Thomas Varghese

4 hours ago, Zulfikhar Naiyar said:

---------Update after 2 weeks of change--------------

The X seems to be restored to its might! No AC or power cut-offs.

Done 2 drives after the change and the last one was at Big red... AC cooling non stop and can feel the roar in the climbs.. so no more complaints.

 

How critical a small mistake can cause.. an issue so small and unidentifiable, yet makes a big difference. I finally realized the importance of "right" spark plugs...

As they say " it only comes with experience".

 

Thank you all for the guidance and a special shout out to @Thomas Varghese 

yes Zulfiqar that issue is unidentifiable unless u have gone through it. I experienced the shame with my car when driving the car with the club. I have taken my car to reputed garages and got this experience. I didn't give up solving the mystery why a perfect car behaves like a 3 wheeler and ultimately found the underlying cause of it. Fortunately for you I am still subscribed to Carnity and I got a notification. I immediately identified the issue and saved u from selling ur car or opening ur wallet to increased expenses. I know the end result. You will start hating a good machine. 

I understood the problem as soon as I read your post. Gone through this myself. 3 months I was offroading in the club with the same problem wondering what happened to my car. I am really angry for garages doing this deliberately to make us spend more money culminating in replacing a busted engine. We pay the bills given to us by them promptly. The mechanic keep charging us for replacing the knock sensor, the cam shaft sensors, the crank shaft sensor finally replacing the throttle body. When we reach this stage the engine head gaskets will be already busted. No codes will appear for the spark plug, instead all other codes will appear. We will never doubt a spark plug mismatch as we trusted the mechanic to have put the right ones for which we paid. The moment you realize u have been cheated u will feel so angry with the garage for making us fool. All this happens because the garages know the owner of the car lacks technical knowledge. They think its very smart to fool us like this. The clue to your problem was in your write up itself at the last paragraph. Instantly I knew what was the problem. When you don't put the manufacturer specified spark plugs with a different one having a different heat range the ignition starts to behave strange when the engine gets hot. I know the sequence of repairs the garage will suggest to get rid of the issue. You already replaced the knock sensor. Next they will say crank shaft & cam sensor. 

Anyways it your good luck I noticed the write up and reached out to you immediately. 

Enjoy your drive today and post the results. If at all any further damage has happened it will be the throttle body sensor as you may have used the throttle too much and probably heated up the motor rendering it weak. I hope you didn't reach to that stage as this spark plug change happened recently. In my case I had to replace the throttle body as I ran the car like this for 3 months and pushed the throttle excessively while offroading. Even if the throttle body motor has become weak don't worry. U get a used throttle body for 150 AED. 

On 8/3/2023 at 8:18 PM, Zulfikhar Naiyar said:

Hello Xterra experts,

 

I’m experiencing few issues with my 2014 X in recent rides. Wanted to share and hopefully find a solution if others have faced it in the past. 
The issue started with AC completely stopped cooling or even blowing hot air in the middle of the desert. Though there are no issues with the AC whatsoever while driving on-road or the initial off-road track. After about an hour or so of our desert drives, the AC stops functioning and just blows hot air. I thought this was due to the hot weather, but faced the same on a night drive when the temperatures were quite pleasant. That ruled out the hot summer to be a cause for it. 
My second guess was engine overheating. The coolant levels are fine and I’ve been checking the temperatures. The max it reaches in demanding patches of the drive during the day is about 96-97 degrees and quickly comes back to 91-92 while on a more relaxed time. So the fans seem to be working fine as well as coolant. 

After coming out of the desert, turning off the vehicle, ABS kill switch, 4H, etc. and the AC is perfectly fine all the way till back home. 
 

The above issue is still not fixed but I do manage to roll down the windows and have an occasional sandbath in our drives😎. 
 

While the above is still something of a personal endurance test😅, the other issue I’m facing is loss of acceleration or lag in power on even moderate climbs. 

This was a major issue exposed in my last FB+ drive with @Varun Mehndiratta .. I couldn’t effectively do most of the climbs which otherwise were pretty easy to capture previously. There’s a serious lag in acceleration and building up momentum. I’ve since had my vehicle checked by experts(garage) and still the issue isn’t resolved. They’re not able to figure out what’s the issue as every component seems to be working fine(individually). 
 

Just to add to that the mech’s advised there’s backfiring happening and this would be due to air to fuel ratio imbalance. Tbh, I didn’t understand that part but experienced it and whenever this backfire was replicated, the AC cut-off scenario would appear. Restarting the vehicle would solve the AC issue temporarily. 

I’ve got a cold air intake which currently is being replaced by stock air filter, to test if it solves the problem. I’d got the spark plugs changed and injectors cleaned recently. Which is the only internal recent change I could think of after which I’m observing these issues. Or the most recent is that I got a steam wash done at a new place, which I assume they’ve watered under the hood possibly causing any underlying electricals to act funny at times🤔. 
 

The diagnosis is still underway, so posting it here for any helpful feedback. 
 

Thanks in advance!

