JohnnyD Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hello, hello friends! I come to you looking for aid on day TWO of my ownership of a 1977 Datsun 280Z I just picked up from an elderly couple here in Vancouver for 850$! Let me start with a little background on the project: The car has 83xxx on the ticker, and enough wear on the driver's seat to match. The couple told me they bought it brand new in 77 over in Beaverton and drove it off the lot for 7600$! If only cars now-a-days were that cheap! Apparently he was good friends with one of the Datsun/Nissan specialists here in town and they rebuilt the motor "many years ago" which ran like a champ until one day it started missing. He apparently did a compression test and they were all fine but cylinder 3 which had "none" (?). Apparently about a month prior to it's demise, he had purchased a brand new battery, shocks, rims, tires & ignition, and then the car promptly sat for the last 2.5 years. I got enough guts to ask the other day what the story was and they related that all to me and offered to sell it to me. The car DOES have a little bit of rust in the usual areas, but i'm not really concerned about that right now. What DOES concern me is this: I bought a new battery today to try and drive the car down to the college where I'm studying auto so I can pull the motor and give her a look over, but when I hooked it up, it sparked like MAD and a little gray relay(?) box on the passenger side of the engine bay started smoking up a STORM. I think it was labeled "IGN, ACC" but the lettering is really faded. Anyway, I freaked out and pulled back the positive until that thing stopped smoking, and when I hooked it up again there were no sparks. I got in and turned the key to ON, and I could hear the fuel pump running, so I let it chug away for a minute and tried to crank it; the motor turns over with no problem, but wouldn't start up. I hopped out and had a buddy crank it over while I checked the coil for spark and we got NUFFIN! I checked the power at the positive to shock tower, and I only have 3V. I pulled the little plug just "upstream" from the coil (right behind the core support) and checked the voltage there and it had 5-6V between that plug and ground. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I COULD have the car towed down to the school, but I'd rather drive it off the guy's yard if possible! I don't have any pictures of it right now, but if it will spurr you guys into helping me, I'll snap a few later this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to do some shenannigans with this car and to go to meets & hopefully just be a general help to the community! I just need to get her running first :) Thanks in advance, Johnny D Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 3...... 2...... 1...... Quote Link to comment
INDY510 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 . A picture is worth a thousand words ....... ........... ... so you owe us at least on picture noaw ....... :lol: Quote Link to comment
Zeusimo Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 So.... Where Are The OICS?? :huh: Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Well you guys are punks! <3 Well day two and I'm already considering an engine swap... Especially considering a NEW coil is $495 from Nissan http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/2167970480.html Muahahahaa. Quote Link to comment
INDY510 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 considering a NEW coil is $495 from Nissan You should be able to find a good used one for under $20 .......... ... or go to a generic parts store and get one brand new for $80 Quote Link to comment
HRH Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 Pics or ban, meow. We need to know what that box is. Probably has something to do with it. Maybe be the ignition control unit since '77 may not have had the matchbox yet. Quote Link to comment
Dirk Diggler Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/2167970480.html Muahahahaa. You better buy that before I get my tax return or its going in my 240 Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 The car is across town right now, so i'm gonna have my buddy snap some photos when he gets home, and I'll go take some evening photos. But right now I need some LUNCH! Don't ban me please <3 lol Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 pics of the AE86 too Quote Link to comment
Wide14u Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 where are the pics Quote Link to comment
littlejason Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 pics of the AE86 too Yes Quote Link to comment
pharouh Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 :rofl: poor guy... Was there someway the battery was hooked up backwards? Just guessin' Quote Link to comment
hellamikey Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 You better buy that before I get my tax return or its going in my 240 Put an RB in your '70 and I'll hit you. I will fly down to socal, and hit you. then I'd help you swap in your R200 (cuz you'd need it) lol . Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I checked the power at the positive to shock tower, and I only have 3V. I pulled the little plug just "upstream" from the coil (right behind the core support) and checked the voltage there and it had 5-6V between that plug and ground. 3 volts from the positive battery post to ground???? There should be a ground wire from the battery negative post to the body sheet metal somewhere. If you can't locate it use a jumper cable. See if that gets you going. Does the ignition red light come on with the key in the on position? Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm sorry Mike, I meant 3V between the positive side of the coil & ground with the ignition key on. I know the battery is good because I JUST bought a new one today and checked it before I put it in (12.6V). I know I didn't wire it up backwards because I checked & double checked (and triple checked). Pics: It was the fusible link closer to the front of the vehicle. I'll get more betta pictures later (I took them I promise) but I'm on my blackberry right now so I'm a bit limited. As for the ignition light when I have the key in/cranking, there IS a red light that's on in the voltmeter in dash, but the voltmeter also reads that I have less than 4V available, which like I said isn't true. If you guys wanna dig through my photobucket, my username is XNC. I believe there are some photos of my AE86 build, but it's still just a stock, silver, GTS hatch. Nothing too exciting :) Which is why I'm selling it to fund THIS project :') CAR PICS!! Hachi is a bit different than those pics, got a shorty antenna, the plastics for the headlight and a replacement fender, but otherwise exactly the same. And finally for "lols": The Pimpala!! A tease I like to share is this following picture. I worked for a short while at a shop that pumped these babies out, and it got me building a motor to rival it. Still have it, in fact, but I need a couple hundred more bucks to finish that complete swap, and I'll need a new Hachi to put it in! Thus