Chickenman

I'll have to talk with one of the Old Nissan Parts guru's to see if he still has copies of all the early Service TSB's. Unfortunately I threw out all of my old Nissan Parts and Service Training literature about 2 years ago while spring cleaning. A few months later I ended up buying the 280Z. Go figure... One thing I'm glad I did keep is most of my Certificates that I received from Nissan in the 1980's and 90's. It was an important time in my life and I've recently started re-connecting with my Nissan roots after being away for over 20 years.

Technical Service Bulletins from Nissan. We had a lot of flooding problems in Canada ( Cold climate ) on the earlier cars. Combination of weak Trignition units in the 75 and 76 models and Thermal Time Switches going out of spec. Later Canadian models got a revised TTS with a shorter " Duty Cycle ". 8 seconds vs 12 seconds. Clear flood procedure was documented in TSB as: Hold throttle pedal to floor while cranking. ECU senses WOT from TPS and cranking signal and reduces injector time by 50%. All model years had this feature built in. FSM just doesn't mention it. TSB's do. Actually, I've never heard of any electronic FI system NOT having a " Clear Flooding " program. It's very simple to implement and it would be a serious oversight in design. And the Bosch engineers were very good at engineering, even on these early Analog creations.

I can't remember if any one has mentioned this, but it is possible to mix up the connections to the ThermoTime switch and the ECU Coolant temperature switch. Maybe double check your connections. The Thermo Time wires are green in color and the ECU CTS wires are black in clor. And yes the engine will start and run. Crappy at first, but then surprisingly well when it is fully warmed up. Guess how I know? BTW... you may have to peel the electrical tape back to see the true colors of the wires. Old dark green wires look almost like Black wires!!

Rock Auto has AC Delco ( good brand ) re-manufactured gear reduction starters for $57.99 exchange. If you want o keep your old core for a spare you pay an extra $18.00. Limited Lifetime Warranty as well. AC Delco 3361349: https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=999727&cc=1209260&jnid=537&jpid=1 The gear reduction starters are the Cat's meow...

Copy and paste from the FSM about Thermo-time switch operation: Just some food for thought... I don't think this is the end all solution. Just one reason. why you shouldn't turn the key repeatably on and off. It is just not necessary under normal conditions. It's probable that you have several small problems compounding each other. IE: 1: You're losing fuel pressure in the Fuel rail for some reason. I think that has been established. Either a leaking injector ( most likely ), leaking check valve in Fuel Pump or leaking Fuel Pressure regulator 2: Starter kicking out too early is not allowing fuel pressure to prime the fuel rail. Combined with the loss of fuel pressure this makes the car a B***ch to start. Could be a starter solenoid problem or even a low battery, The starter solenoids usually get tired and the hold in coil cannot hold the Bendix gear engaged properly. I have a brand new starter on my 280Z and even with the battery almost dead flat it stays engaged while cranking. It never " kicks out " like yours does.

The ECU does have a primitive " Clear flooding : circuitry, at least my 1976 has it and I would suspect a 1978 has it. But it usually involves holding the throttle at WOT while cranking. That triggers the WOT TPS signal and combined with Thermo-time switch heating length will reduce fuel injected during cranking. Now the Thermo-time switch is very interesting. It is designed to heat up very quickly and is supposed to be on for only a maximum of 12 seconds ( according to EFI Bible and FSM ). However, they are a bimetallic strip with a heater, and can get wildly inaccurate with age. Some open the circuit too soon and others get sticky contacts and stay on too long. When I was working at Nissan as a Partsman in the late 70's, we went through a lot of Thermo-time switches in the Service Departments. They were always causing issues, both with Hot starts and Cold starts. A resistance check doesn't tell you much, as it's the bending rate of the Bi-metallic strip that always went out of spec. Might be worthwhile installing a new Thermo-time switch. In fact, I may just do that on my 280Z as I have a persistent Rich running at start up. The Thermo-time switch is the only switch that I haven't replaced. All to be gone when I get my Haltech stand alone system installed this winter.

I understand it's not getting enough fuel. What I was trying to communicate is that by turning the ignition switch on and off multiple times you may have accidentally triggered the " Clear flooding " circuit in the ECU. That will reduce the the amount of fuel injected during start-up. Since the engine is not actually flooded, you get very little fuel injected and thus it's hard to start. I haven't checked all the Parameters for the " clear flooding " flow chart... but the ECU does have that capability. As mentioned before. There is something wrong with your starter. It shouldn't " kick out " like that. Usually it's because of a bad Bendix or a weak pull in solenoid. But the " kick out " is not normal.

