Guest Blackgold280zx Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 I have a 1980 280zx when I bought the car I replaced the fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, clutch master cylinder and clutch slave clylinder. When I start the car after it's been sitting all night it takes 3-5 tries to get the car started, But it only happens after the car has been sitting for 8 plus hrs. Any idea what it could be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 does the car start and then die a few times before it actually starts up?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackgold280zx Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 yeah, thats exactly what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 i believe its either the thermotime switch, or its the cold start valve. Thats what happened to mine when cold but the problem would last for 5-10 minutes every morning under 50deg. I replaced the cold start valve and it worked right for a while. If you cant find one at a junkyard or get one from a friend. hook up a 9 volt battery to a switch, ill show you tomorrow morning how to wire it up while keeping stock cold start stuff in tact. The problem I ended up having even after i replaced cold start valve, was the valve was not getting voltage for long enough on cold mornings, and sure enough, when the voltage dropped, the car died. So i put that switch on there and you keep it switched on when u start the car for about 30 seconds and it should keep on going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackgold280zx Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Thanks dude, do you know if on the 1980's 280zx alternator if the voltage regulator is built in or if its external? my battery went dead when i was driving around earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 *should* be an internally regulated unit, but I may be wrong. check a parts store website; look up your model and year, and see if it says the alternator is internally regulated or not. However, I am pretty sure that the 280Z in 78, and all subsequent Z cars, were internally regulated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 its internal. mine is kind of goofy. i have to rev up the car above 4k rpms to get it to start charging battery. but after that first 4k rpm rev its ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackgold280zx Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Thanks, thats the only reason i can think of why my battery is not recharging, Ive been driving the car for two months, and that just started happening last week. Autozone recharged the battery the other day, i took it back to get it recharged and they told me the battery is no good now. Im gonna order the alternator and hopefully that fixes that problem, then back to trying to fix why my car wont start right away in the mornings. So there is some way i can hook a 9v up to the starter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 ya im sorry i couldnt get to you earlier, ill show u a little diagram. I have to run into work right now, im bringing my laptop so i might be able to show u diagram tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 okay.. the thermotime switch controls the cold start injector. I *believe* that this "9 volt battery" was intended to BYPASS the thermotime switch and activate the cold start injector circuit, so that it fires to enrich the mixture to help with cold starting. the 9 volt battery has NOTHING to do with the starter. The way the thermotime switch works, is it has a bimetal switch that pens (read: turns OFF) when it warms up. It can either be warmed by engine coolant (turns it off when the car is already hot) or by a small heater element contained within it. This heater element makes it turn itself off at a set amount of time after cold starting the car; if I understand correctly, the 9 volt battery is there to cover up a malfunctioning thermotime switch. In other words, the thermotime switch is turning off too soon, so you need to keep it on. Hopefully djpaul comes back and responds in more detail; I am unfamiliar with this fix but I understand the system behind it. Do yourself a favor, and visit this page and download and read the "EFI Bible," it explains how your fuel injection works. WONDERFUL reading, not overly technical, and its actually a readable translation.. the FSMs for the S30 all seem to be written in japanese, then poorly translated to british-style english, making them somewhat obscure for us American readers in some cases.. ESPECIALLY when the discriptions get technical, and the reader is not a professional technician.. but the EFI Bible has NONE of those drawbacks. Hope this helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackgold280zx Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Thanks, I will download that and read it, i really appreciate yalls time. Hopefully Pauls method will fix the problem, just ordered my alternator today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Beh, I have no job right now so my time is free. Not good. If *my* humble advice can help anyone here, then great.. I'm glad to be of assistance. Don't get the idea that I really know what I am talking about though.. I'm really just a novice, unlike many of the people here. What I am saying is, if someone says I am wrong, there is at LEAST a 50/50 chance that they are right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 im working on making u a little diagram and i started to confuse myself. ill do it for you soon. trust me, only having that happen for a few times is not a big deal when compared to what mine did lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackgold280zx Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Take your time, my alternator is still not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Thanks for posting that link to the EFI Bible. That article is definately more to the point than the FSM. Big help - thanks again for posting. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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