Old Codger

Wellll....Again, sort of being the new kid on the block around here......My suggestion for who ever writes the article(s) Talk plain language.....

I'm sure if I was to talk with any of you all in person you would not be using all of the jargon "The CHT connected to the FMS, is controlled by a xyz switch". "Check your PDQ for corrosion"?????


It only takes a minute to type out the words....The helps the newbe understand what you're talking about. Or else if you must use the abbreviations, spell out the words first, then put into parenthesis the abbreviation.

If you go to a Dr. and the Dr. says your JMF is clogged, so we'll have to operate.. You'd go HUH?????

If a lady goes to the service manage for something that is wrong with her car, would a service manager, blow smoke using all the abbreviations???? So think of yourself as a service manager....Take a little extra time to explain what it does, why it does it, and maybe where it's located, since most everyone here asking for answers is a Do It Yourselfer


So my suggestion is, think like a Dr. talk plain language....

This also helps when using the search feature..Searching for words instead of abbreviations...Although abbreviations can be found.


Now I'll go to my room, and not come out till I've learned my lesson!!!!!!!!


Old Codger

PredatorZ

It is true, it is very easy to give an abbreviated answer that to the untrained eye is just gibberish. I try to make an effort to write them as I have to at work, part of my job is reviewing and revising process and procedures. Our goal is to make a process Book so that any body, with no "Tribal Knowledge" can pick it up and build a 100% good product. So I fully agree our help needs to be written in a down to earth easy to understand jargon, where any average Joe can read it and go, Oh ! I get it ! That was a lot easier that I thought !

zxguy1986

As a newbie here, I'm kinda surprised the sticky doesn't exist yet. So many 280Z questions now, they seem to outnumber the rest.

If you finally find a way to get all the info together, Nismo had a great intro to the sticky task a while back:

"I'm thinking we should touch base on:
-"My car won't start!"
-"My car runs rough!"
-"My car has no power!"
-"My car hesitates!"
-"My car won't go over 2k rpm"

etc...

Also:
"My a/c won't work!"
"My car has no electrical power!"
"Why is my red check box light on!?"
"What is this sensor light?!" "

I see some good hints for the sticky's format in the above... and there are other common questions, too. Plus, there's a load of good input in this thread. Somebody's work is almost cut out for him!

Happy to help if I can. I'm Z31 trained, tho... But I can write almost anything - and edit everything.

FricFrac

Good point! Here are some common ones off the top of my head

AACV - Auxilary Air Control Valve
AFM - Air Flow Meter
ATS - Air Temperature Switch
CAS - Crank Angle Sensor
CHTS - Cylinder Head Temperature Sensor
CSS - Car Speed Sensor
CSV - Cold Start Valve
Dizzy - Slang for Distributor
ECCS - Electronic Concentrated engine Control System -> the ECU in the turbo cars
ECU - Electronic Control Unit
EFI - Electronic Fuel Injection
EGR - Exhaust Gas Recirculator
EGS - Exhaust Gas Sensor
IACV - Idle Air Control Valve or AR - Air Regulator
FSM - Factory Service Manual
FP - Fuel Pump
FPCM - Fuel Pump Control Module
FPR - Fuel Presure Regulator
PCV - Positive Crankcase Ventilation
TB - Throttle Body
TVS - Throttle Valve Switch - refered to as the TPS - Throttle Position Switch VCM - Vacuum Control Modulator
VCV - Vacuum Control Valve

Old Codger

Exactly Mr. Frick, or should I refer to you as Mr. Frack?.

By the time it took you to type out the abbreviations, it probably didn't take that much more time to spell out what you wanted to say....


But on the serious side, even having a sticky made of all the abbreviations and their meanings, like you just made would probably be great help in itself for everyone.

Thanks for posting the abbreviations and their meanings.


Is MANNY and his brothers also members of the forum here?. Just wondering.


Old Codger

Old Codger

Car won't start? What's wrong? I don't know either..

So we know it needs spark and we know it needs compression, and we know it need fuel....

1. Go to your local hot rod shop, or maybe your local Harley Davidson dealer, and see if they have those little gizzmos that put plug your spark plug wire into, then into the spark plug. When the wire fires, then the middle of that gizmo lights up light, a lighting bolt.....They are pretty at night to see them flashing, but they will tell you if you are getting spark at the spark plug.

2. Get a in line see thru fuel filter. Mount it at a place you can see the fuel going thru it....It's not going to hurt if there's another fuel filter before going to the injectors...Actually it's good insurance.......Unless a car has been sitting for a very long time, chances are of the fuel tank or line having a bunch of crud blocking the line are on the slim side. Usually if a person has been driving the car pretty regular, then it might be because the neighbor kid hates you, and put dirt in the gas fill opening.

