I've determine the label (by previous owner) is incorrect and that the plug sequence is "normal". http://www.tumblr.com/blog/s30-280z

One of the best ways to do this is to rotate the engine to TDC and see where the rotor is pointing. If the timing is properly advanced, the rotor will be a few degrees past #1 on the cap.

One of the best ways to do this is to rotate the engine to TDC and see where the rotor is pointing. If the timing is properly advanced, the rotor will be a few degrees past #1 on the cap.

Make sure it's TDC compression stroke......remove the #1 plug and rotate engine till the pressure pushes on your finger. That's the compression stroke!

For future reference:

Remove and replace one wire at a time.

It helps eliminate any errors, yours or the PO's out of synch distributor/drive gear, etc.

Edited February 15, 201213 yr by H4LIGHTS
Typo...

You may also have other issues that are contributing to your problem. Your air flow meter boot has tons of duct tape on it which tells me it must have large cracks in it. You will need to replace it you cannot have any leaks in the air and vacuum system. Those arn't too expensive you can find them on e-bay. Good Luck

Update. I got it guys. Thought I had to get new plugs or coil, it was the battery. Battery was so drained that it would not hold the charge.

Hey guys, I tried to start the car again tonight and it started for a split second and shut off. Frustrated, I flick the headlights on and off, left it on and started the car again. Low and behold, the sucker started. So when I turn the headlight off again, the car died. Testing my theory, I turned the headlight on again, started the car, and it work. Had anyone experienced this before? Why is causing this? Battery, spark plugs, distributor, rotor?

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oil pressure so for could be normal, you're volts look low. This is strange. try looking for loose corroded grounds. at the least near you're ignition control module. look for bad conections at you're fusible links including the ones that feed you're EFI system (from battery through firewall). But the most notable is you're volts look way low.

Start looking for anything that would alert you to the PO hacking into the engine room harness and EFI harness. And report here what you find. I know it sounds weird but, there are a lot of people installing upgraded headlight and parking light harnesses. Do you have lights without the key in the ignition? Turn your lights on before sticking the key in the ignition. See if you have dash lights, headlights, parking lights, etc. Just trying to find a starting point here. Very strange it is. No oil pressure is a concern. You have a 77 so there should be one wire connected to the oil pressure sending unit on the side of the block. Check that it is connected. Maybe the gauge is not working. If you can keep it running long enough you can slowly remove the oil fill cap and see if there is oil slinging around. This way you'll know if you have oil pressure. You are going to need a detailed wiring diagram.

You now have the only Z with Daytime Running Lights.

I see you becoming very acquainted with a multimeter.

Sounds like a bad ground somewhere. When you turn on the headlights, you are activating a ground. This may be helping to ground another circuit that is involved in running the car (e.g. ignition, fuel pump, etc.).

I agree with Leon. Start with the grounds around the steering column. Also, find a copy of the wiring diagram. Look for any black wires (with no stripes). They are marked with just a B in the wiring diagram. One or more have lost contact with a component or with the chasis.