Alfadog

I decided to look at the fuel aspect of this since I wasn't getting anywhere with electrics. Before checking fuel pressure, wanted to see if fuel was getting into the carbs when accel pressed. Took off the zip-tied filters and tried one - it sprayed. Silly me didn't check all of them, but will have to do that next time. I put some carby cleaner down them and had another go at starting - worked! Voltage at battery when running was 14V. OK I don't have a timing light yet, but thought I'd fiddle with the timing anyway and see what we could get. I turned the cap CW to advance it some more and the idle increased (is this normal?). Seemed to run smoother so took it for a drive. No good - possibly worse than before. So I went the other way. It was a bit rough on idle (and even had a backfire then died on me) but driving results are GOOD. Not great, but good. I have no idea what the timing is of course but it's as far back as the adjustment will let me go. Here's a vid. Sorry it's not very exciting. But you can see how the idle gradually decreases and backfires at 0:42 Nnn7BLFnwTM Is this fixed? DUnno, will see how it starts again when cold. Once started I'm happy to take it to someone who can properly tune it to run at its best.

Yeah, at that price I think you'd be better looking at cars in Japan!

Thanks a lot for all your help Zed Head! I ended up taking a step back and deciding to check the spark plugs - pulled a plug and tested it - all was well. However the plug seemed fouled again though so pulled them all and gave a quick once over with a copper brush. Then it started first time again, easy! A bit hard to keep it alive when cold but pretty normal in my experience. However what isn't normal is the carb backfiring every now and then, even at idle. Idle seems to get slower and slower until it dies. Given last time I left it for 24 hrs it didn't start again, maybe the timing is off?

Thanks for that. I have been prodding around today - 3 things 1. The distributor cap wasn't on tightly - one of the clips had broken! Tied it up wiht a cable tie to check if this was hte issue, but no luck. 2. Inside the distributor, it appears that the grounding wire is pretty freyed and old. Could this be the cause? I have to try to find a suitable replacement as I figure it needs to be more flexible than standard insulated wire. 3. In the instructions you've linked to I have hooked up all the wiring and can see 12V - however they say "Rotate the magnet sleeve in front of the module" - however I can't seem to do this. It only budges side to side a smidge.

Thanks Zed Head. I measured voltage at coil - 10V. I then unplugged the wires from the coil and measured resistance - seemed to settle at 4.5 Ohms

Hi all Now that I've removed the faulty immobiliser the car will crank easily, however I still am having trouble starting it. Appreciate any advice! After cleaning and regapping the spark plugs yesterday I was able to start and drive it, however it stuttered and carbs backfired a bit. Today I can't get it going again. After attempts to start, it does smell like unburnt fuel so I think fuel is being provided, but not so sure about spark. Car has a Pertronix electronic ignition system installed. I have so far: - Checked voltage at battery - 12.5V - Removed the red Ignitor wire from the coil positive terminal and connected a jumper wire from the positive side of the battery directly to the red Ignitor wire. Attempted start - no dice. - Replaced coil (I have a spare new one) - no dice One thing I have noticed is that the wiring doesn't seem to match the Pertronix installation instructions. I have 2 wires from both the +ve and -ve terminals of the coil. Also note I have a wire that is leading to nowhere near the distributor! (As a side note, I seem to have a few electrical gremlins. Windscreen washer doesn't work, wipers dont return to horizontal, tail lights go off when lights switch from parkers to headlights, horns dont work) - all to be fixed in good time! First is getting it started though What I haven't done yet is try measuring the voltage at coil when key is in the 'on' position. I figure this should be 12V as ballast resistor appears to be removed. Any other ideas though, assuming this is OK?

Thanks guys, will definitely consider that as a future modification. Meanwhile, I decided to clean up the old ignition surround. Anoraks may spot that this isn't a stock 240Z part. Must have been replaced with another Datsun unit at some stage in its past.

...Continued 8. I carefully took apart all the electrical tape holding the thing together and tagged all the wires before cutting the immobiliser loose. As you can see it was a bit of a mess under there. 9. No more immobiliser. I was ready to be disappointed - but put the switch and barrel on and tried again with the key to see what would happen. SUCCESS! Cranks without any issue. Problem resolved.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. 1. Checked battery. Good healthy 12.5V. The +ve terminal had electrical tape all over it as some kind of protection. I replaced the terminal anyway as it was looking tired especially next to the -ve which had previously been replaced. Also as @Zed Head recommended, I bought a proper terminal cap to protect it. 2. Checked the battery ground, and cleaned it up anyway. Was ok. 3. Bought a remote-starter kit from online but while waiting for it to arrive found out this trick - remove the ignition wire and use an insulated screwdriver to bridge between that and the power terminal. This effectively closes the loop and will start the ignition. This worked a charm - and showed that its not the starter motor (as suspected since its new). 4. However what this did show was the female spade connector from the ignition was pretty damn dirty. So I replaced this just in case, but it wasn't the issue either. 5. Next up is the switch itself. The keyed ignition is made of two parts - the key barrel and the switch. As @Mr Camouflage suggested, often the little tongue gets bent so the connection isn't quite lined up to where it should be. Didn't seem to be the case for mine. I also had the same problem trying to crank directly from the switch, so it's not the barrel. It must be the switch or the wiring I was thinking... 6. Went down to the Z Shop in Glen Iris and finally got to meet a bit of a lengend in Z circles, Lyndsay. He was very generous with his time and knowledge - and wow what a huge workshop it is. I bought a 2nd hand switch from him and tried it out. No luck unfortunately... so I took a look under the dash. 7. I found this discreet looking black box. Doesn't quite look right - so opened it up and surely not a stock Japanese 70's bit of kit! This is a Dynamco immobiliser. I'm going to hazzard a guess that this is part of the problem. Now I've just got to work out how to disconnect/bypass it !!

My Z has got some starter woes - basically most of the time it will click and seem to only crank for half a second. If you turn the key off and keep trying, after a few tries it will crank over perfectly fine and start. Can anyone help with diagnosing this issue? From searching other threads it appears I may need a new starter...

Hi there ... Some of you will remember me - I sold my first 240Z over 10 years ago, but as many said, I knew I'd be back! I just picked up my car yesterday, shipped from the other side of Australia. It's had some nice work done, yet plenty of opportunity for fixing up and personalisation. First priority is to get it running well and roadworthy so it can be registered. I'll have to post a couple of threads in the HELP forums... I wonder who is still hanging around these parts from 10 years ago ... ?

Interesting, looks like you've got a Japanese SWB 'belt-buckle' grill on it

Here's one

LOVE your work!

Wow that's a real beauty! Congratulations on the find.