Zed Head

Just stopped by the site not logged in to see what's up. Clicked on the "1hour ago" link, took me to the first post in an 18 reply thread, clicked on the "18 replies", took me to the first post in an 18 reply thread. This is most likely the major factor in the big drop off in activity. You can see from the main page that most people don't stay logged in. There's only five signed in right now. But 135 others (don't really know what that last one means) who also can't easily get to the new stuff. Just trying to help. You can try to change the behavior of the masses or you can make the site easier to use for them. Carry on...

I think that part of the disconnect here might be that Mike is a social media focused guy who happens to like Z cars, while many of the more active members here are car guys who just use the internet to learn about and talk about cars. In the end it's a compromise between the two mindsets. As for the drop in activity it might be that what several of us have mentioned plays a part. In social media world you're supposed to stay "logged in" at all times, permanently engaged. In internet privacy world you stay logged out until you feel the need to engage. With the current state of CZCC.com if you click on a link to see what the latest posts say while you're logged out you get taken to the first post in a thread no matter how long it is. You have to log in or go through the hassle of scrolling and clicking to get to the new stuff. So, many of us just bail out and click on some other internet site. In short, the site is just harder to use now, less enjoyable. Instant gratification has been diminished. Overal though the site is still one of the better car-based sites on the inernet. I visited zcars.com a while ago and it is chaotic. Even after you find a sub-forum that you might be interested in viewing it has about 20 pinnned threads that you have to scroll through to find the new stuff. The "Topics Last ..." format at least avoids that, although I did see some pinned threads here that confused me. It wasn't obviuos that they were pinned. Also, while I'm here, and I've already mentioned this, potential new members have to pay $10 to join. If you're searching around the internet to talk about your new Z car, you can join Hybridz or zcar.com for free. Pretty obvious that people will do that first. So, fewer new names popping up, just us old-timers here resisting change.

Are the changes to bring in new members or for the use of existing members? A poll to find out which page most members start from might be informative. If the analytics don't show it already. I start from the Topics Last 30 Days page.

I had the thought that there is probably some patent literature about it out there and found one that describes a design whose purpose is to isolate the sound/vibration from the car body. It's translated from Chinese so makes for a weird read. In short, I think it stops the people in the car from feeling the vibration. Buzzy butt, probably. It's from 2008. https://patents.google.com/patent/CN201300772Y/en I tried to find a patent from around the Z time frame but patent searching is hard. I did find this though. Radar equipped cars in 1972. https://patents.google.com/patent/US3833906A/en

Probably just quantity. Air can be pressurized too. The FPR can't tell the difference.

I've heard/read that the pickup tube in the tank can get pinholes that suck air when the fuel level drops below them. Here are some good pictures of the inside of an EFI tank. https://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips//fuel/gastank/index.htm

Might have some good parts. https://www.row52.com//Vehicle/Index/RND3WJ04AerpczycvgKdSej6F

I'd just go with the Canada spec if your ignition system is factory stock. Assume that the Nissan engineers had a reason. On the other hand though, you're also running projector tip plugs. Many people do, but I don't think that anyone has actually shown a difference. The "P" plug was used in the 80-83 280ZX engines.

The spark plug spec'ed for Canada is a resistor plug, BR____ . So with resistor wires and resistor plugs they might have decided that the smaller gap is necessary to avoid misses. Weird that they doubled up on resistance, but that's what they show. Maybe Canada had sensitive electronics at the time. If you're running non-resistor plugs I'd run the larger gap. Generally, larger gap is better for performance/economy. A more complete burn. Edit - I see in your other thread that you're running resistor plugs, but it also looks like NGK resistor plug wires n the backgorund. You could switch to non-resistor plugs. Or wait unitl the next tune-up, to save the money.

Didn't realize that new members had to pay to open an account. That's new. Might help explain the lack of new members. I would consider giving new members a free trial period, so that they can see if they like being in the club. Just trying to be helpful, not abusive. Good luck.

Today it's back to the backwards way. Weird stuff! Alwyays entertaining.

