I have a 1983 280ZX that had been sitting up for a while. I drove it one weekend it and it drove great. The next weekend when I was back in town where I keep it, I took it out and it was doing great for about 20 minutes and then I came to a stop light and it went dead as I decelerated. It did this the rest of the way home and I barely got there. Took it to a auto shop and they have washed out the gas tank, replaced one fuel injector, replaced the fuel pump (after market), blew out the lines, replaced all the rubber lines leading to the fuel injectors and a couple of other things. When I went to pick it up they said it was running fine. I paid and left the place and after going two miles in it I came to a red light and it did the same thing ….went dead as I decelerated. They towed it back to the shop and said they didn’t understand what was happening because they had test driven it and it was doing fine when they tested it. As it stands, I’m still out $1,000 on the repairs and it’s still not running. I feel like the things they did were needed, but I don’t think they’ve found the source of the problem. Can anyone give me any ideas as to what this problem sounds like. Could it be the computer or electrical problem or maybe some little thing they have missed. Thank you for any help.

Also, it’s getting hard to turn the ignition key. Can this be fixed by lubrication or is it a more serious issue?

 

Hmm. It might be the TPS. or you could have a huge vacuum leak somewhere in the system thats letting in to much air and its killing the engine.

Get some dry graphite and squirt some into the hole and turn the key a few times to work it in.

 

I doubt it's the TPS or a vacuum leak if the car runs fine, then suddenly falls flat on it's face.

$1k is an expensive bill for not fixing the car...


Since the problem comes and goes, it's likely an electrical problem w/ a sensor. I would check the AFM, CHTS, ignitor, coil, and all of their connections. Also check all major grounds (battery to body & efi grounds on intake mani).

Also, remember a motor needs 3 things to start (and stay running):
-Air
-Fuel
-Spark

If the car dies and won't re-start, check for fuel & spark. And next time, don't be so quick to send it to a shop for a $1k bill.

 

I really, really appreciate these suggestions. I just called the mechanic today who has been working on the car. He is going to check the CHTS and the AFM as suggested. He said he had already checked the TPS. He said he couldn’t find in vacuum problems with the car.

He said to post to you guys this information and question. He said it is slowly fuel fowling the plugs. The plugs are new, so they are not the problem. He said this is occurring after repeated starting of the car. He said while or when the idle is dropping and then after several restarts, he notices a couple of the plugs have refowled even though they had been cleaned.

I hope I explained it as he told me. Could this give a clue to the problem? This is not an intermittent problem……the car is going dead each time when I slow down to a light. This last time before returning it to the shop, it wouldn’t even restart.

 

If it's fouling out, the ecu is receiving a bad signal somewhere. The most likely culprits would be the AFM & CHTS. If that is the case, then either the CHTS is disconnected or not functioning... or the AFM needs some adjustment.

 

I just spoke to the mechanic by phone and gave him the additional information. He said when I brought the car in, he found that the water temperature sensor had been unplugged. He wondered if there was a reason this had been done. He told me he just checked the CHTS and got a reading of 4.9 ohms. The water temperature sensor reading was just above 50 ohms. He said he has been trying and unable to find what parameters that these two readings are supposed to fall in. Can you provide the proper parameters for the CHTS and the water temperatur sensor? Hopefully we're getting closer with finding my problem.

Any other questions or suggestions, please let me know and I will communicate them with him. Thanks again.

 

Usually it's the connection, not the actual CHTS that is causing the problem.

CHTS specs:

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/showt...highlight=ohms


As for the water temp sensor... does he mean the yellow 1-wire sensor on the thermostat housing? That only controls the temp gauge on the dash... nothing else.

Did he check the AFM?

And all diagnostic info can be found in the FSM: www.xenons130.com/reference

 

He hasn't checked the AFM yet. Will let you know results. Thanks.

 

Just like i told you on zcar.com you have a mechanic who is an idiot. he is just a parts replacer which works okay on something less tha 5 years old but with a car that is old enough to drink you need someone with a brain. you like throwing money at the car call me - for 3K I'll sell you a s130 in good running and driving condition. you haven't bothered to post any results from this so called "mechanic". like what is your fuel pressure. what is your vacuum. if your so called mechanic can't tell you that he doesn't know shi*t. the only way you will get closer to a solution with this guy is if hell freezes over.

 

Ah, virtually the same discussion at ZCar... http://www.zcar.com/70-83_tech_discu..._894876.0.html

 

I think this guy is blowing smoke or trying to pick our brains for zcar info that he can pass himself off to someone as a Zcar mechanic. He has never posted any hard info that he has gotten from the so called "mechanic". he has been given plenty don't waste any more time on this guy.

 

Hi rogerZ,

I replied to your insinuation on the other site. Sorry I bothered you. Ya know....not everyone is a crook. I'm simply a car onwer of a 1983 280ZX that I personally bought new in 1983. Also, I did not know it was unethical to seek legitimate advice on two different forums about the same issue.