I understood the problem of ur car. Went through this couple of years ago. Call me if u want to solve the AC & loss of power plus the misfiring. By the way its nothing major work. Loss of power is because ur throttle body sensor has become faulty and the throttle body has to be replaced. This has  to do with your AC issues as I also have experienced the same. The backfiring happens when ur spark plugs don't match with original specifications or ur knock sensor is failing. My phone no is in my profile and u can call me anytime. The misfiring incidents started happening after u changed ur spark plugs. Try to remember.  

Vulcanized rubber to get deteriorated takes a lot of time. I have read all the comments here. The reason for the tire to get cracked after years is due to ply separation. Rubber compound when masticated with chemicals to become a tire compound has oil also added to it. After years the oil starts to evaporate making the tire more brittle. Also when the tire is vulcanized in the tire mould the outer parts of the tire get more heat and vulcanizes more. The inner parts of the tire where the ply's are arranged are not vulcanized fully as heat reaches there less. So a tire which has aged is more likely to fail as the bond between the ply's gets weaker after years. Another reason is the addition of synthetic rubber in tires. Synthetic rubber is added to the compound to give it more abrasion resistance. But if u have stock of old synthetic rubber, you see that the tensile strength of the rubber has deteriorated a lot and if u pull it will just tear off. I can say this with 100% confidence as I had a rubber mastication unit which was handed over to me through generations.  

@gaurav I would keep the 50% tread life tire and throw the 6 year old tire in the garbage. 

Congrats @Rizwanm2. Keep going to the top

4 hours ago, Sunil Mathew said:

Jzx 2 ton comes with carry case..i just bought one

@Waqas Parvez

The 3 ton is too big, but has lot of lift height, and no box..were you looking at the 3 ton?

When its time to fix a pop out and if I'm in the convoy its always my 3 ton jack which eases the situation. 

Well deserved

@Ale Vallecchi got to drop out as there is a marriage reception scheduled for tomorrow evening. 

2 hours ago, Pacific said:

Your scanner can show early signs of battery dying. Rest if you try any visible or functional irregularities, its difficult. My all batteries so far had sudden death. No signs or warnings, everytime I cant believe. Back home never happened this way. 

Battery death signs cannot be shown on regular scanner unless its a battery load tester. But sudden death is not because battery is weak. Its because of the bumpy rides, the inside cell connectors separate and the battery can no longer function. 

14 hours ago, M.Seidam said:

True but it needed more than that , spark plugs , all lubes and fluids changed , brake pads needed change , and coolant minor leak , hose ..etc 

UAE: Will I lose warranty if my car is serviced from a workshop that’s not affiliated to the dealer? - News | Khaleej Times

3 minutes ago, Zixuan Huang - Charlie said:

there is no leak, I disconnected the battery from both terminals for 3 days to check if it holds, and it didnt. and I cant find the warranty card anymore ☹️

Then the battery is going through the slow natural death process. I don't know why but I have noticed that battery's die mostly during summer.

44 minutes ago, M.Seidam said:

@Gaurav I am afraid that most probably its as you said is the case.

Anyway our JGC already crossed the 200k km and I believe this was my last major service with them … time to look for a decent garage to service it onward on 😅

Actually you can give it to any mechanic to change your engine oil which is way much cheaper than getting it done in Trading Enterprises. They charge you for inspecting other fluids and max your brake pad conditions. All this checking can be done by ourselves except the transmission oil & differential oil if you know where all they are. 

23 minutes ago, Zixuan Huang - Charlie said:

I will definitely keep one spare battery in my car from now on....

my own daily's battery died without sign this week; my pathfinder's few month old battery seems to be defective that doesnt hold charge for longer than 3 days; see at least 1 case each weekend that someone's having battery issue

battery's failure can be solved easily just by ourselves, but so critical that can stop a fully mechanically healthy car from running....

Looks like its not your battery which is having problems in your Pathfinder. It discharges in 3 days because there is an electrical leak somewhere. Easy way to check is to remove your negative terminal and try to reconnect it. If there is a good enough spark when you reconnect it then definitely there is an electrical leak. There will be a nominal small spark or no spark if all electrical systems are ok. 

17 minutes ago, Zed said:

Thanks for the update @Thomas Varghese! Is it fixed now by replacing the battery? Else you may need to visit an electrician to fully inspect cablings, fusebox, power draining and short-circuits...

Yes its working fine and after scanning the whole car electricals on live data with my scanner. All values remain the same. 

Interesting postulate @Zed, but I checked the alternator and its charging fine. All the theory you wrote about the battery and alternator is fine. The car stopped because the alternator had no capacitor to discharge the generated voltage and heated up as we disconnected the battery. It was heating up when it was connected to the battery too as theoretically as the battery once the cells inside separate then doesn't function as a capacitor. As explained before everything was fine until the moment the cell separation occurred inside the battery.  

1 minute ago, M.Seidam said:

It seems that “X TERRAS don’t jump “ 🤣 I never did 🙏 till now 😅

You mean they hop like a kangaroo? 

