240Z, 260Z, 280Z Motor Swaps (non-V8) L28ET RB SR KA VG VQ 2JZ etc....

81 turbo swap question

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 08-31-2012, 09:55 AM
  #1  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
81 turbo swap question

hey guys,

I know I should have no questions when it comes to swapping a turbo motor into an S30 chassis since i have done it 3 times now but I'm doing a 4th and this time its my first 81. After wiring in the harness I realized other than the ECU and dropping resistors and ever so slight changes in the non ecu plugs on the harness its pretty much the same thing. I actually didn't even realize it was an 81 and just wired from memory then I was like oh crap this is an 81 popped out the write up for it and saw I only had to add one extra constant power and instead of having a start" signal I use a switched power" signal in place. Otherwise the exact same thing. Now here is my problem. The ecu I got sent with it didnt power up. LED never lit up. Said ok well ECU is possibly burnt out. Got another one sent to me... same problem. So now I'm going over my grounds and go hmmmm.... So i grab my 82-83 ecu plug it in, it powers on. Now, I didn't hunt down the exact differences in the harness years but would you all make the same assumption I am, that if I can power on an 82-83 ECU off an 81 harness wired as per the write-up on hybridz

aka: A quick FI and ignition 280zxt to S30 turbo swap guide - HybridZ


that I yet again have another crap ECU or is there some 81 turbo trick I'm oblivious to... I'm getting a bit frustrated haha.
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 08-31-2012, 03:58 PM
  #2  
Registered User
 
koprutzxt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 127
the only trick my 81 turbo ECU did was randomly shut off on the highway had to unplug it and plug it back in to start the car. id say ur better off with the 82 ECU if its workin
koprutzxt is offline  
Old 08-31-2012, 05:26 PM
  #3  
Political n00b crusher
 
SportBikeMike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,576
How about an '83? Eric I have an '83 turbo ECU sitting in my garage.
SportBikeMike is offline  
Old 08-31-2012, 06:05 PM
  #4  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
Wish it were that easy. We'd have to o swap to a 83-83 turbo harness and dizzy to use tgat ecu
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 08-31-2012, 08:28 PM
  #5  
Ruff Ryder
 
hoov100's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: palm desert
Posts: 6,140
Originally Posted by snwbrderphat540
Wish it were that easy. We'd have to o swap to a 83-83 turbo harness and dizzy to use tgat ecu
I've got a 89 z31T harness, ECU, MAF, coil, PTU and CAS for $210 plus shipping if your interested.
hoov100 is offline  
Old 09-01-2012, 12:05 AM
  #6  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
Thanks hoov. But this actually is not my project I'm doing this swap for mike and have everything done except getting the car to run due to the lack of powering up of the ecu. And I've never done the z31 swap so I wouldn't make mikes car my guinea pig. Ok folks maybe my question isn't concise enough. Assuming the swap I posted is 100% correct and I did the wiring correct. But the 81 turbo ecu's led won't come on when I turn the ignition on yet when I plug an 82-83 turbo ecu in and its led does light up would that presumably mean my wiring is correct and i have two **** 81 ecu's or is there something I could possibly be overlooking.
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 09-01-2012, 04:45 AM
  #7  
Ruff Ryder
 
hoov100's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: palm desert
Posts: 6,140
I'd pull them apart and check for internal damage then with power to the ECU start doing checks with the multimeter.
hoov100 is offline  
Old 09-03-2012, 09:47 AM
  #8  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
no one?

n what would I start sticking the multimeter to. I can't find any test methods n comparing wiring diagrams was hopeless
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 09-03-2012, 02:17 PM
  #9  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
Originally Posted by snwbrderphat540
popped out the write up for it and saw I only had to add one extra constant power and instead of having a start" signal I use a switched power" signal in place.
Where did you get this info? Link?

