K11 kept coughing & cutting out then wouldn't start

I have a lovely 97 Micra k11 mk 2 Automatic 1.0 which has only 34k on the clock & has never played me up until last November . I started experiencing odd coughing while driving with the dashboard lights momentary coming on but carried on driving .
My initial suspicion was the new E10 petrol which I had mistakenly topped up with . So I drained out the tank as much as a could with a hand pump & then topped up with E5 but this coughing carried on & increasing in frequency until in January she cut right out & wouldn't start again .
So having got the RAC to get her back home on a tow truck , I set about trying to find the problem .
The passenger foot well was soaked so I suspected the windscreen matrix leaking & the subsequent ECU damage , so got the carpet etc dried out with a simplex fan heater over a few weeks . Still no starting but I then repaired the windscreen seal with some black mastic & left her for a month .
Amazingly she started up first try but seemed to stall after 10 minutes , so back to the drawing board , fuel filter changed , distributor cap & rotor arm checked & replaced , all fuses & relays checked . Spark plugs replaced & HT Leads all checked for resistance . After reading through all the posts on here I decided to remove the throttle body & resolder the board but still no joy and now she wouldn't start again .
I replaced the Throttle Body with a brand new one purchased on Amazon for £135 , but still no firing up , so while flicking through my Haynes Manual I came across the simple self diagnosis bridge trick by using a bit of fuse wire on the self diagnosis plug under the fuses by the driver's door .
I got the flash code up telling me it was the CAM POSITION SENSOR CIRCUIT FAULT so having found that the CPS was in the distributor I found a new one on eBay for £75 and having just fitted it ,she has started and seems better than ever .
I know these pre 1998 K11 won't communicate with OBD2 machines but having the Haynes Manual clearly show the Bridging Trick to get the Self Diagnosis flashing up on the dashboard was a great help in finally getting to the fault .
I certainly recommend it my fellow K11 owners .
Hope this helps anyone who find themselves in the same muddy creek without a paddle .????
 
if just the new parts wouldn't be really low quality compared to the old original nissan parts... beware to have a spare ready when needed.
my new one broke down after only 2 years.
 
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