Zmanco

The first thing I'd do is remove the connectors from the horns and then see if the fuse blows. If it doesn't, then reattach 1 horn and try again. This will isolate if the problem is with one of the horns, or with the wiring in between. Good luck! Edit: If the fuse blows with both horns disconnected I'd look at the wiring diagram to see what else besides the horns are on that fuse circuit.

I did most of my learning at http://www.msefi.com. This is the main support site for Megasquirt so it's not limited to Zs. But there's more info there than anywhere else I could find. Spend time there getting yourself up to speed on how megasquirt works. Then come back here and you'll find it easier to follow what's being said about using MS on Zs.

See post #18 earlier in this thread about my experience with HF wire.

2 summers ago I had them regrind mine with what they said was .480 lift and 284/284. I've been running it with the stock valve springs and love it. Power is strong from 3500 to 6500 rpm. There is less torque at low revs, but I have an 82 ZX 5 speed and 4.11 diff so it's easy to get into the power band. Initially I ran with triple webers, and now am using megasquirt. As Jon said, I think I'd keep the cam stock if I was using the stock FI.

I'm running the bosch 3 wire IAC valve with MS1 MSnS and although it took a while to get the settings right, I'm pretty happy with it now. The wiring and mods for MS1 are well documented on the megasquirt site, and I'd be surprised if it was that much different for the MSII.

Given how many people didn't realize that you were kidding, it's pretty arrogant of you to suggest we all need to see a doctor. Perhaps your friends know you well enough to know that you weren't serious. The rest of us only know that you were making light of someone who just had something he invested a lot of time and $$$ in stolen from him. Perhaps you and your friends think this is an appropriate subject to joke about. I don't. And as Mike said, I don't associate with those who do. If you still don't get it, maybe you should take your own advice and see someone (doctor, counselor, whatever) who can help you see things from other people's perspectives.

The PO of my car put new floor mats over the old ones. Same situation - I found it easiest to just cut the portion of the carpet out that covered the throttle stop. That gave it a more definite feel when the pedal was floored.

You guys are cruel (although I am chuckling). When you press the pedal all the way down you want the throttle to open all the way which is horizontal to the airflow. If it moves past that point it will begin to restrict the airflow, just as if you began to release the throttle. The throttle stop behind the pedal should be adjusted so that when the pedal hits it, the throttle is exactly fully open. It would be a good idea to remove the hose going to the throttle body, have someone push the gas pedal to the floor, and then look into the throttle to make sure the plate is perfectly horizontal. If it isn't, then you can loosen the lock nut on the pedal stop and adjust it. (Do this with the engine off.) Unless it's grossly out of adjustment, you're not likely to gain any noticeable power.

I'm not sure what you were expecting, but it sounds mild. I had my cam reground to .480" lift with 284/284 and it is very streetable with a pretty good idle still. There isn't as much torque below 2500 rpm as there used to be, but it pulls strong to 7k which more than makes up for that.

It's not new, but it's still funny. Enjoy.

My Honda fan came from a 91. I think they are the same for both Civic and Accord, but don't know for sure - my notes don't include which model was the donor. I'd start with the Civic if they aren't the same as that's likely to be the smaller one.

Tony D, I agree with everything you wrote except this last paragraph. It would be true if the max output of the alternator was LESS than the demands of the efans. But in practice, unless every other electrical load was on (high beams, cabin fan, rear window defroster), even an older S30 alternator will have enough capacity to provide all of the power required by a typical efan. Only when the total current of all the loads exceeds the capacity of the alternator will the battery begin to provide power in a properly functioning car electrical system. I do think that we are beginning to split hairs here as an alternator outputting 30 amps at 14V will place less than 3/4 HP load on the engine. But this is a good discussion to help dispel some of the myths with regard to lightened flywheels and efans.

I just checked on mine but the hose completely covers the nipple so I couldn't get the calipers on it. But I'm pretty sure it's 3/4". You might just buy some 5/8 and 7/8 as well to be sure as hose is pretty cheap. Besides, you'll probably find a good use for the extra later on.

