Voltage Amplifier Issues!!!

shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
Hi Guys,

I am having problems with my 300ZX again. :(

Recently I took my car in to my local garage which is pretty good to have a 'noise' investigated under the cam belt cover. There was some vibration coming from there
and I didn't drive it just incase it was a pulley or a belt problem. Turns out it was the belt which was really slack. Anyway, this has now been corrected and has been tightened. This was during all the heavy snow fall, icy roads and cold temperatures by the. I decided that I would take the car to work. I got there fine but after work I drove
out and it stalled on me and would not start. Only about 5 minutes later it started on me again and I drove a little ways and same thing happened. Tried the ignition and would not start. I called the garage thinking that maybe they disturbed something while adjusting the belt and they said no but it sounded like the voltage amplifier on the car was not delivering enough charge. I called out the RAC who happened to have some history with 300's and he said it was the amplifier and didn't recommend me risking driving it home in case it stopped aagain on a busy road or something. Where I had stopped was quiet, cold and wet and icy but quiet :unsure: So I waited for a tow home.
Not fun at all! :confused:

This problem seems to keep coming back and biting me in the ass! It's a real pain! I heard on a forum a while ago that this was a recall problem on this model of car and I also heard that Nissan would replace this component for free as it was bolted in a part of th engine bay that sees very hot temperatures that reduces the longevity of the part. Can I get this replaced by Nissan without charge still? If I have to pay I'll just pay as it is driving me up the wall. The non starting isssue has been happened in the not too distant past and I was told that due to the extreme cold temperatures might be the reason it has come back to haunt me as the amplifier is a common fault on this car. Can anyone give me any ideas of what I should do?

Thanks guys.
 
shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
One quick thing to add guy, when I did manage to get it started and I try to rev past 5000 revs it refused
to go beyond anything more than that which has never ever happened before. The needle would become erratic and flick around and the engine felt like it was fighting to rev. I was told that this was also a symptom of an amplifier problem.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Mr.F

Mr.F

Inactive
By "voltage amplifier" I'm assuming you mean power transistor unit (PTU). This is common failure on the earlier cars. The recall was in America, not UK, so you have to pay over here.

The recommendation is to substitute the Series II type, which is more robust and resistant to failure. In stock - call me on 01277 374201 if you need one.
 
murt

murt

Well-Known Forum User
Its a common problem on the Z32's mate! Mine died a while back in the middle of rush hour, not fun, got my Series 2 now and not one issue, runs perfect :)
 
shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
Well my PTU was fitted today before my car went in for its MOT which it passed with flying colours
by the way. Just tread to watch out for on one one of the front tyres and some exhaust emissions escaping from the rear part of the exhaust but other than than no problems. I got to the garage after work at 5 pm a half hour before it closed and paid for the MOT and labour to fit the PTU. Climbed into
the car and proceeded to drive off the forecourt. Unfortunately, that trouble-free streak was not to last very long as no sooner had I started the engine and rolled off the forecourt, (yep, you guessed it) the car spluttered and died once again a few metres from the garage :(

I went back to the mechanic who was as dumbfounded as I was as he told me all the way through the MOT there wasn't one problem. It ran perfectly fine. He said maybe the new PTU needed to settled in or there was some other problem and that I could book the car in again to get examined to try and trace the fault. Anyway, I climbed back into the car and turned the key and the engine started again. The engine system definitely seems to be 'feeling' the new PTU because the intervals between the stalling and when the engine allowing me to start it again is a lot less than with the old PTU. I decided not to ring up the RAC yet again and took the risk of driving it home. I could feel it wanting to hold back and stall as I drove but I kept the engine revs low and managed to get her up over the flyer-over and to the house. And just as I pulled up in front my place it stalled again.

I just feel very disheartened by this whole thing. It's the only thing left about this car that is really plaguing me and doesn't seem to want to let go no matter what I do. I'm under new pressure from my family to just get rid of her and go for something newer but I don't want to. I've invested a lot of time and money on her to just give her up like that and I love my car. She was a car for keeps and I don't want to let this problem turn me off her. I don't really know what to do now. I'm glad I've at least taxed her as she's parked on the road, just afraid to drive her anywhere in case she dies on me again.
 
Mr.F

Mr.F

Inactive
1. You need to run the diagnostic to see if any fault codes are showing or plug in ConZult to see if any light can be shed on the recurring problem.

2. When the new PTU was fitted, were the plug terminals on the car loom checked for integrity and corrosion? It is possible that the adapter loom is not making good contact with the pins on the original loom...

3. Pull the CAS plug and check for corrosion on the contacts.
 
shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
Mr.F said:
1. You need to run the diagnostic to see if any fault codes are showing or plug in ConZult to see if any light can be shed on the recurring problem.

