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Hello good folks at hybridz. Time to share my bittersweet experience with my MSD street fire ignition. In one phrase: "Sweet, but not to last" I bought the MSD ignition after all the things people were praising it for. I was sugared into the idea that my 240z needed a special spicy shocky sparky super smash MSD ignition. In all honesty for 3 months it worked wonderfully. However, after 3 months the MSD unit showed horrible signs of failure. 1. Misfires from 1000-3000 rpm. When cruising around town, normal driving the engine will have a few farts and coughs. 2. High RPM MISFIRE, the engine would start to "break up" at any rpm over 4500rpm. The engine felt like it had an imposed rev limiter by not firing. NOT the MSD's rev limiter, that was working fine(easy test) 3. Odd idling, the engine would idle around 2000 rpm, then 600rpm then it would have problems starting . 3 months the unit started to fail... 8 months the unit stopped firing all together. MSD probably built this unit to fail right after the warranty. I had to rewire my ignition on the side of the road to fix it. Next thing I know my pooch of a 3.0 motor now is driving great. I had built this sweet 3.0 motor for road racing but what is the point if the engine could not rev past 5000rpm. THE DARN MSD was the weak link, and prevented me from using the power that was hidden past 5000rpms. Now the engine revs to 8000rpm no problem. HIGH RPM MISFIRES CAUSED BY MSD IGNITION

The car runs and drives okay. Still haven't gone through much of the fuel tables. Can't seem to get the timing to adjust electronically through the megasquirt. I can set the timing mechanically but I can't get it to advance or regard through the megasquirt. I've adjusted the trigger angle and that doesn't seem to sway it either way. I have an 85 300zx turbo with a completely stock ignition system. MS2/Extra firmware: 3.3.0 I've read all over about controlling spark with distributors and an ignition coil /power transistor, but I can't seem to get it to do what I want. Any advice would be amazing.

Hope everyone is well. I've learned a bit since my last post about my issues but I'll explain where I'm at. My car 280z with a 99' firebird LS1 and a 4L60E trans is constantly getting getting a P1054 error code (checked with a diablosport intune, i only use it to check for codes, I need a more comprehensive scanner). When the code/check engine light comes on the car seems to lose power/struggle and miss when I hit the gas, just makes a bunch of racket, it gets around ok if I don't hit the throttle too hard. I made it to the gas station about 2 miles from my house today and the symptoms popped up, I've made it 20 miles to a car meet 100% and then on the way home from the meet the symptoms return. I'm open to suggestions of what to do. Now if you feel like reading, here's what I've done... 1. When I bought the car it didn't want to start but when it did, it got around. After scanning it a Cam sensor code came up. Turns out the Cam and MAP sensors were UNPLUGGED. Plugged them in and the check engine light went off for about two days and now I'm basically having the same symptoms I am now. (i drove the car 150 miles to OCMD like that btw before I knew those sensors were uplugged) 2. Talked to a friend who's done a few LS Swaps and gave me some things to trouble shoot. First I relocated the 02 sensors directly under the header collectors, they were about a foot down the pipe in what he described as a lazy installation. 3. My symptoms made him think the car might be starved for fuel (hesitating and struggling under load on the road) so I inspected my fuel system. The main fuel line on the car appeared to be a braided 5/16 line and it was kind of a mix of sizes to get it plumbed between the fuel tank and the pump. The car also had an MSD fuel pump rated up to 40psi... I thought I hit the jackpot... I ordered the complete PSI Conversions LS Fuel kit (25' of line, proper fuel pump *Much quieter than the MSD piece of crap*, fuel filter/regulater and all the 6AN fittings your heart could desire. Finished the install this week and fuel pressure at idle improved from 58 to 61psi. But after all that, here I am, still chasing this stupid issue. Here is where I'm at... I currently have the spark plugs out of the car to inspect them and the wires. They are all an MSD wire/boot (gray/black) set specifically for an LS but one has brown boots and is visibly torn at the plug connection so I'll definitely replace that. The plugs look ok and are NGK TR55 gapped between 55 & 60. I don't see any obvious problems other than that boot. Was googling for the correct spark gap and found this update for the Spark Plug Wire Gaps https://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/tsb/tsb_03D-J-171.pdf Well I just looked up my plugs and TR55 (gap at 60) plugs ARE NOT listed as being specifically for my year motor however some old ass LS1.com thread had guys in 2008 running the TR55 on their 99-02 firebirds. The 3 plugs on NGK's website THAT ARE what they sell for the 99' V8 all say to gap them at 40. Perhaps NGK made the adjustment to their website a long time ago when the service update was released. Is it possible I'm over gap and having misses and that's throwing the o2 code because of improperly burnt fuel on the 02 sensor? or would the the computer throw a different code? I'm not sure how specific or complicated ECU's will throw codes. I literally might just have the wrong plugs in my car... Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Ok so first off, some background info, when I got the car the PO said that the gas tank wouldn't fill up past half because of something loose. I also drove it 2 hours home. I had it in the shop and when I got it back, I would get on the gas and it wouldn't pass 3.5k rpm, I would try to floor it and it would just backfire like crazy. After awhile the radiator exploded. It went back to the shop and the mechanic put in the new radioactive and now the car doesn't even start. He though it was a bad distributor so he replaced it, that didn't fix it so he put my old one back on. I have some videos of the problem and some photos Car has a L28e from a 75ish 280z 5 speed

