[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

So I know its been a little while, haven't had a ton of time to work on this project but finally getting back to it. Got the new turbo zx injectors in, all the clips made. I designed and 3d printed a bracket for the 240sx TPS (which I can make available online if anyones interested). I did run into a problem however. I bought the coolant sensor from DIY Autotune, https://www.diyautotune.com/product/gm-closed-element-clt-iat-sensor-with-pigtail/, and it doesnt fit in the thermostat at all. Can I use the original one?

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

So I've got the distributor on! However the rotor looks like it accepts a bolt or something to hold it on and I can't find anything about this. Am I dumb and just missing something?

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

1 hour ago, Chickenman said:

With the Turbo dizzy and shaft, you do not need either of those parts. The Turbo dizzy bolts directly to the timing cover. Make sure you have the gasket that goes between the dizzy and timing cover. Latest part number from Nissan is 22179-29N00. A new non -Nissan gasket came with my A1-Cardone distributor.

 

 

Damnit. Well I do have the gasket at least haha. 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

So I bought this because I thought I needed it. But with it in place the oil pump shaft doesn't reach the dizzy. Am I mistaken and don't need it?

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

Thanks for the response! I didn't even think about having to order a new distributor cap/rotor so thats on the way now. 

 

All that seems like something I can do, but I'm a little stuck on the last part

Quote

Important. Phasing the distributor will alter your #1 Tooth Angle. So follow the Sync distributor steps and Lock you timing to 10 BTDC under Trigger wheel settings. With a timing light, adjust your #1 Tooth Angle to get the Timing mark lined up to 10 BTDC. Change the Fixed Timing back to " Use Table " Burn the settings. Then Cycle the ignition Off...wait 10 seconds and then back on. Any changes to Trigger Wheel settings usually require a Burn AND an Ignition Cycle to take effect. 

Any more information on this step? I'm a little completely lost here.

 

Also I may have missed an important step, how do I actually connect the new distributor to the rest of the system. Is it just a cable that I can't seem to find? And do I need a distributor mount like this? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-280ZX-E12-80-distributor-mount-plate-OEM-used-w-bolts/382365166699?hash=item5906bd6c6b:g:V-oAAOSw9NBab-wM&vxp=mtr

Or can I reuse the original one. 

 

 

 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

So finally started making some progress! Pretty stoked, got the engine to tdc, put the new oil pump shaft in and it lined up! Now I'm a little stuck. A bolt holding the old dizzy on sheared off so I need to figure out how to extract it. 

 

I do just want to double check I got the right parts. Does this distributor look right?  It looks pretty completely different. Also I bought this optical trigger disk, I'm guessing I still need to put it on.

https://www.diyautotune.com/product/54-mm-optical-trigger-wheel-for-nissan-l28et-or-vg30e/

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

15 minutes ago, madkaw said:

Should of went high impedance injectors IMHO- would have mounted in with a Pallnet fuel rail easy. 

I know someone who has the dizzy if you need it. 

You are going like the MS once you get it going. Some good help available here

 

I considered it. And itll happen eventually. But I didn't want to wait for the rail to get in to get the car running again. And I needed to pause the spending for a little while. But I will be upgraded. And I am still looking for a dizzy, I was just going to pick one up from Autozone if I couldn't find one this week. 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

On 1/26/2018 at 1:33 PM, seattlejester said:

Basically short of the headlight, turn signal, side marker, horn, wiper, main power cable, and maybe the brake failure switch thing, you would pull out the rest of the harness.

 

Don't throw it away by any means, but the megasquirt should be able to be wired in pretty much standalone with what you have on the list with just an input from the ignition signal from the key and a power supply to the relay board. 

 

If you pull the harness for the lights away and the wiper, you should be left with the power cable and such going to the alternator, and an ignition signal that goes to the coil that you will want to save. The only thing you need to reuse I think would be the coolant temp sensor wires if you planned on using the stock ones.

 

So I basically gutted everything this past weekend. It was an incredible feeling. I figured I could attempt to salvage some of the harness, but in the end I decided to just redo everything. Its not that hard to wire in a few brake lights. 

