JeffTT

Jeez bet your neighbours love you:rofl: seriously though do you have any grief from the council etc. working on cars from home? just wondered how it is these days. Jeff TT

The "brake" lights to the rear clusters pass through the lights alert module which is located in the drivers side rear light, the spoiler brake light does not go through this module so it would appear you fault lies with it, either replace or link it out. Jeff TT

Don`t panic yet! the ConZult power balance is a very basic test and it cannot be taken as read that there is any serious problems. The ConZult system monitors the alternator output current and notes the different outputs when certain cylinders are swithed off, many other issues can give poor balance issues, poor tick over set up, unbalanced throttle butterflys, afm issues, injector connections or spray pattern in fact there are so many the balance test should be used for basic help with misfire tracing. Remember subscribed members get a free No obligation ConZult and set up, see below. Jeff TT

This thread had me totally baffled until I did a quick Google search on "sauce pans" and now at least I know what they are but still baffled as to why guys would be talking about them :confused: Jeff "Neanderthal husband " :D

Thanks thats what I hope to achieve, and yes the relay upgrade is an of the shelf item the wiring and connection work neeeds some working out but not major. The clean and regulated power supply can either be purchased or built as a kit if electronics is your game. I am wondering if putting a kit schematic and parts required etc. together would be of any interest guys? Cheers Jeff

Power issues, misfires, lumpy running? Many of the running issues are simply sensor faults, connection issues and poor set up, or a combination of all three. Now most of these have been dealt with many times here but a little known issue that is increasing with time is with relays in the fuse box that can potentially upset the clear and concise running of your zed and be the cause of all manner of issues. Check out the circuit diagram above which among other things shows the fuel pump relay and the equally crucial coil pack power relay, for the purpose of this illustration the coil pack relay will be focused on but to a slightly lesser degree the fuel relay and eccs relay has the same potential issues. Before delving into the “mod” I will first explain the functions of the various parts and systems in order to explain and understand the reasoning behind the theory. Ok, assuming we all understand about the fuel been injected in to the cylinder and then compression of fuel and air followed by ignition spark resulting in explosion of the mixture and the power to push down the piston, exhaust stroke etc, and also assuming all is in order we can skip to the single most important part the “spark” The signal starts out in the ecu, the ecu having determined when to deliver the very small millivolt signal based on information from the cas unit, tps, and temp sensor etc using the mapping details. This signal arrives at the ptu (power transister unit ) or igntion amplifier, the unit`s name amplifier explains its role well, the signal from the ecu is small and does not have sufficient power handling to directly trigger the coil pack (s). So the ptu takes the smaller signal and boosts it up to provide extra electrical force ( current ) that is now delivered to the primary circuit of the coil pack. Ok now quickly need to know what the coil pack does before we move on, the coil pack again is a kind of amplifier, by using a small tightly wound primary coil an electrical charge or current flow is induced ( transfered ) to the larger sized secondy winding. Ok back to the plot, this now super high charge is discharged through the spark plug via the electrode tip and hence igntion spark which combined with the forces of fuel and air induction and compression of these gases results in a flame front and explosion ( of sort ) within the cylinder which forces the piston down. So hopefully you all still with me at this point yes? ..................good, assuming all other inputs ( fuel, air etc ) are correct the quality of the spark will have a directly proportionate effect on the outcome of the ignition burn ( explosion) and the smoothness and velocity of the pistons downward motion. If for any reason there is a malfunction in the ignition circuit such as ptu output failure, spark plug worn or insulator tracking issues then severe misfire, breakdowns or non starting can occurs. This been all so obvious means that the circuit gets the attention its requires to correct the problem like replacing parts plugs, ptu etc, or cleaning connections usually to the ptu and coil pack connections. But how about a fault that you do not know is there and so do not go looking to correct it??? Mmm... I see some interest again. The coil packs of course have their own power supply, this needs to be switched on with the ignition and of course switched off when the ignition is then switched off. As is common with most car circuits the use of a relay is used to allow smaller current carrying circuit to safely switch a larger one, makes sense from an electrical point of view and power management point of view ( location and running of high power cable) Ok nearly there now, the coil pack relay has contact in it that is used to transfer the power to the coil packs, these contacts have now been switching and carrying current for near to 20 years on some zeds and we have seen an increase in problems with the said connection. Basically a bad connection will supply the coil pack with plenty enough power to run and seem to be fine, but as current demand rises the weaker connection reduces the available power to the coil packs in direct relation to demand, so having seen more relay issue arise on a hunch we have done some back to back testing and in something like 40% of cases the reduction in power supply to the coil packs via the power relay has been significant enough to warrant changing the relay,simple...well sort of. In these cases mentioned the difference in the engine smoothness and response has been very noticeable despite the fact that previously they appeared to be running ok. Now I am sure we have come some way now to identifying why two different zeds with the exact same engine mods and set ups can seem so different in how they drive More over although just changing the coil pack power relay has shown improvements, we have been testing a simple modification which has so far given some very encouraging results. By taking the power supply switching away from the original basic relay and adding a mosfet based power supply ( regulated, clean ) and high power double pole relay for twin power and larger cables taken directly from the battery (fused ) this has made for good improvements, however by expanding the idea to include the fuel pump and ecu power relay the results have been frankly very exciting:hyper: As a side note engine earthing kits have a very similar premise in that they encourage better functionality of sensors etc. but as good as they are ( maybe) they cannot increase or improve anything if issues exist in the power supplies at relay level. A rolling road comparison may be a nice idea if we were a marketing company trying to sell the idea, but as I am not a fan of results from rolling roads as they in no way can mimic real driving conditions all I can say it try it, I think you will be most pleased, especially if you think your is all working ok. Jeff TT

