ok i was workin on my z. i took out the starter. i wired the starter backwards and killed the starter. it was the stock starter so i guess in a way its a good thing i replaced it???? = )
anywho, now i hook the new one up and it used to crank over. but now the car kinda "shuts off" whenever i turn the key.
i can hear the starter come out and click click click. but it doesnt spin.
also, all my lights flicker on and off and the inside dash lights go on and off too.
this happens even if theres a fresh battery in it. (at first i thought it was my battery being weak, so i charged it, i also tried to jump it.)
what the heck happened?

 

How do you wire a starter backwards? There's only 2 wires... one big wire from the battery, and one small one from the ignition...

 

on the starter i got i couldnt tell which was ground or not. it doesnt matter now anyways cause its right now. i just dont understand why the car shuts off everytime i turn the key now. the only other thing i was doing before that was a tranny swap in the freaking cold. im getting frustrated, its like one thing after another.

 

oh to better say how that happened...on the starter there was one ground one pos and one small one from the ig. but the pos and neg looked the same and were the same size, on the starter itself. thats how that happened. i didnt pay attention to how it was set up before i removed it. thats all my bad there.

 

does your year use internally-regulated alternator? Usually the click indicates bad starter or voltage regulator, and since you just replaced the starter...

Get a voltmeter and test your battery voltage no-load and full-load (cranking), your alternator voltage (no-load and full)

 

check your fuses next to the battery

 

It's nto the fuse's. If the starter clicks, then it don't have enough Amps. Just because a batter mught say full charge. don't mean it has the AMP's it's supposed to. Try a diff battery. And jumping a car only works if the car from whom you are reciving the jump has enough amp's to do this.

 

I'm still confused on the positive negative post thing...The Z starters only have a positive post as they pull the negative from the casing through the engine ground. There's a large (12mm I think) nut that the positive cable from the battery attaches to on the solenoid. Then there's the small spade connector for the ignition voltage. The only other connections are the ones for the positive strap from the opposite side of the solenoid to the motor itself which only receives power when the solenoid activates. The negative battery cable comes off the battery has connection at the battery tray then goes down to the top bolt of the starter which gives the engine it's ground. Nissan took care of both the body and the engine grounds in run of the negative cable. Good setup if you ask me. If you connected that positive cable to anything ground you would have known it immediately when you connected the battery. Would have been a pretty show of sparks and melting battery posts and possibly melting fusible links.

 

check the battery its self?

 

oh when it hooked up backwards it engaged on its own and then wouldnt do anything after that. even after i tested it. thats when i replaced it.
but like i said thats over with and thats not the prob anymore. ive almost got enough for a new battery. ill try it out soon and let you guys know.
im going on what that dude said about how jumping a car wont work unless its got enough amps, and i tried to jump it with a crx so i dont think that did any good.
ill get back to you guys soon and HOPEFULLY its the battery. someone told me it might be the relay too.

 

aw i bet youre right, in old cars once i start replacing stuff everything starts going. but ill let you guys know soon

 

Might Be Your Alternator Too, If Thats Shot It Won't Run.

 

It will run with a bad alt until the battery drains. My alt went out on my ZX on a trip to OH and I barely made it there before everything completely died.

 

my Alt only gives back 11.8-11.9V's So every once in awhile. my batt is to dead to start car.

 

I will bet you money you fried the battery cables. Replace them and hooke the new ones up correctly! Ignition switch could have gone bad too. They're cheap and fairly easy to install.

 

crap now it just wont start, it keeps almost catching and cranks.....it sometimes sputters and almost wants to start but it wont.
guh what happened now?!?!?! it started fine before! aggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg im going to go jack up the car and let it drop on me, i'm so frustrated!!!!

 

oh and btw i just replaced the fuel filter, the plugs and wires, air filter too after that happened and it still wont start.

 

Maybe you are not getting good spark. Have you misordered the wires? I know, very basic but simple solutions often save the day. Check for spark at the plugs and coil, check for injectors firing.

 

i had a weak coil. also timing was off. and injector's were not fireing. all at same time. i got it all figured out. now i am riping up the street's. Give it time. go over things. start with air. then spark, then fuel. do it in stages, and keep things organized, and catagory(ized)

 

Damn fubar that's a great combo you had there. Good suggestion to do this all in stages with proper documentation.

 

air is the easyist. then spark. and fuel can be the hardist. Do it that way. It's faster, and easyer. plus if you figure it out. bam, the easyist way too.

 

ok im still messing around with this (i know its been a while but its been so freaking cold out) i think its in the electrical system, i just wanted to give you guys an update since i never replied.
theres only one other 280zx ive seen in this state and its a turbo i think.
it has an all dark blue paint job with a silver hood. the blue looks great. i havent seen a color blue like it before on a car, maybe custom? ahaha its owned by some chick who goes to school around here, at least she knows her cars = ) i bet shes cool. i gotta get my z running and catch up to her sometime = P

 

i think it might be the coil, it gets a super weak spark. how do those go bad anyways? i know, trivial but im curious