Team7

I posted this on 300zxclub but didnt get many responses. I am having a terrible time with my car. I fixed 8boost leaks. Recently my car has been acting really strange. It would just die when I hit boost hard. Also i had problems starting it. I got a new battery and it was fine for a few days. Now it wont start again. It turns over and all my lights in the car are fine so Its deffinately not the battery. Could it be a fuel filter? I hear the fuel pump turn on when I turn the key. Oh also just the other night the car sounded like it was running on half the cyclendars. I thought it was ignition related but everything seems to be fine there. Also if it was ignition related I would think it would start but just run bad...Im at a loss.
I was reading through a previous topic about this and tested my coil packs by removing them. Basically my whole drivers side bank is not running. What could this be? I noticed that on the passenger side after you take off the throttle cover one of the connecters going into the fuel rail, I think, is broken at the top. I wiggled the wires a little and the car almost died but it never would get better. I know I need to fix that but I dont think it is part of my problem since it wouldnt make the car better if I wiggled it. I noticed alot of the connecters are in this shape. I think this could be part of the problem but why would a whole bank just go out. I think this one connecter is my starting problem but doesnt have anything to do with the driver bank. Is it dangerous for my engine to run like this? I dont drive it because of it but i may have to and when I am trying to figure out the problem I have it running. Please help.

I dont think my coil packs are bad becuase 3 wouldnt go out at once in a line so I didnt swap them with working ones. They were producing spark though. I ordered new injector harnesses and coil pack plugs so that will fix it a little but it has to be something else becuase I dont think all the injector harnesses in a bank or all the injectors in a bank would go out at once. There has to be a main connector for each bank or something. Hope someone knows whats going on. Oh and no codes on the ecu.

RPS13_GZ32

Well, first things first, it sounds like your car is running a little rough anyway, have you tried to change out the fuel filter yet? (this sounds like the prob.)

If that doesn't fix it...

I've got an NA so I don't know much about any TT probs, but a few months back my car did what your describing (running at half bank), and after failing smog twice, and having a shop take a look at it, no one could figure out what was the prob. Then I was just looking at it and I noticed a little .5" linkage nut was missing on one of the throttle body levers (See pic). It was enough to make the whole motor run on 3 cylinders, it was sputtering, and sounded horrible. After finding a proper sized nut/bolt it went right back to normal. I don't know if this helps, but if your motor is running at half bank, then this may be the prob...

IMAGE: CLICK HERE

EDIT: Other symptoms were that the RPMs would "throb" up and down in the 2000-2500 RPM range, and would also have a substancial amount of lag at takeoff until you hit about 2200 RPM (thats when the lower link would finally hit the upper one (See Pic again))

I'd first start with replacing the fuel filter, that sounds like your problem right there.

Don't know if it helps, but if not, keep us posted.

RPS13_GZ32

Additional note to the people of Reno....don't ever take your car to Automotion, they didn't even notice the missing linkage bolt. Great Shop
But thanks to that little link, my car is now exempt from smog req. at the DMV

entropy31

how did you pull that off?

RPS13_GZ32

(I dont know about other State's DMV Smog Rules but...)

Its actually easy to have an exempt car in Nevada, all you've got to do is register it out of Clark and Washoe county (which leaves like 90% of the state left). But in Reno (Washoe County), there are regulations, but if your car doesnt pass smog the first time then the DMV will give you a second chance run, if it still fails, then you can take it to a shop to get it serviced (which you have to show proof of). If it STILL doesn't pass, then you have to take it to the emissions lab at the DMV, they will test it, and if the lab can't figure it out, then they can file it as exempt when you go to register your car. And as long as I own the car it is exempt from having to hold up to the local county's smog regulations....so I'm in the clear for any mods pretty much AND it passes smog still (it was all that little pin)

I got bored, so heres a pic of the three :

IMAGE: CLICK HERE

(my car is registered under the 2nd one, but got a 3rd run done just to make sure the car was OK)

EDIT: Sorry Team7 for jacking your thread.

Team7

no thats cool. You described my problem perfectly. Im going to go out and look at it right now. I havent changed my fuel filter which I planned to do but I wouldnt think that could selectively screw up just one bank. Thanks for the info.

RPS13_GZ32

Yea, the fuel filter sounds like what is causing the car to run rough, and possibly why it is stalling when your on the gas. But the half bank problem (at least on my car) was caused by that little pin. Id start w/ the fuel filter to try to get rid of it dying and running rough, but as for the half bank thing, it sounds like a problem w/ one of your throttle body levers (or one of your cables).