jwgarvey

nice job akorna

sent u and email adrian. check your box

tested test coil today with breaker point dizzy, no change ugh! completed compression check. 1 145, 2 140, 3 145, 4 145, 5 145, 6 145. all looks acceptable. tested test dizzy from a 1978 280z with gm hei. results in. no erratic bounce in timing at idle (great) when checked with timing light. cars runs better (I had to take it for a spin). all spark plug wires are firing at idle (verified with timing light) accept cylinder one. getting late atm so I will have to save the rest for latter but it looks good so far. have to replace the cap and rotor as they are very very old. mechanical advance working correctly. have to work out the kinks over the next couple of days so I dont want to say this one is solved just yet but it looks promising atm.

fsm states 164-178 best regards John

gm hei contol module will be used with test dizzy, stay tuned.

picked up test coil, 1978 test dizzy, and compression tester. 1. problem unresolved with test coil (primary and secondary windings good). 2. cleaning up dizzy a bit before testing on car (lube etc..) stay tuned. 3. compression test next week, stay tuned.

test coil and test dizzy coming tomorrow morning sat 02-12-10. stay tuned for results.

I was at motorsports last weekend and spoke with Garret. I did not ask him about this years event but I asked him how business was in relation to the economy. He stated "we are doing very well with international sales". Perhaps are devalued dollar has struck a bargon for international z car owners? Not suggesting anything but we can all agree that times have changed economically here in the states this past year. Makes one think? What would I do as a business owner in these times? Park, no park, I will be at this years meet. best regards John

Funny you bring this up fast woman, as you have already read, I will be getting a test coil this weekend. What is funny is that I am also getting a test dizzy (1978 the one that cam with this exact motor, I gave the dizzy to my father as a backup for his 1975 z as I wanted to keep my single point set up)(so much for his back up ). If it turns out that the coil is ruled out, I already will be purchasing the gm hei four prong for the upgrade(much cheaper and more accessible to find a gm hei control module in the event it goes bad). I have read many threads and have so decided to go this exact way if need be. my thinking at this point is not set on originality. If I have to get a new dizzy then might as well upgrade to electronic for same price range. ugh! funny though I might be using a gm product to run my car . question. you stated " I have it on good authority that I should beef up the + supply to my HEI unit". how do you plan on doing this? power it with a relay? please explain. oh, thanks for your input

it is true that I can probably find a 280zx e12-80 cheaper than a pertronix so if the coil is ruled out then that will be my next move. as far as the centrifugal (mechanical) advance on that dizzy, it can probably be adjusted to suit my set up but I will save that for another thread . I will be posted again on this thread after this weekend so stay tuned. thanks again for your input. john

adrian, guess I wont be workbenching my existing coil then, btw, very informative. test coil to be picked up this weekend . ten four on the capacitor(condenser), I thought I was missing something in the system. wow, diy spark tester very nice. will follow up with that for sure and keep one in my tool kit, thanks. sounds like a shot in the dark for a dizzy tester, I may make a few phone calls but it is more likey I will move towards the dizzy upgrade. very informative though. thank you for pointing this out. u are a wealth of info. again, the dwell time is a new term for me. what I have learned is do not gage dizzy stability on the steadiness of dwell angle. thank u. if the coil is determind to be ruled out, I then have one more question regarding ignition. Ideally, I would like to maintain my current dizzy (points) and upgrade to a pertronix system. in your opinion, if in fact the dizzy turns out to be the problem by process of elimination and not by bench testing the dizzy, is it concievable that the pertronix can/will compensate for this presumed worn out dizzy and to what extent and probabability? Is it just a matter of rolling the dice? I would really like to keep the current set up and just upgrade to pertronix, but if it is just to iffy then I will simply go with a new dizzy namely 280zx e12-80. thanks again for all your input on this matter. john

I am getting closer and closer to upgrading to electronic dizzy. thanks for your input mlc240z.

adrian, I have a test coil on the way this weekend as I refuse to spend the money unless I know for sure. In lue of this test coil, how do I fully test my existing coil at different rps while measuring primary current and secondary voltage? can I do this myselft? does this require a special tool other than a multimeter? 3-5 degrees of infrequent/flucuating retarding is definately a symptom. reviewing your comment produces the following- dizzy (see below), timing chain to be inspected after entire ignition system has been thoroughly and completely ruled out or problem solved which ever comes first. after all, timing chains do stretch over time and need to be addressed anyways. these symptoms are definately random. based on your response, I have checked/rechecked/replaced points, verified dwell angle (no change of dwell angle at any rpm noted on dwell meter, dwell angle wthin spec). capacitor? do you mean condenser? if not what is the capacitor? the condenser has been replaced, coil (planned to do as stated above), ground connections checked cleaned and a additional chassis to block ground added, voltage supply to ignition (coil) withing spec as tested with voltmeter of course. yes air and fuel have been ruled out at this point. 1. -bat to engine block has been checked. 2. variable spark tester has not been done, tool is cheap as I might pick one up, I expect the spark to be weak, this should be no surpise as least in my mind. things to do list. 3. yes dizzy is rock solid with no slop but cam has not been replaced and has lots of miles I am sure (cleaned cam with 1000 grit, just slightly I did not grind it). distributer test sounds like something that needs to be done by a skilled professional. does it require a special tool? can it be done at home? sounds like it may not be cost effective at this point. sounds like upgrade dizzy time (see above).( ironic, no dwell angle changes at any rpm see above, scratching my head). 4. I do not have an oscilloscope nor will I buy one, sounds like this will not be cost effective. sounds like dizzy time agian with regards to this intervention. yes I am aware that vacuum advance is primarly relevant to economic fuel at low rpm. thanks for pointing that out. so in review, test coil on the way, awaiting your response on how to further check my coil. may get variable spark tester but the results may not be surprising. distributor tester awaiting your response, sound like it may not cost effective, this pushes me towards dizzy upgrade. oscilloscope does not sound cost effective, this pushes me towards dizzy upgrade. new plugs in place. awaiting your response on capacitor? possible worn cam, this pushes me toward dizzy upgrade. chain will be inspected (see above) thanks again for your input adrian. John

first I want to thank each of you for taking the time to read/answer my thread as I know my statements are lengthy and wordy. I appreciate all your input. tlorber, I agree, but it is difficult to not start thinking of more complicated issues because its been about three weeks without positive results. thanks for pointing out that a stretched chain is less likey to cause wandering idle/timing variance as I was unsure about this (the chain will be looked at after and only after all ignition possibilities have been exhausted). there is no doubt that my set up could afford and upgrade to electronic. my primary concern is if the problem does exist outside the dizzy and I replace it with an electronic dizzy that covers the symptoms, will the underline problem come back to haunt me if the electronic dizzy fails to cover up the problem later on. for now, I will continue to persue the problem within the ignition system until I hit a wall or until it because not so cost effective at which point then and only then will I make the upgrade (that time seems to be coming very quickly at this point). John

hmm, noticed something different last night. when using the timing light (motor now set at 17 degrees), at idle around 700rpm, the timing mark on the balancer would retard inconsistantly back and forth approx 3-5 degrees from 17 degrees to approx 12 degrees. keep in mind the vacuum advance is plugged atm. and the mechanical advance has checked out fine. the dizzy is absolutly rock solid with not sign of play. NOW I AM THINKING TIMING CHAIN IS STRETCHED! AM I CORRECT IN SUPPECTING THIS?