VZ need help

[femaleneedshelp]

Hi guys. Have VZ one tonner ute. Manual. Left it sit for 3 weeks without starting it and now it runs really rough. I can feel the vibration right through the cab of the car. Highway driving it seems to settle down but when driving through town and changing gears it gets very rough again.
Has been suggested needs new plugs and also injector cleaner but I have noticed a rattling in the exhaust and am wondering if that would be the cat on the way out? And if it is, are all the symptoms related to that perhaps? Would appreciate any advice.

[Shorty33]

I have a VZ sedan 3.6 which I left at home while I was on holiday. My friend, who was feeding the chooks, etc, was sarting it once a week (allegedly). After two weeks she told me "it won't sart". Anyway, I get home, and the car hasn't been fired up for six weeks. I had learned previously that it won't start if the battery is undercharged, whereas older cars would slowly groan, the VZ won't even try. I tried jump starting, hooked up a charger, no joy. When I turned the key, and waited for it to do the "systems check", it always came up with "low fuel warning"; then "fuel system fault", but I knew that it was nearly full (and it was). Called in the mechanic. He said it was a key problem. Used a spare key, and it started first go. Drove it around for a while, to make sure it was charged, and then another warning popped up "power-train fault". Went to the local shops to restock the pantry; turned VZ off; attempted to re-start it - all OK. Come back 40 minutes later - no go. Call another mechanic. He said it's not the key, but it's a common feature of the VZ that the computers (he said there were two) respond adversely if not started for a while. One consequence is the phantom messages; another is failure to fire. The bad news is that this is expensive to fix.
Two days later, a friend gets back from his holiday, and his VZ won't start. The mechanic got it to start, but offered no certainty that it would continue to start. He's booked into the local Holden dealer to get his computer/s re-programmed. I've decided to wait until he's done that before I decide what to do with mine. Another friend has started to get the "phantom" warnings, but so far, his still starts.
I've had a lot of fun in my VZ, and I like it, but it seems that the fancy electronics are a bit fragile. If you look at other threads in this foum, you'll see that other VZ owners report difficulties following heavy rainfall, so maybe humidity is a factor.
I'll update this when my friend has his VZ going again.
Until then, I wouldn't spend too much before I was sure that the fault was pinned down: key ? computer ? something simpler ?

[Little Red VZ Go-Kart]

True, the battery could do with being left to a trickle charge if the car isn't being used for say 2 weeks, but I'd want it driven every now and then during that time to protect the engine, not the electronics. Being an auto-start engine, it depends on a strong CCA from the battery to start first time reliably. If the battery has run down, that auto-start will "drag" with nothing firing. VZ batteries are very heavy duty AG9 calcium (like many big sixes) and service life is exceptional — up to a point of expending serviceability over time.

All cars will suffer some sort of malaise after being left for an extended time, chiefly battery-related (flat, likely). Then there is the biggest no-brainer of all: driving through floodwaters, is a sure way to bring serious trouble to all cars with onboard electronics/engine and body management computers, not just the VZ. I've driven in areas of extreme humidity recently (up near Brisbane during the floods) and never experienced any problem at all, but witnessed stupid drivers ploughing through floodwater over their bonnets and —! Instant stall as water entered the engine. One of these was a fancy Benz Kompressor: the water went over the bonnet while the driver remained poker-faced and confident, before the whole kibosh came to a stuttering halt. Nice way to treat the three-pointed star...

[CRUSTIN]

With a big flywheel and plenty of revs, if water gets in the intake it wont just stall, it will probably hydraulic and bend a Con-Rod, as you cant compress water and the motor has plenty of momentum.

Nothing to do with the subject. But helpful to know.

[Coaly69]

Turn aircon onto fresh intake, then drive through backwards lol. Have had water close to the top of the rims using that method, only problem was sticky fan from water in the plug behind radiator. Cue flat battery. Silly but worked.

Back onto the subject though, both my vy and vz's have always given the "Low fuel" warning when it fails to start first time. Even with a full tank. The vz is a cow to start atm but the boys reckon it's probably fuel pump/line. In shop now.

[Little Red VZ Go-Kart]

Turn aircon onto fresh intake, then drive through backwards lol. Have had water close to the top of the rims using that method, only problem was sticky fan from water in the plug behind radiator. Cue flat battery. Silly but worked.[...]

Da—!

[Coaly69]

Should mention I did walk it first haha. Aircon on fresh keeps positive pressure and stops door seals leaking, driving backwards stops the bow wave entering airbox and reduces risk of smashing fan blades.

During the recent floods me n the boys have travelled in tandem with a mate driving a jacked up cruiser. High level still or slow flowing water = engine off and snatched through backwards with a bit of water

through door seals. We travel 750k's just to get to work every week and couldn't be stuffed driving home n missing out on a 1900 paycheck cos of a sissy bit of water 80k's from work. Fast moving water or

something you don't wanna walk through is a no-no, but for the cruiser...