[HadesMR]

Hey guys,

How's it going? I just recently picked up a 2003 Track Model. I was wondering if anyone has ever had this issue or an issue similar.
I'm guessing it's wiring or a bad relay, maybe it's something as simple as a loose ground, but, hard to tell and new to the car which doesn't help. The other day my right turn signal gave out, I put it on and it was blinking fast (Which means one of the bulbs is out, and because of the voltage it blinks faster). That's normal... I checked it out, was the front right bulb. I let it be, I didn't have the time to go get a new one so I just let it slide for now. Yesterday morning my buddy is moving my car from one parking space to another and I realize when he puts the car in reverse the right turn signal (rear) turns on and stays on, then does this crazy blinking, then goes back to solid until he pulls it out of reverse. Struck me as awkward but again, I paid no mind to it. SO! Last night... I'm coming home from the movies and I get pulled over because my tail lights aren't working. Funny thing is, at the movie theatre they were working fine, I know because I saw them. My brake lights work, but my tails turned off. So the cop just tells me to get it fixed and lets me be on my way. A few minutes into the drive home my tail lights are working again... I come up to a stop sign and out of habit I put my right turn signal on and VOILA, NORMAL CLICKING SPEED! But check this out... my RADIO is flashing its lights on and off at the same time as the blinker... LOL (Funny I guess, but not really...). So I look again and my tails are off again, turn signal is still busted, and I can't drive my car at night. Anyone had a similar problem? I called the previous owner and asked him if he had maybe installed a stereo system, amp, subs, anything that he might've taken back off prior to giving me the car and he said no. The previous owner told me he's never touched the wiring in the car at all, and I believe him, because when I bought the car no more than a month ago all the lights worked perfectly fine with no sign of defect. I checked the fuses and they were fine. Any clue? Any hints? Any ideas? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
By the way, I'm new here, but in no way am I new to forums. I searched, advanced search, and I couldn't find anything that resembled this issue so I went ahead and posted it up.
Thanks ahead guys.
- HadesMR

 

[etraxx]

Looking in the Service Manual under Electrical (LT-195) starts Trouble Diagnosis. They quickly jump into using the Consult II but may be worth looking at yourself. Costs nothing to dl the manual.

 

[HadesMR]

QUOTE (eTraxx @ May 7 2008, 05:43 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=525643

Looking in the Service Manual under Electrical (LT-195) starts Trouble Diagnosis. They quickly jump into using the Consult II but may be worth looking at yourself. Costs nothing to dl the manual.

Thanks for the heads up man, I searched for the manual online at my350z.com but, don't tell anyone, that forum's garbage.
I'm digging this one. Yeah the car didn't come with the manual which also didn't help me solve my problem, but, lets hope this works!

 

[etraxx]

QUOTE (HadesMR @ May 7 2008, 10:15 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=525743

Thanks for the heads up man, I searched for the manual online at my350z.com but, don't tell anyone, that forum's garbage.
I'm digging this one. Yeah the car didn't come with the manual which also didn't help me solve my problem, but, lets hope this works!

No prob. I have the Service Manual permanently on my HD. I used it all the time for 'stuff'. From looking at where it is talking about the Consult II .. the tester/computer thingie could very well diagnose the problem. Unless you are lucky and know someone who has one, the best bet I guess would be the dealer. Still .. even then .. you could at least have a heads up on things when talking to the mechanics. Re: The website - we like it.

 

[HadesMR]

Anyone else? I swapped the relay, we checked the fuses, nothing yet. Tail lamps are still off and refuse to come on. The brake lights still work fine. Is there a ground in the rear that might be loose causing a short or something? Any more help would be appreciated greatly as I can't drive my car at night and it's driving me nuts.

 

[smoothz]

Something to try (if you haven't already done it) is take apart the rear panels to look for any loose wiring or grounds or exposed wires. I guess you've already checked all the fuses twice. Do you know if anything in the engine compartment is possibly causing the problem, such as a loose connection or badly grounded wire? Is the battery corroded? I'm just throwing some ideas out there. From what you've posted, it sounds like there's a short somewhere. I sure hope a mouse didn't get in and start chewing on some wires that are hard to see.

 

[HadesMR]

QUOTE (SmoothZ @ May 10 2008, 04:29 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=526984

Something to try (if you haven't already done it) is take apart the rear panels to look for any loose wiring or grounds or exposed wires. I guess you've already checked all the fuses twice. Do you know if anything in the engine compartment is possibly causing the problem, such as a loose connection or badly grounded wire? Is the battery corroded? I'm just throwing some ideas out there. From what you've posted, it sounds like there's a short somewhere. I sure hope a mouse didn't get in and start chewing on some wires that are hard to see.

Hey, I definitely checked all the fuses thrice! Which rear panels are you talking about? As far as I went was gutting the hatch and removing the tail lamps and looking around in there. I also looked inside both the glove box behind the passenger seat and the compartment behind the driver's seat. Didn't see much at all.
About the mice, it'd be a horrible thing but considering that I live in a part of Miami where there's barely any wild life (compared to other places anyway) and the only thing with fur that wanders my yard is a small gang of cats, I doubt a mouse would make it to my car. Hehe.
I'll check though, I'm going to have to tear the car apart which is what I DIDN'T want to do.