Agree with Willieo, the air con sytem valve vent has triggered, this now needs replacing and checking why it went off, most likely is failure of the condensor fan leading to excessive high pressure in the system so the safety valve did exactly what it was designed to do. Jeff TT

New owners need to be aware of what has been done to their new purchase and if by a garage or DIY. see the photos below. New purchase, in fact a top zed in real nice condition but the rear suspension banging like big drum, in fact a really big drum! Check ou the first two pics. they show the shock absorber top and mounts, (the loose nut is not connected to the issue I had started to undo it before taking the pics) the amount of thread showing was excessive and pointed to a problem. The next pic. shows some nice after market springs in quite new condition like the shocks, maybe this points to why there is a problem? someone been here The next pic. shows the top again but concentrating on the bush and how it sits ......just looks wrong. The next pics show the spring removed from the shock, the nut, washers etc. are all in the order they where fitted. Now all is clear in the last pic. a new shock and the associated rubber stoppers and adapter plates ( different between UK and Jap. spec) all in the correct order. Clearly the adapter plate was missing, this is the support for the intermediate bushing, without this the rubber mounting has been forced down the shaft and past the adapter plate support stop, interestingly there is a spurious unknown rubber bush it purpose is anyone's guess?? The shock absorber shaft had been displaced upwards and the top mount washer was banging on the body as can be seen how close it is in pic. one, of course the noise was not the problem the compromise on the fitting was, things like this give DIY a bad name.

Mmm.. think a bit more info needed as you may end up getting red herrings here with too little info of the fault. 1) Does start ok when cold Yes / No 2) Does the warm engine fail to start when switched off for a few minutes or over 1 hour 3) Does it start once cooled down over say 2 hours Yes / No 4) Does it start with a splutter and then rev and clear Yes / No 5) Does it smell of petrol when failed to start ( before trying ) Yes / No Let me know the answers and can point you in the direction I am thinking just want the confirmation on those q`s. Jeff TT

Is the box fitted by a bracket to the actual knee pad? have seen quite a few of these some fitted down some not and its usually the control box for an ariel type rod that fits at the front near side of the bumper, its used as a marker for the corner of the bumper to aid parking.May of been removed now but often you can see the outline of the device in the bumper where it has been filled in. Jeff TT

Sorry could`nt help it, better get out of the sun a bit seems to be having a stange effect. lol Jeff

