My jack broke so I haven't had a chance to life up my car and take a look at the oil temp sensor yet, so no update on that.


I did however pick up an infrared thermometer for $25 from Harbor Freight! I tested a couple things to make sure it was relatively accurate (It was always within about 3 degrees). According to the information I got from it, at idle sitting for about 20 minutes the engine heated up to about 200-210 degrees(I took this reading from the metal on top of the thermostat, highest temp I could find anywhere). I could also plainly see about a 30* drop from the upper to lower rad hoses (approx ~180-150 I think).

Seem like pretty decent temps for a Turbo motor?

Just got back from a 40 minute drive and took a reading when I got home. It sits about 185-190 on top of the thermostat.

Those temps sound good / normal. Now full throttle the car up a nice long hill and check it again. Also check the oil pan temp.

Good! And I did that and everything seemed alright (I never realized just how HOT turbos get!). I also got my oil temp sensor working. Seems accurate based on what I got from the oil pan.


Steps to getting my car smogged!

1. Fix my fuel pump wiring.. just need to find out where the current is stopped.

2. I realized my brake lights don't work. I remember reading about the button the brake pedal uses can break or go bad (research time!)

3. Retard my timing and hope for the best haha :D


Ohh yeah and just to clear things up for myself.. my climate control just defaults to defrost which I assume is due to a vacuum leak under the dash (I know about the manual conversion). However the defrost air puts out no heat at all. It should even if the auto climate control is bad right? So maybe my heater core is clogged?

#2: Brake light switch at the top of the pedal arm. The plastic piece fell off (everyone uses a penny to replace it).

#3: What was the timing at?

The AAC is controlled completely by vacuum, even the water cock / valve. Start the leak search at the two firewall lines. If those aren't the culprit, you'll probably have to yank the dash, and the entire center unit to trace the lines. I had the default-to-defrost problem when I did the swap from manual to aac... after a few drives in the cold, I ripped it all back out and put back my manual controls. :D

Currently my timing is set at 21.

Thanks for the tips on the other two, I'll check it out when I get the chance!

Timing is supposed to be at 21-24* BTDC for the L28ET. :D

Huh! Alright, didn't know that! Well, I'll go ahead and see how it runs higher then maybe. What do you have yours set at in your Z?

Also, I did notice my idle is somewhat high most of the time. It settles at, or just below, 1k. On occasion it'll drop to 750, but a majority of the time it's at 1000.

Sooo what are the main causes of high idle in an L28et? I'll take a video sometime soon so you guys can take a listen to the bit of a stumble I've got also. I need to get an a/f ratio gauge...

Vacuum leaks can cause high idle.
Check at the vacuum pump for leaks with the climate control.
I run about 88 degrees Celsius (190F). Interesting to note that the temp goes from around 10 C ambient and the intake temp is around 50 C when the turbo is up to temp with the stock J pipe.

Yeah I was thinking it must be a vacuum leak, I just never really considered it to be an issue because I definitely can't hear one. So if it is there, it's tiny. I'll try smoke testing and then the carb cleaner trick.

I assume you're referring to my heater not working with your second point right? What do you mean check at the vacuum pump. Just check the lines in and out?

I'm assuming without looking that you have a vacuum pump for your climate control. The lines that come out of the vacuum pump usually come out at a sharp bend and tend to crack there. The automatic climate control uses a vacuum controlled water cock. A leak will keep it from opening (bypasses and no heat).

Yeah I do, I was sure confused when I was testing the fusible links and that thing turned on. Never had a turbo car before so I had no idea there was a vacuum pump :D

I'll check it out asap.. got a bunch of thing I need to get done for school first.

Idle and mixture issue was solved by tightening up a loose clamp on the rubber intake boot! Yay!

I'm going to take it for a test drive tonight and I'll let you know how it goes :D

Two things left to do until smog - Fix the fuel pump wiring, and make sure the boost controller is set up correctly.

Perfect! She pulls through each gear smoothly right up to redline and throws you back into your seat when that boost hits!

