bowl of seeds Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Okay guys, I am stuck. Lets rewind about 3 weeks ago.. My Z was running alright, not perfect, but I was able to drive it around my neighborhood with no problems. (not venturing any further due to it being on "Non-Op") Anyhoo I don't remember what my exact intentions were when I started messing with the wiring that leads to the distributor from the MSD ignition module the PO installed.. all I know is that I didn't like the way he had wired it, It looked so "Unprofessional" not that I am a professional myself I simply believed I could do a better job.. but! I see this as a learning experience so here we go. I remember removing the distributor and trying to clean the insides, The PO also had installed a Pertronix ignitor..I'm just really a curious fellow there was no need for me to go in there since the ignition system wasn't giving me any problems whats so ever. Back to what I was saying.. I removed the ignitor and almost everything in the distributor besides the shaft in there. Cleaned everything up and put it back the way it should be. Once I had it back together I went to start the car and I wasn't getting spark. I went crazy all round trying to find the reason for this absence of spark I replaced the coil tried that and nothing. I reopened the distributor and checked to see if I i maybe put something the wrong way but no everything seemed to be in correct order. I try it again and now my starter wasn't working. Two days went by and I made myself believe my starter solenoid wasn't good and I just wanted a new starter because that's just me. So i go to autozone and buy one for $45 plus $15 dollar core charge so it came out to be around $30 so what a deal I though. Anyways I come home, Install it and go try and start it and nothing, It was doing the same thing as when I had the old starter... I didn't know what the problem was.. So when I'm extremely puzzled I sit in my car just thinking and while I was in there i moved the fuse panel since it is hanging about after i pulled my stereo.. now all I did was twist some of the wires around and tried to start it and vooala it tried to start.. well it was cranking but it just wouldn't fully crank over then i started giving it some gas and it came to life! so I thought.. as soon as I let go of the key and it went to the "on" position rpms died and so did the car.. I read online that this could be the results of a bad Ballast Resistor.. Now remember I said the PO installed a MSD ignition system? yeah no ballast resistor to be found... now this is where I am now... I haven't tried to mess around with the car recently because I've been engulfed with school work and wrestling practice. Although I do have some free time on the weekends if I'm lucky so I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone could help me or knew of a solution? I can provide more details of the car if needed. I really want to get this car going so I can start driving it to school. Thanks in advance -Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowl of seeds Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 anyone?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 as soon as I let go of the key and it went to the "on" position rpms died and so did the car.. I read online that this could be the results of a bad Ballast Resistor.. Now remember I said the PO installed a MSD ignition system? yeah no ballast resistor to be found... now this is where I am now... -Frank Looks like you were almost on to one possible solution. There are two wires that power the coil, one from the starter circuit and one from the key On circuit. They connect to two different points on the ballast resistor. Maybe you accidentally disconnected the "key On" wire. Check your wiring diagram or take a voltmeter and find a wire with power to the coil with the key On. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowl of seeds Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 Looks like you were almost on to one possible solution. There are two wires that power the coil, one from the starter circuit and one from the key On circuit. They connect to two different points on the ballast resistor. Maybe you accidentally disconnected the "key On" wire. Check your wiring diagram or take a voltmeter and find a wire with power to the coil with the key On. Thanks for the suggestion, but like I said before the Ballast Resistor was removed by the previous owner, I'm guessing when he installed the MSD ignition system.. I tried reconnecting the wires of this ignition but still nothing, I'm lost at what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowl of seeds Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Also I was wondering if it could have something to do with the fuse panel? it does have some of the "holders" melted around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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