Well, I'm back in full-on enthusiastic mode after the local auto-electrician (Grimwoods in Peterborough), managed to fix my alternator for £30 - and despite the fact it was likely to take a few days, it was ready to pick up in one!
So there's going to be a fair bit of work to be done on the NX, despite the absolutely horrible weather in the UK at the moment - but I don't just want to write about how I washed the car and discovered a slight leak in the door rubber if it's not helping anyone.
So what would you most like to read, see, hear etc about the NX? More details on the car and how it was developed? More specific guides to general tasks? Specific tasks? Bodykits? Tuning?
If I can't help, I'm sure members of the NX forum will be able to help (link on the right)
Showing posts with label alternator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alternator. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Friday, 28 November 2008
Don't rush to buy or replace a faulty alternator
Well, having traced my electrical problem to the alternator after charging the battery and managing to run it until flat, I started pricing up a replacement.
Turns out a standard Nissan alternator for the Nissan NX 1.6 carb engine is £190. Not good.
Local garage offered to get one and fit it for about the same.
Local autofactor cost about the same, but then added a surcharge to put it over £200 and more than a new original part!
And an auto-electrician said he'd have a look and suggested he might be able to find a replacement for £60.
In the end I thought the difference was worth taking a chance and went with the auto-electrician. And although he said it would take a while, he phoned me back with a couple of hours, for a cost of £30!
So once I've fitted it, I may have saved myself £160! It's always worth staying calm and thinking about your options, particularly if a part may just be repairable and it won't compromise your safety.
Turns out a standard Nissan alternator for the Nissan NX 1.6 carb engine is £190. Not good.
Local garage offered to get one and fit it for about the same.
Local autofactor cost about the same, but then added a surcharge to put it over £200 and more than a new original part!
And an auto-electrician said he'd have a look and suggested he might be able to find a replacement for £60.
In the end I thought the difference was worth taking a chance and went with the auto-electrician. And although he said it would take a while, he phoned me back with a couple of hours, for a cost of £30!
So once I've fitted it, I may have saved myself £160! It's always worth staying calm and thinking about your options, particularly if a part may just be repairable and it won't compromise your safety.
Thursday, 13 November 2008
We're losing all our power...
I knew it was a bad idea to book a holiday and leave my beloved NX alone for a week.
But I thought it would be because I'd have cleaning and other work to do when I got back - not that it was spiteful enough to break down on me two days before I went away!
The symptoms suggest the alternator, as the dashboard lights started to dim on my penultimate commute home before the vacation. I was fooled for a moment when I had to park and grab some shopping, as I thought it might not start again, but everything seemed fine after it fired up first time.
And then I got to within 2 minutes of my house, and it started lurching, everything went dim, and with a whimper it cut out. Cue 15 minutes of pushing the car in the evening rain onto my driveway - at least I know the NX is surprisingly light.
Annoyingly the English winter means I have to wait till this weekend to get under the bonnet to trace the fault, but at least it gives me an excuse to get some work done. I just hope it isn't raining, and I don't need to jack the car up. Mainly because I've got a sloping driveway - and trying to jack up a lowered NX is a bit of a challenge at the best of times!
But I thought it would be because I'd have cleaning and other work to do when I got back - not that it was spiteful enough to break down on me two days before I went away!
The symptoms suggest the alternator, as the dashboard lights started to dim on my penultimate commute home before the vacation. I was fooled for a moment when I had to park and grab some shopping, as I thought it might not start again, but everything seemed fine after it fired up first time.
And then I got to within 2 minutes of my house, and it started lurching, everything went dim, and with a whimper it cut out. Cue 15 minutes of pushing the car in the evening rain onto my driveway - at least I know the NX is surprisingly light.
Annoyingly the English winter means I have to wait till this weekend to get under the bonnet to trace the fault, but at least it gives me an excuse to get some work done. I just hope it isn't raining, and I don't need to jack the car up. Mainly because I've got a sloping driveway - and trying to jack up a lowered NX is a bit of a challenge at the best of times!
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