It's my guess that the premise of a lightened flywheel increasing hp comes from those who measure on inertia-based dynos. Oversimplifying, inertia dynos determine the hp by how fast the drum's speed is increased by the car. Anything that lowers the rotational inertia of the drivetrain will result in a higher reading on this type of dyno, although won't necessarily mean that the engine is making more power. In fact, taking weight out of the wheels/tires, or putting on lighter brake rotors, would have the same affect. Funny how no one says that lighter wheels increase hp? Maybe that's an idea for a new brand of wheels

Glad you got it sorted out without any smoke!

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugedetail.aspx?ref=search&gid=2494 I had a minute to check out the autometer website. I don't know which type of gauge you are using, but this one (which reads up to 18v) appears to be a stepper motor design, at least that's what the website says. If you haven't already done it, download the installation page for your model. An "old skool" voltage gauge will just have 2 connections for the battery and ground. This one also needs 12V switched when the ignition is on. I'm guessing that the Painless harness is set up for old skool only and that may be what is causing the gauge to read high.

Recap: when you are measuring 11.5 volts across the autometer gauge, it is displaying 18+ volts, correct? If that's the case, then the gauge is the problem.

Just added a few hose clamps and they look like they'll do the trick. Thanks! McGiver would be proud

Thanks guys, those are some good ideas. I had thought about the hose clamp but dismissed it because I thought it would just collapse the hose further. But I'll start there - it's too simple not to. I got the valve on ebay from an old Audi 90. It's a bosch 3 wire ICV used on a lot of European cars - don't know if it's the same for BMW. I can look up the part number if anyone is interested.

I'm running some heater hose between my idle control valve and the intake manifold. Not surprisingly, the hose is beginning to collapse from the vacuum. It still flows more than enough when the engine is warm, but at cold start it's restricting things so I want to prop it open. I was thinking if I could find a coiled spring made of thin wire that I might be able to insert that into the hose. But so far I haven't found any sources for the spring. Anyone here have any suggestions for spring sources, or other ways to keep the hose from collapsing?

Given your battery is fine (as expected) try measuring the voltage across the gauge. If it's 12V and the gauge is pegged, then the gauge is the problem. Another thought: does the autometer gauge have any kind of "sending unit"? In other words, is there something that should go between the gauge and the battery? Again, I'm not familiar with the their gauges so am just throwing things out there. Perhaps the autometer website has installation instructions. It's conceivable that the sending unit would drop the voltage down and without it being included in the painless harness, the meter is seeing the full battery voltage. Just a thought...

Side bearings and seals are available from the usual suspect parts houses. The lash is adjusted with shims on the side bearing carriers. You may get lucky and be able to use the old shims with the new bearings. In my case I had a second set of shims from another r180 and by combining the 2 sets was able to get the lash set correctly. I don't think the shims are available from Nissan anymore (someone please correct me if I'm mistaken). Make sure you notice that the shims are not all the same thickness. As for the pinion gear, if you haven't already dissassembled that, you might want to leave it alone unless there's something wrong. Mine was fine so I didn't have to mess with it, but I understand it's not trivial to set the preload with the crush washers. Again, the FSM would be your best source for how to do that. Shop around for the parts, especially the gasket for the diff cover. I found huge variations in price for the exact same parts between Checker, Autozone, and Napa last summer when I did mine. Good luck!

Connecting the voltage meter at the wrong point with the engine off would only result in a reading that was too low. Since the gauge reads too high, the focus really needs to be on the gauge itself.

Just to be safe, you should verify the battery's voltage with a different meter. But it is VERY VERY VERY unlikely that it is much above 12v when the engine is off. So I would shift my focus to the autometer gauge itself. I'm not familiar with them so perhaps this won't help, but are there any "switches" that allow it to be used with different car voltages? For example, if it had a 6V setting, a 12V battery would peg the meter as you describe. If the voltmeter only reads high when the engine is running, I'd look at the alternator and the wiring around it.

A worn input shaft bearing on the transmission can also cause a knocking sound. I have that situation right now. A simple test is to push the clutch in which stops it from spinning. If the noise goes away then your transmission is suspect.