Absolutely agree, Chris mate I think your right again:D:D you been eating spinnach or something? (lol) Jeff

If it`s as we think, an unbranded copy, then it could potentially be pure crap and the flaw was in the shaft from new and hence the rusting and the little time bomb waiting to go off, dead eager to strip it down now to find out!! Jeff TT

Got plenty and only in Tamworth down the road from you, a word to all viewing this thread, broken studs ESPECIALLY rear ones is more common these days, once a UK only spec issue now seems to effecting Jap spec cars too, most likely the larger wheels been the culprit. Oddly front studs are FATTER and hence more robust so do not seem to have the same problem except where overtightening has occured. Jeff TT

Seems Mr Clutch thought the same eh :D its awkward but a whole lot easier than removing the gearbox. Jeff TT

Yes, see below a close up of the shaft and the arow pointing to the shaft rust spot, this suggests that area was already broken and rusty BEFORE the final failure. Now I am no expert in metalurgy but the final catastrophic fracture and parting of the fan shaft would have been due to the original rust spot transfering load to the rest of the now weaker shaft resulting in metal fatigue, this is evident by the shiney look to the break. Why the rust spot? I think and this is not proven yet till I dis-assemble it all I have a sneaking suspicion its an unbranded copy water pump! Will see what the strip down reveals and post up more info as it is found. Jeff TT

Dont work on an auto, no lift off when changing gear. Jeff TT

http://www.photobucket.com/ Try here, easy to use. Jeff TT

You can but complete waste of time, better still to buy some new recircs, not Nissan ones but from the companies that do dump valves, in my opinion you want to keep s much of the boost ( energy ) you have paid for (fuel) an not let it out to the atmosphere. Jeff TT

The most common place for the noise under the car is the clutch fork arm where it fits over the pivot ball. From under the car, remove the fork arm rubber gaiter, now undo and move the slave cylinder out of the way, now carefully move the fork towards the front of the car and with a long screwdriver dab some copper slip on the pivot ball head, Job done no need for a new clutch. Jeff TT

Afraid Chris may be correct, see if anyone could swap out their ecu with you as a test. Never been fond of ecu chipping by post,too many variables with engine set ups and ecu`s can easily be damaged / bad soldering / corrupted chip etc. Jeff TT

Mmm....well its one of them things where saving some £££ss now could bite you later in the long term or it could work out just fine. For me I would go with a genuine part by that I do not mean a BMW part but an original manufacture part such as Bosch rather than an unbranded one. Jeff TT

Yes an overtight belt could certainly cause an issue with the water pump bearing, however the usual effect is a very wobbly fan blade that hits the front pulley damaging the blade edges and the other ancillary belts. There seems to be no damage on the blade edges which suggest a sudden and complete failure. Jeff TT

Ok by disconnecting the afm the ecu then see`s a disconnected sensor the ecu then runs in limp home mode which is much sweeter than run crap mode!! but still not perfect Now it is very likely the afm has fails so a quick replacement will sort it and you can do that yourself, however the afm works by measureing the air been drawn through it and fuels accordingly, if however the sensor fails incorrect signals are fed to the ecu and hence run like poo as you have experienced BUT any air leaks in the system will have the same effect due to additional air been drawn through these leaks points, this air is unmetered and so no calculation is done by the ecu for this and hence fueling errors and poo running. So BEFORE replaceing the afm check all the air ducting connections and any breather hoses and only when you sure no leaks exist then purchase an afm, and by the way do not buy the airflow meter trickery box, BMW spent a few million developing that afm and I think if a little box did a better job they would be well peed off. Ok good luck matey and let us know how you get on. Jeff TT

Now some things you do see on a regular basis, Pic 1 below a broken fan shroud, nothing unusual about that but look at the second photo to see the cause of it.... the water pump shaft has snapped!! allowing the fan blade and viscous to fly off destroying the shroud and just marking the radiator ( lucky )now you don't see that very often. Will update on when it is fixed and what caused it, I do have a theory already:( anyone want a guess? Jeff TT