z_ya

Just gotta learn the difference between a cheap part and a good price. Rock auto is a nice alternative. I work at a local parts store and I bought my ICM on rock auto.

I had the ballast removed once I changed the coil. It still made the HEI fail at high rpm. I'm very certain that going off of the diagrams posted my wiring was correct. It is entirely possible the P.O. had done some "rigging" of her own..... Going off of the other wacky stuff done to this thing I wouldn't put it out of my mind. Either way I'm back to OEM. With a new ICM and coil an it seems to be a bit better.

And after one day I am switched back to OEM control module. So SOMETHING is not right. And I really don't know what.

Alright success!!!!!!!!!! (again) I bought an accel coil (like 20 some dollars) and now it will start multiple times so i'm just gonna watch it and if worse comes to worse i'll switch back to OEM. The way I mounted it was where the old "clamshell" was, and to double ground it just in case I also ran a wire from the screw I used to an AFM ground that I am using just s a fail safe. So far so good but in a few days we will see I guess. Thanks for all the help guys I wish I would of thought about this before buying the ICM but it will be sent back because it was still causing issues.

I'm confident with my ground that I had used, And is the pin 1 to negative just for this swap? Cause I've always had it hooked up to the positive and that's where it's at now with my OEM ICM. If so then I'll do it I just don't want to ruin something that will cost a decent chunk of money. And yeah after thoroughly going through all three of my books (chilton, haynes, and the FSM) I have checked the pickup the coil an all that. But for some reason last night I could not achieve spark through the OEM ICM either and have no idea why. But after unhooking everything and hooking it back up with the OEM it started an ran.

Turns out the HEI module I had was faulty or I had damaged it somehow as it did not pass the high rpm range. I got another one, I did not buy the msd 2 though (maybe that is the problem?) I'm gonna wait till tonight and try this again but I will bypass the ballast. Now you did say that the #1 ecu wire goes on the negative, with that wire producing a +12v wouldn't it go on the positive terminal?

Okay, I had followed the diagram from earlier to hook the HEI module up, I originally had the black and white wire (ECU #1) was left were it was when I bought the car it was placed on the positive terminal, and the blue tach on the negative. This was with the ballast hooked up. It ran and started but I go to start it just earlier and nothing happens. I have no spark. Ran through the wires and it appears now that both my - and + are continuous. So did my coil get fried? Or did I hook something up wrong and have it magically work twice before it telling me to bad?

I remember seeing the MSD Blaster 2 was the recommended coil of choice for this swap. The one that was with the car when I first purchased it did not have one that I can remember, me not knowing the difference between a good price and a cheap part back then I picked it up from a online wholesaler and it was just a generic "diamond" brand coil with the soap bar ballast so I just hooked it all up together. I will check out the suggestion of a mid 70's coil. Our msd 2 just went on sale and with it being on sale my discount does nothing haha. I have not heard of any bad things happening from running a coil without a resistor other than just burning it up, is there anything serious that can happen if I try and run the coil without the resistor or am I asking an obvious an silly question?

Did not see it up there, my apologies.

Yeah, to test the 280Z module was a pain but take it in and they will do it. But back to the matter at hand. My car being the 78' 280Z would I be fine with removing the ballast? Is that what is causing my tach to jump when i rev it up quickly, and making it a bit of a chore to start?

Well I do have a 78' 280Z and the coil just came with the ballast so I went ahead and kept it there so can i get rid of it? And that testing machine I used is at work which is a local parts store with green shirts I can't remember exactly but i believe it is a borg warner made machine and it just tests ignition modules and a number of other things with various different connectors for each different module or part. I'm not sure what other parts stores have them i'd think all would but that's the tester I used.

I installed it and noticed a MAJOR increase in drive ability and its much smoother rpm drop when changing gears. I took the red and green and connected it to the module and for the coil I hooked it up off of what i call the "soapbar" ballast resistor. The only thing i noticed was that when I would rev it up the tach would jump around a lot but if i do it slowly it won't. Also after doing the swap it was a little difficult to start up (possibly be the ballast resister causing issues? Can i eliminate the resistor without any negative effects?) But other than that I am highly satisfied with this. Thanks for all the pictures and explanations I truly appreciate the help.

