CMF_economy_guy
» CMF Member
I thought I'd share this on here in case it helps anyone out. It may sound a bit stupid, but it worked for me and maybe it will help someone out.
At the moment I'm trying to get rid of the (!) light below the fuel gauge. (I only just found the Owner's Manual today, and the Haynes manual doesn't list the lights on the instrument cluster, so I didn't realize it only pertains to brakes.) After trying all of the other ways to get the diagnostic codes, connecting pins 6 and 7 with the paperclip and watching the LED on the ECU worked... but no dice - 55 (everything normal). So I thought I might as well try and do a few things that would need to be done on a car with this many km on it by now (144).
I spent the weekend doing the throttle body resoldering, cleaning the idle control valve, cleaned the back of the throttle plate (not really that dirty), and replaced the pcv valve filter. I thought I would check the spark plugs, but ended up having to replace them.
Whoever replaced the spark plugs on the car previously used far too much torque, because I had to use all my strength to get them off after applying WD-40 and then, going out and getting some penetrating oil. Eventually they did come out though, but not before 3 of them had the tops broken off them.
I knew some of the ceramic bits from the spark plugs were still in there on the sides, so I was in a spot of bother. If anyone has changed the plugs in the Micra, they would know how deep they are, deeper than other cars I have had. And those ceramic bits are something you certainly _don't_ want to have end up in the cylinders. I thought of chopsticks, but that didn't work too well and was too risky.
The car was also too far away from a power point, so there was no way to vacuum it out (would have required duct taping a straw to the end of it anyway).
I finally decided to use a straw to suck the ceramic bits out. Here's how: You first use a light to see where the ceramic bits are. You then put the straw down next to the ceramic bit to get the required depth. Then move it up and a bit over until it's on top of the ceramic bit. Keep the straw there.
Get ready to suck on the straw. Just stick your tongue not far from the end of the straw so that if the ceramic bit comes up the straw rather than sticking to the end, it hits your tongue and you don't inhale it. It works - I got 4 pieces out this way, with some spitting and sputtering afterwards. You will want to have some water and a paper towel handy. It also pays to not exhale fully before inhaling, since having some fresh air in your lungs will enable you to fully flush out any fumes (e.g. from the WD-40) after you have gotten what you are after.
Hope this helps someone.
At the moment I'm trying to get rid of the (!) light below the fuel gauge. (I only just found the Owner's Manual today, and the Haynes manual doesn't list the lights on the instrument cluster, so I didn't realize it only pertains to brakes.) After trying all of the other ways to get the diagnostic codes, connecting pins 6 and 7 with the paperclip and watching the LED on the ECU worked... but no dice - 55 (everything normal). So I thought I might as well try and do a few things that would need to be done on a car with this many km on it by now (144).
I spent the weekend doing the throttle body resoldering, cleaning the idle control valve, cleaned the back of the throttle plate (not really that dirty), and replaced the pcv valve filter. I thought I would check the spark plugs, but ended up having to replace them.
Whoever replaced the spark plugs on the car previously used far too much torque, because I had to use all my strength to get them off after applying WD-40 and then, going out and getting some penetrating oil. Eventually they did come out though, but not before 3 of them had the tops broken off them.
I knew some of the ceramic bits from the spark plugs were still in there on the sides, so I was in a spot of bother. If anyone has changed the plugs in the Micra, they would know how deep they are, deeper than other cars I have had. And those ceramic bits are something you certainly _don't_ want to have end up in the cylinders. I thought of chopsticks, but that didn't work too well and was too risky.
The car was also too far away from a power point, so there was no way to vacuum it out (would have required duct taping a straw to the end of it anyway).
I finally decided to use a straw to suck the ceramic bits out. Here's how: You first use a light to see where the ceramic bits are. You then put the straw down next to the ceramic bit to get the required depth. Then move it up and a bit over until it's on top of the ceramic bit. Keep the straw there.
Get ready to suck on the straw. Just stick your tongue not far from the end of the straw so that if the ceramic bit comes up the straw rather than sticking to the end, it hits your tongue and you don't inhale it. It works - I got 4 pieces out this way, with some spitting and sputtering afterwards. You will want to have some water and a paper towel handy. It also pays to not exhale fully before inhaling, since having some fresh air in your lungs will enable you to fully flush out any fumes (e.g. from the WD-40) after you have gotten what you are after.
Hope this helps someone.