15 hours ago, Thomas Varghese said:

Thank you for this extreme drive @GauravSoni. Really enjoyed the 1st part until my battery had a sudden death. Sorry if I was behaving irritated. The extreme heat was exhausting and driving me nuts. Anyways thank you friend for being with me until the recovery van came to lift the car to the garage. Except for a totally dead battery everything else is fine in the car as per the mechanic. 

Its 100% now sure that the battery died a sudden death inside the desert. I've purchased a new battery and now the car was running from morning till now without problems. 2nd time happening inside the desert. 1st time was on may 15th 2021 on a drive with @Wrangeld. The battery ran 1 year and 3 months and died suddenly without any warnings. Replaced with an Energizer batt made in Spain. 1st one which died was AC Delco, now 2nd one is the famous Amaron. As per the battery shop it can happen anytime when you do abrupt jumps inside the sands. The inside cell connections can separate and its sudden death for the battery. As for running without connecting the terminals again the car will die in 10 min when the alternator cannot discharge the generated voltage to the capacitor ie the batt and will become hot. I saw the code generated for abnormal voltage generation from the alternator 35 times in my scanner.  

Thank you for this extreme drive @GauravSoni. Really enjoyed the 1st part until my battery had a sudden death. Sorry if I was behaving irritated. The extreme heat was exhausting and driving me nuts. Anyways thank you friend for being with me until the recovery van came to lift the car to the garage. Except for a totally dead battery everything else is fine in the car as per the mechanic. 

@Ale Vallecchi I have to exit as car is having some electrical issues. Had to take it back in a recovery to the garage. Sorry for this. 

5 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Thanks for updating @Daniel Rodas.

@Santoso Marjuki you are IN (please confirm).

At this stage I'd also like to add @Ashok chaturvedito the drive, if ok (also,.please confirm).

Thanks

@Ale Vallecchi  I have also waitlisted for your drive

Mine is a dual use car. I carry all the basic tools required for offroading 24/7 in my car not because I am going to hit the sands in just mentioning a drive. All tools are properly secured in the boot tightly and I don't have to worry about them flying around or rattling. I carry them because you never know when you need a jack or a rope or a compressor even on road also. Plus I can always assist anyone who has a flat tire or a dead car. 

The drive which I could not click a single picture. The initial stages were plagued by refusals, stucks, and pop out. As the center forward, me and the sweep @Ashok chaturvedi was tested to the limits. It was fun though as the track was very challenging. That was the 1st half of the drive. Probably made less than 15 or 20 km in 2 hours. After the professor @Ale Vallecchi took a coaching class everybody got into action. 2nd half was more challenges but very fast paced. Very few refusals and good to see the cars zipping past all challenges. 

One thing which caught the attention of the Marshal was even though everybody is fewbie plus class very few have the required recovery gear. Its the essential life saving tools of an offroader. A recovery rope and shackle is an essential part of the gear just like a compressor, shovel, flag etc instead of hoping someone else will have it. Please make sure you carry these in your car and well secured so that it doesn't jump around in the boot. Talking about shovels please carry a proper one which is long enough to atleast reach the center of the car from the side and not the fancy spoons which are useless in a recovery. A wooden board and a proper hydraulic jack should be also in your tool box. Atleast with the next promotion you all will be Intermediate and then it will not look good if you are lacking in any essential gear. The club is not asking everybody to lift their cars or fix a winch. 

Apart from small hiccups in the beginning it was a super duper drive. Me and @Ashok chaturvedi thoroughly enjoyed it. The track was superb. Another thing I noticed in todays drive was the short wheel based Jeeps were getting crested which is very rare and Ale explained how its nearly impossible for those jeeps to get crested. Even after Ale's briefing the Jeeps got crested again. I noticed from behind how and why they are getting crested. You are suddenly trying to criss cross without riding the ridge for at least 2 or 3 meters and don't have the momentum for that maneuver. Don't worry it will come to you naturally if you practice it. I also started like this and learned from my mistakes from the briefing by the able Marshals of @Carnity. So don't feel I am pointing fingers at you all but only reminding you to remember what the Marshals teach you. 

See you all in the sands soon.  

Dear @Ale Vallecchi, The phenomenon of crests was propagated by very hard sand under the very thin layer of the soft sand on the top. The recent rain and humid weather had compacted the sand so much its became hard. So when you ride the ridge a bit longer, the soft sand instead of getting scattered by the impact will start to accumulate under the skid plate to the point you lose momentum and the underbelly of the car rests on the sand which is not soft. When I shovelled your car to be out of the crest even after so much clearance of the sand from under the chassis, the tires won't touch the sand so that you can self recover. If the sand was soft the car should naturally come down with the weight and the tires would touch the sand and you can self recover. Also with my heavy weight stature I was not sinking much into the sand when I climbed up the dune with the shovel, infact it was just the opposite that i could climb up easily. 

14 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hello @Thomas Varghese. Please join the drive tomorrow. No problem opening up the waitlist. I'll increase the RSVP to 11 so you can sign up if you wish. Thanks

I'm in