That is not a good thing to do. That will Carbon foul plugs and make it difficult to start the engine all by itself. Even new plugs can get Carbon fouled in short order by repeated short runs with the engine not reaching operating temperature. A fresh set of plugs often works wonders. What's you plug gap set to? BTW.. I just noticed that you use 8MM Taylor ignition wires. Taylor has had a bad reputation for poor quality plugs leads. Especially their standard, Universal " Carbon core " resistance wires . They ( resistance core ) are just junk. I'd take those plugs leads off and check them with an Ohm meter. Post the results here. I've seen new Taylor " Resistor " wires with incredibly high resistance values. Their spiral core wires should be OK... but the resistor core ones.... well lets just say there are better products available. Spiral core or Helical core wires by NGK, Magnacore or MSD are some of the best brands to buy. Aurora leads ( Custom built ) are also very, very good....and have a lifetime warranty.

Throughout this thread, I've noticed that you always seem to use this " Priming " method of turning the key on and off multiple times before actually trying to start the car. Have you recently tried just getting in the car and just starting it by just turning the key once? I'm wondering if you are triggering a " flooded engine " procedure in the ECU by turning the key multiple times or something similar? Edit: And don't let go of the key so quick. Let the engine catch first. I sometimes have to hold the starter in on my 280Z ( on Hot starts ) till she clears a few cylinders and catches.

Is the fuel pressure gauge located where you can monitor it in real time? If not, temporarily install a second gauge and tape it to the cowl where you can see it while driving. That will take a lot of guess work away. I suspect a fuel venting problem or fuel feed problem from the tank.

I can see why it's a wholesaler closeout and only has a 30 day warranty. That is terrible quality. The rust in the bores is totally unacceptable. I definitely would advise Rock Auto about this. They need the feedback so they don't purchase more parts from this particular Manufacturer. Makes me wary of buying any of the Wholesaler closeout parts ever again!!!

It is imperative that your run a Filter ( Fram G3 I believe ) before the Airtex pump. These new style pumps are a Turbine style ( With Ceramic Turbine wheel ) and will pump out a lot more pressure and are a lot quieter than the old Roller Vane style. However, they have much, much tighter clearances inside and will not tolerate dirt particles that a Roller Vane would just chew up and spit out. All documented on Airtex Technical site. The strainers ( if any ) in tank are just to catch the coarse stuff. Same with any Inlet strainers in the pump. Particularly on these old Vintage cars, always run an additional Pre-filter before the electric fuel pump. Edit: I run an Airtex Universal pump ( Part #E8312 ) on my 1976 280Z and it is much quieter than my stock pump ( which had minimal wear but it leaked around the electrical O-Rings ). Works just fine and has a lot more volume and pressure capability than the stock pumps.

My Bad. You are quite right. Looking in my Toolbox I see that it is Loctite #220 that I use. The wicking action is nice, as you can just set the mixture screw and then apply the Locking compound without disturbing the setting. I got confused as the Loctite Web link lists wicking formula's as a Green color, but when you go to the actual page, it separates them into Blue ( #220 Low strength ) and Green ( #290 Medium-High strength ) colors. Good catch!!

I've had that problem on numerous different brands of carbs. Holleys were a particular problem. Edit: The solution I used is to use Loctite " Green " #290 Blue #220 This is a wicking compound of low strength. It is designed to be used on pre-assembled fasteners. It works excellent on idle screws. Prevents, the setting from changing from vibration, but still allows adjustment by operator. http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/green-threadlockers-pre-assembled-wicking-13227.htm

One other thing to note. Federal ( 48 State and Canada ) and California cars have different distributors in 1975 and 1976. Federal versions have two pickup coils in the Dizzy. One pickup coil is used only during warm-up and advances the ignition timing by 6 degrees ( Phase angle ) when the engine is cold. More ignition advance will raise idle speed. California models and all models 1977 and later, only have one pickup coil . Those models may not see as much idle RPM rise as on my car... ( 1976 Fed model Dizzy ). As always....YMMV

