q shut off waiting at a light?

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

hey all, i've not been able to get my chain guides changed yet. Ok i have a 93 q 113,000miles the other day i was going home and after i got off the highway and drove down three lights, the q's engine stopped. so i put it up in neutral and tried to start it again and it turned over but didnt start. after trying a few more times maybe like 5 times total it would just click and not try to start or anything. so i'm guessing that my engine is dead cause i didnt fix my guides yet. i just want to know how i can tell if it is my guides or any other things i can check that might cause the engine to not start. thanks in advance. i'm in hollywood florida if anyone could recommend someone in this area that i could get to come check out the q. someone that has lots of Q experience. would it have made some noises if it had been the guides? it just died no noise or anything. PLEASE HELP ME, I'M 1000 MILES FROM HOME!!!!

[maxnix]

No way to tell without removing front covers.

Cranking stresses the guides the most.

It may be something else, like FP, starter relay, or battery.

With no maintenance history, hard for us to tell from your description.

[elwesso]

Yes agreed with maxnix... it could be your fuel pump gave up, ubt it could be guide related too but im inclined to not think that right off the bat... I would check fuel pressure and see what that comes up with.

[Jesda]

Not turning over anymore makes me suspect the guides. When the fuel system fails, it will still turn over every time but not start, or act like its going to start.

[Raxephon]

A snapped alternator belt will do the same, the battery can only last so long before it dies without the alternator hooked up.

Did anything get dimmer or start to fade electronically just before she died?

Fuel pump and control unit are also likely.They can be checked visually for burns and with a multimeter.

The worst case scenario being the chain guides. Unless you have a fiber-optic boroscope(sp?) you'll have to pull the front cover to check the guides.

I'd help you more but I'm too busy to leave town, and am not scheduled to be down south before the 29th.Sorry

[Raxephon]

And in case you don't already have one, here's a Factory Service Manual in pdf format for you---> http://phatg20.net/modules.php...d=203

Its a '94 FSM but its applicable for my '91 & '92, so it should work just fine for your '93.

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

Ok, from the posts i still have some hope! I had to buy another car to get to work, but I refuse to believe that my car is dead. I've been working from dark (in the morning) till after dark the past few weeks so i've not had a chance to look to see what, if anything, i can do! I have off after 12 tomorrow so i'll finally get a chance to check it out. I'm gonnna look up some fuel pump info on the fsm elwesso sent to me a while back. For some info on the maint... I had a tune-up done 2 weeks prior to all this. where they changed the fuel filter too and the sparkplugs. I asked them to put ngk plugs in i dont know if they did....I wish i had been home (arkansas) to have done all that myself, but have some work going on in FL. also wanted to say, that i noticed also that if i braked real hard that the Q would shut off??? any other comments would be appreciated!! thank you all for your words and i'm sure prayers ...

[Q45tech]

Over the years two things have eventually failed that caused the symptoms you describe on my Q. The FPCU and the MAF............both of these cause funky random cut offs after about 15 minutes of running.

Just changed my MAF again today [[#2 [used unit] installed in 1999]] as I replaced the FPCU 18 months ago.

Used parts don't have the same life as brand new.

I just checked my home garage and that was my last spare MAF but I have 4 FPCU left...........time to buy a few more junk old Q for parts.

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

thank you for reading my post. Would either the fpcu or MAF being faulty cause the engine to not turn over when i turn the key?

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

Nope, nothing faded. but after sitting out front the battery finally started to fade . i bought one of those jump-start packs and hooked it to the battery and frame ground and all the light went back strong and i tried to turn it over but it still only clicked.

[elwesso]

By not turning over you mean that it will crank freely but it wont "go", right?

[Q45tech]

By not turning over you mean that it will crank freely but it wont "go", right?

the battery finally started to fade . i bought one of those jump-start packs and hooked it to the battery and frame ground and all the light went back strong and i tried to turn it over but it still only clickedWHAT?

Why not use English: The starter either rotates the engine or it doesn't.

The engine either begins to run on its own or it doesn't after the starter turns the engine initially up to 200 rpms.

Clicking of starter relay and or solenoid often means not enough voltage from the battery to turn a cold [oil] engine.

[elwesso]

I misread the initial post.. Was not sure if the engine was cranking or not, but read that it stopped cranking all together after a while.

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

yeah, it doesnt turn the engine. I just went outside to use my camera to take a short video of what happens when i turn the key, but the battery was dead again. it wouldnt do anything, not even click. should i take out the battery and take it to like advance auto parts and see if they can check to see if the batteryis just totally dead? thanks

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

yeah, i'm sorry, the starter doesnt turn the engine. when i turn the key to start the car, the car would just make a "click" noise, what i would think was like a battery that is dead (or almost dead). so i got a "black and decker jump start starter pack to see if a strong jump would be enough to get the starter to turn the engine. but when i tried it like two days ago, the inside lights came on strong and when i turned the key the starter still did not turn the engine. any advice will be appreciated!!!

