jmw_man

The other day I was getting out of the Z and shut my door and right as the door shut the driver side side view mirror popped out of its seat and fell to the concrete then shattered into a million pieces. I have a new mirror, but I have to solve the problem of why it fell out in the first place. It looks like it is just held in place with a sort of plastic "seat" that has a lip around the edge. The old one is damaged and missing part of that lip. It looks like someone in the past was prying on it for whatever reason and damaged the lip on the seat that holds the mirror glass. I've checked black dragon, zcarsource, zcarparts.... where in the heck can I buy that silly little seat? Fyi, I don't want to be a jerry rigger and just eboxy the new mirror in place. Any tips? Oh, this is for an 83 280zx, left side.

Hi, A couple years ago I decided my Z needed suspension work. I took it to someone to inspect it and he made these recommendations for replacement: all 4 shocks, 2 lower control arm bushing, 2 ball joint, 8 sway bar bushing, 2 sway bar mount, and lastly 2 spring seats. It's been a couple years so my memory is a bit hazy but I recall I purchased everything except for the spring seat. I can't find it anywhere. He recommended that it be replaced because he said most likely when they go in there to remove the old spring the spring seat will most likely crumble. What's yalls experience with this? Is the spring seat made out of plastic/rubber or something? Also, can yall make any other suggestions for replacement of components? I just went out there and I can already see that the left shock boot is torn so I might as well replace both front boots. So far I have: 2 ball joints (Prosteer FA1287) (front) 2 lower control arm bushings (front) 4 tension rod bushings (front) 8 sway bar bushings (front) 2 sway bar mount bushings (front) 2 KYB gas shock excel-G (365013)(front) 2 KYB gas-a-just (KG9113)(rear) and 2 duralast shock bushings (FB521) The thing I wonder about is when you search for the spring seat on Zcarsource.com it shows that they sell it in the used condition. This leads me to believe that they don't necessarily wear out as my guy said it would.

Hi, The description above won't help pinpoint, the best thing to do is to start running diagnostic tests. Maybe this will help: http://xenons130.com/files/1979%20280zx%20FSM.zip It's probably the ignition control module more than likely.

Rockauto gave me the option to return and replace the entire order (which involves more hassle (removing/waiting/installing/timing)) or to take a $15 credit for my troubles and leave everything else as is. I have no option to return just the ignition control module for a replacement or a refund equivalent to the value of the ignition control module. It would be nice but the customer rep I spoke with said he can't do that. The problem with returning the entire thing is I'd run the risk of getting something else that was bad.

The module that came with the distributor from Rockauto is a Regitar NS004. http://regitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/T60001.pdf

Problem resolved. It was the control module on the distributor. I took the control module off of the Cardone distributor that I purchased from Rockauto last week and replaced it with the control module that was on my old distributor, and put the timing light on the number 5 wire and it was flashing again above 2000 rpm. Also, I drove it around for a good while and it's like night and day difference. The range of acceleration is so insanely smooth. I think I read somewhere that Rockauto makes the claim that everything is inspected but my guess is that the inspection of the module isn't thorough enough as it wasn't exposed to the heat needed to bring about the problem I was having. My old distributor/control module assembly was only bad due to damage to the vacuum advance, reluctor, and stator, the old control module must be fine. So here's my next question: do I take the distributor off of my car, call up Rockauto and claim I received a defective part, or do I cut my losses and keep the distributor I received from them? I did some google searching and found where other people had trouble dealing with Rockauto in that Rockauto required you to pay for shipping to return parts to them. Here's my thought, it's only a matter of time before my module goes out on me right? It's also nearly impossible to get them new right? What would y'all do?