Hello all, long time, no see. Which is good since I typically only come here when something is bad... anyway I've got this problem, see? Started a bit ago, a little trouble getting the car to start. Classic *click* when I'd turn the key. Checked wiring on my starter, since one has come off in the past leading to this problem... not this time. I rock the car a little in desperation (I'm on a dirt road, quite far from civilization at this point) and somehow it starts up. Whew, I think. I get home. Try turning it on again? Click. all wires connected. OK, must be the battery. I get a jump from a neighbor, run it for a while and I turn on the lights to see how it's going. This kills it. Well. Not going to bug the neighbor again, wait for my girl to come home. Jump it, run over to the neighborhood Napa. Guy comes out to test the battery and alternator. He says battery is bad, alternator is good. I had to jump it to get this tested. Jump again to drive over to AutoZone because I still have the battery under warranty until March (Bought it just shy of two years ago). Guy verifies battery is no good, I replace it, but not before brushing the cables free of any possible corrosion. Car won't start. I jump it to go home because I don't know what else to do, and I need to get to work asap anyway at this point, so now I'm borrowing my girl's car for work. Thanks babe! But still not sure about this car. I have a multimeter that I am a little familiar with, use it to test the ground, and it's good. I jump it again and decide to just run it a bit to see if the battery was just dead from the store (it had almost no charge at this point). I run for a little bit and LO! There's smoke coming out of the dash vents on the driver's side! Electrical smell. Great. I'm about to pull the dash apart, which I've never done before and am not looking forward to because my best guess is a short somewhere in there. It's not a well-educated guess. Any ideas? Car info: '73 240z with l28 and upgraded windshield wiper motor ('94 Accord, I believe) and upgraded MSA fuse box, both of which were done over two years ago. no radio, no A/C, no heat connected (core just sitting there) and none of that has been changed/touched in years.

I have a 1975 280z and am about to order some aftermarket ignition components (for more reliable spark at high rpm). The ZStore recommends the Pertronix Flame-Thrower I for the coil. However, the OE coil that's in there now only has s 0.8 ohm primary resistance, where as the recommended has 1.5ohms. Are your coils about the same as mine or is it supposed to be closer to 1.5 ohms? If the former, wouldn't it be better to go with a 0.7ohm msd blaster 2? Even the 0.6 ohm Flame-Thrower II would be closer. I am not planning on bypassing the ballast resistor.

Hello everyone, I'm having some issues with getting my 1971 240z started. I've changed fluids, cleaned spark plugs, and got a new battery. I've had the starter and the alternator checked and they are both good. I have power going to the voltage regulator when the key is on but all I get is a clicking sound from a relay that is inside the cab on the passenger side. The fuse box has power but has been modified from stock by the previous owner. I have a video at :54 is the relay clicking. Any help is appreciated. I can also take more vids of dash and engine wiring.

