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Hoping to get it buttoned up and home this weekend, regardless of running state. If it's in the garage at home, I can at least run out and mess with it when there's a suggestion versus waiting for a...

OK, it arrived today - he was closed, but I couldn't wait, so I zipped over there, plugged it in and turned the car over.

Same sputter as before, then dead. Flat battery. So no real verdict as...

I would have done the coil grounding test, but I forgot exactly what to do - and no power meant I couldn't jump on and check.

If I was smart, I'd have brought a charger to the garage with me and...

OK, wow - what a weekend.

Friday afternoon a big storm cell moved across the Elgin area, 70MPH winds and quarter-sized hail. There was one funnel cloud reported about halfway between here and the...

ECU will be here Monday - swinging by the shop tomorrow morning to ground the injectors and see if we can get a click. I should have an update around lunchtime and I'll come back to beg for help...

I'm tempted to just have it towed home, but I'm going to see if I can get some more garage time this weekend. I'm also going to see if I can pick up that ECU - I'll let you know how it goes.
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I thought the ECU was different for 77-78 versus 75-76...am I mistaken?

Those water pump bolts are notorious for rusting and breaking. Soak them for days with a combo of ATF/Acetone and you might get lucky. I only broke one when I did my water pump.

Quite a few new cars are shipping either with an emergency repair kit or nothing at all, versus even a compact spare.

Some products work fairly well, but I don't know if those tires are then...

lol, I can say for sure that the oil filler cap is on tightly.

I went over the vacuum lines yesterday, since I've had some vacuum leaks in the past. It would have to be fairly major to prevent it...

I dropped off a copy of the wiring diagram, the pinout for the ECU connector and instructions on how to ground the coil to test the injectors. He was out driving a customer car, so I'll have to call...

He did mention that he thinks it's a ground problem, and that's why he wanted a copy of the EFI wiring diagram. I'll drop it off tomorrow and mention everything we've discussed so far.

Thanks...

I'll see about pulling the plugs. The engine will start on starting fluid. The initial sputter I'm getting now seems to be fuel from the cold start injector - not sure how that's tied into the fuel...

If only. Most of these cars have long since rusted away in Chicagoland. Windy City Z club is almost entirely new model Z cars, from what I've seen these days. I've run across plenty of people that...

Honestly, no. I didn't run the noid myself, but I'm pretty confident that I can believe him when he says it wasn't lighting.

So, key on and then just a length of jumper wire from the ECU plug to...

Update time.

Injectors have 12v
Tach bounces when cranking
ECU pin 1 has 12v, key on
ECU has power, pin 10, key on
ECU grounds, pins 5, 16, 17, 35 all have continuity
12V leaving the green...

Well, no joy at the moment. The shop is closed, at least for the morning - one man operations have random hours, I've noticed.

It's also raining, which isn't conductive to my working on the car...

I haven't checked any of the links yet. I did replace all the links on the fender before I dropped the car off last year. I haven't checked any other links but those four.

280ZX computers look to be dime a dozen. Hopefully it's a non-issue. We'll see what I can come up with while I'm with the car.

Do I need to pull the ECU from its mounting location to remove the...

I sure hope it doesn't come down to a bad ECU. Those things are too much money, even if you have a rebuildable core!

Hopefully I find a loose connection or something and it's a fast fix - I don't...

As I recall from all my fuel delivery issues, the tach will bounce when the engine is cranking. Should be fairly obvious if it's not connected, at that point.

He stated that he verified 12V on...

Mmk, minor update - the car has spark for sure - it'll run on starter fluid, there's just no fuel coming in since the injectors aren't firing.

Spoke with the garage owner and let him know I'd...

Very cool, thanks - I had no idea there was a newer version.

This one seems to have a few more tests that can be run and it's generally more well-written and clear as to what you're looking for...

The ECU grounds via the harness, correct? Not the case being mounted to the body.

The EFI bible says to test pins 5, 16, 17 and 35 for continuity to ground. Not sure if there were any changes in...

ZH mentioned checking for spark and also mentioned the coil to pin 1 connection (blue wire, I believe). I was told that it had spark, but I'll verify for myself when I get over to look at it.
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