Distributor issues?

[Packerz]

I have a 1977 280Z.  I have a question to the forum: Are there any weak points of the electronic distributors in this car that would cause engine to stop/loss all power suddenly and then restart and run well after a few minutes and a few cranks.  I have a new Accel coil, new ignition relay car runs excellent (until this event occurred two-times on short drives this year). mechanic said possible distributor (weak optical sensor?) issue during warm/hot weather heat under hood.  Said this was not totally uncommon.  Is there a common wear/weakness issue for this electronic-model distributor?? 

[SteveJ]

Is it a stock distributor/ignition? If you're not sure, you'll need to post pictures or look at the EE section of the factory service manual (found in the Resources/downloads section of this site).

[Packerz]

Steve, this is a stock OEM distributor with approx 80k miles on car.  Are there any issues (heat related or sporadic in nature) with original distributors that could result in complete/near-instant engine shutdown during warmer weather drives (2 separate times)?  Could wear/weakness in optical components or some other part of distributor be an issue?

[SteveJ]

It could be the TIU in the passenger footwell. @EuroDat contributed this to the collective knowledge: 

 

[Zed Head]

The electronic ignition modules (where SteveJ said) degrade over time and overheat as they start to fail.  One big clue is the tachometer needle.  It will either get erratic, jumping around and not reading right, as the module starts "over-sparking" or it will just drop to zero even though the engine is still turning over, if you have a manual transmission.  The distributors are not optical, they are magnetic, variable reluctor triggers.  The pickup coils can also degrade and fail.  

The ECU's will also fail like you described.  They usually run really rich, gassy smell, before they conk out.

The short answer is that there's a bunch of things that can fail and cause sudden engine stoppage.  SteveJ's link is a good cheap upgrade if you decide it's the module.

[Packerz]

Thank you Steve and Zed!  I will ask tech to read this while testing distributor pickup coil  This is probably what he was suggesting possible distributor/ignition module issues...without car to actually test. (Would need to drive 25+ miles of traffic to his shop) will have it towed;  It happened twice and I got away with emergency shoulder pull off!...Not going to push my luck!!!!

Thanks again guys.  Will post results if you feel results would be helpful to others?    Doug P.

[SteveJ]

By the way, Rockauto does have a replacement for the transistor ignition unit. Just look for ICM when you drill down on their site.

I cannot vouch for the quality of any of the parts listed.

Many people have gone with the HEI because it is relatively economical.

[heyitsrama]

3 hours ago, Packerz said:

Thanks again guys.  Will post results if you feel results would be helpful to others?    Doug P.

There is nothing more annoying than browsing a thread and seeing that someone else had a similar issue, and never finished off the thread.

[Zed Head]

4 hours ago, Packerz said:

Thanks again guys.  Will post results if you feel results would be helpful to others?    Doug P.

In other words - yes, we'd like to hear back.  We love to see a win.  

If you can, give this link to your tech.  He can download the book and use it to troubleshoot, it covers all years through 1980.  There's a whole complete section on electrical tests.

 

[Zed Head]

HIR, I haven't seen that comic for years.  I don't know how he keeps coming up with new stuff.

https://xkcd.com/

I seem to recall drifting away as his work took more work to absorb...

https://xkcd.com/1010/

Edited August 6, 2020 by Zed Head

[heyitsrama]

@Zed Head know what you mean there, I think that's also why I stopped reading it super frequently. I really like this comic https://pinkandblackcomic.tumblr.com I notice some similarities with Calvin/Pink from Calvin and Hobbes.

 

Edited August 7, 2020 by heyitsrama

[Zed Head]

xkcd has better letters.  Like you learn(ed) in drafting class.  Back when they used these wooden splinters with graphitous material in the center to draw lines on flat sheets of cellulosic material.