3. Next, a car needs compression...No biggie here...It's easy to do a compression test...Doesn't hurt to test the compression every couple of years, just to check the health of the engine...

Now you have checked the basics....Chasing all three at the same time, is going to take you three times as long to find the problem. I personally can't think of a time, when I had two going on at the same time.


Still won't start? It won't even turn over. No click, no nothing?

Get a tail light, or some interior light socket with some of the wire still attached...Now you have a test light....It's easy to test any electrical connection, without fear of shorting out anything. I got the bulb, socket and wire from the glove box...That way I didn't have to tear the car apart just to get what I wanted....You'll have to attach a ground wire to it...No big deal....Also I bought a couple of those alligator clips and put on the ends...Easier for a 1 man operation....Now I can test for electrical continuity.

Da head bone is connected to the neck bone.....Electrical..You start with the battery of course. Good clean connections, battery fully charged....Then use the test light at the fuseable links, and go from there....



When I get rich, I'm going to let the other guy do my work...I'm just going to put in gas and go!!!!!!!!



Old Codger

SantaUpState

Looks like you have good information
I am going to look at a barn find today in S.C.
1983 280zx turbo with less than 150k miles, hopefully it will turn over!

SantaUpState

froze

If someone is reading this and considering buying one, they are extremely reliable cars IF it was maintained properly which is true of any car. If you hear the lifters ticking then that means the owner failed to do the proper maintenance of doing a valve adjustment on the engine, which will tell you that that owner probably failed to do other maintenance that was require, probably need to walk away from that car.

The stuff that Bleach mentions in post #1, he's not saying the car has problems and you should be wary of buying one, it's just checking the car over to make sure it's a decent car to buy, and being that they are now over 40 years old, yeah, stuff like rubber parts will crack, but if the previous owner stayed on top of things then that should not be a problem, but you need to check the car out very well to be sure.

I had aa 81 ZX and between myself and the guy that bought the car from me, we put on over 400,000 miles before he sold it, and it was only burning a little less than a 1/2 a quart of oil between changes, and the engine was silky smooth with no ticking sounds. The only mechanical repairs we did, well actually I did because he would bring the car over to me to help him fix anything, were: one of the fuel injectors started to leak, so I replaced them all since the seals didn't look good; alternator, starter, the radiator along with the heater core and of course all the hoses, fan belts, and I think that was it for mechanical. When I owned it I did have the T-top and the rear hatch rubber seals replaced, while they weren't leaking they were looking very unhealthy for my likes; and the shocks of course. I had covered the seats with sheep covers, and the rear deck carpeting I covered with a rubber mat, and the dash with a dash mat, so they were still in good condition when it was sold to the 3rd person. The voice thing that warned you about doors etc., stopped working when my friend had it, but everything else electronically worked fine even the radio continued to work after that voice stopped, but my friend was sort of relieved when it stopped because he hated it!

These cars were superb cars if taken care of, like any car, but these will last far longer than most cars. But again if buying one after all those years you really need to be on your game and check it out really well before buying one. They did have problems with rust, that was their biggest problem, so you need to check anywhere and everywhere for any signs of rust, even a slight bubble in the paint is a sign it's beginning to rust, which if repaired quick enough it will prevent a huge problem, a very small amount of rust can be sanded down and that section repainted, but once it eats through then you have to cut the metal out, replace that section, and then repaint the entire fender or whatever, and depending on the age of the paint the new paint will not match the old due to paint fading over time, it could be a shade to several shades off, so at that point you might as well just have the whole car repainted, and if you do that it's cheaper to have it painted the same color as original, and while they are prepping the car for paint they should also be fixing any other rust spots, and small dents on the car. They make upholstery restoration kits for these cars, not too difficult to install yourself, they make headliners, and carpeting too.

This stuff isn't anything different from any other classic car, all stuff you need to look for, but I will warn you with this, if you cannot do most or all the work yourself, you could spend more money partially restoring stuff done by a professional than the car is worth. The only way anyone today should own a classic car is to do all the work yourself, or you have a lot of money and don't care about dumping that money into a car knowing you'll have more invested in it than it is worth but you're doing it because a particular car speaks to you and you just have to have it. Even if you do all the work yourself, you could still exceed the value of the car, there are a lot of restored classic cars for sale where the owner did all the work, got all the receipts, and is selling the car for less than he put into it, so if that's happening with a private person imagine the expense you'll have letting a pro do it!!