First time ever, My car just died

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I was going to visit a friend on a mid 60's degree blue afternoon. And car was running great. At the light where the car had been running perfectly, it just turned off. I mean just stopped cold. Would not crank to save my life.

I pushed her off, and noticed I still had 3 psi of fuel pressure and the car cranked well. Oil pressure and temp were spot on.

So this leave ONE thing. Electrical. I am betting my bottom dollar the ignition module in my Mallory just up and died for some unforseen and unpredictable reason. That is my first guess and where I will start the investigation.

However if you guys can come up with anything else, ANYTHING, let me know.

45 minutes later my baby was home off the flatbed. How humiliating. THe tow truck guy was extremely compassionate about the car and did not harm it thankfully, so kudos to him.

[cbuczesk]

Pull a plug wire or coil wire and check for spark. Sounds like electrical to me.

Chuck

[conedodger]

I suspect you're correct. Got a set of points to replace the optical module with?

[Gary in NJ]

it just turned off. I mean just stopped cold. Would not crank to save my life.

When you say it would not crank, do you mean that the starter will not engage? If that is the case I would look towards the fusible link or the ignition switch.

[240260280z]

Yeah electrical.... I hope to be down in Houston for a few weeks in May...maybe we can rebuild a zx distributor some evening

Edited April 21, 2013 by Blue

[mlc240z]

Zedyone, coincidentally was just reading your old rebuild thread. Not the first time you had issues with that dizzy.

Why not just try going back to your original Pertronix for now?

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Well I am going to run set of diagnostics on the module today. It is fairly straight forward. I have two other OEM dizzies with a pertronix in them that work fine. But I am almost positive it is the module... I will let you guys know when I start the diagnostics.

I plan to hook up a timing light and turn the car over just to see if I get a spark through. Then I will do a voltage trace to see what is getting what voltage. After that if all is normal, I will the ignition module test.

One thing I encountered is that there are two ignition modules that say they are direct drop in replacements for my 45 series mechancial advance Mallory. One is 90 bucks one is 45 bucks. They both say they are for replacement of your burnt out factory It is very strange.. One is model 905 one is model 6100M I may need to call Mallory for this.

[FastWoman]

Before you dump money and time into random problems, make certain you have power. Turn your key to IGN, and run a volt meter through all your fuses on both sides. They should all have 12V. If a lot of them DON'T have 12V, then it could indeed be either your ignition switch or a fusible link, as Gary suggested. I remember once having a fusible link go out on my '75 Z, and the car suddenly went stone dead as I coasted to the side of the road. It wouldn't crank or anything. I had to have it towed.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Copy that fastwoman.

I my trouble shooting plan will use extensive use of the voltmeter.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Okay, quick update

I checked the battery, it had 12.6 volts while the car was totally off.

With the ignition on, the fuel pump running I get 11.66 volts to the + side of the coil and the negative side of the coil.

My coil is still 1.5 Ohms across.

I hooked up the timing light to number one and cranked it with ZERO blinks.

I ran the check out for the Mallory called out in some instructions for trouble shooting Mallory Ignition Coils.. here

1. Remove Cap & Rotor

2. Turn Ignition Key ON

3. Is there Battery Voltage (+/- 14v) on the POSITIVE side of the coil? YES = GOOD!

4. Is there Battery Voltage (+/- 14v) on the NEGATIVE side of the coil? YES = GOOD! NO or Much Less Than Positive Side of Coil = BAD!

5. Voltage Drop Test - Voltmeter still on Negative side of coil. Voltage Drops BELOW 2.0v when the optic is blocked= GOOD! NO Drop = BAD!

6. Voltage RECOVERS to BATTERY VOLTAGE after unblocking the optic? YES = GOOD NO = BAD

I failed number 5.

When blocking my optic, nothing changed at all. So poof there went the Ignition module. Now the question is why

[Mike W]

Steve,

As you know I run a similar setup in my car and have always been concerned about the reputation that the ignition modules have for blowing out due to voltage spikes. Based on that I installed a Mallory surge supressor / power filter quite some time ago and have never had an issue. It is a direct connect to the mallory distributor circuit and comes with all of the right connectors to install it inline with the Mallory Unilite. Part number is Mallory 29371.

Also I had a similar incident as you about 9 months ago (actuall shortly before the rally). I was headed to downtown Austin for a photo shoot that I had been invited to by Hagerty Insurance and my car just died on Mopac / Loop 1. Not a great place to be on a Monday Am at about 9:30.

In any case it was definitely something electrical and once it was towed home I zeroed in on the Mallory module as well as the Mallory MSD ignition system. Long story short, I went to a local speed shop and picked up a real MSD ignition as well as a new Mallory module (which they surprisingly had on the shelf). It turned out to be the 6100M. The store owner told me that the actual replacement part for my dizzy was something different (I believe it may have been the 905) but that this module was identical and 1/2 the price. So if you need to get one the 6100M will probably do the trick. I carry with me at all times for a spare but have never had to use it.

As it turns out, it was not the module that was may issue (a fuse if you can believe that) and so I never had a chance to try it, but it looks identical to the original one in the Unlite.

I'm very happy with my Unilite and have never had any problems, but perhaps the inclusion of the power surge module has saved the day for me.

Hope this helps you out.

Mike.

