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NewZed

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Everything posted by NewZed

  1. NewZed
    I didn't post earlier because you said that you were taking it to a transmission shop, but you might compare 3rd gear to 4th gear. 4th is powered straight through the transmission. while 3rd uses the countershaft. If you have a bad countershaft bearing you won't notice it as much when in 4th under power. You might also drain the fluid and check the drain plug magnet. Not uncommon to find bearing retainer pieces on the magnet. The adapter plate bearings go bad. Just noticed that you said 3rd or higher. There are also main shaft bearings in the adapter plate. The two in the front cover go bad also. Either way, draining and checking the plug will tell you something. Easy to do. Remove the fill plug first, to be sure that you'll be able to refill it.
  2. NewZed
    I would focus on the quality of the signal on the blue wire to Pin #1 at the ECU. I've described my experience with the missing tachometer before and people have said it's not true, there's no rational reason for it, and they've also shown that their engine would start without it. And mine will even start without it now that I've switched to a different ignition module. But when my car was factory stock it would not start if the tachometer was not connected to the branched blue wire circuit. There was something about the balance of those three things on that circuit, the ECU, the tachometer, and the ignition module. I had it happen twice, once with a 78 parts car and twice with my 76 car. I even confirmed it by removing the resistor in the line to the tachometer, on purpose, to see what would happen. It wouldn't start at all, not even a pop. So, is your tachometer intact and does it work would be my next question. You've shown that you have everything else that you need, and the fact that it runs once it starts shows that everything is there. You're in the "bizarre causes" regime now. You might even swap tachometers or plug in another if you can get to the plug. Or swap ignition modules if you have another, even though yours works. I have solved tachometer problems by adding a condenser to the negative terminal circuit. The signal was noisy. and the condenser cleaned it up. Hook up your noid light to the coil negative terminal and see if it behaves normally or shows some weirdness.
  3. NewZed
    By "crank" signal, you mean Start, right? Pretty sure that is for Start enrichment and won't stop the engine from starting. He has the FMS and the EFI Guide to show this, and he's already run some tests. He just needs to keep track of what's happening, when it happens. Especially now that he knows it's a sporadic problem. The part about the trigger from the coil negative is right. But that's also covered in both of the books he's been using.
  4. NewZed
    You kind of answered your own question. It's not a "signal" to the injectors, it's just completing the path to ground so that current can flow through the injector bodies. Each time the path is completed, the injector opens. Then the circuit is broken and the injector closes. Electricity is very fast, it all happens in milliseconds. You're not reporting all of the numbers that matter. It looks like you have a fuel pressure gauge on the engine but you didn't say what it is when it won't start and what it is when it will. No offense, but you have to be methodical to make progress with the EFI systems. You can't just look at one thing at a time. Many things have to be right at specific times. You need to know that you have power to certain places, pressure in the fuel system, certain signals going where they should go when they should go there, etc. You should have a check list that you run through, either on paper or in your head. Correct power - check (look at your meter), correct pressure - check (look at your gauge) , spark - check (look at the tachometer, it counts sparks)... Forgot to say, I had a 78 parts car that would not start when the tachometer was out. Somehow it screwed up the circuit to the ECU, since it's on a branch of the line from the coil negative terminal. So there are some odd things that can happen when everything else is right. But you need to know that everything else is right before you get in to that.
  5. NewZed
    Those will work. The shifter is the same for 4 and 5 speeds, up to the ZX's.
  6. NewZed
    Edit - forgot to say that people have been known to grind out a hollow for the nose of the diff to get a proper fit. That will raise it some. Enlarge the side holes a bit, do some grinding, a couple of shims on the bar... Just to fill in, I made a picture. 5/16" shorter. They also have one that says V8 only. But it's cheaper. Can't really figure out the page - http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=3-1108 http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/3.1158
  7. NewZed
    I'm sure it's an unintended consequence but the new software seems to be open for high school trolling. Is it Twitter? Not good. This is some weird BS... http://forums.hybridz.org/profile/55044-conrad280zx/
  8. NewZed
    It's easy to get misled on the injector connectors and voltage readings. When all six are connected, if you remove one measure voltage you'll see it on both pins. Because the injectors are on a parallel circuit. If all of the connectors are disconnected you'll only see it one side because the other 5 parallel circuits are broken. So it sounds like your injectors are getting proper power, which shows that the EFI relay is working correctly. The injectors don't get a "signal" the other side of the connector just gets grounded, allowing current to flow, creating a solenoid magnet, and causing the injectors to open. The grounding is done by the transistors in the ECU. The ECU "tracks" when to open the injectors by "counting" the sparks it sees on Pin #1 at the ECU connector. You want to be sure that Pin #1 is connected to the negative post of the coil. That's the signal that the ECU uses. You started the thread with a weird power problem, now you're in to the EFI system. Sometimes when a bunch of weird things are happening you have to go to a firm starting point and just start measuring things until you find a number that's not right. Here's a link to a really good troubleshooting guide for the EFI systems. Find 1978's procedure and start measuring. Get real numbers, and write them down. some thing will show up. The 1980 EFI Manual. It covers all years of EFI up to 1980. Yours in in there. http://www.xenonzcar.com/s130/other.php
  9. NewZed
    Which relay did you use, 77 or 83? They're different. The test procedure for the relays is shown, with pictures, in the Engine Fuel chapter, or the EFEC chapter. Probably easiest to put a meter on the fuel pump leads and see if there's power when the key is turned to Start. You'll probably see power and can move on to some other possible source. Listen for pump noise. Disconnect the starter solenoid so it will be quiet.