After adjusting the 22660-45P00 to get maximum airflow I get 1,900 RPM at Cold start-up ( 70F ambient right now ) tapering to 1,500 RPM after about a minute and then settling at 1,000 RPM. I have a big cam in the car and set the idle stop screw on my TB to maintain 1,000 RPM warm. Edit: I did not have to file any amount off the slider. My car is really snarky when cold,( due to the big cam ) so I am quite pleased with this. I don't know why Rob's car idled so low with this particular AAR valve.. Adjusting them beyond the factory setting really allows a large amount of air to bypass the Throttle Butterfly. Only thing I can think of is the importance of rotating the slider before you move the stud and cinch it. On mine, if you moved the stud and didn't rotate the slider the opening didn't change much. Move the slider and then move the adjusting stud and you got a LOT more opening... weird

Just an update on this AAR valve. A couple of people seem to be having problems with the idle not being high enough. Even with the adjustment sent to maximum. There is a relatively easy way to correct this. Just an FYI for adjusting to maximum airflow ( for those who may not have this valve yet ) . Remove the 4 Phillips head screws holding on the cover. Now remove the cover. You will see a sliding composite piece that covers the inlet hole. It moves via pressure from a Bimetallic spring. At room temperature you will see a " Crescent " shaped opening that allows air to bypass the Throttle plate during cold start. You can adjust the amount of this opening with the 8mm lock-nut. This will increase idle speed when the engine is cold. Chip the " locking epoxy " with a small screwdriver. It comes off fairly easily. Now remove the nut and have look just to see how things work. You will see that the threaded stud protruding from the AAR housing has a slotted hole and that by moving the stud back and forth in the slot, this adjusts the inner stop. The inner stop rests against the middle of the Bi-Metallic arm. This is important to understand as you will see later. This is how you make the adjustment. Put the nut and washer back on, but leave it loose. With a small screwdriver push the nut and stud away from the inlet hose housing. At the same time rotate the slider clockwise so that more of the inlet hole is exposed. Now tighten the lock nut with your 8mm nut driver. If everything is correct you should see that you have a larger " Crescent " air hole exposed. Note: For some strange reason, you have to move the composite slider before you move the adjustment stud and tighten it. Check things a couple of times to make sure that you have the maximum size air hole exposed, and reinstall on car. If you STILL don't have a high enough idle speed you can make a further adjustment, but it is rather permanent. BTW... if you have to make this Mod you may want to check out the rest of your EFI idle system, as the allowable adjustment should be MORE than sufficient airflow. Note: Engines with big Camshafts may benefit from this following Mod. Here's the Mod. Take the cover off again and have a look at the slider. At room temperature you will see a Crescent shaped hole, but you will see that the slider will rotate further clockwise exposing an even larger air flow area. This slot becomes exposed at lower temperatures and the Bimetallic strip bends more, turning the slider even more clockwise. Remember that the limiting stud rests against the middle of the Bi-Mettalic strip. So you get more airflow at cold temperatures which the engine needs. But we need more airflow at ambient temp. So take a small Jewelers file and file away some of the material from the slider to make the initial " Crescent " opening bigger. You can fine tune the airflow this way. The slider is made out of a type of composite material that files fairly easily. Don't take too much off. Try small amounts at a time. Hope this helps Edit: See my post below. Filing the slider is a Major mod and should not be required if everything is set-up right... and the Planets are all in alignment... and your car likes you. Vintage cars can be enigma's...

Just a note on electrical connections. The terminal designs on early Japanese cars are really bad. They have no water seals and the connecting pins corrode and come loose with age. They are a constant source of misery on these older cars. If you do not care about period correctness, but want a more reliable car, I would strongly suggest changing the electrical connections in the engine bay and exterior lighting etc, to Weather-pack or Deutsch connectors. Deutsch connectors are more compact and easier to assemble than Weather-pack and are available in many configurations and amperage capabilities. They are a preferred electrical connection on many Race cars including Nascar, IMSA. NHRA and Off Shore Boat racing.

