Shawninvancouver

Hi siteunseen.. look at my lsat photo -- i am not sure if you noticed but i did a few photos of the shaft position.. some photos were ( what i thought was tdc ) then i spun the wheel with mark around again then took another photo.. so the one you see may not be tdc - it may not be the compression stroke. so i may just be offa tooth or two.. can the car still run? can i just put the #1 spark plug to where the rotor is pointing to?? i think that how the last guys had it going. - maybe drive it home then fix it...

ok.. here is photo with dizzzy off.. this should be tdc as mark is allgned on notch should be compression stroke.... what does this look like..

ignition module looks rough on the outside, but looks ok inside.. is there anyway to test the pickup coil? will the 280 pickup coil work on the 260?

still trying to get spark. if plugs are not in correct order will engine not spark? when we were looking for TDC we may have not been on a compression stroke . there for the rotor was pointing to wrong spot for #1 plug on dizzy. if we were not on compression stoke, would it be the exact opposite from where rotor was pointing?? or we have to look for tdc with compression stoke again? also - can the #1 spot for plug be anywhere on the distributor? or is it always supposed to be the same spot? to the right of clip. any chance the oilpump rod was inserted wrong? also - could it be a bad pickup?? anyway to check the pickup?? does gap need to be correct for spark? also - is 280z pickup same as 260z pickup? will the photo of the 280 pick up work in 260?

possibly, but I thought it was a separate topic.

I have been informed it looks like my dizzy was put in off kilter. not put in properly.. can someone explain to me how this happens.>? should vacuum point to front of car or drivers headlight? does it need to be flipped around? re adjusted? wrong dizzy? mount to engine on wrong? i was also told that this is caused by the oil pump gear haft/rod put in wrong. but how does that change where the dizzy sits?? i have looked in the fsm how the dizzy goes on but it does not show how it goes on the mount to engine. this car has never sparked so something is messed up here. any help would again be great.. they previous owner had all plugs lined up from 6 at fan and 1 at firewall...

ok.. i may just put a 280zx matchbox distributor in.. does that make sense?? easy to hook up? just 4 wires and done... a good way to go?

so do you think the distributor was put in wrong?? what are you trying to tell me?

ok i can try that - how do i move the vacuum advance ? will that being out of whack cause no spark? they literally had the plug wires with 1 at firewall and 6 by fan...

ok zed. pully mark was at top dead in the middle of the 4 alligning marks - was perfect - the rotor was pointing exactly where it should to the plug on right of the clamp so i know i was on #1 plug wires are a bit screwed as they dont reach propper plugs. not sure if someone just threw some old plug wires in from another car... i will need new wires... rotor is out in photo... i assume arrow on rotor points to #1 spot??

Thanks zed.. will try to explain this to you as good as i can, describing this in print is hard. for reference.. when i say power i mean turn the key only to the power position, when i say ignition / start the car i mean turn the key to the ignition position. when key is on power position - power goes to black white... that wire goes to one end of ballast. other end of ballast comes out and goes to pos on coil. neg on coil is blue wire. now - i have tried to test for power / spark coming out of the coil by unplugging coil wire from top of distributor - holding it close to a ground, and turning key to ignition position,, no spark. i did see a small spark when key was being released from ignition position. but no sparking like a spark plug.. ballast got warm ... coil is a MSD 8203 - is there a problem with coil model??

is there a way for me to test this thing>>>???? is there a cheap after market one that will just plug in.. ya know.. plug and play 🙂

What I’m getting at here is there a way I can eliminate the electronic ignition unit? Is there a way to determine that it is actually working? Thanks

Ok. How exactly does the electronic ignition unit fit into this? Most people say if you have a good coil ( brand new) and hook it up properly as per manual and no spark - it’s most likely the electronic ignition unit. If when the key is turned to power position the black white wire by the coil gets power , can it still be the electronic ignition unit??

Lets try this again. I have now wired up the ballast and coil as per manual. i get power only to the black/white at the resistor and when all wired and key on no power to the coil. is this an ignition control unit issue? what should happen when i try to start the car? should power then go from the resistor to the coil?? why would it not? bad ICU? need some help here!! looks to be wired correct??? blue to neg blackwhite pos..

oh man,... is there a way for me to just test my unit when its out of the car? if i open it up? or is there an after market unit that will plug right in?? if i have the coil wired up correct and still no spark does it just make sense to get a new electronic ignition unit?

So what 2 things align in that photo to get time to zero? Mark on wheel to grooves on platform thing ?

ok - how do i set timing mark to zero?

where is #1 ???

there is NO mark on the cap... how do i find the first spot with a mark on the cap?? can you not tell me by looking at the top of the cap??

this is on ebay but the last number in the part is different.. what is the difference in these 2? thanks

electronic ignition... NO mark on cap.. wires were all backwards with 1 at fire wall... no clue why what do i do here???

Can this unit be tested? are there any after market units i can get that will just plug in? does this look fried? i get power to coil but cant get spark, is this the culprit? thanks

Hi steve, after more work today i can tell you the following.. we cant get spark. when the key is turned on the only wire getting power is the black/white. i put that black/white to the + on coil - blue to neg coil. also attached to the black/white is a black/green i think... ( not mentioned in manual) in my photo.. also -its electronic ignition... i took a photo of the Ignition control unit.. a bit rusty also there is no mark for spot 1 on distributor cap.. we held end of coil wire to ground when trying to start and no spark... where do i go now???

Is 1 spot always at front of engine? Could it ever be 6 at front ?