[Diseazd]

It always amazes me why Z owners try to change things that work so well.....the stock point distributers work so well.....why futz with them! The only two times I can remember losing everything in a Z was when number 1, I lost a fusible link....number 2, I had a loose wire on the distributor. Zedy .....Check the crimp on your distributor connections and your fusible link...if that isn't the problem, bolt on one of those old fashioned stock distributors and see if that fixes the problem......IMO

[240260280z]

Junk?: mallory ignition problem - Google Search

Edited April 22, 2013 by Blue

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I liked the flexibility the mallory gave me for my timing advance Diszead. I even went through the trouble to get an OEM one recurved prior to my Datsun Spirit Build. It never failed me. My OEM one, never failed me. I have not been let down by my OEM stuff. But I have always been in search of the ability to do further tuning to suit my engines needs.

I am a believer in stock parts. But I like the flexibility of aftermarket stuff.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Zedyone_kenobi

[FastWoman]

Check into a GM HEI retrofit -- cheap/easy ignition on a chip! Mine's been running like a champ for a couple of years or longer.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Okay, my Mallory ignition module came in as did my Mallory ignition module protector box that Mike W talked about above. So kind of them to sell a part to protect their other crappy part.

I will get them on today. I am taking off half a day to get the Z running and then I am going to an unveiling at the local Porsche of Houston of the new redesigned Cayman ! Hoping for a test drive.

[conedodger]

Okay, my Mallory ignition module came in as did my Mallory ignition module protector box that Mike W talked about above. So kind of them to sell a part to protect their other crappy part.

I will get them on today. I am taking off half a day to get the Z running and then I am going to an unveiling at the local Porsche of Houston of the new redesigned Cayman ! Hoping for a test drive.

Maybe you better be careful what you hope for. I hear the new Cayman is like crack. Addictive the first use... Just warning you Steve...

[Lazeum]

It happened to me also, luckily, I was 100 yds away from my house (after a 300 mi trip!)

To check the optical trigger inside the dizzy, make sure to use the cap to block the beam. I've tried with a credit card and the signal went thru at first leading me to a wrong root cause analysis.

I had a Mallory Hyfire 6AL box. This is what has fried on my setup.

I found out later that Coil resistance is a major item to check. However, if you run only a dizzy with no additional box, coil with 1.5Ohm should be fine.

[tlorber]

I read that, as a patch (version 10.2) there is a surge supressor that protects the protector box that protects their crappy ignition module coming to a parts store near you

[Carl Beck]

Amazing... My Unilite has been running fine for 35+ years now. Maybe Mallory is buying cheap parts from suppliers in SEA now.. I switched to the Unilite because I got tired of having the Points wear slighty out of spec - then having the engine pop, spudder and break-up on a hard launch or above 5500 RPM.

The only time my Z stopped dead - and refused to restart - was when the insulation on a wire from the Points wore off - and grounded the wire on the inside of the distributor. Nissan later added additional protective insulation to that wire..

Hope you get it sorted out..

FWIW,

Carl B.

[240260280z]

I just had those crappy caps with electrolyte from china show up in a friend's PC that he bought 4 years ago....I thought that game ended 10 years ago. Look for bulging tops and brown leaking.

Just had some glass chipping in the cupboard when storing food storage containers on top of each other...also made in China.

The crap coming out of that country is destroying confidence and is probably killing people....what if a cap in your distributor was the cause and it went out when passing a tractor trailer in a tight spot.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Update. In 12 minutes I had the new ignition module installed. It was kind of Mallory to put that piece of crap on top where it can be easily serviced. Well the car fired right up immediately and settled to a smooth idle like nothing ever happened. I also installed the Mallory protection box inline with it, and started the car again just to be sure. Yup still works. NO warnings on if the ignition module protector box needs protecting yet!

Cone dodger, the new Cayman is positively georgous. It truely looks like nothing else (except the Boxster of course). The back end treatment really made the car absolutely perfect. It looks and reminds me of the Porsches of old.

I will make a prediction here. I think Porsche is going to move the 911 up to a GT type of car soon, and the Cayman will be its new hot shoe.

[mdec]

Purchased the same Mallory Unilite on recommendation & module went bad In < 6 Mo driving. My understanding is that a significant portion of these distributers are now Manufactured in China & after inspecting the inards of my Mallory I can well believe that. Luckily(?) my module decided to go bad during the process of re-curving (I was swopping springs) - since discovered the modules are notoriously susceptible to eos/esd type issues. As i was planing more work on the Dizzy (= more handling of the unit) , I decided to go down the re-conditioned 280ZX route & purchased a recurved unit from a shop in ORE recommended by the guy's at Ztherapy. Find I can run with more advance (w/o pinging) than the Mallory stock setup - 19 idle, 36 total v previous 8 idle 28 total.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Well the beauty of the Mallory is you can recurve it at home with a simple recurve kit. It is infinitely variable. That is if you can keep it working.

MSD needs to step up and make a better system.

Or we can all just step up our game and go to a crank trigger and call it a day.

[tlorber]

Hey Blue-a bit off topic here but my HP computer monitor went out a few years ago. After finding a forum that described the blown capacitor problem, I cracked open the case and replaced 2 caps-grand total of $3.00. It has been working great ever since. The best part was that I was able to show my kid how to do the repair. Take THAT China.