driveability issue - '82 280ZX

JZ82 · Feb 18th, 2007, 03:30 AM

I have a '82 280ZX and the issue is when the weather warms up and the car warms up. The car will act like it's being starved of fuel, like it's being cut out. This happens in traffic, with the car idling, or trying to put power to it, like at a stop light, or in stop and go traffic. The engine will buck and sputter and I'll have to kill it, and wait a minute or so before it'll restart. Any ideas? I'm suspecting the thermostat is bad because of it's inability to maintain a constant temp under certain loads, and overheating possibilities. the engine has a weak cylinder (#1), but not sure if that's the cause. Anyone else have this issue? Fuel perculation maybe?

I'm building up a new motor, but suspect that the same problem will still be there.

Zen31ZR · Feb 18th, 2007, 12:05 PM

'82 was fuel injected, right? Looks like you might be looking at a bad throttle position sensor. It basically tells the ECU whether the throttle is open or shut so the ECU can make the injectors spray the appropriate amountof fuel. It's located on the side of the throttle body. You may also have a dirty or dying MAF (mass air flow sensor). Both of those units have a lot to do with what the ECU knows about whats going on with the engine

JZ82 · Feb 18th, 2007, 12:11 PM

It is fuel injected, and it only happens in warm weather and when the engine is fully warmed up.

Zen31ZR · Feb 18th, 2007, 12:24 PM

You might also try the o2 sensor. I'm not completely sure of the '82's sensor layout and ECU capabilities, so I'm just giving generic advise about some things that should be checked on any car..

JZ82 · Feb 19th, 2007, 11:29 PM

02 sensor is fairly new (less than a year old), and it did it before and after the new sensor was installed. Fuel filter is fairly new as well. I bought the car from my uncle a little over a year ago and updated it's maintenance. I'm going to check all the connections under the hood and on the ECM as soon as I get a chance.

JZ82 · Mar 2nd, 2007, 01:27 AM

Would a bad distributor give symptoms like this? I'm just finding it hard to diagnose because it only acts up once the car is fully warmed up, seems to be aggravated by warm weather as well.

Zen31ZR · Mar 3rd, 2007, 05:30 PM

Might be having some issues with a fuel line too close to the exhaust piping or something like that. Don't think it's a bad distributor, they generally either work or they don't......Warm weather problems can be caused by intermittent wiring connections, but they don't usually just involved just runnng poorly..