turbeau Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) setup: 72 240z with L28 and L28 dizzy, brand new MSD blaster 2 coil, new NGK plugs problem: car is not turning over I can only hear the starter going when I turn the key. I plugged in a light between a plug and wire to see if it would flash while cranking. No flash. I thought the "matchbox" ignition module went out on the dizzy. I switched to a HEI conversion but still the same problem. I followed the installs that I found online, still confused on the short black wire (goes to noise reduction unit? dont have one) and the green/white wire (goes to the positive terminal of the coil?). There is power going to the positive side of the coil when the ignition is on the on position. I do not know how to check if there is power going to/from the HEI and dizzy. attached are two photos of the HEI install, one of the IM (ignition module) unit and the other of the connections at the dizzy, and a short video of the car trying to start 123.MOV Edited December 12, 2011 by turbeau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) Is there power to the B terminal of the module? Can't tell if that wire is even connected. The B terminal and coil positive need power during Start and Run. There are procedures in the ZX FSMs for testing the distributor. Resistance across the green and red wire should be about 400 ohms. You can also measure voltage across the green and red wire while twisting the distributor. If you don't get any voltage when the spikes inside the distributor pass each other, there might be something wrong with the pickup. Edit - changed resistance above. Edited December 12, 2011 by NewZed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Should the B be getting full battery power? When the ignition is on right? For the red and green wires, I put the ohmmeter on both connections at the distributor and got 0 reading. From the red wire to a chassis ground I got some reading, I will verify that number soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 B gets full, switched (key at Run), battery power. Make sure you disconnect the red and green wires before measuring resistance. If you're getting zero, the pickup coil might be bad. It's pretty easy to replace, if you can avoid breaking something as you pry the rotor off of the shaft, and you can get a replacement for under $20 at most auto parts stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 B got 5.46 volts with key on. + coil post to chassis ground is 10.5 volts i could not get any reading from the red and green wires at the distributor. even while twisting what is ZX FSMs? what is a pick up coil and how do i replace it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 If your battery has over 12 volts, and you're seeing those low voltage numbers, you might have your coil (-) grounded. Current is flowing, causing a voltage drop. To be clear, by B, I meant the wire that connects to the B terminal on the HEI module, measured with it disconnected. ZX FSMs is short for Factory Service Manuals (FSM) for the 280ZX (ZX) cars,which have the type of distributor that you're using. I got curious and went out and tested an old ZX distributor I have and with a digital multimeter you can see a voltage change across the red and green wires when spinning the shaft. An analog meter might not catch it. The pickup coil is underneath the circular metal ring with the 6 inward points, along with a circular magnet. Did you test resistance on it? Looks like this - http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Ignition+Pickup!s!Stator/C0417/C0334.oap?year=1982&make=Nissan&model=280ZX&vi=1209350&keyword=stator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 I measured 10.4 v at the battery. Checked the coil primary and secondary per the Chiltons Manuel and it was good, brand new also. Full power to the coil. But no spark out of the center post from the coil to the distributor. Had my GF hold the coil wire to a chassis ground and there was no visible spark. We also checked the distributor. I disconnected and pulled out of the car. Hooked up the meter to the red and green wires and spun the shaft. There was some readings, I forget what numbers and on which settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 I am still having no success with getting the car started. This is the HEI module. First pic is W and G terminal, I have the red and green wires from the distributor going there. The next pic is of B and C side. Im not sure how to wire this side. I have four wires: long BW( black white), short BW,GW(green white), and B(black). And a red wire that I think goes from the negative post of the coil to the C terminal. I also got a pickup coil to put in the distributor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Another thing that may be important. When i got the new Blaster 2 the center post was too long to fit the wire to the distributor. I filed the black plastic cylinder down about 1/2 inch so the wire could make contact. Could that be a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 On your battery - 10.4 is essentially dead. It needs a recharge. C connected to coil (-) is correct. On the B terminal, B will need battery voltage while running and during starting. You can either look at the wiring diagram and figure out which of those wires is hot during starting and running, or use a voltmeter or test light while turning the key to On and Start (disconnect the starter solenoid if you don't want the starter to turn) to identify them. I prefer a voltmeter because then you know for sure, plus you get a voltage reading that tells you something about the quality of the wiring. Connect them both to B. Make sure that the module body is grounded to the block or body through the mounting hole with the extra metal around it (one of the two like the one in your last picture with the small nut holding it). Without that ground the module won't work. The red and green wires look correct. When all of the wires are right, the module will make and break the coil circuit based on the pulses from the pickup coil through the red and green wires. Your coil modification doesn't look like the problem either. Beware, I am not an electronics expert and you might fry your $25 module. I feel pretty good about your odds though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Still no luck. Okay so still the same problems. But I think that I have the HEI wired up properly now. I was trying to change the pickup in the distributor and ran into a few problems: one of the three bolts that holds it down stripped. While I was messing around with all this I noticed that the "star" thing that spins is not looking right. As you can see in the first pic one of the splines is hitting as it spins. In the other pic there is a spline that is about 1 cm away from the pick up point. what does this mean? buy a new one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaito Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I also stripped a screw when messing with my dizzy. Just take a pair of vice grip pliers and break it loose that way. Dont break it off though. Your stator and rotor needs to be close but not touching. Just gap them as per FSM and you will be good to go. Did your car run before you did the HEI mod? Why are you doing the HEI mod? If its because you dont have a factory module, I have a spare you can just have. San Diego right? Let me know. BTW if you got readings while spinning the shaft then your dizzy is good. There is not much to one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks Kaito. Yes I'm in San Diego. The car hasn't started for a while. I thought it was the Stock ignition module. When I called around to get a new one it costs like $150, so I tried using the HEI but am still having the same problem. Ill read through the FSM to see about gapping the stator and Rotor. I'm out of ideas of what the problem could be and what to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 I bought a remanufactured dizzy with E12-80 module. I have a quick question for the wiring: G/w connects to long b/w to bypass resistor + coil post connects to B terminal on IC unit Short b/w wire to + post on coil Black wire from engine harness near coil goes to C pin on IC unit and - post on coil? Will someone post a clean pick of how/which wires are connected to the coil?? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbeau Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 To answer my own question: yes. The car is running now with the wiring hooked up the way I described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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