1998 Nissan Mistral 2.7TDI - Irritating Problems!!

[enigmarog]

Hi all!

A noob here & an 'inexperienced bucket DIYer'! I've a 1998 Nissan Mistral 2.7TDI R20 facelift, (round lights), version which has done me well for the past 8yrs. Still runs smoothly, (mostly), but has developped a couple of irritating issues over the past 12mths...any ideas or suggestions greatfully recieved!

1) I have an intermittant fault with either the ignition or pre-heater/Glow plug circuit. 99% of the time there's no issue, 1% of the time, when the key is turned neither the glow-plug indicator nor check engine indicator come on, the engine turns over but won't fire. If left for a few minutes, the rev needle surges until eventually both indicators come on & the engine can be started normally. The infuriating thing about this fault is that I can find no common denominator i.e. cold engine, A/C, radio lights etc which interfere. It'll be fine for months at a time then just happen...maybe once, or for a few days, then resolve! Any ideas??

2) Both the speedo & milage indicator have stopped working. Was all good, pulled in for diesel, when I started & headed off...no speedo/miles! The trip meter has gone also. Not sure if related to fault #1 as this is just recent. Am getting great at driving via the revs & the lack of RUC's is great but have a WOF coming up so need the speedo. Have checked all fuses I can find, found a blown 15amp but replacement didn't solve it. Is this likely to be mechanical or electrical?

The vehicle has done 156,000kms+ & I'd like to keep it for another 200k as it's a great vehicle...just don't want to spend thousands chasing elusive electrical faults!

Thanks heaps for all the help you guys might have!!

Rog

[Crash bandicoot]

The mistral is built on the D21 chassi

So Your speedo is mechanical.

you have either
A: damaged speedo cable
B: damaged speed drive on box.

as for the intermittent glow plug issue. fit an aftermarket glow plug timer. anywhere from 40-65 dollars new, the one i have fitted has a dial so you can increase/decrease the amount of time the glow plugs are on for.

as for the rest, it would appear there seems to be a batch of these with bad earths.

Also go easy on the window winders. i just had to replace mine as with all the mud and crap jammed in the glass runners it wrecked the nylon pulleys on the rail inside the door.