Jesse OBrien

I'd say forget temperatures altogether, but you probably don't have a fidle circuit either, huh? I really can't wait to get this thing running, then I can start the REAL work and prep for Ascutney. If you have yours running well, you're only a handful of hours away from our hillclimb events. It'd be really nice to see a second Datsun (or even a second Nissan) climbing the Vermont mountains with me. Lots of Subarus and lots of VWs, but not much Jap Tin out there. More info: http://www.hillclimb.org/ What it's like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxHiURF--eQ

The only things left to wire in are the 1k-ohm .25w resister for the distributor->megasquirt signal and to figure out what this crazy 3-wires-in-a-silver-sleeve actually do. It would've been really nice if diyautotune included some documentation with their wiring bundle on intended uses for the wires. I'm pretty sure the crazy silver wire is the shielded one (haven't looked carefully at any of the ends) and should be used as the cas (tach) -> megasquirt signal cable. There are a TON of spare wires from this kit. They really just aren't needed, unless you're using some of the 'special' circuits for things like fans or nitrous.

I can say 100% that an l28et is a hall type. I would assume, based on that, that Nissan reused the same distributor sensor in the non-turbo as well. [EDIT] Incorrect(?), my research may have lied to me. Refer to NewZed's post.

I'm pretty interested, too. I would want a 5speed for that drive, but the Tail would have to be a great time. Is there a breakout time, or is a cage required for everyone who runs?

I'm definitely inspired to finish my build. Any time I see a zcar, it's good for around 30 units of inspiration.

DIYAutoTune was great to deal with, but the USPS was decidedly not (as I've come to expect from them). I just ordered the ratcheting crimping tool from them, and they were nice enough to ship it via FedEx or UPS (I don't know/care which) so I'm pretty confident that I won't have to wait 2 weeks for it. In the meantime, I'm finding the megasquirt documentation to be awful when it comes to specific basics. I can't figure out why, but the 3 leads to the relay board (12v+, ground, +signal) are just solder terminals. I had a friend with a lot of soldering experience weld on a few leads and connect a weatherstripping end to it. This seems like something that should be done from the factory, as most of the benefit of buying the relay board is that you don't have to solder it together yourself. I also ordered a couple of sensors to go along with it (an iat sensor and a throttle position sensor from a ka24) I'm still trying to find some documentation on which leads are ACTUALLY required, why there are two signal wires per bank of injectors (along with the +12v constants). I haven't been able to find out what type of signal the l28et distributor provides, or how to wire it in, and getting documentation on what each of the relay board connectors actually go to has been a frustrating experience. The megamanual is a long, rambling document that goes from hopelessly vague concept to razor-fine specific details within a single sentence, and I'm left without many specific about the l28et or its sensors. Trying to search through forums (either megasquirt forums or hybridz) is also quite frustrating, as the results fail to answer the (very basic) questions I still have. I'm still going to have to do more research and information-gathering, but it isn't encouraging that nobody seems to have put detailed information together since a hand-built MS1v3 writeup was written. I'll get through it, gollum has been particularly helpful in answering questions (despite the fact that he's never installed megasquirt, he seems to be the most knowledgeable about how it should work with Datsun engines - That either says a lot about his research abilities or about other peoples' interest in sharing their experience). Finally, in other news, I met up with John from Bad Dog today and picked up a few parts to start prepping this car for the race season. I grabbed a used fiberglass FIA-approved seat: And a 5point cam-lock harness to accompany it: And a box of (again, used) suspension goodies and door parts I've needed for awhile: All told, it's been a very good day. As long as I can finish up the relay harness wiring this week, I hope to try starting the car next weekend.

I guess this isn't so far from what you're talking about. This is what my 280z looked like when I purchased it.

Good catch, but both are readily available online ... but the actual latching mechanism isn't, and mine doesn't spring like it used to. As far as I can tell, these aren't serviceable, just replaceable.

I need a working driver's side latch-piece (not sure what they're called):

1 x MegaSquirt Relay Board - Assembled Unit (MSRelay-C) = $94.00 [MISTAKE - I've asked to cancel this portion] 1 x MegaSquirt Relay Cable (MSRelayCable) = $85.00 1 x 8' MegaSquirt Wiring Harness (MS1 / MS2 / MS3 Ready) (MSHarness8) = $67.00 1 x MegaSquirt-III EMS System - V3.57 - Assembled Unit w/ black case (MS3357-C_BL) = $559.00 1 x 460 Piece Weather Pack Kit (WPL_460-K) = $87.95 1 x GM Open Element IAT Sensor with Pigtail (IATwPiggy) = $22.25 ... plus cheap shipping I think MS2 is $114 cheaper ($445.00 current price), and the weatherpack and IAT sensor add another $100, then there's another $85 for the cable I mistakenly ordered (it's redundant, it seems) ... so your numbers certainly add up.