 

[i8acobra]

It's possible there's a problem with the CAN controller. All of the switches and controls of your car run through a CAN/BUS system. If this thing malfunctions, it can cause all kinds of problems. Bad news it that if that's it, it's probably very expensive.

 

[HadesMR]

QUOTE (i8acobra @ May 11 2008, 11:46 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=527161

It's possible there's a problem with the CAN controller. All of the switches and controls of your car run through a CAN/BUS system. If this thing malfunctions, it can cause all kinds of problems. Bad news it that if that's it, it's probably very expensive.

Hey, where on the car can I find this and what exactly is it? A board with a ton of wires or what?

Anyway, here are the updates... I replaced ALL the fuses just incase, the relay, I redid the wiring on the alarm where it meets up all the lights and it was actually sitting with like 3 loose grounds; that got my second horn working and my alarm is a lot louder and it actually makes the tail lamps flash. I replaced the bulbs in the rear as well. I'm not getting power to the tail lamps somehow, what I don't understand is how can this happen on my drive home? I mean, no reckless driving or anything, just cruising down good ol' US1 and BAM, no tails anymore. Blah. I'm so stumped. We took a lot of the car apart today and worked for hours but as you could imagine, it was all fruitless.
The lights to my license plate also don't turn on, so, I'm not getting power to the rear at all aside from break lights and turn signals which DO work. Any other suggestions?

 

[HadesMR]

Oh and if anyone would be so kind as to take a picture of the battery compartment of their Z if it's unmolested I would also greatly appreciate it as it might help me see what all other Z's look like. Since I have a rebuilt title I don't know what they did and didn't put back on during the rebuilding process. Thanks

 

[i8acobra]

QUOTE (HadesMR @ May 12 2008, 11:35 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=527645

Hey, where on the car can I find this and what exactly is it? A board with a ton of wires or what?

DL the service manual from the Wiki. I believe it's called the 'Body Control Module" or "BCM".

 

[HadesMR]

QUOTE (i8acobra @ May 13 2008, 10:25 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=527751

DL the service manual from the Wiki. I believe it's called the 'Body Control Module" or "BCM".

Found the "IPDM E/R"... blown tails fuse. Replaced it, blew it again, replaced it again, blew it again, so on and so forth. Now to find out what's shorting and causing the fuse to blow repeatedly. What sucks is, it really could be anything

 

[Benjism]

Hey guys, How's it going? I just recently picked up a 2003 Track Model. I was wondering if anyone has ever had this issue or an issue similar. I'm guessing it's wiring or a bad relay, maybe it's something as simple as a loose ground, but, hard to tell and new to the car which doesn't help. The other day my right turn signal gave out, I put it on and it was blinking fast (Which means one of the bulbs is out, and because of the voltage it blinks faster). That's normal... I checked it out, was the front right bulb. I let it be, I didn't have the time to go get a new one so I just let it slide for now. Yesterday morning my buddy is moving my car from one parking space to another and I realize when he puts the car in reverse the right turn signal (rear) turns on and stays on, then does this crazy blinking, then goes back to solid until he pulls it out of reverse. Struck me as awkward but again, I paid no mind to it. SO! Last night... I'm coming home from the movies and I get pulled over because my tail lights aren't working. Funny thing is, at the movie theatre they were working fine, I know because I saw them. My brake lights work, but my tails turned off. So the cop just tells me to get it fixed and lets me be on my way. A few minutes into the drive home my tail lights are working again... I come up to a stop sign and out of habit I put my right turn signal on and VOILA, NORMAL CLICKING SPEED! But check this out... my RADIO is flashing its lights on and off at the same time as the blinker... LOL (Funny I guess, but not really...). So I look again and my tails are off again, turn signal is still busted, and I can't drive my car at night. Anyone had a similar problem? I called the previous owner and asked him if he had maybe installed a stereo system, amp, subs, anything that he might've taken back off prior to giving me the car and he said no. The previous owner told me he's never touched the wiring in the car at all, and I believe him, because when I bought the car no more than a month ago all the lights worked perfectly fine with no sign of defect. I checked the fuses and they were fine. Any clue? Any hints? Any ideas? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. By the way, I'm new here, but in no way am I new to forums. I searched, advanced search, and I couldn't find anything that resembled this issue so I went ahead and posted it up. Thanks ahead guys. - HadesMR

Sounds an issue with the brake switch. I’d also pull the carfax make sure it had no flooding and check the ecu and body control modules for water happens all the time moisture can also cause it to act up

 

[dkmura]

Sounds an issue with the brake switch. I’d also pull the carfax make sure it had no flooding and check the ecu and body control modules for water happens all the time moisture can also cause it to act up

Do you realize you're replying to a post from 15 years ago? By this point, we wonder whether that Z ever got repaired, or what happened to it?