I picked up a 71 manual 240z. I can't get any spark from it at all. I have check the points gap which was .018. I have voltage to positive side of coil at both key on and start position. I have used a ohm meter to check that the plug on the distributor is grounded and it is when the point is closed. I have full battery voltage at the negative side of the coil as well as the wire from the coil to the cap. What would be the issue? A condenser of some sort?

I'll stick this here knowing the subject has probably been beat to death already. Recently rebuilt mikuni 44phh carbs and added a Schneider 270-80f cam to E88 head, 2.6l block. Fuel pressure is at 3.5psi. The car started a little rough with a lot of backfire through the carb. I thought of the dizzy being 180 out but confirmed it wasn't. I have start to play around with advancing the timing. Initially it was idling at 0deg and rough, 2-3000rpm would hit 15-18deg and smooth out the roughness. Fuel pressure is at 3.5psi. I currently have the: Mikuni pilot screws are all out 1.5 turns. Idle sitting 1000rpm 15 advance at idle 2-3000rpm advance is probably at 30deg (off the scale) Still getting backfire through carbs particularly on cylinder 1 at idle. Next steps tonight are too sync the carbs, adjust with the idle on backfiring carbs - am I missing anything? I've attached an idle video and picture of jet sizes. Any input or comments would be helpful.

With my seating position, my small-diameter fat-ring steering wheel is blocking my tach view right in the key areas. OK for DD but already at the first autox I had to keep hunching over and was undesireably encumbered. So I'm looking to make a shift light/indicator for my 72 240Z. Still in the concept stages and any suggestions/resources/corrections are greatly appreciated; I've found a surprising lack of any information of this kind. Im aiming at passive electronics, but may consider Arduino. I'm comfortable with either but mostly just would like to figure out how such a shift light indicator would work when fitted to distributor ignitions - ie what that signal looks like coming off the coil, or similarly even just how a tachometer works in that sense. So really the key is confirming that it is a 12V square wave with frequency reflecting that of all spark plugs firing. I have a multimeter but no data collection hardware at my house. I presume its 12V at the positive terminal where the tach connects. I have a 3 ohm coil, no ballast resistor. I have an electronic dizzy but thinking about it as points seems viable and simpler, so my thinking that I'd like to verify (please correct if wrong): voltage builds in coil when the contact is closed then releases into plug when it opens. so i would think there would be 12V at the input terminal when the contactor is closed and goes to zero when it fires - thus spark signal could be considered a falling edge triggered event. Although necessary to make sure I'm thinking correctly, that level of detail isn't really functionally necessary as all we need is frequency of this signal. I could just determine the RPM I would like the light to go off at, then correct to 'revolutions per second' then multiply by 3 (inline 6 = 3 ignitions per revolution) and we have target cutoff frequency to design circuit for. Right? I havent thought through the circuitry too much yet but generally seems like it would just be: high pass filter (tweaked to frequency) --> inverter --> light (?) Arduino may have the advantage of multiple RPM set points without having to reassemble the circuit. Then just use whatever kind of light - maybe even under the windshield vents as a HUD As I said any recommendation / correction / resouce is welcomed. Thanks in advance. Ben

Hello guys I have a 77 280z and when I went to start it today I got nothing. I have a new battery, new distributor, new alternator and a year old voltage regulator. I have lights in my dash and dome light. Head lights are nice and bright. When I turn the key I get nothing. I usually have a beep when I turn the key. I went and replaced the back part of the ignition today and still nothing with the new one. I will take the whole assembly to locksmith and see if it's the cylinder or what. Can anyone shed some light on what else to check?