$950 later, my MS3 equipment is ordered.

Thank you for taking the time. The plan is to use the onboard MAP and keep boost levels low. I'm not adding an intercooler or any kind of water/meth injection this season, just trying to make the most of the stock equipment. I just ordered the 3.57 board, as I intend to modify the board as little as humanly possible (read: no modifications) to get this engine running reliably. That would be superb, or if it's already been posted I'd be perfectly happy with a link to that thread (whatever forum it may be on). The stock l28et 'tps' is kind of a joke, so this makes perfect sense. I've seen the ka24e tps installed, and it seems really straightforward to me. Looks like a robust configuration. I'll have to do some research on this to figure out exactly what I need to order. I remember reading about this in the MS1/MS2 installation guide on diyautotune's tutorials/articles section. Right now, I'm just planning MS3 in batch with the stock distributor. I'd love to swap out to a better fuel delivery setup (with a real fuel rail, a reliable fuel pressure regulator, etc) ... but I'm going to put that off as long as possible. I picked up what seems like a simple solution: the GM closed element IAT directly from diyautotune. I haven't done any reading on this yet, but I'm going to be at all different temperatures and altitudes so idle control is probably worth having.

I searched. The signal to noise ratio was really bad. I'm gearing up to install megasquirt 3 in my l28et, but I've had a hard time finding definitive documentation on what works and what doesn't. I've come across lots of anecdotal information, but I'm wondering if someone has put all the facts together into one place for ms3 and the l28et. Which sensors are typically used? Which distributor/coil options have given the best results? At this point, I'm just trying to get the car to run with as little hassle as possible, and installing MS seems like the fastest, most straightforward way to do that. My most important question is: What components MUST be replaced or worked around when installing ms3 in an l28et?

Jan 29th will be my 5-year anniversary here! I still have several hours before new year's here.

It's been too cold to work on this outdoors, so I'm ordering all the supplies for an MS1 kit this weekend and having a friend organize it into a plug-in-ready kit for me (in exchange for some cash, of course). That way I don't have to deal with any pre-existing problems, and I have known-good brand-new EFI for somewhere under $1k, after all is said and done. He'll assemble the components, load the firmware and a base tune, test it on his 83 l28et, and ship it all out to me so I can get it around the block. From there, I can FINALLY start tuning and stop wondering which wire is which (the MS harnesses are labeled intelligently, none of this color-coding nonsense). With a fair amount of luck, I'll be able to drive it to the house I'm planning to start renting on Feb 1. I'll keep the updates rolling in once there's something worth mentioning.

I definitely only have one fusible link connector (it has two fusible links in it). There's only one relay in the engine bay, and it sounds like that's the fuel pump relay now. Unless the ignition relay is bundled up under the driver's side dash behind the firewall, I haven't seen anything that resembles ignition wires. I have a coil (unknown model, don't know if it's from the l28et or l28e and don't know how to distinguish between the two) that appears to be connected to the end of the headlight wiring bundle. It has good + and - on its two posts, but I have no output from it. I think I've identified the underdash ignition connector (on the ECU bundle) but I'm still putting together all the pieces from BumbleZee's howto with that. Those are my facts, at this point. That doesn't surprise me at all, the l28e connectors were simply falling apart on me. The ECCS connector is pretty solid, I've been poking the pins like mad with a test light, but they don't flicker or wiggle. At this point, horrible running would make my day. Winter plans involve a pile of reliability improvements, including a new from-scratch wiring harness and Megasquirt, fuses that aren't made of glass, and properly weatherproofed connectors. Today, it just needs to go, with both spark AND fuel! These connectors aren't as bad as most, based upon my experience. I'm sure they aren't perfect (I'm not crazy about these connectors even if they were brand new), but through all the test-light pokes and prods I've been doing, I haven't had any flickering signals or wiggling pins. I believe the hardware should be good to go, if I can sort these wires out and get the critical components connected to each other.

Hahahaha so your configuration is about as nonstandard as possible. Got it. Still, identifying parts is massively helpful to me. I'm really pressed for time, so you couldn't be providing this reference information at a better time.

I only have one set of fusible links, and only one relay on that passenger's side. I'm not saying there shouldn't be one, but is it possible there is a difference between the year I have, and the year you have? What year l28et is your engine? It looks like the PO removed that connector altogether on mine, or it never existed on my year. I just took a look, and it's just not there (along the driver's side frame rail, in the engine bay). I'm guessing this mess used to be that connector:

Only one, where would the other be located (physically)? I have two versions of that diagram printed out, but it's specifically for an 83 l28et and doesn't indicate the physical location of any of the components.

Hugely helpful, but do you know which connector that actually is? Looks like 4 wires, where mine seems to have a spare wire stuffed into it.

