1st Gear shift -> Engine light Flashing

Cyber370 · 12-06-2020, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainrain

I talk to my mechanic.

Here is his answer :

He is not talking about oil contamination, it mentions dirt on the piston even after cleaning the cylinders.

According to him, this dirt is from a long time slow speed and short trips.

Do you have this problem in the United States or in Canada? because you have very low speed limits compared to us (in France 80 mph and Germany no speed limit)

I think this car was designed especially for the North American and Japanese market (the biggest market share), it's weird this low speed argument.

In your opinion, Can I remove the dirt naturally while driving at high RPM ?

I have never heard of any issues of carbon buildup with these engines no matter how you drive. It’s just not a common problem. Every once in a while, no matter the distance travelled, drive the car like you stole it. You need to shift at high RPM’s regardless of your speed. Do not baby the engine. It is a high revving V6 designed to make power at the top end of its RPM range. This will help clean off carbon buildup. It’s called the “Italian Tune-up”.......Lol.

brainrain · 12-06-2020, 12:42 PM

Thank you for your response.

I use SP98 of ESSO ( I think for you it's 91 or 93 octane). Maybe previous owner drive short trip. The owners of the 370z in Europa does not drive often due to the high price of gasoline, we drive it just for fun or track from time to time. I have another car for daily drive (diesel car)

But when I drive my Z, I take this opportunity to drive well. So that I understand I can remove driving with putting engine good load.
According with Spooler, I can also install oil catch cans but it's too expensive now (shipping costs are high because of COVID).

Do you advise me to remove the knock warning light by Ecutek ? Do you agree with my mechanic that I can destroy the engine if I go full load ?*
A t the moment, the Knock warning light only blink when I go full load on 4th gear. But after several minutes, I no longer have this problem.

According to this post (and my mechanic says), it could also come from a bad software:
Knock warning after ecutek tune

ZoomZ · 12-06-2020, 12:58 PM

I assume you or previous owner did regular oil changes? Dirty oil getting back into intake is not a good thing.

What Octane rating of Gas do you use? I believe Europeans use a different rating system but it's same. Make sure you are on EU95 Octane at least.

Just easy stuff to check first.

zz

brainrain · 12-06-2020, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZoomZ

I assume you or previous owner did regular oil changes? Dirty oil getting back into intake is not a good thing.

What Octane rating of Gas do you use? I believe Europeans use a different rating system but it's same. Make sure you are on EU95 Octane at least.

Just easy stuff to check first.

zz

I edited my previous message.
Yes my previous owner and me (I only drive 1000 km since the purchase) did regular changes of oil with Mobil 5w30. I use SP98 (93 or 94 for you). My previous owner use SP102 (I don't know the equivalent in USA/canada )

ZoomZ · 12-06-2020, 01:31 PM

Are you noticing performance loss or noises?

Sounds like you are maintaining vehicle and not getting codes or performance loss.

As for infrequent driving, oil that only goes 1000km and sits in the pan, for 9-10 months of year is not ideal. A lot of acid and water builds up and is not dissipated without high heat and regular Oil change interval.

This type of neglect can lead to sludge build up and other unwanted by-products of combustion. Even with Synthetic.

Car has to be driven, and/or oil changed more frequently.

Catch cans will alleviate some issues, but irregular operations require different mindset.
No different if you track your car. It requires a different maintenance schedule than a DD.

zz

brainrain · 12-06-2020, 01:50 PM

I drive every weekend, I just bought the car recently and with lockdown cause of covid I can't drive a long time :/

Performance are good and I haven't noise except the tranny noise cause of light flywheel.

The engine blinking light is an option knock warning light by ecutek, it's not an error by ECU. The stock ECU does not have this option for knock warning.

There is the mechanic of the previous owner : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7YbvvYwp0w (you can check at 5min03 te carbon deposit and 2min06 engine light blinking).

