Happy new '95 q45a owner, working on act sus, status

[northernlights]

Hello everyone,

I moved to the US recently (3 months ago) and needed a car. As i'm new here i've got no credit history so had to buy cash. So I was looking for a second hand car, that should be confortable, big enough to contain a baby seat, but still, if possible, fun to drive with a nice engine. So you see where i'm going to: when I tried that 50k miles, 5000$, '95 Q45a in good condition i was sold.

Really it fits my needs perfectly (it's not very modern looking but meh; for a '95 car it's still really nice, particularly i like the rear which doesn't look like an old design to me). I actually enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the rented bmw 328i i was driving for 2 months before getting that one: the Q is less aggressive when accelerating but man is it smooth to drive and confortable in comparison; and it actually kicks even more when already at fairly high speeds.

But, ever since i tried it, the "ACTSUS" light has been lit (I noticed that even before trying it but was somewhat in a hurry, having to give the rental back, and appreciated the car so much that I was OK to accept having to work on that). Sometimes, really rarely, it doesn't light. But when it doesn't, the car seriously tilts right.

Running the self check described by the FSM (ignition on, 10 times N<->H on height control switch, switch the engine on, count blinks) gives me 2 blinkings, a pause, 2 blinkings, long pause, starts over. If I understand correctly that means 22, and that means a faulty front left height sensor. Which makes some sense with the tilting right symptom to me.

So the next step will probably to ask the local Infiniti dealers if they could fix that and how much it would cost (they provided me with 2 bottles of active fluid already, as it was not quite filled; I really used 1/4 of a bottle actually). If they can't or it's too expensive i'll look at doing it myself.

So that was me, saying "hi", sharing my experience and satisfaction, and also saying thanks for the info I collected from here already. A note: obviously any thought or advice for fixing my active will be much appreciated.

See you soon!

[goody90q45]

Welcome to NICO. If the height sensor is the only thing wrong with the active suspension then you got yourself a pretty good deal. Active suspensions without major problems are hard to find. If the only code from the self-check is a height sensor it should be easy to fix. If you know how to use a voltmeter I wouldn't rush to the dealership quite yet.

Sensors are pretty easy to locate and test with the wheel off. The height sensor will look like one of the four on the white foam in the pic. This is a complete set of active sensors I sold from one of my part outs.



You've been using the FSM and have probably seen the procedures for testing of each of the sensors in the suspension section. After hooking up the voltmeter run the sensor's arm up and down to see that it's operating in the correct voltage range. If it's not, you've verified that it's bad and can replace it yourself or have the stealership do it. Adjustment to the correct height after installing a new sensor is a bit tricky but can easily be done in your driveway.

Up until a couple of years ago NICO had a very knowledgeable active owner living close by in Huntington Beach. He's since moved to Florida. The sensor new will be about $150. If you're going with a used part contact Dsagers in the parts forum or possibly member Lino if he has PM enabled.

Good luck.

[northernlights]

Thanks for the very valuable info! I don't know if it's the only problem on the active suspension as, as it's written in the FSM, self-check can only show one problem at a time. But I did run the self-check many times over the past 2 weeks and it's the only and same code it always gave. I feel more confident doing it myself with the picture and explanations you provided so i'll probably give it a shot.

[BadQ45t]

You should figure out quickly if the active suspension is really working or not. If not your going to have to make a tough decision as this is a pricey problem to fix and it is not a DIY'er unless your very good. One option given that you live in Orange County will be to take a day trip down to San Diego, there is a shop there run by Jerry Tucker and he has a rebuilding service for the active suspension. He's also well known for working on older Q's in general so might be worth it. Even with lower miles you should budget 2k for repairs in the next year or so.

Even just keeping this car in good shape will cost you. With 50k you should figure out the last time the fluids were changed out as this is usually a 60k maintaince item, but you also need to look at time as well as miles. If nobody has done transmission, power steering, and brake fluid in the last 3 years, I would highly recommend you find a shop that can not only change then but also FLUSH them. This will dramatically extend the life of all the parts of this car. While 50k is great, remember it is also a 16 year old car. My 97' (which I got at 42k in 2000) has 95k on it now and I have done the major fluids 4 times....all with high quality synthetics.