 

On 1/26/2018 at 8:52 PM, Chickenman said:

Keep the dropping resistors if you get a MS-2 and plan on using the Stock Nissan Low-Impedance resistors.  From experience, the  the Pulse Width Current Limiting algorithms don't want to play nice with the Stock Nissan Jecs injectors.  It works well with most injectors, just not the Nissan Jecs for some strange reason.  PWCL in MS-2 can be a bit " Hit or Miss". 

 

MS-3 is an entirely different matter. The PWCL works very well in that, but MS-3 uses entirely different Firmware and program coding than MS-2

 

If you do want to change injectors, I would recommend going to Hi-Impedance injectors. Much less problems as PWCL   Get a Pallnet fuel Rail and injectors with 14mm Top and Bottom O-rings. That will give you the most choice in injectors, including most Bosch EV1 or EV6 injectors. 

I kept the dropping resistors. Thanks for the advice! A Pallnet rail and hi-impedance injectors are on the list, but thats going to have to be a later in the year upgrade. Have to let my credit card recover a little.

 

On 1/26/2018 at 9:00 PM, Chickenman said:

Fuel pump and FPR. Not as critical on a NA motor as a Turbo motor. But if you do upgrade to a Higher Volume FP such as a Walpro 255 or Bosch 044, be aware that the stock Nissna FPR cannot properly regulate the Fuel volume put out by a higher performance pump. The Internal return orifice is simply to small.

 

Buy a GOOD quality FPR such nas Aeromotive or Fuel Tech. Both made in USA. Do NOT buy some cheap Chines junk from E-Bay. They are crap and can't maintain accurate fuel pressures. An Aeromotive 13129 EFI regulator is a very good Product.  Available from Summit or Jegs. On sale about $130.... and worth every single penny. Don't cheap out on the FPR. You can't get a stable Tune without  accurately regulated Fuel Pressure.  

 

Also, do not buy Liquid Filled Fuel Pressure gauges. They vary with underhood temperatures. Buy a regular non-liquid filled gauge from Marshal or Stewart Warner. Reda the attched Technical article from Aeromotive on the problems with most Liquid Filled FP Gauges 

 

TB_903_Liquid_Filled_Pressure_Gauges_01.pdf

There is currently a little shitty eBay FPR on it. I've been meaning to get it updated to something more reliable, maybe now is my excuse. 

 

 

16 hours ago, softopz said:

I can supply you with pretty much most of that list

I do have the TPS 240sx plug
injector plugs ( crimp style pigtails are ugly) ev1 + denso + ev16
GM and Air TEMP sensors with plugs this week I should be getting metric ones
14Point7 wideband with or with out gauge
and MS2 ECU ! 

Plus you can save on shipping getting it from one place
 

Unfortunately I've already got just about everything sitting at the house but appreciate the offer!

 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

First off, just want to say thanks a ton. You guys have been insanely helpful already! I really appreciate it. Once these packages start finally showing up I'll definitely be reaching out for some tuning support. 

 

 

7 hours ago, Chickenman said:

For the Injector blower you could use one of the programmable outputs on MS. They can be configured with and/or functions.. You could configure it to run at  Coolant temp >= 180 F, with a hysteresis of 10. Then add RPM of < 250. and seconds = 600. 

 

That would turn the Injector fans on for ten minutes when you shut the car off and the Coolant temp is above 180F. You can set the Timer  Parameters to whatever you like.  ( 300 =

5 Minutes etc )

This is definitely something Ill have to add in. My "new" injector blower just arrived yesterday and I've been already planning to try and wire it in. 

 

17 hours ago, Chickenman said:

IAT would be better off in the air intake pipe just before the throttle body. If installed in the Intake manifold it can be subject to heat soak. If you do install it in the Intake manifold you may want to install it with a plastic insert to reduce heat transfer to the IAT body. 

 

Madkaw used a Nylon reducer bushing from a Ice making machine to isolate his Intake Manifold mounted IAT. Seems to work well.  Home Depot part. $1.25 or something like that... 

Thats good to hear! I feel like its definitely going to be a lot easier to get that in the intake pipe than in the manifold.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chickenman said:

Yes, GM does make a Coolant sensor with the same threads as the Nissan one. 12 mm x1.0 I believe. By memory, 99 to 2002 Camaro with the LS motor will work. Same calibration as the 3/8 NPT GM units.

 

Thanks for the Shout out. Steve.  Been fairly busy with Tuning lately. . 