Description of video in english by using google traduction :

Quote:

Loss of power in the Nissan 370Z? The customer asked us to investigate this phenomenon. The ignition was corrected -10 °. Why? The explanation in the video!

The customer complained about the poor performance of his Nissan 370Z. He always fills up with 102 octane from Aral and takes care of his vehicle. Regular oil changes for the Nissan 370Z are included. The EcuTek coordination is not only suitable for increasing performance, it can also use extended diagnostic features. We were able to determine that the control unit of the Nissan 370Z corrects the ignition with over 10 °. The effect of this is that the 370Z releases very little torque, as the motor reduces its output for reasons of protection.

With our endoscope, we were able to determine why the control unit reduced the ignition: there was massive carbon deposits on the piston. It may also be due to the fact that the control unit is injecting 20% too rich anyway and the formation of carbon deposits on the piston can be favored.

Oil carbon on the piston of the Nissan 370Z ensures that it starts to glow during the combustion process, similar to a charcoal grill. The smoldering coal ignites the gasoline-air mixture in an uncontrolled manner, so that the control unit detects a knock. There is actually a knock, which the control unit in the 370Z tries to avoid.

In this video we show you our approach in detail.

ZoomZ · 12-06-2020, 02:13 PM

It is very plausible you are getting pre-ignition caused by carbon build up. The video is grainy, but too me, it doesn't look too bad. Then again, I haven't seen others for reference.

Problem with the Ecutec solution is, you are masking the real problem. No amount of "snake oil" is gonna remove that carbon build up. It has to be removed mechanically! In other words, pistons out or head off.

What I'd like to know is, what codes did car throw on stock ECU when engine went into limp mode? If any at all.

Like others have mentioned, you may just need to burn the stuff off.

Go high revs, but low speed if you are afraid. get that engine temperature up.

Your statement: "Do you advise me to remove the knock warning light by Ecutek ? Do you agree with my mechanic that I can destroy the engine if I go full load ?*
A t the moment, the Knock warning light only blink when I go full load on 4th gear. But after several minutes, I no longer have this problem"

Does it do it in all gears? All revolutions? What is the knock warning light doing? Is it actually adjusting timing or is it just a warning?

I'm guessing this warning is very sensitive.

I have a similar story about airplanes, if you have time.

brainrain · 12-07-2020, 03:07 PM

The problem at the beginning was the engine light flashing without error on ECU in traffic jams (it happened to me once). I contact the mechanic of previous owner in Germany and told me that is a visual indicator if the advanced ignition will retard by 3 or more degrees regarding knocking. Car maintenance bills of previous owner mention the cleaning of the cylinders.

I asked them why they had to clean the cylinders, here are their answers:

Quote:

if we did a cylinder cleaning, the car came in with a knocking problem. 370Z have a problem, that oil coal on the piston can glow and generates knocking. For that reason, we did a cylinder clean with chemicals and installed a visual indicator if the advanced ignition will retard by 3 or more degrees regarding knocking. We see it most on cars which run on low load and low rpm over a long time. It is hard to get the problem solved if you have it. It is important to change the driving style and use the best fuel you can get. short trips with 10km or less should be avoided.

I asked last week if I can remove carbon build up while driving at high RPM.
here is his answer :

Quote:

removing the dirt by driving depends on the thickness of the dirt on the pistons. If it is to thick, you have no chance to remove it with only driving. Is it a thin layer you have maybe luck and you can remove it. But you have to drive with full advanced ignition. That means if it starts blinking you can stop reving up. you have to bring the ignition correction to 0. you can only check with ecutek connect where the ignition correction is. if you accelerate a bit for a few seconds the ignition correction will be remove 1 degree. lets say you have -5°, so you have to accelerate 5 times over a few seconds without blinking to get back to 0. If you are back to 0 you can try to rev up to higher rpm.