Feels good. :023:

Forgot - I need to add one more thing to the list:

• Brake Lights
• Fuel Pump Wiring
• Boost Controller

By next week I've gotta have this done or I pay a $284 fine (Thanks California!)!

So my fuel pump problem is resolved.

I took a look under the footpedals and it seems like my rubber bumpers for the brake pedal are fine.. (There are two right?) They're still attached and when I press the brake they release those small little piston switches. I guess it's down to wiring again? :\

A reply asap would be nice - I need this done :\

^^^ So what's the problem? Brake lights don't come on at all? Have you checked the bulbs? Used a multimeter?

The brake switch problem (when the plastic piece falls off) causes the brake lights to be on all the time.

Yeah they don't come on at all, and I honestly have no clue if they ever have when I owned it. I seem to remember they did but not sure! Could be the lights but I find it odd that they both go out at the same time. I'll test them early tomorrow morning.

Anything else I should check out? Fuses that go to the brake lights? I thought I saw one in the passenger footwell.

And the running lights work fine still - just thought I'd add that.

The filaments in the bulbs look okay, but two of them got water soaked and were almost impossible to remove, I'm just going to replace those and clean the contacts, and I'll hope for the best. I'll also check if power is getting to them as soon as I've got a friend to help me.

My car WAS running great after I tightened up the AFM boot. I drove the car to work today hoping I'd smog it this afternoon but when I went to lunch I noticed it was running weird again. Feels the same as before, higher than normal idle (1000-1200rpm) and I can hear it running rich (stumbling through the exhaust). I guess I'll try to see if the boot is loose somehow again once my car cools down a bit. Damn... :102:

SO! Here's the results of today.

Brake Lights - Turns out they are stuck on I think. One of the two bottom lights should be off, and then turn on when I hit the brakes correct? So if the bumpers are still there, is it possible they don't depress the button enough? I know they do push on them a little at least.

Smog - My boost controller isn't smog legal (oops) not a big deal, I'll just pull it out. The bad part is the running of my car.. Hydrocarbons are really high, which means at leasr one cylinder isn't firing correctly. I'll be pulling the plugs to see if they're all fouled up - it could be from the AFM boot not being all the way on before. The guy also suggested that it was possible that my exhaust valves may not be adjusted correctly. Any comments on all of this? I'll start with the plugs as soon as I get the chance. Re gap and clean them up.

The guy at the smog place was great, he didn't even charge me for this trip and said I can try again. If any of you live in my area (Auburn, CA) check out California Smog.

I have a court date for my ticket tomorrow, going to plead not guilty and bring documentation and reciepts to show I've been working on it.. wish me luck :012:

Can I get some input on the lights :102:

This...


Did you check for power? Either the brake is getting power, or it isn't.

Well yes they are getting power because all of the lights were on. However, I am going to go through and test this more later and get back to you.


I installed all new plugs today to see what kind of difference it would make and it did make it run better, but not perfect. Before taking it for a drive it seemed to be at spec, no stumble smooth idle right at 750. It felt great for a couple of minutes but I did notice that whenever I kicked in the clutch my tach read really low, and by the end of my 8 minute drive it stalled out on me 3 times after pushing in the clutch. When I parked it back at home the idle was sitting at 1,000 and it was stumbling just a little again.

I wish this problem wasn't so intermittent, the symptoms change constantly, one second it'll be perfect, the next it's back to how it was. Probably means some type of electrical piece isn't hooked up or grounding right. :(

Edit: Ohh yes also my positive battery terminal was hot after driving. The cable connector broke so maybe that's causing resistance and voltage drop or something. Could be related to my other issues? Who knows. I need to get new battery cables, what are the best ones to buy? I've never bought them before.

Battery cables are just a connector with a hunk of wire in between. As long as they are crimped on properly, new and clean is your main concern. The 280ZX had a ground that goes from the battery to the body then the body to the transmission housing. You might need two cables to do the same job in that case.

The ground looks pretty much new along with the one heading to the transmission. The positive cable is what I'll be changing out, I'll pick up what I need tomorrow. It sucks living so far away from an auto parts store.