[maxnix]

Start here:

http://activesuspensionsystems.com/whyforq45.html

Read all posts by TexasOil on this forum, Infiniti Online Mechanic, and probably some in General Chat, which otherwise is cesspool with grains of early Q45 knowledge therein.

[northernlights]

Yes, I thought about replacing all fluids. I did the oil already as I didn't trust the previous owner to have done it and I keep in mind that I'll shortly should do the same for the other fluids. I didn't plan to spend 2k$ on repairs though, unless the active suspension needs more than replacing a height sensor.

[maxnix]

I didn't plan to spend 2k$ on repairs though, unless the active suspension needs more than replacing a height sensor.

Typically, before the great Yen appreciation, it required a prorated $3K per annum to maintain an active G50. In return,the owner has a car with a ride and control not even surpassed today.

Over the years here, we have seen many new to the Q45 that don't understand that they have bought a $50K (now more like $70K) imported luxury V8 sedan and that beyond the discounted price they paid for the deferred maintenance and wear and tear, there is no further discount available for parts nor labor based on the car's age. The alternative to the $300 per month set aside cash kitty is they could be spending a similar amount and even be upside down in an econobox lease.

Do the reading here as the only way to maintain your car at a cost effective rate is to know more than the technicians servicing it, or do it yourself. If that is not your cup of tea, best sell now while you can.

[northernlights]

OK, gonna do some more reading then.

[3Q Jay]

if you have an ohmmeter, you can put the faulty sensor on a bench and work it from one end to the other, slowly. you'll likely notice a flat spot in the otherwise linear reading. the sensors sometimes get dirty, but there is no good way to clean them internally. what you might be able to do is gently but with determination work the sensor through it's complete range many times (say 500 or so), to work out the debris and restore the linear readings. if that doesn't work, then be prepared to wait a month to get one from japan for the $150ish IoS price, as goody suggested.

try a sharpie to mark the index before removing the sensor, will help you ge tclose when re-installing. the scantech with active support can help you fine tune it to match the others. remember, small, very small adjustments when setting the height sensors.

[northernlights]

Hello all. I now realise it's been almost a year and I still haven't taken the sensor out... I didn't take the time yet and having to replace the cooling system didn't help (and a tire... i just love people who break glass bottles on parking lots, don't you?). The actsus light stopped sporadically going off while the car seriously tilted right for many months; now it's just always ON and the car, it seems, very slightly tilts right. Would the light not be ON i would probably not notice there's anything wrong.

However I did get a cheap Nissan Consult-style thingy for 25 bucks off Amazon and have been playing with it just now. I looked at the active suspension gauges while driving and at rest and here is how they look:


All gauges make complete sense with my driving... except the front left and rear right height sensors which always read like that. I'm not even sure in what position would the car be if they were right (at an angle on top of a very sharp hill?). So it looks like i have 2 sensors to get to behave.

Oh and also, this:

[goody90q45]

However I did get a cheap Nissan Consult-style thingy for 25 bucks off Amazon and have been playing with it just now. I looked at the active suspension gauges while driving and at rest and here is how they look:

What consult program are you using that gives access to the active suspension diagnosis?

[northernlights]

That's ecutalk.

[maxnix]

Ever talk to Keith? He is the AS expert.

[3Q Jay]

well, those readings make perfect sense for a vehicle that is sitting with the drivers' front too high, and the passenger rear sagging.
did you try rehabbing the sensor as i suggested?

[northernlights]

Not yet Jay. To be completely honest i looked at it and was a bit afraid to damage things. There are some metal plates blocking access to them and I didn't dare removing them.

[Trnqld]

Glad to find software that will access the Q45a ECU. I have the Blatz software and cable which works great on the basic Q45,never have got it to access a 92a or 95a . Using the Blatz cable and ECU Talk works, although all readings are zero, and I could not reset the faults. Sitting at a stop the active suspension on my 92a shut down completely. Next step will be to pull diagnostics on the existing ecu , I think we have a failure to communicate.!!!