Tach Jumping and Lack of Power
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 16
From: Oregon
Tach Jumping and Lack of Power
I have a 1983 n/a S130. I was a having a dying problem (I posted a thread here: https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx...ng-temp-36754/) that turned out to be a bad ignition module. For some reason, I had the dealership do it and they decided to replace the entire distributor. No more dying problem, but another seems to have spawned.
Now, the tachometer jumps up and down randomly and the engine runs rough. There is also a serious lack of power. It happens randomly, at least as far as I can tell. Warm or cold, it doesn't matter, but the lack of power and stumbling seems to get worse as the engine gets hotter. It eventually will overheat. At that point, any load at all on the engine causes it to stumble and cough at about 100rpms and then die. If I am cruising with my foot on the gas and the engine is stumbling and the tach is jumping erratically and I take my foot completely off the gas, the tach levels out immediately and gives the correct reading.
The guys at the dealership told me that is was the "mass airflow sensor" and that the "little wires had dead spots in them." That was an obvious clue to take my business elsewhere...
I read somewhere that it could be the AFM going bad or something, so I bought a used one for cheap. It should arrive on the 26th. I'm afraid that once I stick it in, the problem won't go away. I also read somewhere that it could be a bad pickup coil in the distributor. In that case, I want my money and my old distributor back!
Edit: The AFM arrived and I put it in. Unfortunately, nothing changed.
Got any ideas?
Now, the tachometer jumps up and down randomly and the engine runs rough. There is also a serious lack of power. It happens randomly, at least as far as I can tell. Warm or cold, it doesn't matter, but the lack of power and stumbling seems to get worse as the engine gets hotter. It eventually will overheat. At that point, any load at all on the engine causes it to stumble and cough at about 100rpms and then die. If I am cruising with my foot on the gas and the engine is stumbling and the tach is jumping erratically and I take my foot completely off the gas, the tach levels out immediately and gives the correct reading.
The guys at the dealership told me that is was the "mass airflow sensor" and that the "little wires had dead spots in them." That was an obvious clue to take my business elsewhere...
I read somewhere that it could be the AFM going bad or something, so I bought a used one for cheap. It should arrive on the 26th. I'm afraid that once I stick it in, the problem won't go away. I also read somewhere that it could be a bad pickup coil in the distributor. In that case, I want my money and my old distributor back!
Edit: The AFM arrived and I put it in. Unfortunately, nothing changed.
Got any ideas?
Last edited by ultipig; Jun 25, 2013 at 12:17 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 38
From: California
Get the FSM -> XenonS130 - S130 Reference
Mr Z++ Wiki
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,195
From: Victoria, BC
The AFM is the air flow meter - not a MAF but the other parts the dealership is telling you is correct (however replacing the dizzy probably only needed the ignition module on the side as opposed to the whole dizzy). You can easily rebuild the AFM by moving the wiper onto a new carbon track avoiding worn out dead spots.
A Stukinit said download the FSM and test the system out with a multi meter. That will tell you if your AFM/connectors are the problem.
A Stukinit said download the FSM and test the system out with a multi meter. That will tell you if your AFM/connectors are the problem.
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