Edit: Was typing while Gary made his post above. Continue checking all of your electrical connections. Don't eliminate any of those wires. In addition to the above, check ALL of your grounds and electrical connections, particularly to the ignition system. . Bad grounds can do flaky thing, are intermittent and rough roads as you mentioned can make them rear their ugly heads. Carefully check the small wires that attach to the pickup coils in the Dizzy. These can crack and short, causing intermittent failures. Fairly common problem with Magnetic pickup coils. I do agree with Jim that Fuel Pump failures on EFI cars usually give some type of warning, usually by a short sputter... even with a complete failure of the fuel pump. The fuel rail still has to bleed down pressure and that gives a bit of warning ( sputtering before dying ) . And failed fuel pumps usually don't recover. Clogs or fuel starvation in turns usually give even more warning as fuel pressure will fluctuate. Ignition failure on the other hand are INSTANT. And they can recover if a bad ICM cools down or a bad ground makes a " better " connection. BTW... bad grounds will heat up ICM's until they fail. Can be an SOB to track down. In my experiences and just my .02c... FWIW.

Delete.. double post.

I wouldn't stuff a plug in that tube ( VC vent tube ). The PCV system needs to draw air through the valve cover to equalize flow. Plugging the VC vent tube will cause other problems. Dig a bit deeper and find out what's going on. It's a very simple system. At the minimum, temporarily put a K&N style breather filter on it. Not ideal for EFI, but it's better than plugging the vent or leaving it open with no filter.

One other thought. Chcek the inside of the Rocker Box. The factory system has a very well designed Oil Baffle plate the covers the vent hole. Some aftermarket companies remove these baffle plate when they are Media blasting the Valve Cover for polishing or Powder coating. If they don't replace the Baffle ( screws are epoxied in from factory ) you can get oil spray being flung out of the vent tube at WOT. At WOT, PCV airflow is reversed ( no vacuum ) and blow-by gases will flow out of the vent tube. Not a big deal as engine is designed for this... but if VC baffle plate is missing then you can get a large amount of oil being pushed through the vent tube. Edit: I had that exact problem ( no baffle plate ) on my 280Z. PO had installed a very nicely Chrome plated VC. But plater's media blasted it and removed the inside oil baffle and never replaced it. Large amount of oil collecting in vent tube and hoses. Got a donor VC, removed the epoxy from screws( not that difficult ) and removed oil baffle plate. Installed the baffle plate in my Chrome valve cover and no more oil in vent tube. Be sure to epoxy or use Red Loctite on screws.

Since the normal air flow for the PCV valve is drawing into the Rocker Box thru the PCV valve and then into the Intake manifold, I would suspect that an abnormal amount of oil in the vent hoses would indicate a malfunction in either the PCV valve itself or a split PCV hose. The PCV hoses love to split on the where it's hard to see, from all the heat from the exhaust manifold. If the PCV system is not working correctly, then you build Positive pressure in the cranckacse and it will push oil out the Rocker Box vent tube. I replaced the stock Nissan PCV hose with reinforced high temperature silicon hose and no more worries about split rubber PCV hoses.

K&N makes breather filters that have a 3/4 rubber neck. But, you should not be using a vented filter straight off the Valve Cover on Fuel injected motors. As noted previously, FI motors draw the vent air ( for the PCV system ) from behind the AFM, so it is metered air and the ECU can compensate. If you use an open port or open filter on the Valve cover for PCV venting, you will create a lean condition as air is being sucked in from Atmo, drawn thru PCV system system and into Intake manifold without being measured by the AFM. Best way may be to add an Oil catch tank or oil separator. That will prevent oil vapors from being sucked into the Intake manifold. If fuel injected, make sure you use a closed Catch can with no vent on the top. Edit: Carbed cars are calibrated with the Valve cover vent open to atmosphere... opposite to EFI.

I thought it was pretty impressive. The phone was dragged on asphalt behind a motorcycle with no damage to the actual screen. That's a pretty severe test IMHO. The coating is sacrificial and easily removed. It's a pretty popular product. As for drying time. Most headlight covers are removable are they not? Take the H/Lite covers off, coat them and put them back on when dry. Not a big deal to me. I agree that first video was perhaps not all that great of a test. It was a bit too extreme. I've done some more searching and here's a second video that much better illustrates how scratch resistant the product is. Treated Cell screen is scraped with keys, Steak knife and screwdriver, with no scratching evident. BTW, this is still the original version. There is a new version called Liquid Armor Plus that is supposed to be even tougher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUbt3Y0Lh8M I'm going to coat my H/Light covers both inside and out with this product. Let it dry and then give them a good waxing with a hard Carnuba wax. I think that should work pretty good. Lots of good suggestions here. Keep them coming.