2. When the new PTU was fitted, were the plug terminals on the car loom checked for integrity and corrosion? It is possible that the adapter loom is not making good contact with the pins on the original loom...

3. Pull the CAS plug and check for corrosion on the contacts.
Click to expand...

I didn't kknow it could be pulled off so easily. I'lll go home and check the sockets to see.
 
shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
Mr.F said:
1. You need to run the diagnostic to see if any fault codes are showing or plug in ConZult to see if any light can be shed on the recurring problem.

2. When the new PTU was fitted, were the plug terminals on the car loom checked for integrity and corrosion? It is possible that the adapter loom is not making good contact with the pins on the original loom...

3. Pull the CAS plug and check for corrosion on the contacts.
Click to expand...

Hi Mr F,

I tried pulling off the connectors top and bottom but it is such an awkward tight space the best I culd manage was a wiggling of the connectors. The funny thing was that when I turened the key the engine started fine, I revved the engine which was smooth and revved all the way to 5000 revs with no sputtering and engine wanting to die :) So I left it for a while.

I live in a close so the next day I decided to take the car for a few circuits around the green. Car started fine again, revved normally like the day before so I took it round the green with no problems at all. I decided that I was gonna be really brave the next day ands risk taking it to work. I did exactly that and stoppped off at Tescos to give her some much needed full tank of fuel. (I put in a bottle of STP fuel injector cleaner as well)

I drove home after work and decided to call in at my friend's place when the car started sputtering again! :confused: Seems that if I give it a little too much throttle, like if I want to take off quick but dumping the accelerator a bit the engine doesn't respond and just wants to sputter and die. It's only when I ease off the accelrator that it recovers again.
I managed to get to my friend's place anyway and managed to gewt home afterwards by just driving easy and using very gradual acceleration.

Imagine my joy yesterday when I tried to go to Tescos and the car sputtered and stalled again. Luckily, I managed to start the car again and wasn't far from home. So got the car back to the house and cancelled the trip. Since the PTU was replaced the problem isn't quite so bad. Corroded terminals may still be playing a role in the issue. I don't know what is going on. If it's the not PTU could it be fuel pump problems?? I only say that because when I tried to boot down the accelerator it behaved like it was running out of fuel like it was lurching foreward, then stopping then lurching foreward again etc etc. I put in a bottle of fuel injector cleaner as well just to make sure I hadn't sucked up any dirt into the injectors from the bottom of the tank.

:confused::confused:
 
2

240zchevyv8

Well-Known Forum User
Unfortunatly i dont know what is wrong with your car, i wish i had the answer for you, but can offer a word of advice and that is dont let a little thing like this spoil your overall enjoyment of the car buy getting rid of it, in the end it will turn out to be a very simple fix and you will be glad you kept on going, i say this because after completing a 3 year restoration of my first 240z never driven one before, on the way to the mot station the car drove absolutely awfull all over the place it felt dangerous to drive, and all i thought was i spent 3 years restoring this car and it drives like shit, i was so dissapointed i could have cried, but after getting it set up with tracking balancing etc it drove lovely and held the road like glue, a completly different car and i was glad i carried on as im sure you will be.
 
R

RobZ32

Well-Known Forum User
Hi

Feel sorry for you with your problem sounds like the ECU is running the car in emergency mode.

When I first saw my Z32 TT (in 2003) it was running like shit so I got it cheep from a disillusioned owner. Took it home on the back of a hired transporter £2100 including the lorry hire well spent. One hour later I had a rocket ship all the problems were loose and dirty connectors. All fixed with a scraper the remove the green contact corrosion and some cable ties round the plugs to stop them vibrating.

What you do next depends on your engineering knowledge and the depth of your pockets!!!! All the information is about on the internet to fix anything on a z32 if you can make use of it.

What I would check first is the ECU plug and all engine connectors. Then hot wire the Fuel pump but only do this if you know exactly what you are doing and what results to expect. Next you need to get the ECU fault codes checked and then you can move forward from an informed position. I should point out that not all faults throw up an error code.

You may own a rocket ship but its not rocket science to fix it
 
shadowman

shadowman

Well-Known Forum User
Hi guys

Just wanted to let everyone know that the car is now up and running again thanks to Mike F and his electrician. I really must invest in a conzult diagnostics kit :)

I had to get the RAC to tow my truck to Ongar in Essex. I thought this would be free as I pay for their services every month but nope, the recovery and breakdown only covers a 10 mile radius, so kissed goodbye to £150 to get it towed to Essex!

Long story short, it turned out to be a weak signal from the crank sensor due to corroded terminals.
The conzult came back with just that code. I was expecting more but nothing else but the crank sensor.

Next day car was ready. Drove back to Watford with no hassles, apart from a golf driver that wanted to race me on the way home?? Drove the car to work with no problems. Just need to give the car a decent wash now ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top