1976 280Z Restoration Project

[EuroDat]

3 hours ago, wheee! said:

So you're saying I should solder the brown to the green or red wire and join them both to the connection on the HEI unit?

(In my case, green with white stripe or green with red stripe to yellow)

Mark,

Your 76 should be using a D6F4-01 distributor. It has a dual pick-up/reluctor set up to create a 6 degree phase shift in the timing. When the temperature switch is open it will retard the timing 6 degrees.

Anyway, you don't need any of that. Just choose one of the pick-up coils and use it to trigger the (HEI) TIU. I would remove the other pick-up coil because it can generate 50 volts when the engine is running at high speeds and could cause arcing in the distributor. If you have a look in the distributor, it will make more sense.

You have two options with the distributor. Keep your pick-up coils or buy a new one for a 77 from Rock auto etc.:

1a. Keep your pick-up coil. You will need to keep the brown wire and the green or the red wire and the green. Don't use the red and brown. Which ever pick-up coil you choose, remove the other pick-up coil and its wires. The green should split of to both pick-ups.

1b. Buy a new 77 pick-up coil, it will bolt in with no modifications, and wire it as per the 77 instruction (green and red wires).

2. Disconnect the white wire. You can remove the water temperature relay. Its located on the right inner fender relay cluster with the voltage regulator .

The rest is the same as the 1977.

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by EuroDat
Typo

[EuroDat]

I have seen a couple of these dual pick-up distributors, but didn't pay all too much attention to them. I now see a couple of mistakes in the pick-up wiring in my drawing which I now corrected.

TIU280Z1976_REV2.pdf

[wheee!]

Wow, thanks Chas and Zed Head for all the great info. This will make it simple to go ahead from here.

[wheee!]

I have seen a couple of these dual pick-up distributors, but didn't pay all too much attention to them. I now see a couple of mistakes in the pick-up wiring in my drawing which I now corrected.
TIU280Z1976_REV2.pdf

It looks like your new PDF has the green and brown wires at the distributor swapped. The brown looks like the centre tap in your PDF.

[wheee!]

The harness end is colour coded and the ringlets are sized so the common green is the largest. The distributor side is all blue wire.

[wheee!]

Question is: which colour wire is the retarder pickup? That’s the one I want to remove.

I’m gonna guess that the red is primary because it’s on both diagrams.

[wheee!]

Western union solder connections with heat shrink.

[Zed Head]

The "retarder" wire is the white one that goes through the coolant temperature switch.  

I was going to mention the possibility of blue wires.  That's what the reman companies do.  But they leave the colored ends as stubs at the pickup itself.

Looks like you're figuring it out anyway.  The last clue that might help you is if you get it all together and the engine starts but runs funny, and you can't get a solid timing light.  If so, then the red and green, or brown and green, or blue and green, need to be swapped.  The polarity through the pickup coil is backward.  The voltage curve is reversed.

[EuroDat]

2 hours ago, Zed Head said:

Looks like you're figuring it out anyway.  The last clue that might help you is if you get it all together and the engine starts but runs funny, and you can't get a solid timing light.  If so, then the red and green, or brown and green, or blue and green, need to be swapped.  The polarity through the pickup coil is backward.  The voltage curve is reversed.

I can vouch for that. It will run, but you won't get it over 2500 rpm. Its en easy fix.

Which blue wire goes where? You will probably have to break open the insulation and track it back to the pick-ups to be sure. Or seperate them from the (blue) green wire and use a meter to find the right end terminals for the pick-up you want to use.

I would probably buy a new pick-up from Rock auto or somewhere. Part nr. LX-507

Btw. The green should go to both pickups. The brown is the extra pick-up and the red goes to the californian positioned pick-up, if that makes any sense.

[wheee!]

I’m going to leave the two pickups in the distributor and run the wiring as is to the ignition unit. I have removed the white wire from the ignition unit and the brown wire. If I have a problem with the wiring, all I have to do is swap the wire from the red to the brown on the ignition connection block and it will swap pickups on the distributor.
I have wired it to the red for now from what I can tell.

[wheee!]

I have two complete distributors with all new components inside as well. Lots of spare parts!

[EuroDat]

If you remove the brown and yhe white wires, you can wire it just like the instruction for the 77.

The red wire should go to the pick-up furthest away from the vacuum pot. The one closest should be the brown (retarded) pick-up.

I would leave the brown wire connected to the terminal on the TIU and remove the wiring in the TIU. You can do the same with the white wire. That way it will be neat and tidy. Not loose wires hanging around.