Dr.Paulyy

Hey guys, I'm in desperate need of any and all help!

First, here are the details of my Z
2006 Enthusiast rev up
Manual trans
Apexi true dual exhaust
Aftermarket intake

So here is the story. In August of 2014, I was dumb enough to let a "friend" drive my Z, and it spun a rod bearing as a result of oil starvation. So I had the engine rebuilt, which took a course of about 8 months to be rebuilt by a machine shop, and be reinstalled by the mechanics.

After it was rebuilt, the car would only turn over, and wouldn't start. The first set of mechanics couldn't really do anything about it and didn't care (and I had no paperwork for them doing any work) so I took it to another Z owner who works at a reputable shop, and also used to work for our Local Nissan as a tech.

He diagnosed that he key and immobilizer were fried, so he ordered those directly from Nissan, and fixed the NATS system related to it. Still no start.
He did some more researching and diagnosing and found out that the coil packs have a CONSTANT 12v OF POWER, but aren't sending spark to the plugs. Also, the injectors were only showing ONE pulse on the noid light as the car turns over. After his research, he said it could either be the flywheel was not indexed correctly, or the timing is off. Doing the flywheel was cheaper, so I went with that first.

OF COURSE, the flywheel was not installed correctly. So while it was out, I bought a new exedy OEM clutch replacement kit, and we got everything right with the flywheel.

STILL NO START.

Before we looked at the timing, he also checked the camshaft position sensors, and the crankshaft position sensors, and both had resistance and were good.

So we decided to go with the timing next, and once again, the timing was indeed not correct. He fixed the timing and made sure it was 100% correct, and even double checked with a lab scope, and it was showing everything was good, BUT STILL NO START?!?!?!

He found out that his diagnostic scanner couldn't retrieve a VIN from the ECU, so we sent it to Nissan and they flashed the ECU and relearned all the electronics, and they confirmed that everything was successful and in working condition, but guess what, NO ****ING START STILL!

The only codes that are currently on the car are for the MAF And some evap code, but they have been on the car since I got it in 2013, and never caused any issues before this.


Just a list of all things checked/replaced:
•timing redone
•flywheel reindexed
•key and immobilizer repalced
•NATS codes cleared
•ECM relay repalced
•camshaft sensors tested
•crankshaft sensor tested
•fuel pump DOES prime
•all fuses are good
•IPDM is good
•ground wires checked
•battery level good
•fuel pressure good
•new spark plugs

I may be missing some of the other small things we have done.

All of the techs and other local shops are at a complete loss for what it could possibly be preventing it from starting. I really DO NOT want to take it to Nissan anymore, as that will be pretty expensive, and will be a last resort. If anybody has ANY info, it would seriously help out. I've been paying on my Z that's been down for over a year now.... I'd like to get to cruising again.

PP08HR

iTrader: (2)

So it has not been to a Nissan dealership yet?


How much have you put into it trying to diagnose the no start condition?


Is it more than the $100.00-$150.00 they'll charge to you diagnose it?


I'd say stop shotgunning parts and certainly stop pulling tranny's and what not before you get a diagnostics from a dealership.


It could very well be something simple.

Dr.Paulyy

It has only been to Nissan for the ECU flash.

I ****ed up when I took it to the first mechanic for the rebuild, as they didn't know what they were doing when it comes to Nissan (didn't know this at the time) so stuff like the flywheel, and timing, and immobilizer were things that needed to be done regardless, as a product of their mistake -.-

I hope it is something simple. A member of the 350z Facebook page said there is a ground wire that connects from the header to the frame, and that it's something most people forget to reconnect. Is this true? Any pictures?

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

I agree with PP08HR, it's time to bite the bullet and take it to a dealership. It can't cost you anymore than what you've already poured into it. You need a well trained specialist with a Consult 3 unit and that's usually a dealership resource.

zakmartin

You really need to get this thing on a CONSULT system at a dealership. They can use the bidirectional routines to check the status on all your connections, wiring, relays, modules, etc. It's going to take you forever to try to diagnose this without specialized equipment. Be sure to write down EVERYTHING that's been done to the car when you bring it to the Nissan tech so that they know what they're working with.

Vigman

I'm sorry for all the pain..... BUT I have to agree to get it to a stealership and it will cost...BUT they can get to the CORE problem really quickly.... and probably cheaper then your shotgun approach. To test if you have a good ground, you will need an OHMMETER and verify that from the negative terminal to FRAME and from negative to ENGINE BLOCK
are ~ 1 ohm .. anything higher ( like 10 ohms and up ) would indicate a BAD or missing connection......

Dr.Paulyy

So after about 2 weeks of the car being at Nissan, their mastertech called me. He said he originally thought that the timing was still off because the readings his consult unit were giving him. So I gave him the ok to tear it down and check the timing. Well, the timing was good but the previous mechanic left the crank pulley loose, so it's good we did check the timing. So now the timing is 100% good but no start still.

Next he thought that the ECM had went bad for a couple of reasons. His thought process that the fact that the immobilizer was fried, and the "fuseable link" we're both blown, some kind of serious mishap occurred and sent way too much electricity through the wiring harness such as accidentally hooking up jumper cables backwards (which is a possibility from the dumbass previous mechanics)

He said he did a thorough over look, checked continuity, and checked all wires and found that all the correct signals were being sent to the ECM, but the ECM wasn't sending signals back out for the car to start. 0 injector pulse and 0 spark still.

So the next day, I was heading out to go buy an ECM and he called me, and said he got the car running! Excited as I was, I asked him what he did. He said that night after he told me it was the ECM, he went home and just couldn't convince himself that it was the ECM. He came back the next day and did and even more detailed look into it, and found the intake and exhaust cam sensors WERE SWTICHED!!!!

He said something about the manual said the wiring code was supposed to be "green black green black" and that mine were "green Green black black" which meant they were backwards. Sure enough, the car started right up!

From my experience with Nissan, they are good people here. All in all, I'm only down 700$ But considering 3 other shops couldn't figure it out, I'm glad I took it to Nissan! So for what it's worth, check your cam sensors and make sure they are in the correct spot if you have problems like me! Hope this helps somebody one day.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

It sounds like you had a good master technician who got to the heart of the problem. Plus he got the crank pulley straightened out at the same time! Maybe the bigger lesson is to take your Z into a dealership when you get to the stage you were in. They have the equipment and more importantly, the expertise, to get complicated problems figured out.

Yes, it costs money, but it's better than guessing at a solution and throwing parts at a car.

Vigman

Im really SHOCKED that the 2 sensors / connectors are not polarized to keep that from happening......

Randy Locke

If being sunlight to long got to hot got dropped in water for too long. Dropping can cause it to gone bad
Whatever I bet it is your key it self check it

Dr.Paulyy

Thanks for the reply but I had already posted in the beginning that I replaced the key and immobilized with new OEM Nissan parts, and that didn’t fix the problem. Also, If you read the above posts, I had already replied stating that a Nisan Mastertech located the issue, which was the intake and camshaft sensors were switched and in the incorrect location. The plugs for both sensors are identical, so when the engine was rebuilt, the sensors were placed in the wrong location. Even though they fit, it’s caused the no spark, no start issue.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

he obviously didnt read, because he responded to a 4 year dead thread

Timthehoon

I just finished rebuilding my vq rev up and I'm having no spark issue. I was wondering if the green plugs are intake or exhaust, and vice versa for the black plugs.