I have read many of the posting dealing with this issue ... very informative ... and have followed my Datsun Service manual ... and well ... I am a little stuck and need some help figuring this out.

Symptoms:
Drives normally ... then car would begin to shutter ... tach jumped all over the place ... then it would go back to normal. The last time it did this I was at the Auto Parts store getting a rotor and cap ... then she just shut off and hasn't fired up since. Everything works ... she turns over ... warning lights come on when key is turned ... the whole gammit ... but she just cranks and cranks.

Work Completed:

Before going through the manual:
1. I replaced the cap and rotor as these are usually the culprit and are inexpensive.
2. Replaced the coil as I found no spark. I read plenty of times that diagnosis needs to be fuel/spark/air related ... and since I had no spark ... easy to start there. Nismopic does a good job reminding me to "keep it simple" and not get bogged down in to many details. NOTE: I am a Z lover ... not a Z professional.

Still ... no start

After reading the manual:
1. replaced the IG Module as the old one measured on 163 Ohms.
... no start
2. Began checking the "primary circuit". Used voltage meter:
14+Volts at battery terminals
Power to ignition switch (on steering column)
Power to Coil
Power to IG Module
... just no spark

Looked deeper into the distributor and found that the "Stator" was cracked on the bottom side: See pic.

I moved the "cracked" piece out a little bit so that you can see it more clearly. I am not sure if it needs to be solid or whatnot ... It is the only thing that I can "See" that is broke.

So now I throw it out to the experts ... where do I go with this now?

 

Yowsa!

I'd try to source a new dizzy from a local junk yard (www.car-parts.com). I have one somewhere in my garage storage... but I have no idea where.

 

im having problems with my 82 280zxt too.. lol it use to work but now i get no fuel pressure sounds like the fuel pump isnt working.

 

... found a couple of ZX's in my area ... actually about an hour away. So ... for my 79 ... I can pick anything from a 79 to 83? Oddly enough they didn't know the year of the car ... just said "we gotta couple of those out back" ... so I can't wait to see what I find.

It is odd that BlackDragonAutomotive has some parts listed from 79-83 ... and others from 79-81.

Doesn't really matter ... going there is sort of like going on a picnic with wrenches.

 

There is a simple test for the fuel pump ... simply remove the connector from the oil pressure relay (on the right side of the engine below the hair dryer) ... and turn your ignition key to ON. You should hear your fuel pump fire up without the car actually running.

If you don't hear the pump ... it is likely the pump or something that powers it.

Before replacing the pump, I would do the above test ... and look for power to the pump with a simple volt meter.

Good luck ... personally I am having Z withdrawals ... need to get it running soon.

 

Solved!!!

Back up and running.

Turned out to be the pick up coil inside the distributor.
In testing the components ... I mistakenly tested the Ignition Unit while it was still plugged into the pick up coil and got a bad reading.

After replacing the Ignition unit ... same problem ... then I finally tested the pick up coil and found that to be bad. 11 bucks and some shipping later ... she fired up like a dream.

Another Z ... Back on the road.

 

Where is the pick up coil?

fixing my 83 turbo auto, ok I think i don't have access to that being the distributor can not be disassembled on my car.
Maybe that means my Distributor is bad

 

the 83 turbo dizzy is a completely different beast. you can get the guts out of a z31 and use them as parts. you probably should download the fsm from xenon and study up on your particular auto.

 

#4 is the Stator (the part that's cracked) and #3 is the Reluctor. When it spins it produces magnetic pulses that the #8 coil picks up then the black module on the side translates those pulses into +12V pulses the same as your cap and rotor would produce for the low voltage side of the coil ignition on the earlier distributors. It replaces a mechanical switch with an electronic one and since the stator and reluctor never touch each other they (should) last for a very long time comparted to a mechanical contact.

 

...and on the turbo... in 1981 they used a crank angle sensor to determine timing for the ignition and distributed the high voltage through the distributor cap. It works similar to the way the reluctor/stator works in the '79-83 N/A dizzy works. In '82-'83 turbos they used and optical encoder wheel in the distributor to replace the crank angle sensor. The wheel has a bunch of slots in it and an opto coupler (light on one side and light detector on the other). When the wheel spins around the light shines through the slots or doesn't shine through when there is no slot which switches off and on like the stator/reluctor does. This signal goes to the ECU and it determines the timing rather than the mechanical and vacume advance of the N/A dizzy.

 

I changed my Dizzy and now the car starts.

 

I have a 83 280zx turbo that won't start. On my way home one day, the tach dropped to zero and then came back up. It did it again a mile later but for longer. And the third time it wouldn't start at all. I believe it could be the crank angle position sensor in the distributer but I'm not sure. If anyone knows what's going on any help is appreciated!

Ps. I replaced wires, rotor, cap, and coil with no luck. I'm running out of cheap things to replace 😁

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

Sounds more like a grounding problem to me...
Do all electronics still work?
Have you checked for spark at the plugs?

Could also be a dying ignitor...