Well, I figured it would happen eventually. I'm trying to figure out the wiring before I get the engine in the car so the swap goes as quickly as possible. I've gone over the sticky as well as the more extensive and hidden version of the same thing. Harness is from an 82/83 280ZXT and going into a '76 280Z The diagrams and pictures I've seen have two plugs near the rubber firewall grommet, one for ignition (8 wire plug) and one for the fuel pump/fuel pump relay (6 wire plug). However, my harness has two 8 wire plugs, and the wires and colors do not match those of the diagrams I've seen. It doesn't even match the '83 FSM diagram. The person I bought the harness from labeled a couple wires in what seems to be the fuel pump and fuel pump relay plug harness, but I can't verify them obviously since the plugs and wire colors don't match what I've seen. Diagram that has been referenced: I'm also confused on the two wires that feed power to the EFI relay. They were connected to fusible links, but the sticky says stick them on the POS terminal of the starter. Shouldn't they be fed power after fuses? I'd assume I can hook them up to my fuses that are currently in the car (I did the maxifuse swap) but I'm not sure... Also, I'm unsure about where to wire the power wires that are in the EFI relay loom. 1 constant 12v and 2 switched 12v. If anyone has done this swap and would like to guide me on where would be a good spot to do this please let me know. Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much but I keep second guessing myself and running into weird issues like the plugs and wire colors not matching. Pictures attached show the plugs in question.

Any of you Datsun guys have this problem before?: First off: 2/74 260z My car starts by a push and hold button once the key is in the on position. This is how it's hooked up from the PO. It's literally 1 wire from the battery> Push button>1 wire> starter. Does not run off any other wires or ignition, so I can run the starter with my key off. - If i twist the key to the start position I would still hear the ignition relay click even though it's not hooked to the starter. The other day I went to start my car and the ammeter gauge showed no charge, lights were dim too. I turned my car off and none of the lights worked/turned on. I then twisted the key to the start position and it didn't click the relay like it usually would do even though that's not how I start my car. I started my car with the push button (like usual) and the ammeter was still not showing charge and all the lights were dim. I started it and shut it off a few times and the gauge finnaly showed charge and all the lights are bright and back to normal. They even turn on when the car is off. The relay still doesn't click when I twist te key though. Even when I take the battery cable off and put it back on I don't hear a click from a relay like I used too ( the same relay I think). Already changed the ignition switch. And checked all fuses. Now my problem is that the fusible link for (what I think is) the ignition/starter is getting really hot. The fusible link that is getting hot bridges the thick white wires running from the shunt. The white thick wire is also hot at the shunt too. When I disconnect the T plug at the alternator, the fusible link doesn't get hot anymore. The cap for the fusible links say BATT(for the one thick white wire that gets hot) and IGN(the one that doesn't and is white/red wire) I have a feeling my problem has something to do with my ignition not clicking anymore. Also, when I would plug the negative battery cable back on, a relay would click too. Is this the same relay? The relay clicks come from the passenger front kick panel.

I would like to know what everybody is running for dwell on their megasquirt direct (single) coil control on thir l-gata z. For example the stock ballasted 280z coil. The " hot" z31 300z coil and various performance coils.

