:rant: This car is really starting to P*SS me off. I was driving down the motorway at 80 mph when the stereo starting playing up and then the car lost power and stopped. I was that annoyed i abandoned it and went on to work. I went back this morning and she started up first time and travelled aprox. 5 miles, I figured that the battery is not charging so got a replacement to get me home. I haven't slept yet and i'm back at work for 5.30. What do i have to buy now to make the damn thing reliable :rant: Is it the PTU or the alternator ? ANY HELP GUYS

Was the battery tight is alternator light on ? was there water in the battery ?

check you have got good tight battery terminals? easy ones are easily missed..

really sorry to hear you are having trouble with the caragain

Thanks guys. The car was fine and then the hicas and ABS lights came on followed soon after by every other warning light. When i turned the key a red light came on which looked like a catalytic converter. it was a box with little squiggles over it . Does that make sense?

It could be a dodgy battery connection somewhere

sounds like you have a dead short to earth......have you done any electrical work or mods on the car recently ??

check the CAS plug,if it works loose the car will just stop,normally missing the wire clip to hold it in place,either get a new wire clip or pit a small spot of sealant on the plug-if thats what the problem is

 

greg

Sounds like the symptoms we had when the alternator failed. Warning lights came on, car stopped.

 

The AA man showed it was reading 9V from the alternator but the charge warning light was still turning off (seperate circuit from the alternator).

 

Ian A.

the warning light with the squiggles comes on if u try to start the car in 'D' and comes on if the cats overheat as well (jap models)

 

could well be the alternator, check the batter voltage is 12V (ish) with the engine off and then check again with the engine running, should be 14.5V (ish)

 

that should help diagnose the alternator before you spend more cash on it

Ive had the same trouble with my car, i changed the battery thinking it was that, but its still happening. Also been having trouble with the belts at the front, mantav8 changed these for me and put proper nissan ones on, thanku, but it still keeps dying on me.

 

2 weeks ago i was in the pub, went out to the car and it started fine, (me and my mates were listening to sum music for about 10mins). Went back to the car at the end of the night and it wudnt start at all. Tried to jump start it but nothing happened. Ive got a remote start on my keyring, so i pressed that and it started fine.

 

Sometimes when i drive around, i have the air con on, sound system, lights and the rest always on, cud all of this just be draining the battery?

 

Ive also got a battery saver thing in the boot for the sound system so i can have some tunes on while the engines off, does anyone know how these work cos it doesnt seem to be saving any battery?

 

oh, and im at uni, so i dont use it every day, cud the alam just be draining the battery? my dad does put the battery on tricle charge tho, so it shudnt go down.

 

Any help and advice would be most appreciated.

just a thought but have you got an imobiliser fitted ?? if its faulty it could give you the symptoms you are experiencing now .......try turning it off ( disconnecting it and see if it persists ) good luck mate

 

Steve

Its sounds like a faulty alternator to me, but follow the guidance above for checking by warning lights.

Started the car yesterday. It fired up first time but there was a strong smell of petrol coming from the back of the engine. Is this going to be another problem or is it related to my alternator fault?

>> Is this going to be another problem or is it related to my alternator fault?

 

measure the voltage acros the battery terminals when the engine is running..

if the voltage is below 10V it explains the petrol smell: the ECU will revert to one of it's failsafe levels to keep the injectors running, since the injectors actually need around 14V to have them flow the exact amount of fuel they were made for.

Got the car over to the garage on Sunday. I had to change the battery again as it was dead. Got over to my mates and he reckoned it was charging fine. :confused: I turned on the air con, stereo, lights and anything electrical i could find and she stayed running away with no problems :confused: Is it the PTU that i should be looking at or would the fact that the battery was fully charged be causing it to stay running.

>> Is this going to be another problem or is it related to my alternator fault?

 

measure the voltage acros the battery terminals when the engine is running..

if the voltage is below 10V it explains the petrol smell: the ECU will revert to one of it's failsafe levels to keep the injectors running, since the injectors actually need around 14V to have them flow the exact amount of fuel they were made for.

Good call low battery made my car misfire and run like poop check it;)

I had a catalytic converter idiot light come on once when one of my connectors to my coils had worked loose. Since that cylinder was not firing there was petrol getting into the cat convertor causing ignition and overtemp. This may also explain your petrol smell.

 

Check that you are firing on all cylinders and check that the leads to each of your 6 individual coils are connected up properly.