:icon17: Sorry stepped out of the office :tiphat:

:iagree: She even sent me a PM :tup:

Looks like you found it just fine, but here it is in the manual - it is referred to as the Clutch Interlock Switch (#8) :tiphat:

http://i44.tinypic.com/s1nt3t.jpg

:ugh2: I'm not looking forward to my RJM clutch pedal replacement and I haven't even purchased the damn thing yet :rofl2:

Anyone have the part number by chance?? I'll look too! :tup:

Thanks Jar!!

Courtesy Parts
[25320U] CLUTCH PEDAL POSITION SWITCH

25325-Z34001
CLUTCH PEDAL POSITION SWITCH - 370Z (Z34) 2009+ :: Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

Not necessarily. You can go into ACC and ON without depressing the clutch/brake. The fact that it's cycling through without starting makes me believe that the clutch switch is probably giving out. That switch gives the signal to go past "ON" and actually start the car.

My money is on the clutch switch as well. I used to have an '08 Altima and they had similar issues as you described and it ended up being a faulty brake switch (Autos). Swap a new one in and it fired up like normal.

I still don't believe removing the fuse is the cause of the delay either. My Altima had an occasional delay as well and I did not disable the steering lock on that car. Z does the same thing.

I realized this after posting... :tiphat:

:tup: :tiphat: THX JAR!! You da bestest!! :happydance:

Way to go team! lol It's like a pitstop... I burn in here with a fault and the crew comes to the rescue! :tiphat:

oh, btw, if anyone is interested, I have the local parts guy quoting the cost of the Cdn turn signal stalk with the foglight switch for those that are interested in going OEM for the foglight in the US...

:icon17: :tup:

IIRC, the best price I found was $118 shipped. But that's way low on the list of priorities at the moment.

Good luck, keep us updated

No s**t, put in the RJM clutch pedal on Sat and my back is finally getting better!

FIXED!!!

I removed the clutch switch, opened it up, sanded the two sets of contacts and reassembled the switch. I now have zero ohms between the pins while clutch is depressed and the car fires everytime!!!!

Thank you 370Z.com Pit Crew!!! ++++ to everyone for helping!

You could also adjust it too, I shortened mine a little bit

Boom. Now pull that steering lock fuse again!

ugh.... unfortunately, I have to leave it in until the new steering lock goes in this week or next.... Parts came in last week but I am waiting for an appointment with my favourite dealer.

Any thoughts as to what might be causing the problem on Tracie's 7AT?

I was looking at this diagram from the service manual


as well as the diagram on this website trying to figure it out 251 Switch :: Body Electrical :: Genuine Nissan Parts :: 370Z Parts (Z34) 2009-2013 :: Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

There are two switches for each the brake and clutch pedals. One switch on each pedal assembly appears to be basically the same thing: 25320N is the brake part and 25320Q is the clutch - both are called 370Z SWITCH ASSY-ASCD CANCEL on the parts website. In the service manual, the one on the brake pedal assembly is called the ASCD Brake Switch, and it makes sense to me that this would be the culprit. What throws me off is the equivalent ASCD switch on the clutch pedal assembly is referred to as the Clutch Pedal Position Switch and does not appear to be the switch that wheee! fixed to solve his problem. Is it possible that the other switch on the brake pedal assembly (#8 Stop Lamp Switch in the service manual) is the switch responsible for allowing the vehicle to start?

First of all, the clutch switch may look identical to the ASCD switch.

Internally, the clutch switch is two sets of 'points' that do not make contact in the resting position. When you depress the clutch, the plunger goes into the switch and allows the two sets of 'points' to contact and create the closed loop required for ignition. Basically telling the car that the clutch is fully depressed.

The ASCD switch can be configured in exactly the opposite condition. Closed when at rest and open when pressed.

THEREFORE: Tracie's issue may indeed be the switch you are looking at . The one that determines that the brake pedal is fully depressed before allowing the car to start. At rest or pedal not pressed, the switch is resting open at the top of it's travel. When she steps on the brake to start the car, it closes the switch and changes state. Sometimes the contacts are fully touching with the pedal pressed and the car starts. At other times, like my clutch issue, the contacts or points have become oxidized and are not making full contact. I would pull the switch, open it, and sand the points lightly. That's all I did to fix mine!

Again, this is me hypothezising as I have not seen Tracie's issue before either. That and no one in Canada owns an auto.... :stirthepot:

There are 2 switches on the brake pedal as you found, one is the stop lamp switch and one is the brake pedal position switch. Both connect to the ECU via the BCM and it's not 100% clear which switch controls which function. For example pulling the stop lamp fuse disables the brake lights but also disables the throttle cut. The other one might be used for the park lock and start enable but that's just a guess.

I would test both brake switches with a multimeter for resistance.

I agree. However the starting issue would most likely be the one that releases the switch pressure when pushing the pedal. This should also be the one that controls the brake lights. Pedal pushed = okay to start and brake lights on.
The other switch would be for cruise control I would think. Letting the system know if the pedal was pushed to deactivate the cruise.... no?