12-06-2020, 12:42 PM	#17 (permalink)
brainrain Base Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: Paris Posts: 77 Drives: Nissan 370z Rep Power: 6	Thank you for your response. I use SP98 of ESSO ( I think for you it's 91 or 93 octane). Maybe previous owner drive short trip. The owners of the 370z in Europa does not drive often due to the high price of gasoline, we drive it just for fun or track from time to time. I have another car for daily drive (diesel car) But when I drive my Z, I take this opportunity to drive well. So that I understand I can remove driving with putting engine good load. According with Spooler, I can also install oil catch cans but it's too expensive now (shipping costs are high because of COVID). Do you advise me to remove the knock warning light by Ecutek ? Do you agree with my mechanic that I can destroy the engine if I go full load ?* A t the moment, the Knock warning light only blink when I go full load on 4th gear. But after several minutes, I no longer have this problem. According to this post (and my mechanic says), it could also come from a bad software: Knock warning after ecutek tune Last edited by brainrain; 12-06-2020 at 01:08 PM.

12-06-2020, 12:58 PM	#18 (permalink)
ZoomZ Track Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 760 Drives: 17' 370Z Nismo Rep Power: 40617	I assume you or previous owner did regular oil changes? Dirty oil getting back into intake is not a good thing. What Octane rating of Gas do you use? I believe Europeans use a different rating system but it's same. Make sure you are on EU95 Octane at least. Just easy stuff to check first. zz brainrain likes this.

12-06-2020, 02:13 PM	#22 (permalink)
ZoomZ Track Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 760 Drives: 17' 370Z Nismo Rep Power: 40617	It is very plausible you are getting pre-ignition caused by carbon build up. The video is grainy, but too me, it doesn't look too bad. Then again, I haven't seen others for reference. Problem with the Ecutec solution is, you are masking the real problem. No amount of "snake oil" is gonna remove that carbon build up. It has to be removed mechanically! In other words, pistons out or head off. What I'd like to know is, what codes did car throw on stock ECU when engine went into limp mode? If any at all. Like others have mentioned, you may just need to burn the stuff off. Go high revs, but low speed if you are afraid. get that engine temperature up. Your statement: "Do you advise me to remove the knock warning light by Ecutek ? Do you agree with my mechanic that I can destroy the engine if I go full load ?* A t the moment, the Knock warning light only blink when I go full load on 4th gear. But after several minutes, I no longer have this problem" Does it do it in all gears? All revolutions? What is the knock warning light doing? Is it actually adjusting timing or is it just a warning? I'm guessing this warning is very sensitive. I have a similar story about airplanes, if you have time. Last edited by ZoomZ; 12-06-2020 at 02:18 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Flashing fog light on braking question	cobra	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	13	05-12-2017 11:25 AM
Flashing third brake light MOD	frogdog	Exterior & Interior	30	07-10-2014 10:32 AM
Warning light: red car with key flashing - what does it mean?	ocfoilist	Nissan 370Z General Discussions	9	11-14-2012 05:08 PM
Flashing car/key light... is this normal?	Cell	Exterior & Interior	12	01-12-2012 09:23 PM
What's the yellow flashing light I see when I go WOT?	Diversion	Engine & Drivetrain	8	05-05-2009 06:26 PM

12-06-2020, 01:31 PM	#20 (permalink)
ZoomZ Track Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 760 Drives: 17' 370Z Nismo Rep Power: 40617	Are you noticing performance loss or noises? Sounds like you are maintaining vehicle and not getting codes or performance loss. As for infrequent driving, oil that only goes 1000km and sits in the pan, for 9-10 months of year is not ideal. A lot of acid and water builds up and is not dissipated without high heat and regular Oil change interval. This type of neglect can lead to sludge build up and other unwanted by-products of combustion. Even with Synthetic. Car has to be driven, and/or oil changed more frequently. Catch cans will alleviate some issues, but irregular operations require different mindset. No different if you track your car. It requires a different maintenance schedule than a DD. zz