the sale of my first AE86 :) Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Bump for posting pics but no help :/ Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Time for an update: First, I'd like to thank Skib, Jim (who I do not believe is a forum member) and my bro Jacob. Skip for the new digs, and Jim for the new AFM that totally fixed everything that wasn't working... For 5 minutes :( PRE-SCRIPT: I forgot to mention I figured out what was blowing the fusible links. It took a second set of eyes to point out that i DID in fact have the damn battery cables reversed:rolleyes:. I didn't want to tell anyone (especially since my other major is electrical engineering) but I can't NOT tell you guys. I feel like i owe it to you for the laughs you'll get, and hopefully to prove I'm not a doucher. lol. On the bright side, I have now replaced my fusible links with nifty 30AMP blade fuses & holders. Much nicer:)! With that being said, READ ON!! So for the past couple days I've been verifying the ignition system's integrity, and finally after following as much as I could with the factory service manual [as I don't own an oscilloscope] I felt kinda stumped. The car would start and run, but only hardly. You could revv her up and it would sound beautiful, but let off the gas and it would start to stumble & pop and would slowly rev down until it died. Our conclusion was either the timing was off [which seemed unlikely given how wonderful it sounded above 2k rpm] or that the AFM had failed. So to verify that everything had a good connection me and my Jacob went to TOWN on every electrical connector in that bay with some electrical connector cleaner, and three kinds of brushes: nylon, brass & steel (a rim cleaning kit from Cost Moar). I told that to my teacher at school (studying automotive) and he put his face in his hands and said: "your MAF is dead, welcome to Datsuns" and promptly informed me that I could get one off the shelf @ Nissan (or apparently Autozone who I called when I didn't believe him) for $401. I immediately got on craigslist Portland and called two guys who said they were parting out Z's: a fellow named John who was unsure about the interchangeability of the AFMs based on year, and thus not enthusiastic about selling me a part he wasn't sure would work; and Jim. Good ol' Jim who said he would guarantee anything I bought from him for 30 days, and also informed me of some of the crazy AFM swaps he had tried on a buddy's car that wouldn't run quite right [ended up being a fuel pump, but the AFMs for 74-78 all worked on a high comp motor]. Ended up meeting Jim at a pizzeria in OC after meeting Skib (wait till you see the pics of you & yer truck man, Jacob can work that camera lol) and I picked up the AFM. We couldn't wait until tomorrow so we ran home and swapped them (I'm sorry to anybody living nearby) and here's how it went down: Turned the key on, let the fuel pump prime for a minute.... Crossed fingers.... Prayed.... Turned the key... AND SHE FIRED UP LIKE A TOP!! Jacob and I were so elated we started dancing around the yard doing the happy dance while she idled around 1500 during warm-up. Ooooh what a happy day! OR SO WE THOUGHT! Probably two minutes passed while we moved around the play equipment in the yard to make a line for the Z to exit her muddy sink-hole that she's been occupying for the last 2.5 years when the motor started to chug like it had previously, and suddenly the revvs began to drop and she choked. "No matter" we thought "we'll just start her up again!!" which we did to much surprise as she fired right up! I kept it at around 2ooo RPM to get her to warm up. After approximately 5 minutes of being at 2 grand the revs began to drop again, and I had to peg it to get it to stay up. [temp gauge reads about a quarter of the way up at this point] Then it started popping again... Now she doesn't wanna start, just like before we swapped AFMs, and it's backfiring out the intake again, but only intermittently! Does anybody have any thoughts about where to look? I'm not sure if we killed the new AFM, or if something is just acting wonky! It kinda seems that things start to go haywire as the car warms up, but the temp gauge barely reads 120 by the time things start freaking out. I REALLY don't wanna keep killing AFMs seeing as how expensive they are, and I'd REALLY like to keep fuel injection, but if I can't figure this thing out, I may have to switch to...*GASP* carbs. Which would obviously would be cool, but I can't afford to keep throwing money at problems. I'm a corolla owner at heart! [Read: cheap & poor :P] If anybody wants to come out and take a look, I'll be working on the thing from around 10am to 5pm tomorrow. Feel free to jing-a-ling my celly: Three six Oh, Nine oh Nine, Five 0 Two Six All help will be rewarded with hugs, high-fives, happy dances and many many many thanks. And maybe beer. Lol. (my bad. AFM not MAF) Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 the pics to text ratio is waaaay off here :lol: I may be able to swing by tomorrow sometime, see what I gotta do Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'm sorry, I kinda write novels when I get flustered lol. Jacob is supposed to be sending me his pics, but I guarantee he's passed the eff out right now, so I'll post em tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'm sorry, I kinda write novels when I get flustered lol. Jacob is supposed to be sending me his pics, but I guarantee he's passed the eff out right now, so I'll post em tomorrow. lol go wake his ass up :lol: Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I am not real familiar with Datsun fuel injection, I've got more experience with my boat. I was taught the first thing you check when having any drive ability problems with fuel injection engines is to check the fuel pressure. My boat does not have O2 sensors, and I do not believe the early fuel injection on Datsun engines did, either. That means there is no feedback to the engine's computer on what the fuel air ratio is. The computer just assumes the fuel pressure is correct. Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 And a piccy of Skib!! Quote Link to comment
JohnnyD Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT RUNS!! Today I screwed out the AFM bypass adjustment and she ran more or less fine. Had a few snafus getting it out of the 3 years of mud she sunk in, but 5 or 6 clutch dumps got her out and sputtering around. A "spirited" run to the gas station — less than a quarter mile, died 4 times on the way, including HALFWAY in the entrance to the Chevron — and a new tank of gas, and she is purrin like a kitten! Thanks to all those that helped, here are some pics: The man who sold me this gem: In front of Jacob's house: Pretty, pretty :) : And now, my first successful drive for your enjoyment! I decided not to upload my troubleshooting videos (though they're hilarious) since it totes runs now! Yaaay! <3 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Get some TR3 polish/paint cleaner and buff it out...so was the old AFM good then? Quote Link to comment
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