That's the trouble with me ....

I don't know how I was persuaded into spending some RM 270/= on car accessories today. My purpose of going to Shah Alam was to discuss business with Durai (also nown as Appu) at the Indian coffee shop in section 26 Shah Alam. The subject of discussion had nothing to do with cars. While waiting for him to show up, I ambled along the 5 foot-way in front of some shops where car accessories were being fitted. I had absolutely no intention of buying anything.

But then I remembered that my car stereo system (the original from Nissan) was unsuitable for use in Malaysia since it was installed to Japanese specifications. The FM broadcast frequency range was 76.0 to 90.0 MHertz while in Malaysia, its 88.0 to 108.0 MHertz. Because of this, the system could only accept a limited number of FM broadcasts.

Responding to my problems, the workshop proprietor suggested I installed a booster for RM 180/= without having to replace the radio. He further added that the LED frequency would not be the actual broadcast frequency because the booster would automatically compensate for the the Japanese frequency range. Thus, for example, the ERA radio frequency of 103.5 MHertz would be adjusted to allow for the original range and would be shown as some figures below 90.00 MHertz. Satisfied with his explanation, I decided to install the booster as recommended.

In the meantime, the proprietor suggested that I installed a water repellent carpet at a cost of RM 6/= per square foot. I agreed to the price of RM 50/= for a 9 square-foot of coverage. Another refinement to the car was the replacement of the car number plate holder with one that had Nismo and Nissan on it, rather than the one with the name of the motor trader from whom I bought the car. I declined when the man proposed to tint the car windows.

I had unwittingly spent a total of RM 270/= but as consolation for my impulsive purchase, I was satisfied with the stereo system receiving considerably more stations than before and on that note, I left for home.

Be friendly if you want to sell cars .....

I wonder how many people have experienced what I went through when dealing with car traders. For one, I noticed that the saleman's attitude was one of take-it-or-leave-it and that he seemed to have no time for you if you asked him too many questions. It was as though he expected that, once you entered his show room, you give him a booking fee and immediately purchase the car. He was not interested in answering your queries on technical issues apart from telling you the price of the car. As for discount, forget it. He did not even suggest that if you wanted a discount, it's better you discussed with the manager.

I experienced this with Naza Motor on the Federal highway, Ming Heng Motor in Genting Klang, and several motor traders in Bukit Lanjan. With Naza, you don't talk about discounts unless you pay RM 5,000/= upfront and only then would the Manager be ready to discuss with you. If not, it would be a waste of his time. With Ming Heng, the salesman would give you his call card and never bothered to follow-up. He waited for you to call him, not vice versa. Zaibar Motor's attitude to car marketing was no better until I made several visits which prompted the salesman to think that I was really interested in purchasing the Fairlady, which I did eventually. His other Fairlady was not taken and it had been a year already.

So today, I got the itch to go to Iktikad Raya to see some sports cars that were advertised in the On The Road motor magazine. This car trader appeared to be one of the biggest car traders in the Klang Valley and one of its sales premises was located along Jalan Pahang, so said the advertisement. Another reason why I wanted to go to Iktikad Raya was that their ad claimed that they had modern facilities to maintain and modify cars.

When I went there, I could not find a proper entrance to go in, save for a small road on one side and another small road terminating at the busy Jalan Pahang. Along this road, cars were parked haphazardly on the grass verge on both sides of the narrow road that I had to squeeze my car through. There was not even a welcoming sign to suggest where to park your car. Fearing that I might be stranded on the small road with no way of reversing if there were obstacles in front, I decided to drive away from the area. It reminded me of Naza in Kampung Bharu in those days when you had to park your car far away if you want to see the cars on display. The motor traders attitude was not a welcoming one. The only way for us customers was to beat a hasty retreat.

Some pictures of the car ...

All the while, I have been talking about the Nissan Fairlady but have never shown its pictures. So, here they are.

