Been surfing through some Z car sites and need some help getting a friend of mine's z running. I build mustangs so when presented with the z, my first thought was uh, wheres the starter solenoid?
I have searched through here and zdriver.com and found 2 threads close to the problem I have but it ended without them solving it.
The car is a 79 280z 5speed and has been sitting covered, under a car port for 6 years.
The car has power at key on (lights work, radio works etc) but when you turn the key to crank everything dies. I had the battery charger on full power and when you turn the key to crank, the radio or something buzzes and then something behind the passenger side kick panel clicks and then it stays dead for 4-5 seconds then will give power back to everything that runs off switched 12v.
I recently had the starter rebuilt so it isn't that. I hooked the battery charger straight to the starter posts and it still did the same thing.
I talked to a local z shop and they said it may be the main relay. They said sometimes the heater core is prone to leak after sitting for awhile and may corrode some of the wiring or ECU.
Going tomorrow to mess with it some more. Took the volt/amp meter with me and just about everything has 12v until you turn the key to crank . . .
Even the wires coming off the ignition switch.
thanks for all the help, especially since electrical help questions seem to be a staple among the z forums.
So have you actually pulled the passenger side kick panel and looked in there yet? You might start with the relay box under the hood. That one is more prone to corrosion than anything inside the car. And the heater core does not leak on the ECU. If there was any possibility of this Nissan would likely have recalled the car to fix that problem years ago. I like it when shops start BSing to get you to spend money........
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1992 Yamaha FZR 1000. 145 Hp, all stock..
Yes, I did take the kick panel off and its one of the metal "twinkie" looking boxes that clicks.
I am looking at the wiring diagram (courtesy of AutoZone.com) and it appears there are two fusable links that could be the only things associated with the starter motor. And both of those go to the ignition switch first.
Where are those fusable links at?
I haven't seen the car in awhile, I am going today, but I remember there are two black boxes in the engine compartment that have relays/fuses inside them.
As with most starting problems, start at the battery and work your way back. 1st, make sure the battery is fully charged. Relays won't work properly with a weak battery. Make certain all wires and ground connections are clean and tight. Pull the battery cable terminals themselves and make sure they are clean. It's not enough just to visually inspect this stuff, the corrosion can be hidden inside the wires and connectors.
The fusible links are in one of the boxes under the hood. It's been years since I was under the hood of a 280, so I can't tell you which one. As far as the metal "twinkie" box, can it be removed? It could either be the source or one of the victims of your problem.
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1992 Yamaha FZR 1000. 145 Hp, all stock..
I put a used but good battery in it to replace the old 10+ year old one in it.
When I try to crank it, I also have the battery charger on "Start", which is the most it can throw at it.
I guess I will just follow the wires back with a multimeter until I find something that should have 12v but doesn't
The relay causing this problem probably has a loose wire. Won't show up with a multimeter, because it will still carry some voltage. But its behaving just like a battery with a bad connection, any load overloads the connection and it seems like it kills the system. But it's actually pulling more current than the connection will allow, and away from everything else that was on before you turned the key to start. The starter draws about 3-4 ( or more) times what everything inside the car does. So the little twinkie box may indeed be causing the problem, you'll have to figure out how to get into it.
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1992 Yamaha FZR 1000. 145 Hp, all stock..
Linear Mode
