Duck Ryder

My car is coming back together and I am testing for spark, which I've discovered I do not have.

First off, I have power before and after the fusible link.

ECU has green light.

I've got power to the coil along the Black/White wire, but no signal from the ECU along the Yellow/White.

The dizzy cap is 'keyed' to the dizzy, therefore, to make sure I installed the dizzy in correctly, the rotor should be pointing towards the front of the car along with the number 1 cylinder spark, and the Crank Angle Sensor (CAS) should be on the engine side of the dizzy.

So here is where I need help...

Right now I am going to take my test light to the Black/White wire on the middle connector of the ECU, the Yellow/White wire on the middle connector. I am also going to check for voltage at the Green/Black and Green/Yellow on the larger ECU connector (i think).

I am assuming that the EFI relay is functional as I've got power to the Black/White wire at the ignitor.

I will also check for continuity on the Black/White wire connecting the CAS to the Vacuum Solenoid for the EGR and ISC and the EFI Relay. I am assuming that this wire is power for them from the relay


Any suggestions for troubleshooting appreciated. I also plan to replace the ignitor with an HEI module as per skittles instructions (https://www.zdriver.com/forums/showt...9&ref=esp-link)

If it is the dizzy, I will look for a replacement from any Z31 or Maxima as per Nizmopick on another post (https://www.zdriver.com/forums/showt...ighlight=spark)




And also, this wiring diagram kicks ***! http://www.xenons130.com/images/wiri...ZX%20turbo.pdf

NismoPick

Is the coil bracket securely grounded? The coil / ignitor will not fire if that bracket isn't grounded.

Otherwise I'd say it's a fried ecu (I have a spare 82 zxt ecu with the same problem).

Duck Ryder

The coil bracket is grounded, It doesn't show that it needs to be in the wiring diagram on the haynes manual, nor in the color one I linked to, but it does show it in the Factor Service Manual (FSM).

I've verified that I have power going to the CAS and the ground at the connector is good. I've got continuity from the other two leads (Green/Black and Green/Yellow) to the ECU connector. However with the key in the On position, or with the engine cranking over, there is no voltage signals from the CAS to the ECU connector along either of the green wires.

At this point I think its the CAS on the distributor...

NismoPick

From the thread you posted above...

Duck Ryder

The car stopped running over two years ago when I took it apart!

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-s130-forums-77/somebody-please-help-31420/

I am putting it back together now and testing parts. I am testing spark right now and am baffled as to why I don't have any.

All the grounds have been tested.

I am wondering about the CAS at this point, what kind of signals are sent along the two green wires, does the ECU measure voltage (i.e. resistance changes) or does it look for more hard signals like on/off voltages?

What is interesting is if I jiggle the connectors i get some funny reactions, like either the EGR/ICS solenoid activating, some relays clicking and an injector firing. I have no spark plugs in and I can then smell fuel, which is interesting because when I am cranking over the motor I don't smell fuel.



Since the distributor has been out and the cap off, I wonder if the eye has gotten a little dusty

I've inspected both engine bay wiring harnesses and have fixed the one an only damaged wire. I've also been mechanically cleaning all my connectors.

Duck Ryder

Got her running! The problem was with the ignitor. I followed skittles write up on using a HEI over the ignitor and instantly got spark. Now all I have to do is get her to run right!

I learned alot about the ignition, hopefully I will have time to create a through write up on the in's and out's of the wires and voltage signals.

It doesn't seem like I can embed video, so here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbEHYczhcTE

runningjalapeno

I am glad you found the problem, the ignitor is an issue most 280 zx turbos have had problems in the past. Also, a bad ignitor will make the car run rough black smoke will come out of the tail pipe because the gas is not burning all the way in the cylinders. Another thing is leaking injectors when you turn the car on in the morning it will run rough because of the extra gas that has leaked in the cylinders.