Now, it's a joy to drive ...

After weeks of doubts and dread, I am beginning to enjoy driving the Fairlady. I enjoy driving the car, not for its speed, but for its acceleration. I feel exhilarated when the RPM meter leap from 2000 rpm to 4500 rpm with the exhaust screaming when I press the pedal and the zoom pass all the vehicles on my left. It's really fun.

After that scare on the overheating, I took the car for a trip down south - past KLIA - and onwards to Banting and Morib and back home again via the the Banting-Klang Highway and through the Kesas Highway to Subang Jaya. Iman was the navigator and companion. Throughout the trip, not once did the temp meter needle budge from its position of just slightly below the middle. During the journey which took about 6.5 hours, I made several stops - at the toll plaza before KLIA, at a kopitiam in Banting, and at Impian Hotel in Morib, adjacent to the Morib golf club.

By the time I parked the car in my condo, I had traversed a distance of about 170 kilometres. Prior to this, I checked the fuel consumption from since I last filled the tank on 26/10/2009 to the next fill on 23/12/2009. I had travelled a distance of 310 km and consumed 55.30 litres of RON 95 petrol. The fuel consumption was thus 15.8384 miles per gallon, which was a far cry from the expected 24 to 26 mpg.

Had the fuel evaporated, since most of the time I had left the car parked and my driving was confined to within 5 km radius of the condo. Or was someone stealing my petrol ? Bad thoughts ! Most probably, my filling points were wrong. I usually stopped filling when the automatic petrol nozzle cut off. The automatic petrol nozzle might be different from station to station and from nozzle to nozzle. But over a long period, I would get a good average on the fuel consumption. Another reason could be due to the engine left idling for a one hour test after the APD people had installed the 2 motor fans. Petrol was then consumed in zero distance.

All well again ..

At about 3.00 pm, I went to APD to collect my car which was ready for collection since 1.00 pm when Ali informed me that the car no longer overheats after replacing the 2 fan motors with new ones. He further stated that, after running the engine on idle for about an hour, there was no signs of overheating and that, of course, proved that the fans were working as they should.

I then took the car for a test drive with Prakash, a mechanic working there, and was satisfied that indeed the car was not overheating. The yellow engine symbol that appeared had gone, had been erased by them using the ECU device.

It was now time to settle the amount that came to RM 1,594 inclusive of workmanship. As usual when dealing with car mechanics I was always skeptical, then and now, about the parts replaced. I was badgering Ali whether those parts were OEM parts and not parts made in China, about where he got them from - Tan Chong or what. asking him also to give the name of the supplier, and asking him to produce the box in which the parts were usually kept.

Ali apologised saying that he could not divulge the suppliers's name as it was confidential. But he assured me that the parts were based on the car's chassis number and that his supplier had supplied the parts in accordance with the chassis number and the car model and its Japanese specifications. In other words, they were genuine NIssan parts.

But I was still not satisfied with his explanation fearing that Ali might not even know whether they were really Nissan parts. Also, there was no way for me to know that the parts replaced were new as they were already fitted. I had to take Ali's word for them being genuine.

The only way to know was to monitor the performance of the fan motors from the time that I sent the car to APD on 21/12/2009 when its meter reading was 18,127 kilometres. But then again, APD would not risk their reputation for being a well known niche workshop specialising in maintaining performance cars.

After paying the amount using EBB CC, I met Danial, the owner's son, and asked him to quote for an HKS supercharger which he said was about RM 20k + and left for home. He promised to SMS me a proper quotation.

Fan motors ...

I took the car to APD today describing to Danial my suspicion on the cause of overheating being due to the fan. I had noticed before that the left side fan rotated while the right fan didn't even spin. True enough, APD diagnosed the cause of the overheating as due to the fans. Ali, the supervisor, said that the left fan was not really rotating well while the motor of the right one is damaged due to, most probably, over voltage.

