shimmy in 91 Q45 - and electrical

[gymbeau]

Hi!Well, I finally got my Tokico blues installed, after trials and tribulations and much waiting. Wow! Also got a 4 wheel alignment.

Anyway, since then, I've noticed slight shimmies (is that the spelling?) between 50-60ish mph and another one around 65-70. Before I call the Nisan dealer who did the work, are there any thoughts about what could cause these? I have virtually new tires of the proper size and inflation and so far as I know I haven't thrown a weight or anything.

Also, my A/C controller has never worked since I bought the Q some 4.5 months ago - yet twice in the past week it has suddenly come on and worked fine for several minutes before going off again. I was wondering if this is the usual display crapping out or whether it might indicate the problem is elsewhere, since I also have some other funny electrical thingies intermittently (false "stop lamps inoperative" display - occasional non-starting when the engine's warm, but it starts fine if I wiggle the gear selector side to side gently - and sometimes the steering wheel/seat movement when inserting/removing the key stops part way through the process).

Thanks very much.

Boy, is it ever great to finally enjoy the Q as it should, or almost should be. A wonderful car and a real treat in the mountains!

CheersJim

[Q45tech]

"I have virtually new tires of the proper size and inflation and so far as I know I haven't thrown a weight or anything."

Radial and axial force variations act like an out of balnce tire. New shocks may make the tire variation more noticable [but usually less] as the suspension has changed.

Steering wheel vibration is always the front tires/wheels -suspension.

Or the tires may have changed as they "broke in" on the car.

[gymbeau]

Thanks!I feel the vibration mostly in the steering wheel, but not exclusively.

Do you think having the tires rebalanced could help? Or maybe have them do the alignment again in case they screwed something up?

I had heard somewhere that tires have a resonance at a particular speed, but never knew if it was BS or not.

Cheers!

[Q451990]

I'd look at having the tires rebalanced first - alignment is more for tracking and tire positioning... so if the car isn't pulling to the right or left consistently, it's probably OK.

As for your electrical gremlins, they all sound like separate problems to me.

-A/C controllers are sometimes intermittant. I assume it still works, but just the display comes and goes? (You can have it rebuilt for $100 at http://www.jerrytucker.net)

-Non Starting - the wiggling of the selector makes me think that the shift interlock switch needs to be replaced or adjusted. That is the switch that only lets you start the car when it's in "P" or "N" (Not sure on the parts price here - call Joe at http://www.infinitipartsusa.com")

-Steering wheel - there are two slide potentiometers under the steering column (much like a slide volume control on a radio or TV) that tells the car where the wheel is. These get dirty and cause intermittant problems. Sometimes you can run the wheel up and down several times manually and make the problem disappear for a while because this wipes the dirt to one end of the switch... (I've had success cleaning them with electrical contact cleaner, but I think the pair of switches would be less than $20 to replace - Joe could tell you)

Sounds like you're on your way to getting the Q in good shape - good luck!

Heath

[Q45tech]

Not unusal for weak tires to change the balance points in 50-250 miles of driving. Tires must be balanced when hot [after 30 minutes of driving at speed] then quickly put on a lift to relieve the pressure [weight of car] so that they don't again flat spot quickly.............THIS IS NEVER DONE.........read the TSB proceedure for correcting tire problems........states no more than 10 minutes of sitting after the warm up drive.

17"-20" tires are giving dealers fits now, but 15" always had the problems to a lesser degree.

Tire maintenance costs can exceed brake maintenance costs if perfection is a goal...........most give up and accept a tolerable goal...........or just switch to Michelin and accept the downsides of that.

[gymbeau]

Thanks for your advice. I've had the tires rebalanced and that helped a lot; not completely, but it's much better.What a blast to drive!Now if only I could find a way to increase my gas mileage even my wife would be content.

Any advice, besides not mashing the pedal to the floor? I just can't do that!

Looks like more electrical gremlins are showing up - for example the LED display (where the erroneous "Stop Lamps Inoperative" message and the trip odometers are) appears half burned out. It's always something!

Love the car, though!

Thanks!Jim

[DAEDALUS]

Regarding the recurring shimmy, the steering might be sloppy. Worn bushings maybe?

[maxnix]

Or steering rack adjustment. Not to be done by just any technician. Look for a senior Infiniti tech.

[gymbeau]

Thanks. The vibration's pretty minor, it seems; I'm going on the road for this weekend, so I'll pay attention to it on the highway and see how it is then.

Appreciate your input!Jim

[Q451990]

Looks like more electrical gremlins are showing up - for example the LED display (where the erroneous "Stop Lamps Inoperative" message and the trip odometers are) appears half burned out.

The message display has two light bulbs behind it that are always on when the car is on - (dimmer with headlights on). Should cost about $3 each plus the time and effort to get to them...

Heath

[gymbeau]

Thanks! That sound pretty easy to handle.

Jim

[Q45tech]

Things like worn upper links, king pin bearings, worn bushings in suspension arms and sway bars..........allow tiny tire vibrations to build [oscillations].

If things are new and tight the vibrations are quickly damped out.