# 87 300zx Wont start



## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

Hello all im new to this forum and the same day I signed up here I uncovered my Z that has been sitting in my garage for almost 2 years. I put in a fresh battery in today and I ran fuel stabilizer in the gas for a few days before i I parked it. I was hoping it would start rite up but that isnt the case. After I crank the engine over a few time I hear a clicking sounds and they come from all over the car. One from behind the passenger seat behind the plastic wall panel and one from under the hood at the solenoids on the driver fender. Also as this is going on I can hear my fuel pump in the tank cycling on and off. It affects the fuel and spark at the same time. I even tried a little starting fluid just to see if it would run for a second or two. But nothing, Im into 2.2 turbo dodge so when it comes to there motors I have no idea what this could be. Any help would be great...


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## slammed91-240 (Jun 4, 2005)

try puttin new plugs, wires, dist. cap and rotary button


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Check your plugs and see if your getting spark then...

try lots more starting fluid.


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

Thanks for the help guyz, ill try that out this weekend and let you know what happens. Hopefully it doesnt explode in a firey ball, and if it does then its off the junk yard.


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

i know that when I turn the ignition on all the guages light up and there is no engine light and everything looks ok but it wont start. The fuel pump comes on also but after cranking 4 a few tries thats when the problems start with the clicking and such. I mite just sell it if I can get it to start. It isnt worth much if no one can hear it run. Its a shame because the body and interior are mint, but I work 68hours a week and have no time to work on it. It was a pretty quick little car back in its day.


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## slammed91-240 (Jun 4, 2005)

where you from, is it turbo, how much you want, and well thats all


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## DonaldHays (Jul 22, 2004)

First if you sell it non running, you will kick yourself over this later (unless your major rich) as the car will bring not many pennies in that shape. I have a 94 Maxima Gxe (same Vg30e motor) unless you have the Turbo in the Z31. 

My Maxima was broken down back in June 2001 (was a bad fuel pump fuse) owner thought maybe the Timing belt, anyways long story short it stopped, they parked the car beside the house left it sitting, 

We got the Maxima off them in August 2005, took the car across the street to my parents house, checked for spark, and then we listen for the fuel pump (odd it was making any sounds) we sprayed a ton of starting fluid into here, and keep cranking on and off for around 20-30 mints then she clicked right on (that was at 81,000 miles) 

The car is driven daily by my partner or me and now has 92,000 miles on it (a lot figured it would have all kinds of issues, so far new CV joints and basic tune up and the timing belt service done is all it has needed. 

I think if its doing what your saying after just two years, there is something else non motor issue, have a friend look at her

The VG motors are pretty solid ones, on the older Z31s mostly its wires and such that make them fail and not run well or run at all, I recall replacing a few wire harness here and there on mine in the short 2.5 years I had it

The Z31s are getting harder to find in good shape and a great cruise car for a late eve ride with the T-tops out will help you relive some of that stress of working so much mine always did when I was working hours like that also.

I still miss mine at times.

Donnie


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

im from Massachusetts, it is a turbo and I want a grand..


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

Ok guys I tried it out this weekend and i have no spark at all. I pulled the plug to the coil off and used a volt meter and it showed no voltage to the coil at all while I cranked it over. Any ideas of what my next step should be?. I dont really know much about these engines except they are far more complicated than a 2.2 dodge turbo, which I am a whiz with. I have an 88 Lebaron 2.2 with a mitsu toe4h turbo running 20lbs at the spike then drops to about 16lbs under boost for a few seconds. It took only a few hundred bucks to build this car up and its the ultimate sleeper. Looks like a granny car with no turbo badges until I put my foot into it. My biggest problem with it is finding traction with all that boost. Anyway sorry to wander off the subject so far. Any help with the 300z would be great. Btw my Lebaron has a digital dash as well as the z but not nearly as cool looking.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

No spark, could be the ignitor pack is bad. Could also be something as simple as a loose wire. After sitting for as long as you say, bugs could have been crawling round anywhere. I'd start with the distributor as the culprit, the circuitry inside controls coil action, you won't see any discharge voltage from the main (large wire to the distributor) outlet unless the distributor tells it to spark. A small LED inside the distributor shines through a spinning disk (underneath the rotor) with a calibrated number of small holes and 6 large holes which tells the sensor on the other side when the coil should spark. If the LED isn't working, well, you get the picture. There is a plugin low on the side of the main body of the distributor, make sure none of the wiring there is damaged. The spark system is completely exclusive of the ECU, should work whether the ECU is good or not.


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## MaxQ (Jun 3, 2004)

First check and or your fuel pump relay, especially if it is clicking. It is located inside the vent in the passenger side door panel. That might explain the clicking from that side, and also why the pump sounds like it is cycling on and off.

Second, check your fuses just in case. Sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious.

Third, run your ECU codes. Get a haynes manual from any auto parts store, and download the FSM from www.carfiche.com. They will help you run the codes and identify the results, as well as show you how to test and/or remove other sensors.

Last (probably should've been second)--get or perform a general tune-up. Any car that's been sitting that long should have at least the plugs/wires/cap/rotor checked/replaced, be tested for intake leaks, and have the battery checked. Hope it helps.


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

Ok i found a little time to tinker a little bit with it. I checked each and every fuse and fusable link and there all fine. I also removed the ground connection from the battery and sanded it down. Stil no start at all. Plenty of cranking power but no fire. Can some1 let me know where the computer is located so I can try to pull the codes from it? Its summer time and I really want to drive this thing to work now and the for a switch from my minni van. Thanks in advance..


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## HollyLover (May 22, 2006)

ok, now i downloaded the fiche and can run a self diagnostic test. I will do that on saturday morning after work. I will crank it over a few times to make sure the computer is seeing the problem(hopefully). I will post again and hopefully have it running soon. I am looking forward to a late nite cruise with the t tops off.


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## Jadon Kerr 87 300zx turbo (Mar 31, 2020)

This might be a long shot seeing how old the conversation is. But what happened? I’m currently having your problems.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Jadon Kerr 87 300zx turbo said:


> This might be a long shot seeing how old the conversation is. But what happened? I’m currently having your problems.


I don't believe he's been active on the forum since 2006.


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## Turro022 (Jan 28, 2021)

Could try replacing the whole pump


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## balmrmartin (4 mo ago)

A small LED inside the distributor shines through a spinning disk (underneath the rotor) with a calibrated number of small holes and 6 large holes which tells the sensor on the other side when the coil should spark.





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## kristofer (3 mo ago)

These problems are usually caused by accidents and channel congestion


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