I compared the 81T ecu schematic to the 83T, and THE ONLY differences are:
-ECU pin#6 = Fuel Pump Control Module (81T doesn't have it, 82-83T does)
-ECU pin#114 = +12V unswitched power (81T doesn't have it, 82-83T does)
NismoPick is offline  
Old 09-04-2012, 07:24 AM
  #10  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
my info is from the first link i posted. sounds like i got another bum ecu then
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 09-04-2012, 07:36 AM
  #11  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
Originally Posted by snwbrderphat540
Wish it were that easy. We'd have to o swap to a 83-83 turbo harness and dizzy to use tgat ecu
The only difference would be that the 81T ecu sends a high impedance injector signal thus needing the dropping resistors vs 82-83T ecu already programmed for low impedance. If the 82-83T ecu lights up, I would just make jumpers to delete the drop resistors and plug in the 82-83T ecu.

Last edited by NismoPick; 09-04-2012 at 07:38 AM.
NismoPick is offline  
Old 09-04-2012, 05:12 PM
  #12  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
the cas signals aren't different?
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 09-04-2012, 05:17 PM
  #13  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
Yer different!

Nope... Cas signals and wiring are exactly the same-oh. Even the plug is the same between the crank and dizzy CAS (read your link again... ).
NismoPick is offline  
Old 09-05-2012, 08:17 AM
  #14  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
I knew the plug was the same. just figured since one is magnetic signal the other optical they would have different outputs. I see that's not true. I do see there are two turbo afm's though so any idea if there's a difference in those. or is it just jumper n done.
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Old 09-05-2012, 08:35 AM
  #15  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
Just do it already!
NismoPick is offline  
Old 10-01-2012, 09:16 AM
  #16  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
What's the status yo?
NismoPick is offline  
Old 10-08-2012, 08:38 PM
  #17  
Registered User
 
taylor76zharris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 39
how would one use an 82-83 EFI harness with an 81tECU? The 82-83 harness has a plug for the dropping resistors and the 81t doesnt. Can you wire in resistors or do you have to an 81?
taylor76zharris is offline  
Old 10-08-2012, 09:11 PM
  #18  
The Good Twin
 
NismoPick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Wild Wild West, UTAH!
Posts: 20,639
^^^ Moved to Snw's thread. Read this thread... it will answer your question.
NismoPick is offline  
Old 10-09-2012, 04:54 PM
  #19  
Registered User
 
taylor76zharris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 39
haha awesome! Where would i put the jumpers? In the ECU?
taylor76zharris is offline  
Old 10-09-2012, 09:10 PM
  #20  
Registered User
 
borini63's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Phoenix AZ + (Q8)
Posts: 1,223
The green light will come out when you rev the car up to 2000 for a minute or so,,,then the light will turn on or blinks to give you a signal that the ECU is good!!
borini63 is offline  
Old 10-29-2012, 07:54 AM
  #21  
Über User
Thread Starter
 
snwbrderphat540's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: lemont, Illinois
Posts: 9,532
81 harness has the dropping resistor in the harness like 1.5 ft down the line from the ecu. I found the 81 cas covered in paint the ecu would never power and the jumper idea was so so. So instead I got an 82 harness dizzy oil pump shaft and ecu and then the motor seized. Pulled it apart did a full rebuild found a washer in 4 pieces in cylinder 2 causing the engine to jam. Put back in runs perfect but turbo won't create any boost.
snwbrderphat540 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MurphyEF
280ZX Performance / Technical
2
10-04-2012 08:24 PM
plusdaddy
300ZX (Z32) Forums
1
04-08-2012 01:21 PM
johnsonsz31tt
300ZX (Z31) Forums
93
05-07-2008 07:27 PM
mrbillishome
300ZX (Z31) Forums
6
09-11-2007 03:43 PM
Zwolftech
240Z, 260Z, 280Z (S30) Forums
1
05-02-2002 05:22 PM



Quick Reply: 81 turbo swap question



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:12 AM.