Just wanted to share my little ignition winter project. I wanted to keep my triple carbs but I wanted better ignition. I'm sure it would also come with better emission which is also a good point. Here’s the car : ’72 240z with 2.8L L28 engine coming from a 280zx. I'm converting it to Megajolt this winter during snow (& salt) season. I've tried to be exhaustive with my presentation. Only big advice I've got: Get good crimping tools! You must invest in one pair of pliers at least. I've got 3: one for moley pins, 2 for regular flat pins. I would discourage anybody who would intent this process with regular pliers. The engine is a "Hot" street L28, expected to have low & mid range torque: - Head milled, ported, polished, unshrouded, combustion chambers CC’ed, new valve seats, Dual lub systems (internal in cam + spray bar) made by Braap. - Cam with asymmetrical profile from Rebello Racing with adequate springs, rockers, etc. - Bottom end is new also with new pistons, rings, bearings, HF oil pump, etc. Compression ratio is around 9.0:1 / 9.5:1. - 3x Weber 40DCOE with ported Cannon intake. Each runner is linked with the others with a canal to balance pressure between them. - 6-2-1 MSA coated exhaust header + custom 2,5†exhaust - Soon to disappear Mallory Unilite distributor I’m in process of converting the car. Wiring is almost done, I now need to focus on mechanical installation. I’ve chosen to run MJLJ with TPS option but I don’t exclude to convert it to MAP later. We'll see how it runs first with TPS. For TPS, I’ve picked one up from a BMW 323ti (E36). The TPS does not have any spring loaded control, its shape for the shaft is easy to reproduce (a round ø8mm shape with one flat) & it is easy to get at any junkyard. Only concern would be that it is not water tight. I got it in Europe for 15€ with the entire throttle body (people get rid of it for better 325i unit) I also got the one from Autosportlabs webshop but it is big, spring loaded with complex shaft print, so I won’t use it after all. Regarding install, I’ve installed MJLJ box on the sidekick panel on passenger side with a relay support + fuses. I’ve made a wiring diagram based on info from the Autosportlabs “how to†section & from one chart found on this board. Only difference is the way I expect to power up the EDIS coils. I’m going to plug the +12V source from the coil + side since the tach is triggered this way. This wiring diagram is good for pre-72 Z, others would likely needs the tach adapter & other type of wiring since Tach changed in 73. All wires are crimped with proper tools. When wires needed to be connected together; I’ve twisted them together, soldered them & protected them with shrink tubes. Wires are all protected with high temp hoses under the hood. For VR sensor, I’ve made a CAD model of the front of the engine to design a support. Support, in aluminum, is made with a CNC machine. I’ve taken into consideration some margin for adjustability. The drawback from the support is I need to ditch the stock fan & go with e-fan instead. I wanted to do it anyway so I did not bother… 36-1 wheel is coming from the EDIS car donor. Crank damper has been machined to be slightly smaller than the wheel. I cannot feel any play but wheel can rotate freely around the pulley. The plan is to install the VR sensor, get the wheel in front of it accordingly, get a mark done & spot weld the wheel in place (hopefully the weld will not hurt the rubber, I’ll be careful about that). I would have to redo it, I think I would choose to pressfit the wheel instead of welding it but it is too late. EDIS coils have some rubber pads installed to avoid vibrations. Pads also raise the coils allowing me to get it install on a flat surface without any specific support. Pads are male/male type with ø20 OD. I had to make a thread on each Coil support hole with Helicoils to make pads fit. TPS will be mounted on carbs rod linkage instead on carb shaft. My DCOE are the old style, there’s no hole on housing to install easily a support for TPS. Drawback with the way I expect to install TPS is that I won’t have 90° angle between idle & WOT but around 45-60°. Hopefully TPS resolution / sensitivity will be sufficient. The support will be a very simple steel plate design bent, nothing really fancy. Still need to design it and make it. To finish the first post, here's how my install looks like for now (or almost, wires have been setup, I don't see anything anymore from the driver side) The next steps would be to try the new support, check 36-1 wheel position, get the wiring finished under the hood and install EDIS components.

Hi, I'm planning to add a MAP sensor to my current setup; this includes 3.1L + Triple Webers + Electromotive HPX ignition. If you take a look at the attached photos, you'll see how I plumbed PCV and the brake booster. I've read that it's not advisbile to pull vacuum for a MAP sensor directly off the same vacuum line as the booster. My DCOE 40-151's have a vacuum port that I use to balance the carbs using gauges. Would this be a sufficient vacuum source for a 1 bar map sensor? Thanks, Bajcsi

