AtlantaZ

Got my new fuel rail in. Alternator appears to be good, system voltage is 12-13V, but I still can't convince it to rev over 2k rpm. It idles just fine at 1k rpm. When I floor the pedal, the engine splutters, revs up to 2000RPM, then splutters its way back down to 1000RPM (with the pedal still on the floor). Any thoughts?

Got my new fuel rail! It leaked at first, but after tweaking the brackets a bit I got it to seal up. It's not running 100% yet, but we're getting close. I charged the battery, and the alternator works, so my running voltage is now 12-13V. Unfortunately I've hit another glitch... See below: Here are a couple of little-known facts about 280Zs, and cars in general: #1 - Car engines can get pretty hot. So hot, in fact, that the intake and exhaust manifolds can get hot enough to melt rubber hose! #2 - When running a coolant line to a turbocharger, it is NOT a good idea to use rubber lines - use braided steel instead. See #1. #3 - An L28ET's coolant also gets pretty hot. And when rubber tubes full of hot coolant lie against a blazing hot exhaust manifold, they tend to melt! #4 - If you fail to install an engine cooling fan, whether mechanical or electric, the coolant gets really, REALLY hot. #5 - If you combine extremely hot coolant with rubber hoses and scorching hot engine metal, the effect is pretty spectacular. Have you ever seen an old coal-burning steam train? Remember those huge clouds of steam billowing from the stacks? Well, if you let your coolant get above 230F and your hoses touch hot metal, you get the same effect. Very cool! #6 - Boiling coolant smells terrible. See #1-5. I can get it to idle at 1000RPM, and when I give it full throttle, it stutters briefly, revs up to 2000RPM, then sputters back down to 1000RPM (even if I keep the throttle wide open). I can send a MSQ and log file to any interested parties. Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

Got a 240z body with an uninstalled L28ET and most of the parts to do a swap for $1800 in Marietta, GA: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/pts/2325539539.html

And waiting, and waiting, and waiting... rail should be here tomorrow. Hope to have good news! Meanwhile, someone please buy my old parts! http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/98849-l28-and-begi-fpr-for-sale/page__p__927230__fromsearch__1#entry927230

Still waiting on my fuel rail. MAN I can't wait to fire this thing up! As far as I can tell, once I get the timing synched up, everything should be running 100%. Theoretically...

My AFM is from a car with ECU number A18-602-043. Not sure how specific you need to be on the AFM-to-ECU matchup, but if you're interested in mine, let me know.

I have one out of my parts car. See pic, PM me an offer! http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad143/nathanandmary/P1010540.jpg

How about I just JB weld them on? Kidding!! Taking the rail to Not On Main Street Garage tomorrow. The guys there think that there may be a burr somewhere up in the rail bore, so they're going to ream it out and check it for me. If that doesn't work, I'm going to convert the rail to a barb type - but I'll have to figure out how to clamp down the Supra injectors on the manifold. I'll report in tomorrow with results.

If I can't get these o-ring injectors to seal, I may consider moving to a barbed rail instead. Anyone have a good recommendation for barbed-style injectors that will fit the 280zx manifold and perform similar to the Supra 440cc turbo injectors?

I tried installing three different sets of new o-rings on my injectors, and tried lubricating them liberally with oil, and all three times I get fuel spraying all over the place as soon as the rail pressurizes. When I remove the injector, the ring is torn and/or abraded. And I am inserting them as gently as I know how. On the Supra o-ring injectors, is there some sort of additional grommet or gasket that goes between the rail and the injector body? I can't find an obvious reason why the same two rail holes keep leaking fuel everywhere. I can't wait to fix this and get on with adjusting the timing! And a big thanks to everyone who's offered helpful tips and encouragement. I'm getting close!! I'll be sure to post a video of the car running (when/if that day comes!).

It's a long shot, but I'd love to pick up a Lonewolf intake manifold if someone happens to have one that they're not using!

Great... my fuel rail has decided to leak at the #4 and #6 injector holes. Anybody got a spare Pallnet/JSK rail that they'd be willing to sell?

I'll be checking that tonight. The first thing I want to do is use the Trigger Wizard to make sure that actual timing (measured with a timing light) matches commanded timing in Megasquirt. I plan to set the Fixed Timing to 15*, then use the Trigger Wizard adjustments to bring the actual timing to 15*. I'll report results in the morning!

I hope that's all it is. It does seem logical that if the engine were otherwise properly tuned, more intake air would simply mean higher RPMs. Now that I better understand how to use the Trigger Wizard to adjust my timing, I'll try that tonight. After I install my injector o-rings, which I apparently damaged when I installed them dry. Nothing like fuel spray all over my hot engine!

Man, that's the one I had selected already. I was hoping for an easy fix. I wonder why else the idling pressure would be off?

No, not sure about MAP settings. I am using the stock 2.5 bar sensor and may need to recalibrate... Need to find instructions for doing that in the Megamanual

So either my MAP sensor isn't calibrated right (which I doubt, since engine-off reading is okay), or I have a big fat leak somewhere. Agree?

It turns out that my cranking and afterstart enrichments were... well, rich! Way too rich. I got a GREAT tune file from a friend, and now I can get it to idle at 800RPM, rock solid, with no throttle input at all. When I do give it throttle, it only revs up to 1500RPM or so. Why would that be? Is it because I have it in limp-home mode? Or is there something else going on, like a vacuum leak? My idling manifold pressure is about 85kPa, and the engine-off pressure reading is 97kPa. Does that sound right?

I pulled my spark plugs, and they are good and black with soot. I don't think I'm running rich - I think I'm using a good set of Cranking and After Start Enrichment settings - but I'm not sure. Anyone have any thoughts?

I upgraded my firmware to MS2Extra 3.1.1 and can now use the Trigger Wizard. I set it to "10" to match my timing light reading, but my engine isn't performing any different.

I got a solid 10 degree reading from the timing light. What's my next step?

While I'm at it... someone please confirm that I have my spark plugs correctly connected to my Ford EDIS coil pack: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a98/SloSilverEX/280zx/mywiring-1.jpg

I have my light ready... now I need to figure out how to bring up the trigger wizard in TunerStudio!

I'll turn it down to 40psi once I have everything reconnected - thanks for feedback. But I'm still not sure how to set up my trigger offset, since the trigger wizard tool in TunerStudio is grayed out when I select EDIS as my ignition trigger.

I also noticed that my fuel pressure regulator is currently reading 60psi, and I'm missing the 25uF capacitor on the coil pack 12V+ wire. Are either of these critical enough to cause my engine to not run?