Zed Head

Pills and a stupid little hat.

The cable labeled as ground here is connected to the battery negative post. https://www.zdriver.com/forums/240z-260z-280z-performance-technical-124/electrical-gremlins-30669/

I think that your yellow arrow just points to an extra ground for the distributor. It should also ground through the mounting points. Sorry, but I already said where to put the probes. "Ground" is any part of the body or engine block or whatever that has a circuit back to the negative post of the battery. Have you put the black cable from the battery negative post back on, attached to a starter bolt or transmission bolt? I think that you might be moving too fast, thinking that what you're doing is easy and you'll soon hear the sound of that engine running. Maybe stop and think a bit about what people have recommended. It''s not one simple thing to do before the engine starts and runs. It's many small things. Hate to be a buzz-kill but you have a ways to go.

Shawninoneofthevancouvers you need to start using that meter.

Expanding the venue. Hope nobody minds. Brad's big brain. Makes me hungry.

Anybody seen it? Pretty sure I left it here...

If you have your friend spin the engine while you watch the points you'll see how they open and close. Here's a video. Go to about 1:30.

One probe to either the plus or the minus terminal and one to ground. You can also open and close the points by hand with the center coil wire close to ground and you should see a small spark at the points and a big one at the center wire. In your picture the points are closed. Just reach in there and open them up. Each time you open them you should get a spark at the center wire terminal.

When you finally get spark squirt some starting fluid in to the carburetors so that when it starts it can suck in all of the pine needles, leaves, and squirrel nuts.

So you've already spun the engine over. How did you check for spark? The first thing to do is to the check for 12 volts at the terminals on the coil with the key at Run. No voltage = no spark.

The fusible link block unbolts from the fenderwell easily. Might make it easier to inspect. Download the FSM and a wiring diagram and you'll see the full circuit.

Might be that you fried a fusible link or that the terminal on the link lost its connection. Clean up the ends, give them a little extra crimp, and see. Check resistance through the links also. Pretty common to lose connection though. They're exposed and they corrode.

I recall past discussions about it. Sometimes we've gone pretty deep in to which ends goes where and how much movement there is at that joint and whether or not the two surfaces ever contact. Anyway I think that that urethane would just get squeezed and destroyed when the suspension moves. It's not meant to be a bearing surface. I think that there's a thread somewhere where people just decided to trim it off. Here's one thread I found that shows how the Nissan part has no rubber in that joint. Separation is controlled by the strength of the rubber in the bushing itself, but if the rubber deflects the two metal surfaces will contact. Number 57 - http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/axle/rear-suspension http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/axle/rear-suspension/57

It looks like you've removed the battery. That's good. You asked about the negative battery cable before. It attaches to one of the mounting bolts for the starter, I think, or any bolt that is attached to the engine block. Have you taken the dipstick out to check oil quality and level? It's easy to do. Remove the oil fill cap and look inside. Another easy thing. Is it dry and rusty or can you see remnants of oil? Remove the radiator cap and see how the coolant looks. Easy. Is it full? The radiator looks like it has been leaking so will probably leak again if you ever get the engine started.

You are way way back on the "how to start an old engine" curve. The odds are against you getting it started and even more on not damaging it. No offense intended. You are far far away from bringing the dinosaur to life. Do you have any friends that are in to cars? Preferably an older friend. maybe an old uncle, who knows something about points. Many of today's car people know how to "tune" using a computer but don't really know what they're tuning. You have an old very basic car with points and carbs. Not much to it, but you do need to know how things work. Good luck.

Download the Owners Manual and look at the wiring diagram on the back pages.

You need a meter or test light to see if the things that need power are getting it. Like the coil.

Found something in the 1974 FSM. It's not 3 o' clock but it shows both sides. Not sure what "cooler equipped " means. You'd think that they'd just make a damper with two marks.

Thanks for the full story. I've heard of the timing plate or pointer being on the other side, can't remember the reason, but I had assumed that would require a different damper. I don't know how you got in to this predicament but it seems like buying a new plate and putting it on the other side would work, since that's where your mark is. The answer might be in this thread, below. Don't overlook the standoff. Any chance that your old damper has two marks on it? One for each location? You said that it matched the new one but maybe it has two notches.

Found another good one that shows proper zero. He has a degreed wheel but the pointer is right. Also shows some nifty damper damage.

I'm going to guess that he assumed that the timing plate mounted at 3 o 'clock. 3 o' clock is wrong from front or back. Get the timing plate in the right place, at 10 o' clock, and all that's left is an aftermarket sprocket with no notch. If the builder used the 42 links then it's right too. Then, we're back where it should have been with "have you confirmed spark?".

Just to reset things from the start. It's not clear that you know much about the engine. Can't tell if it came from a car or maybe you bought a box of engine parts. All that's clear is that you had an engine "rebuilt". And, "timing mark at 3" depends on if you're looking from the front or the back. Could be on the passenger side or the driver side. There is a variety of different ignition timing setups out there for the Z's and ZX's. Some have the gradations on the pulley for use with a pointer, some on the timing plate for use with a single damper mark, and there are different timing mark plates for the Z and the ZX. Might help your cause if you started from the beginning, describing the engine and the car it came from and how long you've had them. Good luck.

Here's a grimey one. It shows zero, but he has a later timing plate with an early damper. A later damper would have just one notch, and sit at the zero at TDC. https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-s130-forums-77/can-i-get-crank-pulley-fit-34699/

Did you ever confirm/know that the damper timing mark was correct before the engine was rebuilt? You started your story in the middle. I don't think that any of the timing mark plates available sit at 3 o'clock. That would be horizontal with the damper center. Maybe you have your timing plate in the wrong spot. 10 o'clock sounds right. I can't find a Z picture (it's the one weird thing about all of the FSM and Owners Manuals - there are no good pictures of the ignition timing marks) but here's one for a Datsun 1200. It's about the same. Around 10 o' clock