New to me '95 Q45 and she is a beauty

[dharr67]

Last Saturday I picked up a 1995 Q45t that has black leather interior and a near perfect silver body. I'll post up some pictures this weekend once I clean her up a bit. The car is in great shape and I'll be the third owner of it. It has 177k miles, but the ride is very smooth, the engine runs great with no real noticeable leaks, the trans shifts smoothly, and the interior is in great shape. I picked it up from a junk yard in Sacramento for a whopping $1500. I think I can honestly say its one of my best purchases ever haha.

Only a few small issues that I'll start addressing include:
1) cruise control doesn't work. The light on the dash is on when you press the button, but it wont engage and hold when you press set.

2) The Airbag light is flashing. I tried the door thing, and then instead of off and on every other second, it would hold on for a few seconds on, then off for a few second then two quicker blinks.

3) the A/c doesn't feel as cool as it should be, I can't tell if its barely working or not at all. Its hard to tell in the great weather we are having.

4) The third break light in the spoiler isn't working and the warning light on the dash is on for it.

Anyway, its so nice to have a big car after all these years in my 300ZX. It's a very welcome addition.

[BadQ45t]

Welcome aboard, I am sure that some folks will chime in with some help. Of all the things here I think you can get easy fixes to most. The Airbag you just have to hope that it is not airbag failure that it is indicating. Since you have a 95' you do not have ODBII which is the newer diagnostic port that enables a mechanic to figure out quickly, that is really the biggest issue. The cruise I don't know much about, the brake light is a bulb, search this forum I know I have seen people show the fix for that, and the AC is simple you just need a mechanic to refill the fluid.

[elwesso]

The cruise control could be a few things. When you activate the switch on the dash and you drive for a little while, does the cruise light ever start blinking on the instrument cluster? First thing I'd try is unplugging the battery for a little while (overnight) and seeing what that does. Next most common issue would be the stop lamp switch or cruise control switch, however normally when those are bad the cruise light will start blinking.

The airbag light is a bit more concerning. I believe 2 short blinks means that the drivers side airbag is messed up. Airbag problems on the Q are very rare unless the car has been wrecked. Check out www.nicoclub.com/FSM. Go to the 1995 Q45 service manual, and go to the RS section, and do the self diagnosis.. You should be able to check and see what it thinks is wrong, and then there's a diagnostic procedure for that.

The A/C could be that it's low on refrigerant, or the A/C compressor is shot. You could try evacuating and refilling the system (probably cost $100 for mechanic to do it), but if it's low enough for the A/C not to work that means you've probably got a leak in the system, which means you need to figure out where the leak is coming from. Otherwise, you've probably got a bad compressor. Unless you're familiar with A/C systems and have a manifold gauge set, I'd take it to a shop that's good with A/C systems. They should be able to tell you pretty easily what the problem is, and here we can recommend the best course of action.

The brake light probably just needs a new bulb.

[dharr67]

[paranoidjack]

Nice to see it didn't die in a junkyard!

[OwnerCS]

Nice FIND!

[dharr67]

So the third brake light was an easy fix, popped out the light and replaced the bulb and then after a day it started working and the warning light turned off. The clips that hold the light in were very brittle and broke when i took it out. Any ideas on where I can track down replacement clips for that?

Also I discovered the horn doesn't work when an old man in a SUV tried to merge into the side of my car. I'm starting to think the horn, cruise and airbag are a related issue since all three don't work.

I hooked the A/C up and it had about 60 psi at idle, and then when I revved it up, the pressure would go down to about 40 psi. I may cave and have another person diagnose the issue since I don't have a bunch of experience with a/c systems.

Other than that, an oil change, trans flush and a good solid cleaning, the car is running well and looking good. I've got an appointment to get the windows tinted next week.

[OwnerCS]

So the third brake light was an easy fix, popped out the light and replaced the bulb and then after a day it started working and the warning light turned off. The clips that hold the light in were very brittle and broke when i took it out. Any ideas on where I can track down replacement clips for that?

Also I discovered the horn doesn't work when an old man in a SUV tried to merge into the side of my car. I'm starting to think the horn, cruise and airbag are a related issue since all three don't work.

I hooked the A/C up and it had about 60 psi at idle, and then when I revved it up, the pressure would go down to about 40 psi. I may cave and have another person diagnose the issue since I don't have a bunch of experience with a/c systems.

Other than that, an oil change, trans flush and a good solid cleaning, the car is running well and looking good. I've got an appointment to get the windows tinted next week.

I recently had to replace my horn relay. The relay should be a common part for Nissan that will be available at stores like Advance Auto. I can't remember what I paid for my relay but it was less than $15 as I recall.

Do you have any salvage yards in your area where you can get some of the clips? Usually salvage yards (around here) don't bother to charge for clips since you usually pay $1 to enter the yard.

[Turbon8er]

is that a CB radio!? huhuhuhh.. sweet dunnunundununnundundundun

[dharr67]

Sadly none of the wrecking yards with in 100 miles of me have a q45, so I guess I'll just keep an eye open.

Yes! it is an ubber sweet cb radio, that sadly was ripped out the other weekend lol. Along with it the phone thing under the seat went as well.

[Skibane]

I'm starting to think the horn, cruise and airbag are a related issue since all three don't work.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the horn switch, cruise control switches and driver's airbag are all located in the steering wheel...

[Q451990]

I'm starting to think the horn, cruise and airbag are a related issue since all three don't work.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the horn switch, cruise control switches and driver's airbag are all located in the steering wheel...

Sounds like a spiral cable to me...

[maxnix]

The clips that hold the light in were very brittle and broke when i took it out. Any ideas on where I can track down replacement clips for that?

i think I have the whole fixture. Email me and I will look.

[goody90q45]

If you're interested in hooking up with a knowledgeable Q45 owner/NICO member, Marv3Q also lives in Chico. He bought my first 94Q45 and as his username says he owns 3 Q45's. He's a nice guy and would be happy to meet up with a Q owner locally. Send him a PM.

[rabsusa]

thats identical build of my touring ed down to the wheels n spoiler,

nice! n a bunch cheaper than mine!