new kid 'round here has more probs than she can count

[Guest Anonymous]

So I just recently bought a 1980 280zx. Paid a whopping 400 dollars for the beast. My first z car, though I've always been a fan.

 

Now for 400 bux there's gotta be problems with it, right? Like you wouldn't believe ...[or maybe you would?]

 

I've allready had quite a bit of engine work done. If you want to know, just ask. Last week I drove it until Tuesday. I didn't go anywhere Wednesday or Thursday, and when I hopped back in to drive to work Friday, it wouldn't turn over. I was short on time, so I thought I'd get a jump start and see if that would hold me over until later that day. It jumped fine, drove around the block just fine, so I headed to the freeway. Used the turn signal the first time at the onramp and in 2nd gear the RPMs dropped from about 3400 to 1000. That was kinda scary, so I turned my turn signal off and it seemed to do better. I still decided I was going to exit at the next street, but I didn't make it. I got up to about 65mph when the RPM drop started again. Only this time it wouldn't jump back up. All my other gagues started reading funny and the car started back firing. Finally it died, and I was 50 feet from the off ramp, not even a mile from my house yet.

 

My guess is with the alternator or the regulator.. But then again, I'm not really learned enough about z's to be guestimating this sort of thing... opinions anyone?

[Guest Anonymous]

Jade , you are probably right.. the problem is probably the alternator (which may have the regulator inside it being a ZX) An old trick I learned to test an alternator without taking it off the engine is: Start the engine and let it idle and remove the positive battery cable from the battery's positive post. If the engine keeps running.. the alternator is good and supplying electricity. If the engine dies with the positive battery cable disconnected from the battery .... the alternator is not producing electricity. With a good fully charged battery and a bad alternator , the car should run about an hour before the battery is drained. A battery's life expectancy is reduced every time it is drained. Good luck! & WELCOME

[Guest Anonymous]

hello, and welcome to the board jade i'm going to have to agree with you and tomohawk and say that it is probably the alternator

[Mikelly]

Jade, welcome...

What the above posters said is SPOT on. I caution against buying a remanufactured unit, and if you have to get one, stay away from SuperTrak. Their electrical components have caused me great headaches in the past...

 

New is better, and if you can afford Nissan, even better still.

 

Goodluck and welcome!

 

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

rar. There's a high performance shop right down the street from me, and they said they'd do the alternator work for me. I looked under the hood yesterday and decided that I'd pay someone else to handle it. I changed a few alternators in my old 96 Grand Am, and that was a b$#*h. They warranty their work, too. Thanks for the input.

[BLKMGK]

Yup, beware PepBoys and Track's alternators. "Lifetime Warranty" translates to "A lifetime of swapping them out". Best of all is when the regualtors fail in an overvolt mode and you have to turn on every accessory you've got in order to keep from frying things Hrm, and I've alreayd killed one alternator with the V8 thanks to a grounding coil wire - surprised nothing else fried.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes. $400 is a really good price, you'd make that in parts if you really wanted to part it out. Welcome!

 

P.S. RAR?

[Guest Anonymous]

hehe. Please excuse my idiosyncrasies. Besides. I've been told my posts and conversations are rather amusing.

 

So yes. rar..

 

RAR!

[Pop N Wood]

Just posted this reply to Help in Huston. Thought it applied to you as well.

 

I know this sounds overly simplistic, but the first step in troubleshooting any charging/starter problem is to clean the battery posts. And just "looks clean" is not good enough. Take a wire brush to them. Cannot begin to count the number of people who have needlessly replaced starters and/or alternators because they did not heed this advice. While you are at it, check the rest of the wiring and cable connectors to make sure they aren't corroded or loose.

 

Next check the voltage across the battery, both with the engine running and off. With engine off should have around 12 volts. With the engine running, should be 14 volts or slightly higher. If it is still 12 volts (or less), check the voltage at the back of the alternator. If they are both 12 volts or less, you have a charging problem. If the battery voltage is low but volts at the alternator good, then you have an open circuit between the alternator and battery. See if maybe a fusible link has blown.

 

My guess is you don't have an alternator problem since you have replaced it with a "known good". If all of the wiring checks out, the next step is to have the battery checked. If the battery is over 5 years old, then I personnaly would just replace it. The same place that checked your alternator should be able to check the battery under load. Probably need to charge it up before bringing it in.

Funny you mention the turn signal switch. I had an old Ford Fiesta that I thought had a bad turn signal switch because every time I used it the engine would momentarily cut out. When I stopped to investigate the car wouldn't crank. While I was waiting for my buddy to show up and jump start me, I noticed the dome light was flickering with the beat of the radio.

 

The problem? Dirty battery posts. The battery acts like a capacitor to smooth out voltage transients from changes in current draw. Using the turn signals temporarily dropped the voltage that the battery wasn't able to make up because of the dirty posts. If the voltage drops below some level it kills the ignition.

 

My 2 cents anyway.

[DavyZ]

When batter acid gets under the insulation in the battery cables, it causes serious gremlins and you'd never know until you replace the cables. I'm pretty sure yours is an alternator problem, but pay some close attention to the cables---take a good look. If they look questionable, replac them. Otherwise, hopefully you'll get away with just an alternator change.

 

Davy

[Lockjaw]

I had the same problem in my ZX last fall, and it was the alternator. SO I did some checking and decided I wanted a 90 amp maxima alternator in it, found the proper pulley and then put it in the car. Runs great.

 

Had the same problem you described again the other day sitting in line at the drag strip for test and tune, and the cars rpms started dropping and then it loaded up and started backfiring. Turns out my coil wire was grounding on my intercooler line, and making the coil and my twin power overheat, and shut down.

 

I have also had a similar situation happen when I replaced my cap and rotor and did not get the screw tightened down in the rotor fully. It backed out, and the car started the same old symptoms, and would not restart.

 

Moral of the story: Do some testing before you run out and start buying new parts. A volt meter is one of the best tools you can get. Always recharge your battery and check voltage output. Clean the terminals too.

 

One good test is to start the car and starting turning stuff on and see what happens. When I added an electric fan to my car, the alternator could not supply all the power needed to run the fan and lights, ac, windshield wipers etc. Thats why I went to the 90 amp alternator. You should see the voltage drop. If it gets below 13 volts, you are running the ragged edge.

 

nice thing about the Maxima alternator, once I got rid of the serpentine pully and got a v belt on it, it bolts in just like a ZX one.