Interesting read. I'll have to do a bit of research. The module on my old distributor is aftermarket, brand is Standard. There are no part numbers on it. I'm not sure what's on the distributor from rockauto, will take a look tomorrow. However, both modules have the two connections. Off to look for some schematics. Edit: Okay, after a brief glance at the wiring diagram, I see that this could actually go back to the throttle position switch as Site mentioned. I tried to take the cover off before but it doesn't look like the cover comes off. I guess I can just unplug the side connector at the dizzy and check the leads for voltage at high and low rpms. Edit: As you can see, I hate adding posts, prefer to just add to existing if I'm the last poster anyhow. Makes the content a little denser. I just unplugged the side connector, the car is cold and I turned the key to on. The thermo switch was sending battery voltage and the throttle position switch was not sending anything. I started it up, the thermo switch was sending battery voltage still and throttle position switch was sending 10 volts (not sure if it was supposed to be battery voltage, please advise). I revved up the engine (baaarely) and the thermo switch sent a higher battery voltage (14 volts) and the throttle position switch dropped down to about .2-.4 volts or something along those lines. Now, the engine is still cold so I'll check it when it gets hot. When it's hot and it works like it's supposed to then I guess I need to point my finger at the module. Edit: Okay, once the engine finally got warm, I tested for voltage in the two wires going to the side connector in the distributor. The wire that comes from the throttle position switch was still dropping to around .2-.3 volts when the engine was revved up. The wire that comes from the thermo switch was zero. I'm guessing the thermo switch is supposed to send battery voltage before the engine reaches operating temperature and then the voltage completely drops away? Seems like it's working as intended. Well, since before I had mentioned that number 5 wasn't getting a spark and I also mentioned that I thought I might have a bad ground, I figured I should get the timing light on there anyhow. This is going to blow your mind, but number 5 is STILL not receiving a spark when the engine is hot and revved past 2k rpm. I threw my old wires on there and again number 5 didn't get a spark. I guess the next step is to pull the spark plug out, put an old one on there, and put my old dizzy cap on there. I have just one question though, does the module send a constant current or does it pulse? If it pulses, is it possible to skip the same pulse in a pattern?

two connections

To be perfectly honest, I think I have more than one thing going on with the car. I'd be willing to bet that if I put the timing light on the number 5 that there would be a spark there again and that the lack of spark before was due to a bad ground associated with the plug. I'll throw the timing light on there again tomorrow. It might still be a fuel problem. Oh and I hate to say it, but I think I got a bad module from Rockauto with the reman'd dizzy. Even when I went to NAPA in search of a CHTS they all said that it's probably the module. I've already done all the diagnostics on the module and everything checked good but I'm going out on a limb to say that the diagnostics are insufficient. When I ask the question of "what changed" between when the car ran as it was supposed to and when it didn't, the answer is the car received a new distributor with a new module attached. This will be easily tested if I throw my old one on there tomorrow.

Remember though, number 5 only stops sparking at approximately 2000 + RPM. At idle it sparks, so if I pull the injector connector then the idle quality will change. However, it would be interesting to see if my exhaust still behaves as it does if I were to pull the injector connector. I might try that.

Well, for a very brief moment this morning I thought I had it fixed. I started with checking the plug and put a socket on it to loosen it, it took barely anything to break it loose. I can only imagine how loose it might have been when the engine is hot. So naturally I assumed the plug must have had a bad ground and went ahead and tightened. I drove it, no change. I got back home and visually inspected the distributor cap and rotor. They still look as brand new as the day I got them. I refrained from putting the old ones back on because the contacts on them are so eaten away. I guess it doesn't really matter for testing purposes so I'll go ahead and do it the next time I have time to look at the car. I did make one observation while I had the cap off and I'm not sure it matters. I advanced the rotor with my hands but at some point while I was advancing it the distributor shaft would stop rotating but the rotor would twist a little bit more. It makes me wonder if the rotor is slightly loose or something. Maybe this only happens when the plastic material of the rotor gets hot and flexes a little too much. I'll try putting the old rotor on and doing a test. Let me just point one other thing out, another observation that I mentioned before on a previous post but didn't describe it right. It sounds as if my exhaust is constricted. The tone of the exhaust is fairly deep. The car didn't makes this kind of noise before this problem started. Anyways, yall might be able to tell me that the sounds of the exhaust that I'm hearing is most likely due to the fuel that's being sprayed into the number 5 cylinder and not burning off. It's really hard to diagnose this car because I get about a 1 hour daily window to look at it. Half of that time has to be spent driving it to get the temperature up. The rest of my day is filled with work and a crying baby.

