Ok..I have an 82 280zx non turbo...The car is getting plenty of fuel..But wont start...I replaced the wires..plugs..and rotor button..Still nothing..My father pulled the cap and stuck a screw driver from the center of the distributor and let it arc across the cap..and the car back fired..Put the cap back on..turned it over and checked for spark..It has spark..But it seems as if it sparks at the wrong time?..the car was running fine before..and now it wont even hit a lick..My father thinks maybe the IC module on the distributor is sending wrong signals to spark at the wrong time?

 

The NA doesn't change the timing other than the mechanical and vacuum advance on the dizzy. If you're getting spart the IC is fine. The dizzy distributes the spark at the appropriate time. Did you set the stock timing?

 

I never messed with the timing at all..It ran one day..the next it didnt..I introduced starting fluid into the throttle body..NOTHING..Im sitting in the garage right now with the car..just confused...

 

I'll chime in before Marc does.

A car needs three things to run
-Air
-Fuel
-Spark

Since you're getting fuel, check the other two.

Since we don't have an OBDI-II connector, we have to do things the old school way

Did anything happen in the time it was working properly until now, when it is not working? Or all of a sudden, crank no-start?

 

well it was running like crap..I replaced the chts with a new one that i ordered from rockauto I just checked the timing on the cap with my chiltons manual that i ordered..all is correct..tried to start it again..nothing..but before all this..I removed a fuel injector to see if it was gummed up..it wasnt..so i put it back in..car ran terrible..so i called it a night..came back out the next day..fired it up..floored it and it wouldnt break 1200 rpms..then it would slowly fall down and die..Now it does nothing at all

 

ok well check this out..The only plug that has fire so far is number 5..I pulled number 6..and it has nothing?..Its got new plugs...

 

ok now im down to no spark..I have power at the coil..and spark going out of the coil..But none out of the cap..What causes this..I am sure its the issue LOL..Im sorry for all the back and forth..I just need my baby running..Thanks for everyones time!

 

Take the cap off, crank it, does the dizzy spin?

 

Yup..the dizzy spins..But no spark coming out of the dizzy itself..I DID notice that if i grab the rotor button and turn it a little bit..It clicks and the cap sparks..But when I put the cap on..pull the plugs..no spark..

 

So you got spark all the way to the cap but nothing after...how is the cap itself then. If you are getting spark all the way up to it but not after it, might be your issues.

 

cap is new..rotor button is new..wires are new..Plugs are new..But im getting nothing out of the dizzy...like the distributor isn't telling it to spark..unless i grab the rotor button and click it side to side..THEN it sparks in the cap...

 

So going by this, when the dizzy turns, it should be throwing spark, you turning it by hand = spark, the cog turning it = spark...so you have no spark when you crank then.

What sorts of witchcraft is this!

 

Did you do a load test on the battery/alternator and do you have a good ground from the battery to the chasis and the engine/tranny?

 

No offense but there is one of your problems. The Chilton's manual is only good for kindling. Get a Haynes or FSM, and save yourself a lot of grief and headache.

 

just to make sure wen u pull the plugs to check for spark u are grounding them right???
If im not mistaken the spark electricity goes from coil to the center of cap were the disrtibutor distributes it (if it spins then its doing its job) then from the rotor bach to the cap points then to the wires and thern spark plugs follow see how far it goes till it stops....check the conections from the spark plug wires maybe same thing happened to u like me and theplu was plugged in but the actial metal conection was pushed into the boot (no connection) heres the link to the factory service manual
http://www.xenons130.com/reference.html

 

thanks for everyones help..i got my baby back up and running..i have 2 injectors that are not firing so i ordered a new set LOL..hopefully they will be here soon,this site has helped me out a crap load with these confusing little cars,but god i love it!

 

Was there a spark issue? It's good to post your results so when someone has the same problem and they find your thread there is a solution at the bottom

 

Okay I finally got my 82 280zx up and running..But now heres my problem..It idles kind of rough, It also backfires under load. I replaced my plugs wires dizzy cap rotor button coil. chts. and 2 injectors that i found leaking. now here is whats weird. number 6 cylinder. If i unplug that fuel injector no change. I also have another one doing it. I think number 2. If I pull the plug wires on them. No change. all the other injectors if i unplug make the car sputter and almost die. Why are these two causeing no change?

 

Merged w/ your previous thread so we don't have to play the guessing game on what you've already done.

 

Maybe because they aren't working at all? Bad connection or a bad injector? Take one of the connectors that IS working (eg runs rough when you disconnect it) and try hooking it up to one that doesn't work.

 

get a node light its a little connector that connects to the injector connector and has an LED that blinks every time the injector connector recieves a signal. that way you can wiggle the wire while checking the node to see if your connection is arcing or flat out disconnected.like 5 bucks for one at oriellys or follow fric frac ive done that, before i had the node light..

 

Just wanted to update everyone! My baby is back up and running. Turns out I had a serious timing problem. Also I had to removed all the injectors and clean them and rebuild. On top of that cleaning every electrical connection seemed to have done the trick!

 

Check ur ecu..