  10. NewZed
    You haven't said what year car you're working with. The relays changed over the years.
  11. NewZed
    Is it a 1982 Ford F150?
  12. NewZed
    Pretty sure he just calls out the wire colors. Here's a few, plus the Google search terms. Might be enough in here. https://www.google.com/search?q=site:hybridz.org+cgsheen+280zx+distibutor+wire&ei=3ebBWbDJNNTIjwO8qak4&start=10&sa=N&biw=1230&bih=881
  13. NewZed
    He hasn't been on for over three years. cgsheen has posted a few times about which wire goes where. Tell people what you're actually working with first though, it's not clear.
  14. NewZed
    That's normal, a long and a short. Although, with the VLSD diffs, the long one is a lot longer. Can't remember the actual measurements. Better check, the parts stores have been known to sell the wrong shafts. 300ZX's came with VLSD's in later years. Edit - just remembered that the VLSD's came with a different spline count also. Count your splines.
  15. NewZed
    Download the 1980 EFI manual and run the tests for 1979. It has tests for all EFI engines up to 1980. This will tell you if all of the critical parts are connected properly. Seems like your coolant temperature sensor might be disconnected. http://www.xenonzcar.com/s130/other.php If you get some parts showing as incorrect, use the FSM to find out where they are and how they should be connected. Engine Fuel chapter. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/280z/1979/
  16. NewZed
    The 280ZX starters are gear reduction. Not a major reduction like the race engine types. That would be the simplest upgrade. Lighter and more effective. Actually, if you ask for a 75 280Z starter at a parts store you might get a ZX starter anyway. SKU consolidation.
  17. NewZed
    Don't be offended. Just get some numbers and post them. Aaaallll of the new to engines people do the exact same thing. They don't realize how valuable numbers are. Read through the Service Manual and you'll see that most of the operations/actions/fixes have numbers associated. For example - if the gauge reads 200 at max, you're probably okay. If it went to 240, you're probably not. No matter where you go you'll still be the same guy you are now anyway. Might as well stick around.
  18. NewZed
    "Crank" means to spin. From the old days when they applied an actual handle to the crank shaft. Then spun it. If it won't crank that means that the starter solenoid is not getting power, or the starter is no good. Did you actually mean "fire"? Fire is when the spark causes the fuel-air mixture to burn. If it won't fire, that could be a spark problem or a fuel problem.
  19. NewZed
    Overheating is a very basic fundamental car thing. You're in kind of a dangerous spot, with not understanding much about engine basics. You can waste a lot of money. And your problem could be more complex. When these engines overheat the cylinder heads tend to warp, sometimes taking a permanent bend. When they warp, the head gaskets fail. Then a steady cycle of overheating happens, similar to what you're seeing. The first thing to do if you see overheating is to check the coolant level in the radiator, and the overflow bottle. Have you looked at the spark plugs? They can offer a clue about bad head gaskets. Overall though, just make detailed observations, write down numbers if you can get them, then write well when you post. Actual temperatures that you see on the gauge would be a start. Actual RPM numbers. Times, in minutes or hours. Things like that.
  20. NewZed
    This sounds more like a basic overheating problem. Temperature will increase slightly on the gauge while the car sits because there's no coolant moving past the gauge sender. But as soon as the engine starts the needle should drop. You either have a coolant flow blockage or a bad water pump or poor air flow. Heat soak is mostly just a "20 minute sitting" problem. If you start the engine before 20 minutes you're usually fine, or after about 30. But once you're up and moving the heat soak problem goes away. You're not describing heat soak.
  21. NewZed
    neverdone asked a good question then. "Heat soak" typically refers to the problem where the engine, after sitting hot for about 20 minutes, like on a short shopping trip, will start but run like crap for about a minute, before clearing up. That's the problem I thought you were referring to. A Pallnet rail is probably not going to help your problem. Your description is still a little odd though, you're talking about the engine being off and driving the car at higher RPM in the same sentence, followed by the engine coming to a complete halt, which wouldn't involve higher RPM. Three things that can't happen at the same time. Maybe break the problem down in to a short time sequence, from when it runs well to when it doesn't. Is it a manual or an automatic?
  22. NewZed
    "Pallnet" is a vendor. That's the suggestion. there's really no "upgrade" you can make for the regulator, unless it's old and doesn't hold pressure. The shiny aluminum adjustable regulators typically don't hold pressure. You need one that holds pressure so that the liquid fuel can help keep things cool. Some people run a cooler thermostat also to keep the engine and fuel system temperature down after it's shut off.
  23. NewZed
    If I click on any of the page buttons for the attached thread it locks up the page, doesn't load anything, just goes to a blank page and gets stuck with a "Loading" icon. Edit - also, it's not clear that the link is a link. It looks like just another image. I know that this software has a way to removed the image formatting and make it just a text hyperlink(?). They work for this Site Support thread though.
  24. NewZed
    Pallnet's aluminum fuel rail seems to help. It's the injectors that are too hot.
  25. NewZed
    60 amps is the basic spec. since about 1973. So you won't gain amps, in theory. But the external regulators can be hard to find so it's best to be ready. Each year of car has its own little problems when doing the swap. So even though it sounds simple, there's potential for extended electrical troubleshooting. Don't expect to get it done a few hours, although you might.
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