded for saving me some cash!

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

FFS make sure you get the updated one. Posted a link earler to the Courtesy parts site.

 

THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU THIS UNLESS YOU ASK SPECIFICALLY !

AndyP - what's the difference between the updated one and the old one, or is it just a matter of reliability? My one failed 2 years ago and I had it replaced, 18 months before I found this forum!

 

How do you tell the difference between them?

 

Cheers

Ajay

Old on the left, new on the right :-

 

 

And it's not POETS day for me its ... Holiday !

Superb...it's been 3 weeks since I last looked under the bonnet of my Zed (and 2 weeks since I last drove her ), but from memory I have the new one .

 

Ajay

 

Only got a week and a bit left before I'm off till next year anyway. Also, my boss has told me to book a week training before the end of this month as well. So even less work done by me for the rest of the year!

The difference is Nissan will give you a direct replacement whch will fail again with the same problem. The newere one doesnt suffer from heat failure.

Originally posted by barbel:

Hi everyone,

 

I've got a nasty problem with my Z (90 NA SWB).

aI stopped in the road earlier today and the engine suddenly cut out! I tried starting it again and it wasn't having it. I went to find some help (I was outside a TVR garage!) and when I got back it started straight away. 10 minuets later I was driving around a supermarket car park and it happened running for a while.gain! Couldn't start it for another 15 mins. Pushed it on my own to a parking space and called the AA. 10 mins later it started again but then cut out after I'd left it

 

 

The bloke from the AA said that the plugs were stopping sparking after it was warmed up.

 

It's now at the Nissan garage waiting for someone to look at it. Can anyone give me some advice as to what it could be?

 

I've got a feeling it could be expensive unless I get advice from you guys.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

 

Yes??

 

Anita )