One fan motor cost RM 750/= and if I wanted to change the 2 motors it would set me back some RM 1,500/= just for the fan motors only. He suggested that I installed a complete set of a used fan system (2 fans + 2 motors + housing) for RM 900/= only. I thought about it for awhile and fearing that the same thing might happen again, I decided to replace the fan motors with new ones and damn the cost. Who's to say that the used motors might conk out again. After all the second hand parts dealer did not give a guarantee.

As it was already late, Ali said that the car had to be left there overnight, and that it would be ready the next day. On that note, I left APD for home.

Overheating ....

A couple of days ago, I got a shock of my life. It happened like this. I was driving to a friend's house at Putra Heights with my grandson, Iman, as passenger. I took the usual route via Jalan Tujuan, driving at a moderate pace in the middle of the road and then making a U-turn in order later to turn left and drive through the main USJ12 road, over several annoying speed breakers before finally entering the Jalan Puchong-Hicom road where I made a U-turn under the flyover.

I stopped at the traffic lights and was on the right lane. To my left a group of motorcyclists had gathered and were revving up their bikes. As I was in front and wished to turn left, I planned to be well ahead of the motorcyclists in order to safely turn left at the entrance to Putra Heights, which was a short distance from the traffic lights.

As soon as the lights turned green, I accelerated my 350Z hard and quickly turned to the left well ahead of the motorocyclists. I drove a further 100 metres or so to turn into the housing estate where my friend lived. On reaching his house gate, I horned and got out and left the car engine running with Iman inside.

My friend greeted me and beckoned to enter his home. I told him I could not stay long and sat down to conclude the business in about 5 minutes. Apologising to him that I could not accept his cup of coffee, I got out of the house and while I was on his porch, I heard my friend saying that there was water coming out of the car. I went around the car to inspect and to my horror I smelt something burning. I realised then that the car was overheating. I rushed to inside the car and managed to glance at the water temperature meter to see that the needle was high before switching off the engine.

Questions raced through my mind. Had I not put water in the radiator ? But I know that there's always water in the radiator since I last opened the bonnet. Was my radiator fan running ? Was it the aircon water that was coming out of the car ?

My friend helped me in opening the car bonnet and I saw that water was boiling in the radiator holding tank and that the engine was really heated up with small clouds of steam everywhere. While I let the car engine to cool down, I discussed with my friend as to what actually happened. He reckoned that the cooling fan malfunctioned, which was the usual cause of engine overheating. And I agreed, since I once experienced earlier that the water temp meter did go up high during one occassion when I was driving before it settled in the middle.

Meanwhile I went back inside the house to discuss further with him. After about 30 minutes or so, I decided to check the car again while my friend was bringing a few bottles of water he collected from the kitchen. He poured water in the holding tank to full while I started the engine.

The needle dropped down from its high position while warm water circulated in the engine. I noticed that the radiator fan was still not running. Closing the bonnet, I decided to drive around near the house and after a few minutes the needle settled steadily in the middle. I bid my friend farewell and drove out of the housing, asking Iman to concentrate looking at the needle as I drove. Everything seemed to work fine when the yellow engine symbol on the dashboard appeared. I was really worried.

I drove to a nearby Shell station and asked the station operator, an old friend, if he could tell me why the symbol appeared, without telling what had happened before. He at once told me that it had something with the "sensors" and advised me to check with Nissan mechanics to rectify it using their computer device. He added this was a small matter.

I drove to Zaibar Motor since it was on the way to where I wanted to go initially. The salesman told me the same thing and advised me to get assistance from expert mechanics with computerised diagnostics tools and added that this was a small problem that could be fixed in a few minutes.

I then left for home driving at a moderate pace and with Iman watching intently at the meter to warn me if the needle went up high. The driving was fine and, until I switched off the engine at the car park, the yellow engine symbol was still lighted up. Since then I had not driven the car nor taken it to be diagnosed. Let the car be really cool before I take it to APD.