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Hi, A neighbour has a Nissan QX and due to visitors he had to shuttle his car out of his drive so the engine was only running for 30 seconds. No Prob, but the next day the car just would not start. It took the RAC two sets of big jumpers wide open throttle and 60 seconds of cranking and she fired up. RAC guy says this is a common fault with Nissans if it’s a bit cold and you start the car for a short time the management system falls when you come to start it again. He had been to a guy with a Rover 25 earlier that day with the same problem as all Rover 25’s are prone to the same problem. Does this make sense to anyone, is it true and what goes wrong. Is it the choke (electronic) that latches on and floods the car or what. ? Regards Peter
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I own an QX and it is definitely true and shows your neighbour didn't read the owner's manual. The engine will be flood during the short running because the QX dumps a lot of fuel into the car until the engine reaches around acceptable running temperature (around 40 deg). You can tell by the needle on the temperature guage has moved from the stop to the bottom of the mark. You can also tell in the winter by the climate control starts to response as the system would not blow air out until the the air it blows out can warm the car. It usualy takes around 1-2 minutes to warm up to that temperature.
I guess what happened was when your neighbour started the car the next day, the car wouldn't start and he keeps cranking with not throttle, thus making it more flooded. The owner's manual stated that if you hold full throuttle before you turn the key, the ECU will start in flood mode when you turn the key. This is the only way to start that flooded engine.
Lastly, I have to say that QX is more prone to that problem than my last Mondeo and Sierra but this is my first V6 car so I don't know if it is engine type related or manufacturer related.
Best regards,
Garrison
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I want to add that I never have to crank for more than 5 seconds to start my flooded engine.
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Dear Peter,
This is a well known problem and by no means QX-specific. There have been posts before on the forum about exactly the same happening with latest Escorts, and Rover Metros (although with the Metro it tends to happen if the engine is switched off within one mile and then a re-start attempted about 15 mins later). However, this has never affected my Mum's N reg Peugeot 106 which is frequently shunted around the drive, but always starts the next day, nor my Dad's Toyota Carina E. Some cars seem more prone to it than others.
I suppose the problem is a kind of 'extreme short-run' problem, yet more evidence that cars hate short - especially very short - journeys!
Regards,
Rob E
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Had this once with my BMW 320. Had to move it because a tree was being felled so just drove a few yards up the road. Two hours later - wouldn't start. So I phoned BMW's excellent emergenccy service for advice. The technician said that stopping a cold engine leaves unburnt fuel in the cylinders which drains down the bores washing off the oil, so when you re-start there is no compression,(it did crank over faster than usual). The solution was to remove the fuel pump fuse and crank it over for 45 seconds, replace the fuse then try to start it. This worked.
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JOHN 2002, your dealer was half right,one of 2 things can happen. Firstly they can just plain get flooded, but this won't affect the compression. Secondly, the hydraulic valve lifters can get pumped up, and this will affect compression. Both can happen when running an engine for a short period.
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Moved the Puma about 6 feet to work on it (Stone cold start). Stripped door down to refit lock cylinder which was falling out of door handle. Awful job involving removing window glass completely.
Tried to start car following day having turned ignition on and off a few times to raise and lower electric window and it was flooded completely. Cranking with foot to floor for about 15 seconds and the engine started OK. Winced at the thought of all the unburnt petrol washing over the cat but what can you do?
Took the car for a run so that the ECU would reset itself and all is fine.
Seems to be an affliction of modern engine (mis)management.
Charles
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