Secondary is from the center terminal to either of the posts. The low voltage might indicate a problem with the ignition module. It's on the end of the negative terminal circuit. If you can contort yourself down under the dash by the fusebox you could unplug the ignition module, turn the key on, and see if you still have the big voltage drop. That is actually a big drop, like starter motor level drop. If there's a short in the ignition module on the negative side that might also explain the hot coil. It should also cause ignition problems if the circuit doesn't get broken to create a spark. You could also disconnect the blue wire from the coil negative terminal and see if there is still only 10 volts at the coil terminals with the key on.. Also, to be clear, when you are measuring the voltage, are you measuring from one coil post to ground? Here's a diagram of the ignition circuit. I would also unplug the condenser and take some measurements. It seems like you might have a component failing and drawing current. Actually, I would unplug the condenser and measure first, then disconnect the blue wire and measure. From coil post to gorund with the key on. See what you get. o

Thanks Cliff but that would be too much responsibility. Selecting a cabinet and starting a meme coin and all of that. (Couldn't resist, it's wrong no matter whose side you're on. Please don't DOGE me bro...) . .

That is the right way to measure. Resistance should be 0.84 - 1.02 ohms. You said that you were going to measure voltage. Also, that the two coils produced the same problem. Are you still working on the problem of the engine quitting suddenly?

I notice also that this thread can only be viewed if signed in. Seems odd.

It seems to work as expected now, after your change. I had the settings below. Still only works this way when logged in though.

I would make sure that you have ~ 36 psi of fuel pressure. The whole system is designed around that number. The vacuum switch is probably for the vacuum advance hose to the distributor. Vacuum advance is turned off on the manual transmission cars in gear 1 - 3, I assume for emissions. I would just bypass the switch and run full time vacuum advance. The stalling might be because the plug has fallen out of the bottom of the AFM. That happened to me once. Those funky wire clips on the plug are hard to get fully seated and they didn't leave much slack in the harness under there.

p.s. this really does seem like an AI training exercise. Commenting for the paranoid... The robot brains are manipulating us.

Here's a thread focused on the problem @Captain Obvious Points - behavior when you're logged in is not the same as behavior when you're logged out. When you're logged out it doesn't matter what you click on all you get is the first post of the thread. For whatever reason, when you're logged in, clicking on the "X replies" button on one of the main pages takes you to the last unread post. Clicking on the "X time ago" takes you to the first post. This is different than the way it used to be. And, in my opinion, does not make sense. As illustrated below. If you're on somebody's profile page, logged out or logged in, and click on the "X time ago" button it takes you to the last unread post. So, although this makes sense, it is not consistent with the behavior from the main topics page. The buttons do different things on different pages. In sum, often when you click on a button, you can't be sure of what will happen. The result is lots of extra clicking and scrolling. As far as what's normal, I roam around a variety of different forums and having the ability to go straight to the last post is normal, logged in or not. And being able to tell what will happen when you click a button, by the label on the button, is common practice. These comments are meant to be constructive. I know that designing and managing a forum is difficult. But, letting problems slide does not really help with the health of the forum. Example - I just went over to the Hybridz forum, not logged in, and clicked on "13 hours ago" from the main "All Activity" page. I was taken to the post that was made 13 hours previously. As expected. That's normal.

Are you on your phone? Maybe phones handle the site differently. I am using Windows 10, Chrome browser, HP laptop. The first image I posted was from the "Topics Last 30 Days" page. Snipped and pasted. https://www.classiczcars.com/discover/112/ The second was from widget77's profile page. Snipped and pasted. https://www.classiczcars.com/profile/10902-widget777/

There's nothing to manage. It's just a single thread in which to talk about Z's that are being sold or have sold. As opposed to multiple individual threads. If you read back through the posts you'll see that the concept works. Even Mike has commented here.

That is a "colder" than spec spark plug. Might be why the electrode on 1, 2, and 5 are dirty. The white ash on 3, 4, and 6 looks pretty good, but still on the cold side. Have you adjusted the valve lash? It looks like you have some cylinder imbalance. https://www.ngk.com.au/technical_info/heat-range/

If I click on 3X minutes from the main page I get taken to the first post in a long thread. If I click on 3X minutes from the poster's profile it takes me to the last post. Weird.

The injectors open after every third spark. Spraying half of the fuel called for. You can test by spinning the engine with the starter or by disconnecting a wire from the coil and tapping it to its terminal quickly, with the key on. There will be a small spark each time and one of the spark plugs will spark so be careful. Every third tap should cause a squirt of all six injectors.