I was almost ready to deliver a 1976 280Z Restomod to my daughter 6 months late after her 16th Birthday! We started the car up and went to pull it into the shop for final buffing/touchups and low behold the engine died and would not restart. Needless to say my daughter was heartbroken. The car would crank but not start. If the engine was cold, it would start, run one minute or less and then die and not restart for hours. At first check my plugs were all soaked with fuel so we thought "flooded" clean the plugs, suck out the cylinders dry and and try again. No luck, no start. Pulled the plugs and checked again, dry as a bone no fuel in cylinders. Next, even though the fuel pressure measured correct before and after the fuel rail, we replaced the fuel pressure regulator just in case and still not the solution. Started intense troubleshooting with the EFI Bible and FSM. Replaced the MAS after cleaning the contacts and still nothing! Cranks just fine when cold and would start and run for a minute and then die and refuse to start until cold again. Checked the throttle position sensor, air temp sensor, water temp sensor, cold start valve, and thermotime, nothing! Still would start when cold most of the time but die after less than a minute. Double and triple checked the injectors listening to ensure the injectors continued to fire after the engine started and we weren't losing pulse, still no good. So what does the bible say after all these checks, replace the ECU! Luckily, I thought I already have a spare ECU for my 1977 FI 280Z. Guess what, doesn't work, wrong part number. Here's where ECU's get tricky I found out. The 1975-76 Auto Trans FI models use ECU A11-600, the 1977-78 Auto Trans FI models use A11-601. My 1976 280Z 4-Speed Coupe uses the A11-601 ECU! So off to Ebay to find an ECU to match A11-600 in my daughters car. Two weeks later it arrives and we plug it in and walla, nothing... It starts and runs less than a minute and dies and won't restart! Totally frustrated and confused we start the troubleshooting process again re-checking every pin on the ECU harness and we suddenly notice that Pin 1 is giving us varying voltages of .3 to 12.7 volts. At 12.7 volts the engines starts, runs less than a minute and dies, when we re-check the Pin 1 voltage and try to restart the engine we get .3 - .7 volts. Bingo! Finally we have a negative reading we can start tracing! So where does Pin 1 on the ECU connect to? The Ignition Input Circuit! We started tracing the wiring harness for the Ignition system around the engine compartment and back under the dashboard and find terminal corrosion on the connectors under the passenger side glove box. Cleaned the terminals and connectors and applied a generous dose a electolytic grease and instant start and run! Thank goodness for excellant mechanics and friends who spent 2 weeks with me crawling under the dashboard and hood testing and retesting component after component to find the issue and resolve it! I hope this might help someone else in the future. If your Pin 1 on the ECU measures anything less than 12 volts, you have an electircal problem not mechanical! You must have 12 volts on this pin for the car to start and run, if the votage drops after it starts and dies check the ignition circuit connections under the glovebox. Clean and grease those terminals because the corrosion heats up after ignition and interrupts the connection of power to your injectors. Good luck!

So I just picked up an '83 280zx-t that I am planning on using as a donor for my l28et swap in my S30. Bought it not runningn as something "electrical" went wrong with the previous owner. He said he took it out of storage, jumped the battery and drove around the block and now the car won't start. When I got it home I began to go through all of the wiring and finally I was able to get some of the lights, however I still cannot get the car to turn over when I turn the ignition switch. I noticed a relay was missing from the relay box and also a wire cut from the other box under the hood. Hoping someone can help me identify if the missing relay or wire could be my problem.

hello Hybridz, the other day i was getting the z ready for a car meet, so a thorough cleaning. i got there fine but when i tried to leave the car would barley start and cylinders 4 and 5 would not fire. me and another gentleman cleaned the distributor out and then cylinder 5 started to fire, but still not cylinder 4. it has to be something to do with the distributor "cap" because the wire is barley getting any spark.you can here cylinder 4 rarely fire like it got enough of a charge to ignite. i tried another wire but still not change, oh and if i leave the wire off the spark plug the car seems to run better, not sure why that is. your opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi guys, I just got a 280zx and put a battery in it and turned the key and nothing happened. So I figured the battery was dead, I put a new battery in, same thing, so I put the new battery on a charger, same thing. There is no power to anything, no headlights, no dash lights, no hazard lights, no horn, nothing. So I checked all the fuses and they look good, checked the wiring from the battery and it looks good, but I found some wires right next to the battery that are cut. I'm not sure where they are supposed to go, or even if this is the problem? But it seems like the power from the battery isn't getting to the car. Anyone able to help? Thanks

So somewhere along the life of my s130, someone lost the keys. The ignition switch is messed up now from a PO using a screw driver to turn it to the on position, and there is a flip switch for the starter. Anyways, i bought a universal ignition switch from autozone, i tried to wire it up but just couldn't seem to get it. The blue plug that plugs into the original ignition, i found the battery wireand the starter wires, but can't seem to get it to where when the key is in the on position or acc to get anything to happen. Just wondering if anyone else installed one before and could help me in doing mine. I need the wiring diagram for the ignition. I looked in the FSM but it wasn't any help. Thanks again! I would really like to be able to use a key instead of a screw driver and flip switch

Installed new pertronix and new coil. Car ran fine on points prior to install. Won't start after installation. Nor will it start after i pulled the pertronix and put points back in. Im thinking the coil is bad even though its new and im getting some spark from it. Anyone done this install before? Need help plz!!!