Sorry about not being clear. That's why I had separate sections for "while the engine is warming up" and "while the engine is hot". Definitely not imagining it though. I'm surprised if it's the plug, wire, or the cap, all three are fairly new, (couple years old but only a couple hundred miles on them).

Timing light. Like I said, the awesome acceleration after 2000 rpm only occurred before the engine got hot. The number 5 quits when the engine gets hot.

Number 5 spark plug wire isn't transmitting a spark above 2000 rpm while engine is hot.

I did pull the cover off the AFM, there's no binding that I could see or feel inside the AFM. To my untrained eye it appears to be operating as it should. Tomorrow I'm going to check the water temperature sensor resistance at the ECU. I'm also going to check for continuity on the throttle position switch. I wonder about not being able to pull the cover off the throttle position switch. could that be common with some aftermarket TPS's? I'll have to take a second look at this.

I think you meant cooling system. Correct me if I'm wrong. Oh and Radio Shack went out of business didn't they? Is there another option other than Fry's Electronics, . When you say unplug it, you are saying to unplug the connector right? I tried that, I drove around with the connector unplugged and there was no change. BUT, that doesn't mean it's not stuck open right? I did a power check, get's power when you crank it over and not all other times but that still doesn't mean it's not dumping fuel. I'm not sure the cover comes off. It felt like the bottom edge of the cover unclipped or popped off or whatever but the top part is still physically connected to the connector pins. I feel like if I pry it off any further it's going to break. Inspecting the AFM would have been my next step but I'll try adding resistance to the coolant temperature sensor circuit first. When you say add resistance though, how much are we talking? 20 ohms? 200 ohms? etc? Edit: Nevermind on that question. Went to Fuel Tweaker as you mentioned below and saw that they used a 1k potentiometer. Yea, I saw how expensive replacing injectors is going to be. I think I'm going to hold off until the current problem is fixed. Heck, I don't even know if they need to be replaced. I spent a lot of time last summer and prior doing work on the Z, replacing ignition components including the plugs (they probably have 300 miles on them, and they probably have 10 miles on them while driving in the current condition. I'm not sure pulling the plugs will tell me much because of that. I also did a CRAP load of tests on the car in the last couple years. Two years ago it all started with tracking down what was draining the battery. Turned out to be a part to an alarm system. I've clean so many electrical connectors with my electrical contact cleaner (although, there's still discoloration, and it seems like some connectors could technically be too loose but I'm a bad judge of what might be considered too loose), I've tested vacuum and fuel pressure. I've checked resistances and battery voltages at the ECU. Everything I tested always tested good. I've also invested probably close to a grand in testing equipment already. There's a gremlin in my car... It turns out my water temperature sensor doesn't have the bullet connectors near the sensor. Going from the sensor, it immediately enters the harness. I didn't look at where it comes back out of the harness near the ECU yet. I'm a little hesitant about cutting anything to add a potentiometer in there. I know it's only temporary as you said because it would help us pinpoint my problem. I guess it doesn't really matter. If I find time to run across town, I'll purchase one and will go from there.

You know, everywhere I look in other posts I see people mentioning "the bible" and I keep thinking they are referring to the FSM. Then I finally saw a post where someone separated the two out. There's the bible, and then there's the FSM. I've had the FSM for a number of years now but I reviewed "the bible" for the first time last night (also called the Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) Guide). First off, let me point out that there are two download links at Xenon130, the second larger one doesn't seem to work for me. The first one is the one that works for me but it says that it's for the "earlier" model 280Z/ZX car so I'm not sure if much has changed between the info in that one and my 83 280ZX. Anyways, I reviewed it last night, and I got to say, while experiencing my new acceleration problem, I've been ready to blame the new remanufactured Cardone distributor I bought through Rockauto but after digging around in the EFI manual I'm ready to move on to other culprits. My problem with the acceleration occurs when the engine gets hot. This leads me to believe that it's something electrical in the engine compartment (which is why it was easy to blame the distributor) but when I reviewed the EFI manual, it never pointed in that direction. In fact, it looks like it's pointing me towards the AFM or the injectors. I do have an injector leak so I think I'm going to go ahead and replace them. Are there a specific set that you guys recommend for injectors?

