Last try on this issue

[bhermes]

$350. Is there not a better bulb I can just use. Sorry. Probably showing my ignorance. Is the bulb easy to replace. I can probably figure tis out on my own.

Thanks.

[SteveJ]

Light output is directly proportional to voltage. Using really neat H4 bulbs with the old wiring is p!$$!ng your money away.

Blackdragon Auto has a vastly inferior generic relay kit. With the kit Dave designed, you can find replacement components off-the-shelf. If a relay goes bad in the Blackdragon kit, you will buy another kit. If you don't understand how to do wiring, the Blackdragon kit is more difficult to install. IMHO, you get what you pay for.

[Zed Head]

You could try new bulbs. Filaments wear and light output drops over time of usage. I saw a noticeable difference when I installed new stock headlights.

[SteveJ]

One correction to my earlier post. MSA only has the 240Z relay harness. You need to contact Zs-ondabrain directly to commission one for your car. It's also well less than $350.

[FastWoman]

If you're game for rolling your own, about $10 in parts will do the job. I have a schematic on post 35 of this thread:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/electrical-s30/35588-upgrade-fusible-links-circuit-breakers.html

There are some other electrical mods in that thread that will pep up your current. My lights are still bright and white, so I've been very pleased with the work I detailed in that thread.

But if you're not comfortable digging into your wiring harness, cutting wires, crimping, soldering, etc., then Dave apparently makes a very nice harness.

[bhermes]

Ok. Drove about 500 miles, several short to medium drives, no issues. Last week I drove about 12 miles to get gas. Put in about 4 gallons. Drove across the street and ate McDonalds, 10 minutes. Started up car and started poorly. I smelled pretty strong gas smell. Came back about 8 hours later and car started fine. Drove home and two houses from there the car stalled and I coasted into my driveway.

I just can't seem to get this car over the hump.

I guess back to mechanic. I just don't have the expertise to solve.

Almost acts like flooding or vapor lock. Not sure if the type of gas could cause this problem.

Just wanted to give an update.

[Zed Head]

The first gassy problem sounds like the typical hot injector hot start problem.

The stall right before you got home could be several things - ignition module, ECU, fuel supply. Did you try to start it right after it stalled? Did it smell like gas, did it restart, if it did did it run well or poorly? Did the tachometer act oddly right be fore it stalled? When you tried to restart, what did the tachometer do? Your mechanic will be stuck with no clues when you take it back to him. You might be to the point of trying replacement parts, like ECU or ignition module, or just leaving a fuel pressure gauge where you can see it when you try to restart.

You need to generate more information, and the best information is right when the problem happens. Hopefully you tried to restart it when you landed in the driveway, otherwise the opportunity was lost. Or, if you're lucky, the engine won't restart and the part, whatever it is, stayed broken.

You should put a camera in the car with streaming video so we can ride along...

Edited October 26, 2014 by Zed Head

[bhermes]

One quick piece of info. The pressure gauge read 36 psi after it stalled the last time. While at McDonalds it would not restart. Tach seemed ok. I like the video idea. Also in t he driveway it would not restart. Started fine a few hours later.

[Zed Head]

Have you tried the tapping/beating on the ECU trick yet? I've seen it described as working for several people. I also had the transistors in an ECU go bad and they are usually heat sensitive. The final step in the FSM trouble-shooting is usually "replace ECU". Maybe you can find a used one to try.

[bhermes]

No on the tapping. I will try that soon. I am not beyond buying parts to get this fixed at this point. I hate to use up parts unless needed but I am hating more not driving.

Thanks.

[FastWoman]

I agree with Zed. The hard restart at McDonalds sounds like classic hot restart stuff and likely has nothing to do with the issue that's randomly killing the engine. Zed's advice about your having to come up with the data is spot-on.

If I were you, I'd carry a can of starter fluid and a cheap spark tester (both available at your local auto parts store). Drive your car around local neighborhoods (where it's safe to pull over and work on your car, and where it's not too far to walk home) until the engine suddenly dies again. Pull to the side, and go to work:

1. Pull off one of the vacuum hoses on your intake manifold, and spray some starter fluid inside. Slip the hose back on, and try starting your engine. Does it run for a few seconds? If yes, then you have a fuel issue -- either clogged screens or a fault in the EFI. (You've ruled out only the fuel pump.) If no, then you have an ignition issue.

2. Connect the ignition tester to the output of the coil, where you can view it as you crank the engine. Do you have spark? If not, then your problem is obviously ignition -- probably bad ignition module or coil.

3. After you've done 1 and 2, connect everything back up and try starting your engine again. It's good to determine that you still have the problem and that it didn't resolve itself while you were fiddling under the hood.

These instances when your engine dies are golden opportunities to diagnose the problem, or at least to narrow the issue to one system or another. Work fast and methodically.

I recommend the spark tester only because it's quick and easy to use without someone else's help. However, you can also pull the center wire off the distributor (the one from the coil) and perch the bare end about a pencil lead's width from a bolt on the body. If the engine dies, and you find yourself without any tools, do at least that to see if you have spark. If you have no spark, then that's your answer. (Either that, or it's too bright outside for you to see the spark -- or the spark is very weak.) If you do have spark, then it's something to do with fuel.

Narrow the fault down to one system or the other, and then we can work on planning other tests for the next incident after that.

[Chickenman]

One thing. I now have dash lights so driving in the dark. The head lights seem a little weak. Any thoughts. Maybe an upgrade.

I have upgraded the alternator not sure if this helps.

Thanks.

Thes cars use a LOT of bullet style connectors that get corroded over time. Go buy yourself some good electrical contact cleaner like DeOxit and start pulling apart and cleaning connections.

The headlight connectors are in a bad location ( in front of radiator support ) and get exposed to a lot of road grime and moisture. On my 280z I saw a dramatic increase in headlight brightness when I took the headlight connections apart and used an Electrical contact cleaner. Same with my windshield wiper connection. A few minutes with a Good Electrical contact cleaner and the wiper speed increased significantly.

After that I started pulling apart every single connection in the engine bay and sparying them with contact cleaner. Including bullet connectors for the fuel injection, all of the snsors including the water temperature sensor. It is amazing how much better the car runs and how accurate the instruments are.

It is important to buy a GOOD industrial contact cleaner made specifically for the job. WD-40, while it will work, is not a good as chemicals made specifically for the job. I use a German product ( which I can't remember the name of at 5:07 AM ) that worked amazing. Dull oxidized terminals turned bright and shiny after only a 5 minute application. You just spray the stuff on, wait 5 minutes and then re assemble connection. I'll look up the name later today.

Edit: Here it is. Weicon Electro Contact Cleaner.

WEICON Electro Contact Cleaner (Spray)

Edited October 30, 2014 by Chickenman