Vehicle Repair
 

Any help will help. I have a 1983 Nissan 280zx non turbo. It has been parked for over 10 years and had to replace a lot of parts. Here's the list: (1) sending unit, (1) fuel pump, (1) fuel filter, (6) fuel injectors, (6) fuel injector wires, (1) starter, (1) alternator, and (1) battery. Well I go to start the car and nothing happens, it'll crank over but no starting of car. So I ask again for help in this old 1983 Nissan 280zx that has been parked for over 10 years. Thank you to anybody that can help me.

verify that you have spark. pull the plugs put the wires on them lay then on the block. have someone crank it and verify that all six are sparking. verify that the air passages are free of mouse nests and the air filter is not clogged. put a fuel pressure gage in the system between the filter and the fuel ring. should be getting around 30 psid. Be sure the battery and cables are in Aone shape. Z's don't like low voltage

As far as spark goes, some things you should probably replace anyway just for a tune up are Spark Plugs, Wires, Distributor Cap, and the Rotor. Whether or not they are the issue it will likely make a world of difference in how it runs.

Be sure to get NGK plugs. :023:

okay so i tested the pressure Im getting 38 psi with the air flow unrestricted. Still no go with starting. Still unsure as to what is going on with this car.

i changed all the Spark Plugs, Wires, Distributor Cap, and the Rotor with no success. cant figure out what is wrong with this car.

When trying to start without success you can easily inject enough unburned fuel to effectively flood the engine (using old carburetor terminology). this then prevents you from starting the engine normally. If you have checked everything and still no luck try this. disconnect a wire from the fuel pump so it won't pump (on a z31 pull the fuse). you need a fully charged good battery for this. hold the gas pedal to the floor and give it a long crank. you may or may not get a few pops. Do it again. it may run for a few seconds. do it again. When you no longer get any action reactivate the fuel pump and try a normal start.

What is the purpose of putting the pedel to the floor? I have flood clear programmed into my Mega Squirt which lets you put the pedel to the floor with the fuel pump on to clear the combustion chamber but the 280ZX stock ECU isn't gonna care if the TB is opened or closed as far as a flooded condition goes. Unhooking the fuel pump and cranking will clear but as far as I know pressing the pedel down is not necessary?

check your engine compression and that you have spark, just cause its new doesnt mean it works, especially if the firing order is wrong or its not timed correctly.

the purpose of putting the pedal down is to get enough air in the system to hopefully get a mix that will fire. Read up on what ratio of gasoline to oxygen is needed to create ignition. If it is flooded you will get the engine to run a few seconds thus getting rid of the excess fuel. you obviously never owned a carbureted engine back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Okay vehicle update: Still not running. Even after burning all fuel in the lines by disconnecting the fuel pump wire. I even took off the air flow assembly. NO Luck anywhere. I also changed out the ignition coil just for Sh*t and giggles. I did a compression test on all the cylinders starting from the front of the car C1- 175psi, C2- 180psi, C3- 190, C4- 200, C5- 190, C6- 210. I am still at a great loss for this vehicle. Any other suggestions anybody?

Photos of Spark Plug assembly
 

This is what it looks like from the distributor Cap to the spark plugs.

your #4 wire is where #1 should be. pull the valve cover jack the engine around until the first two lobes of the cam shaft are pointing up and out kinda like rabbit ears. that is TDC for #1 cylinder and that is where the rotor should be pointing towards the front of the engine and that is where the #1 plug wire goes.

On the distributor cap right? Because i look on the cap and there is a #1 symbol on it. I got confused because all literature says other wise.

And by moving the #4 to begin #1 everything moves also right?

Thank you everybody for all your help!!! It started less than 5 min ago. I am so stoked! Once again thank you!

I have three carbed cars (triple mikuni's, dual SUs and a Weber DVG downdraft) which is exactly why I was asking why you were using carb car techniques on a fuel injection system. You don't need to open the throttle to clear out the cylinders. All EFI systems bleed some amount of air past the throttle body in order to idle. If you couldn't draw air into the engine at all you would be hard pressed to get it to turn over.

Again it's not you who is making the air fuel ratio even with a carburated car. With fuel injection the ECU makes ALL the decisions about how long or even if it's going to open the injectors. The stock ECU is dumb so you can flood clear by removing fuel presure and turning it over. It has absolutely nothing to do with throttle position. With a carb it's the jetting and vacuum. The only thing you can do to the AFR with the throttle is move through the predetermined AFR based on vacuum and throttle position.