Haha that was not the question. the question was do i take the #1 wire from the ecu and mount it to the negative on the coil?

My question still has not been answered.

3. Disconnect the wires from the (-) post of your ignition coil. Identify the wire that has conductivity with the #1 connector on to your ECU (beneath the driver's side kick panel), and reinstall it on the coil. Fold the remaining wire back on itself, and wrap it up in electrical tape. You may pull this wire back out later if you wish to revert to OEM. OKay so do i take the #1 wire from the ecu and mount it to the negative on the coil?

Alright guys, I left work and the car was already warmed up (1978 280Z) the temp was about a quarter of the way to half way on the gauge. I stepped into it and then when I got off of it the temp gauge suddenly shot down and stayed there. I pulled over checked the wires and everything seems to still be connected and in tact. Any ideas to what has happened? Thanks in advance guys.

The car is a 1978 280Z during lunch break today I pulled it and tested it on the machine. The tester had failed it at low rpm but passed it at high rpm. The car did die twice today when i came to a complete start and was a pain to start. I do have one on order that should arrive Wednesday. Is it normal for it to pass a high rpm an fail on low?

I was talking about the reservoir cap.

I'm in need of a replacement clutch cap, preferably one through an auto parts store so i can get a discount. I could not seem to find anything when I looked. Has anyone found anything or have replaced one before?

Alright guys, I hope i don't make anyone mad by posting this here but.... I have an all stock 1978 280Z I've gone through the trouble of buying a new air flow meter for it, and all new injectors along with all new ignition parts except the dist. I kind of want to sell her and just buy one again later on. I'm not sure how much to ask for the car to be honest. The mileage is what i would guess to be 128xxx with less than 200 miles on new injectors. All that needs done is body work and proper floor pans. I really wanna sell it to someone who will take care of it and not trash it, I just bought a truck and I figured instead of having both I will just use the truck and save up for a 240Z instead of a 280Z what I am asking for the car is pretty much what I've put in it and that would be approx. $1,500 its got a strong engine and transmission it shifts perfectly. I have new parts as well that are waiting to be put on it (rear brake parts like shoes, cylinders, springs) also have a new slave cylinder as well. the front rotors are new and so are the pads as well. Again i'm sorry if it bugs anyone for me putting this here I just have not had much luck with the new classifieds site. If anyone is interested let me know you can shoot me an email at this address Chief_roberts@live.com

Check the spark plugs, I had a mysterious miss with my car and it was as simple as bad plugs. I bough a brand new set and one of them was bad so it is something that happens. Pull the wires off to see which one is not firing and then try a fresh set of plugs. Start simple cause it's usually things that are simple and overlooked.

Yeah I can hear my AFM working so I know that vane isn't stuck. At this point I really don't know, I guess I'll have to wait until Wednesday to find out if it is the crank pulley that had slipped and caused a jump in timing. Thanks for all the replies guys, The new injectors should be in Thursday or Friday which is good because 4 5 and 6 are barely audible.

After further investigating all of this, it is acting as if it has skipped time. I'm starting to think that my crank pulley has slipped as that seems to be a common problem. My guess is when I parked it and upon the start up that is when it slipped. It's going to a shop Wednesday to get the timing checked and fixed. The AFM is less than 2 weeks old and if i pop that cover off the warranty is void, I guess i could smack it around a bit to see if that is the problem though although I am doubting it.

And at Zed Head if i can remember correctly the rpm gauge stays right where I put it. It just runs like **** now to be honest with you. The RPM doesn't jump about everything is normal for the most part just the popping and stuttering of the engine through every gear and rpm.

See when i checked the ECU test with the meter there was just 0 for voltage to the injectors but when it was running I could hear them fire. It's my daily driver and I don't tear around town in it I will give it some gas from time to time but only after it has been warmed up. Uhm the injectors don't come in till like Thursday tomorrow when it's light out me and a friend are gonna run through it and check things out just to do another look an get another idea from someone. The timing will be checked as well as all the wiring connections. I greatly appreciate the help guys. I'll report back tomorrow with the findings and then HOPEFULLY we can go from there.