[Raxephon]

Out of curiosity, can you turn the engine manually?

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

i sure would give it a try....how? i'll try doing a search

[Raxephon]

i sure would give it a try....how? i'll try doing a search

You need a 30mm 1/2" drive socket and a 1/2" drive bar/ratchet to turn the crank via the crank pulley bolt.

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

i want to go and try to "manually turn the engine" by using a socket and drive. Looking at the car from front which direction would i turn the bolt to see if it will turn? clockwise or counter?thanks

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

merry christmas!!! All i want is my Q.... can you tell me what direction to try to turn the crank pully bolt? If i find that i can turn it, that would mean that the motor is not locked up right? thank you for your help

[elwesso]

Youll turn it to the right facing the motor... Clockwise...

You need a big socket, its 30mm if memory serves

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

on my way over to home depot to get a socket (30mm). i'll be back on to let all of ya know if i could turn it

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

home depot was closed cause of Christmas so wont be able to check on it till after work tomorrow! but will be on it tomorrow evening. I had to buy a 94 Acura Legend 4 door to get to work. Man it sure is a far cry from the luxury and power of the Q. i feel like i'm cheating on the Q. I'm praying that i will be able to let my wife have the legend after i get the Q back up and running. As long as i'm able to manually turn the motor. well i hope you (elwesso) and all the others at nico had a great Christmas. Nico memebers...you all rock ....Have a great New Year!!!

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

elwesso, do i have to have the car in neutral?

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

ok, i just tried to get a socket and drive to it and dont see how without takeing the fan off. is there some good way of getting to it that i'm not seeing?....

[in_awe_of_Q45's]

Guess it is locked. a friend at work came over today and showed me that the starter is good and then used a jumper wire to put power to the blue ignition switch and how it tries to turn the engine but cant. It would make the fan jerk, but just enough to see it twitch. he told me sorry but it's locked up. so i've had a death im my family. so now what is the Q worth? man this sucks bad. She is sitting with a locked motor in Hollywood, Florida. I'm gonna have to get it out of here soon, so if anyone is interested in it please let me know. I've loved being a member of NICO, all of you were always so cool. ok, thanks for all the advice.

[96Qowner]

We're really sorry to hear about it, guy.

Let this be another warning to those who haven't replaced their guides yet.

[Q45tech]

Since it is a 93 [map pockets on rear of front seats], you have a 50/50 chance of having updated chain guides.

A Q with a failed engine might {?] be worth ~~$500 to a few local people, therefore why not have a Ft Lauderdale dealer take a look.A flatbed tow and a few hours labor should tell the story, doubt they would buy it but maybe one of techs needs parts for weekend business.

[Lakeshow24]

No disrespect to Nissan, Infiniti, my Q45, and all of your Q45's... but let's be honest here.

What a terrible engineering decision by Nissan. They used this huge, big, V8 engine in engines worldwide from 1989 through 2004... but the early years they used *plastic* guides for a timing chain? That's just stupid, especially when the car cost some $56,000+. I like my Q, it's an impressive car, but c'mon. Let's stop blaming owners for not investing in replacing a non-maintenance part.

It's almost like we're all blaming owners for not randomly replacing windshields to prevent them from wiggling free of their clips and falling off the car while on the freeway. Oh boy, I have a 100 mile trek ahead of me, with a dead alternator, and now I guess I'll just have to leave this car parked for some time until I figure out the timing guide situation. Everybody here has scared me enough, as have my Google searches.

Booooo (but I still love this Q45 though!).

[elwesso]

That would be a legitiment claim if Nissan was the only one doing it, BUT THEYRE NOT. Nearly EVERY DOHC V8 uses plastic or nylon chain guides. Some of the chain driven toyota motors (this is what ive heard) will actually eat through the front cover after the guides broke and cause massive leaks.... Jaguar V8s use this, cadillac V8s, and so on. SO ITS not just Nissan's fault. BY the way, nissan FIXED it for us (only 2-3 bad years, some 93s had new guides) so you cant complain, other MFGs have yet to do away with it...

Think about it this way: The guide job (parts and labor) costs roughly as much as a timing belt job on a Lexus LS400, however you only replace the guides once as long as the engine lives, the Lexus you have to do every 60-100k miles..

BTW, they only used the VH45DE engine in the 90-96 Q and the 89-2001 Nissan president, Ive "heard" but not confirmed that you could get the VH45 in a Y32 Cima as well, but they may be mistaken them for a VH41 since the early VH41s (not in the Q41 aka Y33 aka 97-01 Q) were basically identical except for smaller stroke, same intake and everything.