Electrical Fault??

General Chat about the Mk1 QashQai
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MikeGC
Posts: 1850
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:50 am
Location: Stockport
Qashqai Model: Mk.3 Qashqai - J12 (2021+) New Model

Post by MikeGC »

Fingers crossed that that particular car is just badly made.
I have the same car and it’s been absolutely brilliant.
March '22 - J12 1.3DIG-T 160 CVT Tekna+ with all wheel drive - Pearl Black
July '19 - J11B 1.3DIG-T 160 DCT Tekna - Vivid Blue
March '17 - Qashqai J11A 1.5dci n-connecta - gunmetal
September '14 - Juke 1.5dci gunmetal ascenta premium (red accent packs)

mrugby
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:26 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by mrugby »

I have a Ford cmax 2009 as a run around vehicle which is highly practical, ie seats come out easily, storage boxes in the floor, massive load space, but one issue I had recently was my car alarm kept going off. Sometimes once a day, sometimes twice in five minutes.
I decided to examine the main fuse box which was under the passenger side windscreen by the footwell,

A bitch of a job but I removed several connectors and managed to hold the fuse box Assembly in my hands.
Piggybacked onto the fuse box was the brain module, some hefty relays and some serious electronics including many thick spade terminals.
Around a certain area of these terminals was some serious green corrosion. Water had found it's way from the windscreen over time and had wrecked a number of terminals to the point of being rusted through. It may have dripped on directly or tracked down the loom wires, but it had found it's way somehow.

A newly programmed Brain box was mega money on a car that was 12 year old, so I bought a 2nd hand similar version on an auction site that would allow me to desolder the bad terminals and swap them over. By keeping the original board meant I didn't need to re-programme.
The board was cleaned with IPA and fitted back into the car. I sealed the windscreen with silicone and to date have had no more problems.

The point here is water can cause chaos to electronics and sometimes doesn't show fault codes.
It's possible this issue has similarly happened to you on your Qashqai.
My Qashqai was purchased around Dec 2020 and built during the lockdown last year. I have found numerous screws on my carpets and 3 screws in the boot well as well as blank cable connectors in the engine bay.

Now If Nissans Covid issues relating to unavailable manpower were the same as ours, stand in people may have been posted into the production line ( possibly the windscreen fitters ) who may not be too familiar with a new process and errors may have crept in, including possible loose screws intermittently shorting out some electronics.

May be that's why I have had so many items found around my car. Maybe the final quality check team were short on staff at a particular time and did not carry out the normal quality observations that they would normally do. Have a look at YT and check out the qashqai production line videos and you'll see what I mean about people being familiar with a task and how intricate they work day to day. Place a newbie in the line and things may not be so slick.

You are entitled to a vehicle that is fit for purpose, and the Garage have a right to attempt to put things right. If they can't then this is where Motorbility should step in.
Mrugby
AnninDurham
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:03 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by AnninDurham »

Thanks for taking the time to post that explanation. Makes a lot of sense.

Nissan may well have shot themselves in the foot.
I have another hire car provided by Motability. Wow is all I can say
Toyota C-HR Hybrid

Very like the Juke.

Haven't heard from the dealership. Am beginning to think that their mechanics have not got one clue about mechanics!

Am more than a little fed up with Nissan at the moment.
mrugby
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:26 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by mrugby »

In fairness, when you have intermittent faults, especially ones that could be caused by water ingress they can cause issues that are not in the slightest way connected to a physical fault that the car will display. It may display a seat belt error when it's nothing to do with a seat belt etc etc.
The dealers these days rely on fault codes and very little on old fashioned diagnostics. If your fault is down to water tracking then the mechanics could be having one heck of a job duplicating what the fault really is.
I only found mine because the terminals had turned green due to corrosion.
I enclose a picture of mine. Remember this was hidden beneath some hefty electrical connectors. It showed itself as a car alarm fault, when in fact it was nothing to do with the car alarm which has worked fine ever since.
mrugby

water contamination.jpg

AnninDurham
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:03 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by AnninDurham »

The fault with the gears etc was not intermittent.

The computer isn't finding a fault!

I appreciate that modern mechanics are way different. I remember in the 1970's when my Dad had Austin.
He would take the car to the garage. The mechanic woul lift the bonnet, start the engine, then stand with his head cocked under the bonnet and listened. They then knew exactly what was wrong.
The mechanics of today have lost that ability.

We shall see what happens next
Deleted User 10757

Post by Deleted User 10757 »

I agree, each time I visit a Nissan dealership , I often find myself helping the technician understand and offer diagnosis paths they they just dont seem to grasp
If it doesn't have a code they cant fix it - hence I lost one of my Qashqai to a dealer for 4 weeks to fix a very noisy dash noise in cooler weather and they gave up.

I had to show them the area of the noise and a possible fix.

Sometimes its not cost effective for the dealership , but it will cost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Qashowner
Posts: 564
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:07 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by Qashowner »

These days, they are technicians not mechanics, :D :D
Past cars Mercedes B Class, S Class, E Class Estate, E Class Coupe, G Wagen, 260E interspersed with Peugeot 406 and Audi Coupe.
AnninDurham
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:03 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai Facelift - J11b (2017–2021)

Post by AnninDurham »

They still haven't got a clue!!
lewisbryant
Posts: 336
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:27 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.3 Qashqai - J12 (2021+) New Model

Post by lewisbryant »

Let me at it I'd have a good go haha
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