96 Nissan Pulsar, auto, 130kms. Went to AA for a service (in Feb), when friend got it back it started dying randomly when she was driving.So it would just cut out completely.Took it back to AA who checked it over, made some adjustments and said it was fine.
Its now been back FIVE (5) times!and the problems are still there.Had to call a tow truck in the middle of town yesterday to get AA to pick it up.She told me they have replaced the airflow meter, dizzy, and had an auto sparky check it (who found no issues).
She also told me its been stinking of petrol.My first thoughts were fuel lines/filter/pump.These were replaced in July last year (she also had cambelt, brakes etc done then).Next thought was fuel injection system not working properly.
I've decided to help her out and talk to AA on her behalf.First thing i did was ask about a loaner vehicle, to which the staff member laughed and told her she doesnt need to go far anyway.I felt like decking the prick.
Where to from here!Her bills are piling up (i told her not to pay a cent till its actually fixed).Help would be appreciated.
Thanks
mugenb20b,
Jun 9, 7:12am
Really!
mugenb20b,
Jun 9, 7:13am
Can you check the battery terminals are clean and tight!
franc123,
Jun 9, 7:30am
One hopes they haven't replaced that AFM with a second hand one, those things need to be repaired by someone who knows how to fix them or an exchange reconed one fitted, anything else is dodgy until proven otherwise.They are the leading cause of that problem and/or surging and abrupt lack of power in those things. But yes you would have to wonder if a power supply to the fuel pump or ecu etc is going missing, which can be hard to check if its only happening very intermittently. They don't always throw fault codes.
kiwaza,
Jun 9, 7:30am
also had cambelt
franc123,
Jun 9, 7:33am
Lol yeah I wonder how they managed that.
racetoy,
Jun 9, 7:36am
Good start would have been NOT taking it to the AA
fordcrzy,
Jun 9, 7:36am
they dont have cambelts. from the LOOOOONG list of stuff done to the car i get the feeling that she is being taken for a ride. those pulsars are bullet proof and all that work she has had done seems excessive. of course she could have just bought a lemon. I would go somewhere else for a service from now on. oh and have the oxygen sensor checked/replaced
mm12345,
Jun 9, 8:06am
Sounds like AFM.They are actually easy to fix.The usual problem is cracks where the contacts in the socket attach to the circuit board, but to access this you've got to cut through the sealant holding the aluminium cover in place.The cover needs to be re-sealed with RTV.Not uncommon for this to be an intermittent fault - and temperature dependent - as the contacts expand and lose connection when the car warms up.So I've had problems with AFM, yet measuring AFM signal voltage, it tested fine when the engine was warm, but would conk out as soon as the engine got to full operating temp.By the time I'd reconnected the multimeter and restarted the engine, it had cooled down enough so that the AFM tested fine again. But if the AFM has been replaced, that might not be it.But I wonder if they replaced it - or just cleaned it (which wouldn't fix this common problem). The distributors are also a problem with these cars, there's an internal oil seal on the distributor shaft which fails, and engine oil ends up bleeding through and covering the optical disc/sensor, and/or the internal ignitor gets damaged by oil.(not to be confused with the external seals - which can also leak but in that case oil shouldn't get inside the distributor). To replace the seal you can pull the distributor apart quite easily, but to get the shaft out you need to drive out a pin holding the drive gear connector (at the camshaft end) which is a bit tricky.Nissan won't supply the seal, and it's a funny size (something like 12 x 8 x 4), but auto trans shops/suppliers stock sizes like this for speedo drive seals.
xs1100,
Jun 9, 8:09am
why do people keep going there,it was a good marketing ploy on there part to pay the actual AA royalties for using their name but thats were the association ends and i would not consider them to be one of the more reputable garages to deal with
74nova,
Jun 9, 9:26am
Have they checked/replaced the fuel pump. Had to replace a mates one in his nissan a few months back.
2for1,
Jun 9, 9:41am
Over recent years I have come accross numerous friends cars that have intermittent electrical faults. As the cars are out of the warranty period. the dealership appear to want to just replace all and sundry at a high cost, smaller garages do not necessarily have the electrical/computor experience. Can anyone suggest a North Shore (Auckland) expert in this area!
ceebee2,
Jun 9, 12:41pm
I don't think there is a such a garage!, seriously, I live on the Shore and run a home garage in my spare time and usually call the specialist wrecker for some faults as these guys know more than the dealerships. Sometimes you can scan all you want and it may not reveal anything. There is nothing better than hard earned knowledge.
ceebee2,
Jun 9, 12:42pm
99% of all electrical faults are bad electrical connections!
hydroman08,
Jun 9, 2:21pm
Yea got the cambelt thing wrong!Sorry early in the morning + late night + no coffee. Air flow meter has been replaced (with a new one) however they told her to come back if it didnt fix it.Shes had the car for four or five years.Never any issues until they serviced it.
She only got it done there as they sent here a 50% off voucher (with her AA membership).
Yep fuel pump, filter and lines were replaced last year.
fordcrzy,
Jun 9, 2:27pm
mate it sounds like they have no idea and dont care about the bill either. there is no reason to replace a fuel pump unless it is stuffed. a simple fuel pressure gauge would have diagnosed that instead of changing it "just to see what happens". take it to another mechanic (even a nissan dealer) with all the history of what has been done to it so they can get a feel for whats going on. you could try milford auto electrical. i know several people have used them and were very happy
fordcrzy,
Jun 9, 2:30pm
is the car dying while idling at lights or when driving at normal speed!
hydroman08,
Jun 9, 2:51pm
Just when idling
panicky,
Jun 9, 3:00pm
The last time I checked the price on one of those AFM's new it was around $2000 from Nissan.Are you sure they put a new one on!Or was it second hand or a repaired unit!
fordcrzy,
Jun 9, 3:29pm
ok so the car is dying at idle. possible causes are: vaccum leak into the manifold. very possible if the afm/manifold was replaced. Bad coil pack that is not firing correctly when at idle due to low voltage when idling, a bad connection to the coil could cause this too.even a bad battery can cause bad idle.so too is bad ignition leads bad throttle body idle up valve or gunked up throttle body. bad oxygen sensor giving bad readings and rich idle. faulty/gunked up fuel pressure regulator- a simple pressure gauge should diagnose this and any other fuel related issues. all these things should be easily diagnosed by a competant auto sparky or mechanic.and of course last but not least the afm that was put in may not be the correct model for that cars ECU.
2lo4ho,
Jun 10, 7:46am
its common with those nissans. our sunny and primera courtesy cars do the same. its an unstable idle, surges then dies. someone once said something about an idle control valve.
budgel,
Jun 10, 9:37am
My wife's Pulsar had that problem years ago. It was a stepper motor if I recall correctly.
bigfatmat1,
Jun 10, 10:00am
pulsars dont have stepper motors for the idle!
kazbanz,
Jun 10, 2:28pm
Hydroman Im not and never will be a person thatgives mechanics generically a hard time. ButMY experience with AA service centres is that they are utter crooks. They seem to prey on the elderly and the uninformed. In this case I would strongly recomend taking the car to a decent mechanic anddeal with the AA later by way of a small claims
ozz1,
Jun 10, 2:38pm
well saidkazbanz.AAstands for ars.holesanonymous. same as their insuranceout fit. wouldnot recomend either to anyone.
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