stumped

[dero]

well about 3 weeks ago my 240z slowly died on the road till it had no power then eventually shut off, got it towed home and kept trying to get it to start till the battery died, so i recharged the battery yesterday after not messing with it for about 2 weeks and it still wont start up, i replaced the coil and tested to see if im getting spark and indeed i am, the SU's were taken apart and cleaned not too long ago, its getting fuel and should be getting air but all it does is just turn over and over and wont even seem like it wants to start. if u guys could give me anymore ways to trouble shoot or opinions they would be appreciated....thanks

[Zedrally]

I'll bet it's the capacitor!

[2ManyZs]

If you still are running points, have you checked them or replaced them? Perhaps they are either closed up or burned to the point that you are getting only a very weak spark. Could be the vacuum advance is messed up and/or the distributor cap or rotor are the problem.

Just because you have a spark, doesn't necessarily mean it is a strong spark. If you unhook the coil wire, lay a plug on the valve cover and crank the motor over you should be able to see the spark from beside the door, or possibly even hear it.....

It's either that or a somewhat compromised fuel system, filter, pickup in the tank, weak pump, are not allowing enough fuel through to the cylinders...

Could be the ballast resistor is shot and has been supllying the coil with too much voltage and has caused that to burn itself out, it might still be supplying some voltage to the plugs, but not enough...

Few other odd possibilities, but those would be the most obvious...

[Zedrally]

I should have added, please let us know when you solve the problem.

I have a small wager on this.........

[dero]

could u post a pic of what the points are........... and yea the spark does seem a little weak now that i looked at it again

[Datzun76]

I had this same problem and took it to a shop to get fixed. They stated there was wire underneath the dash on the driver side that was not making a connection and turned out to be the problem. Not on the steering column but under the dash. Mine would crank but just would not turn over.

[Bambikiller240]

dero:

Please do not take this as a put down of your desire to fix the problem you are experiencing on your car.

With your request for pictures of "what the points are..." One must assume that you are attempting to fix this problem with very limited experience and no shop manual since any manual would have a picture of the points, and most people with basic experience working on cars would know what points look like already. Everyone must start somewhere and it is good that are willing to jump in and give it a try, but you need some basic help.

I would strongly encourage you to get a shop manual for your car to aid you in this project and any other that you might desire to tackle on your car. Even the best of mechanics need to refer to shop manuals to successfully work on cars. Without a manual and posessing limited troubleshooting skills, you are really flying blind, and MAY do more harm than good to your car. You owe it to yourself and your car to arm yourself with the necessary tools to do the job. Tool #1 is a Shop Manual. If you cannot find or afford a Nissan Shop manual, get a Haynes, or Chiltons manual for your model of Z. It will be an invaluable resource for every job you do. It will help you to work on your car successfully, and to avoid causing inadvertant damage to the car. A friend with experience diagnosing Ignition systems will also be an invaluable tool for a newcomer to problems such as this, as there can be many different causes to a "no start" problem. Even for people that are experienced it can be difficult to diagnose.

Good Luck!

[Gav240z]

I put my money on the points. If not the points it's probably a capacitor of some sort .

The points is inside the distributor u can move them with your finger apart and let go and they snap back together.

Newer distributors on fuel injected Z's were electronic and did not need points.

They have two circular tips on arms.

Refer to the Haynes manual on setting the gap.

I bet they fused together from what he's explained.

Gav,

[dero]

yea........ ive rebuilt the whole top half of the engine but never really got into the distributor area.... and yea i do have a shop manual so ill go check it out............ now i just gotta find it

[dero]

here she is now

[beandip]

dero ,if there is a book store in your area that sells used books , see if you can find a Chiltons manual for your year of car. They come that cover more than one year . If your car has points then it must be '70 - '73 . You can also find them on e-bay . Post here on this site maby some one has an extra.

[Gav240z]

It's important to note that in AUS we got points distributors with all 240z's and 260z's up to 77 I believe. We never got the 280z with fuel injection.

So our Z's had the points dizzy(distributor) and boat anchor carbs till 77.

When the ZX appeared we got the electronic one.

THanks.