1983 280zxTurbo wont start

[xrw44]

thanks for any and all help.

i have worked on cars 45 yrs but this has me stumped.

i have a 240z with 1983 280zxT engine.

it has run great for 10 yrs but wont start.

starter cranks and i hear the fuel circulating in the lines.

i see no spark with a plug out against the block

i cant see ALL the numbers on the car dist w/o a mirror. but i can see D6P81-02 and 22100

i see no external controller like on the N.A. ?

i couldnt get a reading on the eng temp sensor by the oil filter so i bypassed it w/ a jumper.

i dont have the FSM. I have an old Haynes

Following the Haynes procedure p.125-127:

1. plugs, wires, and connections look fine

2. rotor and cap look fine

3. multimeter is fine.

4. no spark from coil wire to ground

5. battery has 12.5 v

6. 1 mo old battery passes load test at 10.4v

7. less than 30k ohms between the 7 wires and the cap

8. ign coil secondary R is in range at 8800

9. power supply at dist connection is 10.4v, it's under spec of 11.5 for N.A. bad?

- connection by injector is clean, harness is undamaged. what else?

10. power supply at dist while cranking : cant do it alone.

11. ign primary circuit: 4.8v ?

12. ign coil primary R: 1.5 ohm which is above limit 1.02 bad?

13. Dist ground, battery to chassis, neg bat connection:

14. pickup coil R: can't reach operating temp

14. pickup coil output: can't reach operating temp

i bypassed the ign with a wire from coil + to battery +

i get 1 spark from the coil output to grnd when i connect that wire to the battery.

i replaced the rotor and dist cap

i have checked continuity from the R and B wires to the coil

i dont know where the G and W wires go. my Haynes wiring diag is of no help. it is a jumble of lines over several pages!

i think this leaves the only the pickup and angle sensor circuit inside the dist?

i found a spare T dist. same numbers. they seem the same.

Is my next step to try swapping the pickup?

if that fails, try the entire spare dist?

in case i have to remove the dist:

in Haynes i see 20°+/-3

but it says 1982 is adjusted with the external crank angle sensor. nothing said re the 83.

i dont see an external crank angle sensor on my eng and the dist has adjustment slots.

is the 83 adjusted by the rotating the dist?

[Zed Head]

I think that you have ECU controlled timing. There is no ignition module but there is an "ignitor", which is a simple transistor mounted by the coil. It is triggered by the ECU. Your ignitor might be bad, I would check that before replacing or removing any parts.

There are test procedures in the 1983 FSM. Your tests would be for the E.C.C.S., not E.F.I.

You should unjump the WTS also, for when you get consistent spark back. That's a resistive circuit and shorting it might not be good for the ECU.

[xrw44]

I dont have a FSM. is it online somewhere?

The ignitor has a good ground to chassis.

There is 12v +/- in and out on wire to coil,

with wire on the coil i see 8.5v at the coil.

there is ground out to coil.

I have disconnected the wire going to the interior from the ignitor. to the tach i think. i heard a bad tach can inhibit start up. true?

what else?

[Zed Head]

Yes it is. Try www.xenons130.com. Look in the Reference section. You'll need to download and unzip it. I would run through the tests, the E.C.C.S system is different from the earlier Zs in that it uses a crank angle sensor I believe. So the general Z things, like bad tach problems, etc. may not apply.

[xrw44]

thanks. got it. will look for igniter tests.

[xrw44]

i installed the GM HEI modules and still no spark.