:tiphat: I guess we'll start with the stop lamp switch and just take it out to see if there's anything malfunctioning.

It's all up to the ECU programming. Normally open vs normally closed doesn't a lot of difference in the world of electronics. In fact the switches may work together in such that they must be in agreement (opposite states for verification).

Good point Chris. It's best to open the switches and clean the contacts properly anyways. That might solve her issue completely...

Can be configured that way or is configured that way? If the ASCD brake switch is closed at rest, then your cruise control scenario makes perfect sense.

Since the clutch switch interlock switch that enables the car to turn on is open at rest, it would make sense to me that the 7AT brake switch operates similarly. With the clutch pedal, I can push it 95% to the floor and the car still won't turn on. If the AT version requires that you push the brake far enough to enable the brake lights, then it follows that the stop lamp switch is the likely culprit. Someone with a functioning switch in their AT could check this by pushing the brake pedal but not far enough to trigger the brake lights and see if the car turns on.

If the ASCD switches are indeed closed circuit at rest and are responsible for permitting the car to turn on, you should be able to turn your car on as soon as the pedal (clutch for 6MT, brake for 7AT) travels far enough to open the switch circuit, which would be barely any travel at all.

Of course, your scenario where the ECU reads the position of both switches makes sense as well. The pedal barely has to be pushed to open the circuit of the ASCD switch, but the pedal also has to be pushed far enough to close the circuit of the second switch.

Sounds like we may just want to go ahead and pull both switches and clean them out for maintenance. I think we'll start with the stop lamp switch just for troubleshooting purposes. But even if that solves the problem, it may be prudent to clean the other switch as well.

I would guess that the switches are ON or OFF with no in between (i.e. digital signal), but is there any chance the "start delay" could possibly be related to dirty contacts in one of these switches?

I feel bad for not taking pictures when I had the switch apart. I was in a hurry to fix the problem!

The switch is uber simple. A straight pole pushed through the body of the switch to allow the contacts to close and create a 'short' condition. No electronics, no logic circuit, nothing more than a mechanical set of points making contact.....

No worries :tup: There is a lot of good information in this thread :tiphat: As long as they're easy to remove, which they appear to be from the service manual, I'll be happy. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is working down in the foot well :ugh2:

They are easy to remove. Unplug the harness (release tab is closest to the switch part itself). A 14mm wrench will undo the locking nut, then just unscrew the switch from the mount.

The switch is then enclosed by two tabs that can be gently pried open with a jewellers screwdriver and then the switch will come apart. Be careful you don't dump the contacts and spring all over the place! It is a simple switch and goes back together easily.

:tup:

Anyone solve their delay start with this method yet?

Any updates on tracies car Jar?

Nope, we've both been too busy to arrange anything.

wheee!

do you still have issue starting your z?

how about the steering lock harness connector?

does it resolve the starting problem?

My issue has been 100% resolved with this method. I have the new generation steering lock and the harness is intact. The fuse is still in but I will pull it again probably one day.

Let me repeat: THIS PROBLEM IS 100% RESOLVED WITH THE CLEANING OF THE CLUTCH SWITCH!

I'm a little confused. Are you guys cleaning the clutch position switch or the the clutch interlock switch? Or, are you cleaning both switches?

The switch that is depressed when the clutch pedal is fully pressed...

I see a few more of these threads popping up about this same issue... bump for relevance!

Glad I found this, I'm pretty sure (hoping) this is my issue also.

I started with the wheel lock fix, both cut the brown wire, didn't help. So I pulled the fuse for good measure, didn't help.

Then I reset the ECU which i read somewhere might help, didn't help. Ready to pull my hair out at this point until I found this post.

My car cycles between ACC and On, lights and all come on, but doesn't fire at all. Occasionally/intermittently it does though, and it seems to get worse and worse the last few weeks to now I don't want to drive it for fear of getting stuck somewhere. The "press clutch in" picture on the dash shows as well, which is why I started searching for clutch issues.

Fingers crossed cleaning it will be the solution! I'll let you know how it goes.

Don't suppose you remember which way you turn the locking nut to loosen it? I have the harness disconnected, but that locking nut behind the bracket doesn't want to turn. The hanging metal bracket its all attached to is getting moved back and forth which isn't great, so I tried holding it in place with vice grips while i work on the locking nut. Doesn't help Im not sure which way to go.

Just put some WD 40 on it, if someone happens to know which way it might help the cause some though, thanks in advance.

Here's a pic looking at it, when looking towards front of the car, the locking nut is on the inside of this. Clockwise or counter clockwise when looking this way?

I have the same issue & I'm going to have my clutch interlock switch with a new one by the same mechanic that replaced my CSC and master cylinder.

He's charging me $100 otd for parts & labor.

Anyone else think this is too much?

:icon18:

why dont u try cleaning it with some rc car motor spray? :icon17: dat's the first tool i would use to clean it after removing the switch from the car that is.

I was already stranded once and don't plan on another one lol

Rather have a professional deal with this :)

Is RC motorspray the solution for everything? Haha