Guest 1dababa Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 I just bought a 1981 280zx turbo. It has set up for 2-3 years. It won't start. It will turn over, it has fire to the coil, and the plugs, but nothing happens. It just spins! I have used starting fluid in the air cleaner, nothing happens. What should I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 Z Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Always remember.... "The first four rules!" 1. Engage BRAIN before hands 2. Check the basics 3. Check the basics 4. PLEASE Check the basics...... Do you have compression?!?! What do the plugs look like? I don't know your expierence. Why did the car sit for that amount of time? If the plugs are wet in way, replace. Gas being that old, does it smell bad?! JOEY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1dababa Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Please forgive me for being wordy. I offered a guy 3500.00 for this Z, 3 years ago, he turned me down and parked in the parking lot of his business. He bought another car and let the Z sit. I watched the tires go flat and it started to rust. He said that he would start it every once in a while, until one day it wouldn't start. The last time he tried to start it was about a year ago. Even though the fuel gauge read empty I thought that it had fuel. After I received several responses I put 5 gal of fuel in it. The fuel gauge still reads empty. If this was a GM 350 I would know what to do, I always thought that they would be the same principle. I don't think that anymore. I don't know where the fuel pump is located, I don't know where the fuse panel is. I have to get the GM out of me, and remember that this is a different car. I pulled a plug yesterday and it was dry. I'm in Kansas and it is cold now, so I have not taken the time to check everything completely. I do have spark to the plugs, but that is about all I know what to check! I don't know anything about this car, but with you all helping me I will learn it. I paid 150.00 for the Z, and it's worth every penny of it! Thank you so much for your help. Herb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 83supaZ Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 pull fuel line off before filter.. see if you are getting fuel. see how it smells... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1dababa Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Hello, I don't think that I would be asking for much, but I set goals in everything I do. My goal for now is to get the car to cough by Sunday night. Just one backfire that's all. Is that too much? I found the pump, I turned the key and heard nothing. I have used starting fluid in the air cleaner, nothing happened. I have spark to the plug, but they seem to be dry after using the starting fluid. Will the car fire with no fuel pressure? Help me out guys and or ladies, the last time I saw this car run it pured, I want to bring it back to life. Herb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeizm Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Hello, I don't think that I would be asking for much, but I set goals in everything I do. My goal for now is to get the car to cough by Sunday night. Just one backfire that's all. Is that too much? I found the pump, I turned the key and heard nothing. I have used starting fluid in the air cleaner, nothing happened. I have spark to the plug, but they seem to be dry after using the starting fluid. Will the car fire with no fuel pressure? Help me out guys and or ladies, the last time I saw this car run it pured, I want to bring it back to life. Herb If you have no fuel pressure then you won't be getting fuel there fore the car wont be able to start. Even if you spray starter fluid into the intake that will not have the right mixture of fuel to air to be able to fire the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1dababa Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 I have pulled the fuel line to the filter, turned the car over, no fuel. There is fuel in the car but the fuel gauge reads empty. What should I do next? Contact me at herbdickens@earthlink.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phyxius Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Can you hear the fuel pump running at all? If it were me, this is what I'd do. First, I'd check the fuel pump. I'd disconnect the line from the fuel rail and put it into some type of container to catch anything that may get pumped out. Then I'd connect a 12V source directly to the pump. If it starts pumping and fuel comes out there is probably a bad relay or faulty wiring. If it starts pumping and nothing comes out, then you probably have something clogged and should clean the entire system. If it doesnt do anything, you probably need a new pump. I believe there are 3 or 4 relays dealing with the fuel pump on a turbo car. One or two under the hood in one of the relay boxes, one behind the glove box and one above the computer. A haynes manual will point out the exact locations, and is well worth the $20 investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phyxius Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 oh yeah...the fuse box is on the passenger kick panel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1dababa Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 How are you? Well, I took all the plugs out of the car, I put them in the oven to dry them out. Once they were dry, I put them back in the car. I used starting fluid and the car fired up! It kept running as long as I sprayed starting fluid in it. I then traced the wires to the pump. I wired the pump directly to the battery and tapped on the pump with a hammer. It started to work! I kept it wired up like that until it worked on it's own. Then I started the car, keeping it running with starting fluid until it would run on it's own. Now it starts up on the first turn of the key! The pump works like it should! Now I can here it hum for 5 seconds. I moved the car, but now I need to do brake work, so I didn't go far! To be honest, I went about 20 feet! Just enough to go forward and backwards. It purrs! Thank you for all of your suggestions Herbert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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