Also, there is not CAS inside the distributor. The only "electronic type" devices inside the distributor is just the pickup coil. Was there supposed to be a Crank Angle Sensor in the non-turbo 280ZX?

Well, I did make some discoveries while inspecting the old distributor. One of the stator pieces is broken. Some of the bottoms of the reluctor teeth are a little bent from where someone was prying to get it off most likely. The vacuum advance diaphram is broken because the vacuum advance won't engage with a vacuum applied. That's just so far.

So, as mentioned in another thread (http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/50200-83-280zx-wont-start-wont-fire-just-turns-over/page-4), my Z is doing something weird. I recently had intermittent starting problems and I finally purchased a rebuilt Cardone distributor from Rockauto.com. So far so good it seems to be starting, but I noticed it started accelerating weird. First off, what I experience while the engine is "warming up" is largely different from what I experience after the engine is hot. The below is confirmed as it's happened to me twice. While the engine is warming up: At idle, if I press the gas pedal, the RPMs move up fairly smoothly (as smoothly as they could for a 32 year old car). When I put her into 1st, the car has slow acceleration before hitting 2000 RPM. As I approach 2000 RPM I notice the needle kinda bounces up and down a tiny bit, but once I get over 2000 RPM, everything smooths out real nice and all of a sudden I get a huge burst of torque and get pinned to my seat. Amazing acceleration at 2000+ RPM. I will admit though, this Z car has ALWAYS felt like it had low torque plus some hesitation at lower RPMs, it just almost seems exaggerated now. While the engine is hot: So here's the dilemma, once the engine get's hot, it's a different story. I feel like I'm going to break something if I push it to hard to get past 2000 RPM. Heck, even 1500 RPM is impossible to pass at this point. It's really weird, I hear noises that sound like gargling and I also hear a lot of throaty noises coming from the rear coupled with some pops here and there. Maybe it's backfiring or something but they sound faint and frequent when I gas it to accelerate. If I throw it in 5th gear and just cruise it's fine, it's just when I try to get past 1500 RPM. edit: Oh, I forgot to add, when the engine is hot, even sitting in park the engine won't get past 1500 RPM and I still hear the popping/throaty/gargling noises. I'm not really sure where to start to troubleshoot. I have the FSM but I don't really see a section that could help me. Any pointers?

Yea, okay, definitely NOT normal. I'm starting a new thread for the new topic.

Still starting. As for the weird experience yesterday... it went over 2000 RPM but acceleration really skyrocketed when I got over 2000 RPM but before that it struggled to get over that hump. I don't know, maybe it's normal. To be perfectly honest, I've always felt like this Z car has slow low rpm acceleration and fast high rpm acceleration. I've especially noticed this when driving from El Paso to Dallas on I-20 while the speed limit is 85 MPH. Accelerating from 70-85 takes nothing it seems like.

Okay, I can't quite close this topic yet as I need to drive the car a little more and need to see if it ever fails to start... BUT, I ran into another issue; acceleration is slow from 0 - approximately 2000-2200 RPM and acceleration is insanely high from 2200 RPM and up. For whatever reason it has trouble getting over that around the 2200 hump but once it's over it shoots up to 4k so fast that I have to immediately shift gears. Not sure if this warrants a new topic or not. It's funny though, I drove it around the block about 5 or 6 times and the first couple times I was thinking "wow, the car is accelerating better than it ever has while the car's been in my possession because the car has ALWAYS had someone slow/sluggish acceleration and I figured it to be the small engine, lol", during the last few laps around the block I started to think "this isn't right at all". During the final lap it felt like the car did not want to go over 2200 RPM AT ALL. I don't know, maybe I pushed it a little hard...

Vacuum advance plugged, engine warm, sitting at 8 degrees with RPM at 670. Didn't have to change a thing. Now I just have to see if my problem is still/back to intermittent.

I put a charge on the battery and dropped in the rebuilt Cardone distributor (saving the old for parts or whatnot). It started, now I just need to check the timing since it might have moved slightly. ... hmmm what was that timing number.... guess I have to look for my book again, ugh.