Tough starting, stalled ... now dead

[PacNW280ZX]

1980 280ZX standard (non-turbo, standard trans).

On extremely hot days (keep in mind this is the Pacific NWest - Seattle region, so high 80s/low 90's max) I can drive anywhere but once I stop the Z doesn't start right away ... takes a couple of tries before she starts up. Hot days don't happen too often so I didn't sweat it.

Ok ... the other day I am driving, pull up and while idling the Z dies. Never, every happened before. Won't re-start in 3 tries. I dink around looking at/checking things for a 10 - 15 minutes, get in and it starts right up.

Long and short of it ... I manage to get home and check: yep I can recreate the situation. If cold, she starts. Once warm (stopped stalling actually) and I turn off and try to restart, it won't start.

Eventually, after about an hour of doing this while checking different things (wires, plugs, fuel pump working, vacuum hoses not leaking) between cool down periods the Z gave up the ghost -- won't start.

So ... to me this seems to be a temperature related issue that grew into a part failure. Now the trick is to find that part. [That is not to say it is related to the item I noted at the beginning (high temp day and hard to start) ... that is just one of those things that has been in the back of my mind so I noted it.]

Any ideas yall have would be checked ... I am going to start with the basics, none of which will hurt anything ... since she is due for some basic parts replacements: wires, rotor, cap, coil/solenoid, air filter. Hoping, if it isn't a basic item, someone will have an idea(s) I can check out.

One last item, a parts identification, if you will: the coil/solenoid mounting bracket on the 80 280zx also mounts an item with a lead wire coming in the top and a 'ground' wire coming out the opposite end and attached to the base of the distributor shaft (grounded there). It is small and cylindrical ... looks a lot like a condensor (but ignition is electronic on this model.)

Part number is NCC 47DQ-G16 ... additional information: 250 V .47M

Anyone know what this is? Best I can come up with is either a condensor or balast resistor ... Haynes manual shows a condensor next to the coil/solenoid for the 80.

Thanks in advance and thanks in hindsight for all the good information I have already found here.

C Doyal

Pacific NWest

[gramercyjam]

Ignitor transistor (on the coil) dying? The condenser is there for radio noise supression.

[sblake01]

You might have a problem with the check valve on your fuel pump. I had a problem similar to what you describe with my 810 and if that check valve goes bad, the pump wont hold the fuel pressure as it lets it all drain back to the tank. I changed fuel pumps and haven't looked back. That may or may not be your problem but if you have access to a spare pump, swap it out ant give it a try. I worked for me.

[Ricklandia]

I'll preface this by saying it wasn't on a Z, but I had a very similar problem on a Jeep I owned a few years back. Drove me nuts. I thought it was ignition (points, cap, etc) so they were replaced. Still happened. Fuel pump, and carb were next (they were old anyway) but it still kept happening. Finally I replace the entire distributor, problem solved. To this day I haven't figured out why replacing the distributor housing solved the problem, but it did. When cold, she started up fine but after driving any more than 10 miles it would sputter and die. If I let it cool down completely, it would start back up like nothing was wrong.

[george71z]

Had an 84 Toyota van that would die out of nowhere on my wife, but would start and run fine when I got to it to drive it home. Finally grabbed a can of freeze spray and a heat gun; and after checking the codes on the blinking test lights that said 'ignition', I duplicated the problem in the garage. Hot and then cold. Turned out to be an 'igniter module' in the distributer. My guess is some semi-conductor device in your distributer is the culprit. (side note: the part was $400 at Toyota, but there was a 'silent recall'; they would replace it under warranty as they were discovered. Got it fixed for free.)