yamahondarider

Alright guys, so I bought myself a 1978 280Z. The car sat for a while, I'm dealing with the fuel system now. So, I ran a quick little test tank setup using a gas can, hose to the pump inlet, hose directly from the pump outlet to the fuel rail inlet (no fuel damper, only gonna run it for maybe 30 seconds), and the return line off the return rail to the same gas can. Simple, right? Well, I hot wired the pump to run full time and within 15-20 seconds I got no fuel out of the return hose and looked up just in time to see the short feed hose i had ran looking like a balloon and then POP! gas everywhere. stupid mistake. The return rail is bone dry, does the regular not let any fuel out of the rail until the engine is running? sort of like a one way valve to keep fuel pressure? I noticed a vacuum like from the regular to the intake manifold. I also know the pump using stock wiring turns on for like 2 seconds and then doesn't kick back on unless the engine is turning over. Or am I dealing with some sort of blockage in the fuel rail?

zxguy1986

Welcome to ZDriver! Congrats on a cool Z.

Check out XenonS30 for a free factory service manual and other free docs - if you don't already have. Nissan loads their manuals with easy to follow inspect-and-troubleshoot pages which could help you.

Our S30 guys will have some questions and some good input for you. Thanks again and welcome. Hope you post us some pics soon!

beg3yrs

Sorry I can't answer your questions about FI cars. Learn to love the FSM Zxguy1986 recommends. Even though the English is obviously written by a native Japanese speaker, the information is all there. Sometimes it's hard to find though. I've been chasing through my harnesses and have to look in several places in my 260Z FSM. Just keep at it.

I keep a fire extinguisher in my garage near the car. Decided it was a worthwhile investment when I started dealing with fuel pumps, fuel and electricity. If you don't already have one, they should be available at the local hardware store for less than $40.

yamahondarider

Thanks for the replies everyone. I actually ended up downloading the FSM a couple days before posting this up. I used it to find a diagram of the fuel system and find out what the fuel damper was but I didn't think to check and see if it had an answer for me as far as the regulator. Checked it yesterday, sure enough it did. Long story short, I put all new lines in the fuel system and bolted the pump back under the car and ran a feed line thru the wheel well (wheel off of course) to the pump and the return to a seperate can in the engine bay so I could keep an eye on it. worked like a charm and the car fired up. it idled consistantly (a little high) and it stuttered when it revved but she ran after 15 years. I found out later that I forgot to ground the MAF so I cleaned up the ground wire and I put it back together. I'll probably see if it runs better today. If not, I'll start checking for dead injectors and maybe replace the plugs.

zxguy1986

Yeah, that's the spirit! Get that baby back on the road where she wants to be!

And don't be so stingy with the pics, dude. We need to see her!