foremalaZ Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 hey guys im kinda new to hybridz. been a member for a couple of months or so. anyways i have an 82 zx n/a. ive had the car since i was 15 and currently getting ready to turn 21 ( about time). the car has been sitting for the last couple of years, but has been run periodically. i drove it from my parents house in NC to my place here in ohio. the car ran fine and i had no problems. then about a week or so ago the car started running funny. it had loss of power and was sputtering. then one day i tried to start it and it barely wanted to run. idled very low and puffs of smoke were coming out. also if you gave it gas it wanted to die. if i pulled of the hose to the fuel pressure regulator to the intake manifold it would idle a little better. but if i tried to drive it though it would sputter all the way to about 2000 rpms and then it would cut out. i was told by a couple of people it was the AFM. so i took off the afm and checked the flap and it was fine. i even took off the black cover and the internals looked like new. i clean the inside of the afm a little and put it back on the car. when i tried to start it it would almost catch but wouldnt start at all. im thinking its the afm, but is there any possiblities it being the distributor, plugs, fuel filter, etc. any info would help. i just want to get the car running so i can move it to my new apartment. i dont want to dump a lot of money into this engine because i will be doing a turbo swap shortly. any help is appreciated greatly. thanks, ForemalaZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 with setting that long and then driving it for an extended period..... could be fuel filter..... Also try removing gas cap before starting (no joke).. I am about to go thru the entire fuel system on my 280 Z.. It will not run right without fuel cap off. Probably about every other thing is plugged from setting too long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savageskaterkid Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 well, to tell u the truth, sounds like a similar problem i had on my 81' N/a, one of quite a few probs i had. Sounds to me like u need a new dizzy cap and rotor. Mine would run, with A VERY BAD IDLE, and if i tilted the dizzy cap just right, it would run sumwht ok. Try this, if you can get it started, rev it slowly, it should take a while, but it should rev sumwht smooth......now let it idle again, slam the peddle to the floor as fast as u can, it will prolly cut off, this is exactly wht happend to me. I replaced the cap and rotor, and it ran like a new car, before that, i thought i had a blown head gasket, cuz it had no power, and was letting out white smoke......turns out it was just running really rich, after i replaced it, it was the best feeling in that car. Plus, u'll spend all of about 10-15 bux on this, even if it doesn't work, its money well spent. FWIW, i never had an AFM problem, so i can't quite agree with trouble on that one.......o crap, a problem i haven't had, great-another to look foward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted May 28, 2005 Author Share Posted May 28, 2005 thanks for the replies guys. i guess first thing tomorrow i will try to get cap and rotor, possibly fuel filter, new plugs, and see what happens. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted May 28, 2005 Author Share Posted May 28, 2005 well guys i replaced the cap, rotor, and plugs. this time the car started up, but it is still having the same problem with barely wanting to run. any other help would be great thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfairladyz Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 I noticed the last post for this thread was 2 weeks ago, but if you still haven't fixed it:Have you checked to make sure all your injectors are firing? MY zx was running on 4 cylinders at one point and was idling very poorly, and if I gave it gas it would bog out real bad like it wanted to die. Sounds similar to your problem. Also, what color is the smoke? Disregard these questions if you already fixed the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 i still havent fixed the problem. the smoke is black im pretty sure. i was told by a tech at my work that it was running really rich. he thinks it could be the mass air flow sensor. i had a friend follow me and he said it was shooting out flames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 I had an 81 zx do this, and I couldn't figure it out. I swaped in an AFM, TPS, plugs wires cap rotor, NOTHING worked. Really, I feel quite stupid now, understanding a lot more about FI cars... After I sold it, the next owner eventually found the problem; A bad injector. (He spent a bit of time and $$$ at a shop to figure it out though) IIRC, the FI tries to compensate for an injector not firing by making the others rich. It doesn't know an injector is bad, but gets readings from the 02 sensor that the motors running lean, so it dumps more fuel. Causes a vicious circle, as the longer it runs like this, the more it'll plug up the 02 sensor and that will start to cause problems, ect, ect. First thing I would do is check the wiring conections for the injectors (they ussualy crack and corrode over time) and maybe pull them out and have them cleaned.. or replace them, although that will cost a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savageskaterkid Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 tell me about it, my injectors and wiring went bad, it was horrible, i really wish i had done the work my self, i could have done it for like a thousand cheaper-mechanics will rape you.......specially mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Use a stethiscope on eack injector to see if it is electrically ok. Each injector should click when the engine is running. No click means bad injector, connector, or wiring. You may also have a bad fuel pressure regulator. The diaphram could have a pinhole leak. To test it, apply vacuum to the manifold side. It should hold a vacuum and not leak down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 thanks guys for the info. actually i bought some new wires and connectors for the fuel injectors, but just havent had the time to put them on. i will deffinitely check out the injectors and see if they are all working. thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 checked both the injectors and fpr. both seem to be fine. today when i started it up it idled a little better, but it kept backfiring when i gave it gas. do you guys think there is any way possible that the distributor is bad. i have the vacuum advance go bad before and it backfired a lot. im thinking about putting a new distributor on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Before you buy an expensive distributer you might check into other possibilities. I've heard that a Chevy HEI module can be used to replace the stock ignition module. They are very cheap and readily available. Might save a bundle of cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted July 2, 2005 Author Share Posted July 2, 2005 Before you buy an expensive distributer you might check into other possibilities. I've heard[/u'] that a Chevy HEI module can be used to replace the stock ignition module. They are very cheap and readily available. Might save a bundle of cash. ill look into that. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabeRoc Posted July 2, 2005 Share Posted July 2, 2005 i have had this problem twice with my '81zx. both times i had a bad FPR. both times the car had sat for a couple of weeks since it's last start. both times i had all the symptoms you describe. if you have a fuel pressure gauge, i'd check the pressure directly and see if it is with in spec. with the bad FPR the only way my car would run for any length of time was to unplug the cylinder head temperature switch. with the temp sensor disconnected it car would idle, but not drive. just my .02 USD --gabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foremalaZ Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 where exactly is the cylinder head temp switch. because when ever i disconect the vacume from the fpr to the intake manifold it wants to run better. i have had this problem twice with my '81zx. both times i had a bad FPR. both times the car had sat for a couple of weeks since it's last start. both times i had all the symptoms you describe. if you have a fuel pressure gauge' date=' i'd check the pressure directly and see if it is with in spec. with the bad FPR the only way my car would run for any length of time was to unplug the cylinder head temperature switch. with the temp sensor disconnected it car would idle, but not drive. just my .02 USD --gabe[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Foreman, You need to verify if it runs rich or not by checking your spark plugs. If it's rich then the problem is your AFM. Get an ohm meter and check for the impedence of all the wires from the AFM connector to the ECU. You might have a corroded wire that sends a bad signal to the ECU. This inturn will make it run rich. If it all checks out find then read the manual for procedure for testing your AFM. Last but not lease clean up all the connections to all the sensors and ECU. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 checked both the injectors and fpr. both seem to be fine. today when i started it up it idled a little better, but it kept backfiring when i gave it gas. do you guys think there is any way possible that the distributor is bad. i have the vacuum advance go bad before and it backfired a lot. im thinking about putting a new distributor on. Did you put new spark plug wires on? If not try that but before you do check to make sure your wires are on the cap right and routed to the correct cylinder. Backfiring often means timing is off or wires are no going to the correct cylinder. This would also cause black smoke due to the cylinder not getting a spark at the right time to burn the fuel/air mixture. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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