New facts: I've verified that my ECU is getting power. One of several green wires in the engine bay (the thickest green wire, ~14ga) powers the ecu and injectors, it turns out. Some wiring diagrams say that should be red, brown, or white/red ... but it's been inconsistent. On my car, it's green. I'm having a tough time finding specific differences between the 81-82 wiring and 83 wiring, but the 83 appears to be the most problematic so that's all I could find documentation for. I still have no idea which engine year I have. The best documentation is still the http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/34469-a-quick-fi-and-ignition-280zxt-to-s30-turbo-swap-guide/ series from bumble zee, but it still has a lot of holes. For example: What does the ignition harness look like? Are there more relays on the 83 than on the 81-82? Exactly which sensors are required to have the car run? Where is the FI relay physically located? What does the FI relay look like, and how is it actually wired? Where is the fuel pump relay physically located? How can I identify which ignition system I have? After realizing that I really don't have enough facts to go on, I started labeling all the disconnected connectors I have to establish a single source of truth. I don't have a lot of time remaining, so I'm looking for specific facts. Because of that, I'm organizing the information that I already have, so hopefully some of you who have actually seen an in tact system can help me to identify the unknowns that I'm dealing with. Bear in mind that the previous owner had a friend's cousin's dog's brother's owner do some of the wiring for him, and I received no documentation on what was done or wasn't done. Please feel free to add notes or purpose information into the following spreadsheet. Canonical Wiring Identifcation Sheet At this point, I have no spark (the coil's + source has +12v, but no power is coming out of the output plug to the distributor). I don't have a good way to test the injectors, but I did verify that the ECU has +12v for all 6 leads to the plugs (the bottom row on the three-row connector). Now that I finally have power to the body, I can start diagnosing more important things like ECU input/output, ignition wiring, and fuel pump wiring. With your help, I could just power through the cold tonight and have it running in the morning. Just in case any of you can't see the document I linked to, I've attached a PDF working copy here: 75 280z and l28et Wiring Reference - Sheet1.pdf. Once I have all the connectors documented, I'll republish it with all the latest info.

Retuning them to run on a turbo block along with getting the n/a ignition to run on a turbo block would take more than today. It would also require rewiring the entire car, because the problem I have (as I've said several times) is that there's no positive anywhere. You sir, are a god among men. I can't express how much it helps. I bought myself the weekend to finish working on it, so I cut back all the looming starting at the starter to see where power goes from there. After another hour of cutting through crunchy wires, I found an unidentified connector that went to nothing. I have yet to see any reference to this in any of the wiring diagrams I've seen, and it's the 'weak link' that's keeping the block of 'fusible links' from running. Because the documentation doesn't explain this and I haven't had any responses explaining how the car received its +, I applied a logical temporary solution: Suddenly, several of the car's systems started working. Now I get to put Namor's input to good use, and figure out how this mystery relay is intended to work, as well as where all these other miscellaneous wires go: The wiring diagrams are absolutely worthless to me, as it doesn't indicate any physical locations of the wires. I'm going to ASSUME this relay is the EFI relay and wire it as such (receives signal from the ignition tumbler). I'm not sure where the 12v constant source is intended to be, but I'm strongly inclined to wire a fuse in before the relay. Does anyone know what kind of amperage the stock ECU requires?

If I don't have it running in two evenings (around 6 hours of work in the cold with a flashlight in my mouth), it gets impounded and I never see it again. At the moment, I really just want it to limp, so I can work out the details later when I'm not directly under the gun. I appreciate the recommendation of striving to do things right and invest time to understand systems, but I don't really have the luxury of time at the moment.

I hate being colorblind. Are these the wires I'm looking for? The names of the colors sound the same. My multimeter died, apparently it's too cold for it. The LEDs don't give meaningful output any more. It's starting to get chilly now (21F currently on my thermostat) so sitting down and spending a lot of time stabbing in the dark driveway. My test light is the best diagnostic equipment I have available for tonight, but I'll try to make time to replace my multimeter tomorrow if that's what it takes. No wires on the ECU connector or the ignition terminal have continuity with the battery. Once I have some continuity, troubleshooting becomes much easier (it might actually even run at that point). Finding facts on how this was supposed to be is still proving difficult. This image: indicates that I should have two fusible links on the passenger's side, but I only have one. I assume that's an indication that I have a year of l28et that this person doesn't have, but I don't know if that means I have an 81, 82, or 83 seems like a fairly straighfroward diagram, but it's incomplete. I need to know what color the fuse link that powers everything in order to trace it to the fuel pump relay or ignition relay (I still need to identify which relay is which, as well). I also took a look at the starter motor, where I realized there's a ring terminal on the + lead that burrows away into the wiring harness. I've been trying to cut back the cold, crunchy electrical tape to see where that wire goes, but it's very slow going, even with snips.