280z starting problems

[dylancorrea1]

Welcome to the forum.  Great folks here that give solid advice. I've got a couple of cents worth of guesses, but I think a little more history of your car would help us more.   Is the car new to you? or has it been in your family for a while?  Has the car been "sitting" for a long time without running?  Is the gas relatively fresh. I saw the new parts list,  did you set the timing with a timing light?   We understand all of this can be intimidating and full of rabbit holes,  but just take it slow and figure it out as you go.  Everything will make sense later.  Pictures can really help us see what you are working with so add them when you can.

I added some pictures if anyone would like specific up close and better shots I can provide those, I bought the car from a mechanic who was getting to old to keep it. I have not messed with the timing yet, it scares but I have to get to it. The car had sad for maybe 1 to 2 month with out being on I try and turn it on frequently to prevent it from sitting to long. When I first got it I filled it up with some fresh supreme gas. Thank you for the welcoming and advice!


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[dylancorrea1]

QUOTE: "I do have a FSM but have no clue where to start".
I understand your lack of experience, but there is hope.  Again, the FSM is your friend.  Go to the Engine Tune-Up section, trouble diagnoses and corrections, ET14.  Just follow the probable causes for the condition you told us about earlier.  Work through some of that and repost.  It's difficult to offer advice without more information from you.  These engines are somewhat simple compaired to today's engines that need to be "plugged" in to diagnose problems.  Hang in there.  Many of us where exactly where you are at a point in the past.  There are a few good and helpful members here that will probably help you to get up and running after you are able to provide more feedback.
 

Thank you, I will look into it and hang in there with the car and keep everyone updated with changes and work I do on the car. Thank you for the advice and motivation!


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[gwri8]

I flipped a few of your pictures so I wouldn't break my neck😀.

Overall the engine looks to be in fair shape and you've replaced some of the tune up components. That's why I asked if you had adjusted your timing. It's not too difficult to do and it's in the FSM. Assuming you put the spark plug wires in the proper firing order, I was wondering if the distributer had twisted a little.   Most everything is in the right place and the fuel and vac lines seem to be OK , at least from what I could see in your pictures, but check them for cracks and leaks anyway.  The fusible links  and battery connections will need to be addressed in the near future. I don't know what gauge the links are and there is a thick red one where a black one should be. plus the rusty alligator clip is not pretty, but functional.  Are you in the US?  Replacement fusible links and covers are easy to order .  All of those things I mentioned plus more affect the engine.  On a side note, maybe the PO was using the carpet mat as a fender cover when working on it? or is the car missing the hood vent cover,  either way, carpet mats don't belong in the engine bay.

Folks have given you good advice so far, but also use the search function for just about any question you have (it's all been done before and talked about).  If you look under the Resources tab at the top of the page,  you'll find lots more info and encouragement there also.

 

[dylancorrea1]

I flipped a few of your pictures so I wouldn't break my neck[emoji3].
Overall the engine looks to be in fair shape and you've replaced some of the tune up components. That's why I asked if you had adjusted your timing. It's not too difficult to do and it's in the FSM. Assuming you put the spark plug wires in the proper firing order, I was wondering if the distributer had twisted a little.   Most everything is in the right place and the fuel and vac lines seem to be OK , at least from what I could see in your pictures, but check them for cracks and leaks anyway.  The fusible links  and battery connections will need to be addressed in the near future. I don't know what gauge the links are and there is a thick red one where a black one should be. plus the rusty alligator clip is not pretty, but functional.  Are you in the US?  Replacement fusible links and covers are easy to order .  All of those things I mentioned plus more affect the engine.  On a side note, maybe the PO was using the carpet mat as a fender cover when working on it? or is the car missing the hood vent cover,  either way, carpet mats don't belong in the engine bay.
Folks have given you good advice so far, but also use the search function for just about any question you have (it's all been done before and talked about).  If you look under the Resources tab at the top of the page,  you'll find lots more info and encouragement there also.
 

Thank you for checking out my photos and offering more advice and help. I just ordered new fusible links and will checking out for line leaks. Tomorrow I’m going to clean all ground connection, later this week I will also figure out the idle speed and timing since that’s something I did not do on my tune up.


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[Dave WM]

I see an EGR valve, you have check for vacuum leaks with smoke I presume. The EGR is a sneaky one, it can jam open and show no smoke (well maybe eventually out the tail pipe).

You may want to check that with a hand held vacuum pump, pull a vacuum and feel underneath to see if the diaphragm is moving. Warning if you decide to pull it off you may break bolts, they tend to seize to the intake manifold.

[Dave WM]

oh and the carbon canister switch hose (small) does not belong on the dash pot nipple. that hose should go to a T fitting on the ported vacuum (shared with the dizzy vacuum advance).

[Dave WM]

maybe covered already but did you confirm the pin 13 to ground resistance reading as read from the 35pin connector?

Warning anytime you are disconnecting the 35 pin connector from the ECU or re connecting to the ECU, do your self a favor, ign OFF and batt neg disconnected (in case you forget to ign OFF).

Testing at the 35 pin connector (NOT the ECU itself) is important as often you may have issues in the wire harness, so a sensor can be ok, but the message back to the ECU is corrupted.

[dylancorrea1]

oh and the carbon canister switch hose (small) does not belong on the dash pot nipple. that hose should go to a T fitting on the ported vacuum (shared with the dizzy vacuum advance).

The dash pot nipple is supposed to be left open right with no hoses on it? I cant find the T fitting, and also dizzy is short for? Thank you for the help!!


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[dylancorrea1]

maybe covered already but did you confirm the pin 13 to ground resistance reading as read from the 35pin connector?
Warning anytime you are disconnecting the 35 pin connector from the ECU or re connecting to the ECU, do your self a favor, ign OFF and batt neg disconnected (in case you forget to ign OFF).
Testing at the 35 pin connector (NOT the ECU itself) is important as often you may have issues in the wire harness, so a sensor can be ok, but the message back to the ECU is corrupted.

I will definitely be testing the pin, and the EGR for leaks later this month thank you!


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[Dave WM]

distributer. there is a port on the bottom of the throttle body, that is the "ported vacuum" it is not the same as "manifold vacuum". The ported vacuum should be connected to the distributer vacuum servo that is mounted to the side of the distributer. This vacuum servo is used to advance timing under certain engine loads. the ported vacuum line from the bottom of the throttle buddy goes to a T fitting, the two other sides of the T go to the carbon canister and the distributer. Now none of this will account for the problems you are currently working. But may as well get everything as right as possible. My guess is you have a multiple point of failure going on, which makes find the issue harder esp by guessing. So you need to systematically go thru every thing from compression to timing to fire order to fuel to EFI.

One thing to not do is just start randomly replacing parts. You may get lucky and hit the target that way but you can just as likely introduce a new problem (like reversing the bullet connectors on the sub harness that connects the thermotime and temp sensors). Adding new variables making it harder to fix.

[siteunseen]

This will be helpful when you start checking the vacuum hoses and that's critical on the 280.

 

[siteunseen]

Here's another useful "Tech-Tip" page put together by 240260280 and his friends. Bookmark it for sure.

It has great photos and he explains stuff in a very understandable way. It was my lifeline when I semi restored my '77. The "EFI and Fuel" section is a gold mine of information in my opinion.

https://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/