'76 280Z Brief Starts, then dies.

[Hardwyre]

So I think my computer might be fried. It has been finicky for a while now and nothing seems to help.

 

It will continuously crank over but not start ... HOWEVER ... the two relays under the dash next to the steering column, I found by accident if I unplug one while cranking it'll briefly fire up, then die... and the same is true for plugging it in while cranking.

 

While towing it home, I put it into gear, turned the ignition on, and slowly let out the clutch. It fired right up and actually kept idling at about half of what it does, and was extremely rough like it was miss firing badly. As long as I kept tapping the throttle, it would keep idling, but when it finally died, it wouldn't start anymore.

 

I don't have another computer to test it against, and I have no idea why barely touching the connector at the computer seems to make it die. I'm just about ready to burn the whole thing and try to swap in a MegaSquirt until I can afford an LS1 conversion.

 

Anyone have any idea where to start troubleshooting this?

[19762802+2]

Sounds like you were messing with the Fuel Injection relay, which would have an effect on your car running. They cost about $150 brand new, I have a spare I'm not sure that works and a brand new one that I haven't used. Send me a PM sometime and we can talk about it, before you get to the relay check the connections on the fuel pump and change the fuel filter and check everything else possible if you haven't already so that you don't have to make a purchase that doesn't fix anything. I know how that is so I can understand the frustration, You just have to be patient with Z's Also could you explain the relays more? Was it one big silver relay with two connectors on it that you were messing with or two seperate cylindrical relays with two prong connectors? I suggest downloading the FSM if you haven't already or searching the site whenever you can to see if the Info you need is already there.

 

Good luck