zed wont start

Discussion in 'Technical' started by mitch-10-02, Nov 11, 2009.

  1. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    hey guys. my zed hasnt been starting for the last few weeks. in the morning, the first time i start it it has real trouble. if i can get it started first try i have to keep the revs up otherwise itll stall and wont start agian. if it wont start on first try itll just keep turning over but no go. and i have to jump start it

    seems as jump starting it worked i figured it was my battery. the battery is atleast 3-4 years old and i got a battery test and it said i needed a newie. so thismorning it didnt start agian and i got fed up and went out and baught a new battery. just put her in and IT STILL DIDNT START! :(

    so.... does anyone have any ideas? im yet to get it to a mechanic because i cant get her started at the moment
     
  2. ugame

    ugame user #1

    So i assume its turning over?

    Check plugs

    Check fuel supply
     
  3. samuraigecko

    samuraigecko New Member

    Your alternator is probably shagged (providing no charge and thus unable to keep the motor running). Test it or have it tested.

    Peace :)
     
  4. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    yeh its turning over. umm how do i 'check fuel supply'? a few weeks ago i checked to see if my fuel pump was working and yea it was squirting fuel just fine

    my plugs are only like 5k old? got new ones in on my last service
     
  5. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    well my previous owner had a new alternator put in last year? i think he said it was 'reconditioned' though? which means theres a chance it could be the problem?
     
  6. samuraigecko

    samuraigecko New Member

    Unless he provided receipts with the car One is always to assume that as little has been done to the car as possible.

    If the car has been running badly then it is possible to foul plugs as early as its first start. 5k is usually where I change my plugs personally.

    What you described does fit the symptoms of an alternator failing. There are of course other things you can check that can sometimes be the culprit. These include plugs and connectors.

    Check your electrical connectors on the motor. Coil Pack connectors, Injectors connectors, sensor connectors . . etc etc. Remove the connectors and clean the contacts. Nissan were notorious for electrical connector problems. Just doing this can sometimes solve the WHOLE problem. Clean the contacts with contact cleaner and a fine nail file.

    I do a minor service every 5k. (plugs, fluids, all connectors checked and cleaned)
    I do a major service every 10k (plenum pull and clean, all hoses replaced if needed)

    Then of course there is the 100k service.
     
  7. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    alrighty. well ill go through and clean my connectors. where abouts are the injector connectors and sensor ones? im familar with coilpacks
     
  8. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    well.. my zed is once agian a spontanous piss off. i went thru and cleaned pretty much every connection u can take apart and sprayed with wd-40. didnt have anything else. and then i go to turn it over and after a bit of effort its running :|

    but... its making a weird noise in my engine bay. like as if i have a dry bearing? bit worried.. so i think its off to the mechanics before it blows up or somthing haha
     
  9. xzara

    xzara New Member

    I had a similar problem with my car. I had corroded fuel injector plugs which was doing it for me.

    Also, do you find when its warm it starts up okay? (after a drive)
     
  10. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    yeh it starts fine after i drive it, or if i dont leave it too long. like after about 3-4 hours whilst im at work, it has a little bit of trouble, but over night it defiantly wont start
     
  11. samuraigecko

    samuraigecko New Member

    Still sounds like alternator problems.

    The car uses the initial charge from the battery to help start the car. The alternator then takes over the load and sends the excess back to the battery to recharge the battery.

    If your alternator is buggered or starting to be buggered then it will not be sending much charge or no charge at all to the battery . . . or even worse . . it can be not working at all sending no charge back to your battery and causing the battery to take the load of all of the equipment in the car.

    Find out what the readings for an alternator should be in the TEK section then use a multimeter to see if your alternator is running correctly.

    Are there any error lights when you are driving?

    Do you have conzult / datascan / etc . . or know someone who does?

    If so plug the laptop in. What are the error codes if any?

    This will give you codes and diagnosis of what is happening in the motor and related equipment.

    - The coil pack connectors are on the coil packs of course.

    - The injector connectors are in a row in front of the coi packs.

    - TPS is on the right side of the plenum.

    - Idle up is on the back right side of the plenum.

    - CAS is on the front right of the timing belt cover.

    - PTU is on the front left of the timing belt cover. (assuming it has not been relocated)

    There are various other connectors around the engine bay also. Always try to use contact cleaner rather than WD40 and stuff like that. WD40 and others have a teflon residue and while it is not much of an issue, this residue can build up and gather more dirt etc. Contact cleaner leaves no residue on the connectors.

    - Another thing to try is some selective connector removal.

    While the motor is running, remove a coil pack connector one cylinder at a time. Do the first cylinder, then put the connector back on before moving to the next one.

    If that cylinder IS functioning and firing properly there should be a change in how the motor sounds. If the cylinder is not firing there should be no change when that connector is removed. Thus indicating that there is a problem with that cylinder.

    The common problems with a cylinder is (In order of likelyhood) -

    Plug is faulty. (replace plug)
    Injector connector is faulty. (clean connector)
    Coil pack connector is faulty. (clean connector)
    Coil pack is faulty. (replace coil pack)
    Injector is faulty. (replace injector)

    You need . . Spark and fuel. Some procedures are . . .

    1] Remove a coil pack. Put the spark end of the coil pack against something metal in the car and crank it over (try not top be holding the coil pack when you do this). - If it arc's out of the coil pack against the metal in the motor, you have spark from the coil pack. The plugs can still be faulty but the coil pack is fine.

    2] Check the plugs after trying to crank over the car.
    Are they oil fouled?
    Are they fuel fouled?
    Are the tips damaged in any way? corroded or burnt?
    If any of the above is correct then replace the plug.

    3] Do the same as procedure 1 but use the injector connectors. If there is change in each cylinder then the cylinders are working. And again if there is no change for the removal of that connector then there is a problem with that injector. If an injector is the culprit you can either replace the injector yourself as per the TEK section or have a new injector installed by a mechanic. In some cases you can have an injector ultrasonically cleaned. This does not always work and it is better to get a new injector.

    4] Doing the same thing with the other connectors can give you a small diagnosis of whats wrong.

    - if you disconnect the idle up and there is NO change then there is something wrong with the idle up.

    etc etc for all the other connectors.

    Peace :)
     
  12. mitch-10-02

    mitch-10-02 New Member

    hey man. wow thats alot of info. all so helpful though. thank you

    i will check my alternator because i think that could be a possibility

    and as for all the connections and cylinder problems etc i think thats gonna take a while to do. so might set aside a day

    thanks for all that though :)
     

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