I just checked autozone, it looks like the one my car uses is a 12x1.5 but the one the Camaro uses is also a 12x1.5, so that should work! Assuming autozone is correct haha.

 

 

 

So  I've been tracing out the wiring diagram to figure out everything thats going to be removed from this car and its definitely starting to seem like a lot of crap. Does this seem about right? I know some of this stuff will be going back in upgraded, ie TVS with TPS. 

 

Water Temp Sensor
Thermotime Switch
Cold Start Valve
Air Regulator
Throttle Valve Switch
AFM
Dropping Resistors
Altitude Switch
Fuel Injection relay
Fuel pump/control relays
Transistor ignition unit

 

 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

I'm struggling to find the post but I believe I read somewhere that the Coolant Sensor already in the car can work, it just needs to be calibrated in the tuner. My only fear with upgrading to the GM sensor there is tapping the larger hole. Thats never been my strong suite and I'm terrified of messing up the block. Lol I'm already not looking forward to tapping the manifold for the IAT.

 

Is this the distributor wheel? 

https://www.diyautotune.com/product/54-mm-optical-trigger-wheel-for-nissan-l28et-or-vg30e/

This is the furthest I've ever been on a project like this so I'm not totally sure. 

 

Not a bad idea on a few sets of spare pigtails in case I mess something up.

 

Any good recommendations for injectors? I don't super trust mine, but at the same time, I'd like to not push my budget above 1500. 

Maybe upgrading just to the 280zx turbo ones so I can be sure they'll fit? (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-6-Factory-Reman-Nissan-OEM-Injectors-1981-83-280ZX-TURBO-1660302911/201317301856?epid=1739692544&hash=item2edf723e60:g:y-IAAOSw3v5Yruw6&vxp=mtr)

 

And I've got a new set of ratcheting crimpers on order, my old little crimpers just can't give me any sense of security when it comes to making connections haha. 

[78 280Z NA MS2 Setup]

So I've gotten sick of attempting to fix this botched wiring job by the PO. I decided to just go ahead and completely replace the ancient efi system with something modern. I was wondering if this parts list looks complete. From scrounging various boards and posts I think I've gathered just about everything I will need. 

 

I'm a little intimidated by the whole thing so sureing this up will make me feel just a bit better. 

[No Power to Half of Each Injector]

So maybe a bit of a weird problem. I went through and started replacing all my fuel injector clips with some replacements out of a Volvo. They actually snap on, its great, or so I thought. Something happened and I'm not longer getting full power to each injector. The side of the injectors that get power from the Fuel Injector Relay and Dropping resistors are all good. But the side that seems to feed off the ECU are all reading a fraction of the 12V. Weirder is when I touch them with a multi, they read a voltage and just quickly start draining. Anyone ever see this problem before? Car ran fine a few days ago. Battery is brand new as of today. 

[280Z Alternator Problem]

Managed to get the alternator replaced. Immediately its putting out 14v! Definitely looks like that was my problem. Now I just have to do some positioning better because the belt is squealing. Definitely looks like that solved my problem! Can't believe they even bother telling you your clearly busted alternator is still good. 

[280Z Alternator Problem]

Aw man thats not great to hear about the results. So is it right in thinking that because it is putting out such a low voltage chances are it is bad?

[280Z Alternator Problem]

I thought that the 78 was a direct swap and didn't require the whole external regulator procedure. 

[280Z Alternator Problem]

So I have a 78 280z that I rescued from an abusive home a few months ago. Didn't run at all when I got it, but thats since changed. I've been test driving it and it died on me the other day. It led me to believe I have charging issues. I took a look at the alternator and its a recent upgrade from a 81 NA 280zx. The alternator itself is only putting out 12.3v when idling at 1300rpm. The "L" cable is only putting out roughly 11.8v into the alternator. When I swap this with a hot wire from my battery thats putting out 12.3v, the alternator starts making unbearable noises. From what I've read online, this zx alternator should be putting out ~14v constantly, however I've never seen above 12.5. I took it off and took it to autozone where they tested it twice and said it was fine. Battery is also brand new, bought it at most a month ago. 

 

I'm stuck, because the longer the car seems to be on, the more it seems to be draining. And after 15-20 minutes it will just be too drained to run and will die.