# D21 HD long bed



## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

So I have a 1986 D21 HD is what the Nissan teck said the vin read as. I am having no spark and am trying to findn out how to chase this down. Mind you that the wiring on this is different than a standard D21 so the Haynes manual is no good, even the Nissan tech said it is different in his book. The model is EHLGD21FBU or FBV depending on wheather or not it has California emissions. I am in Oregon so it may. It has the VG30 engine acording to Nissan it is not the VG30E or VG30I. It is unlike other D21 as it only has 1 coil. I have found the service manual online but it is still really no help. I will get some pictures and a better description of what is the problem.


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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)




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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

Ok so I am not sure how I created that mess of pictured but I will try to explain what the problem I see. So it started with the truck died and my son left it in parking lot overnight, he went back the next morning and it started up and drove down the road a couple of miles, it then died again but he was able to get it started again and got a few more blocks and then it wouldn't start. I towed it home and diagnosed that the fuel pump was not working. I replaced the fuel pump and it started up, ran for a few min and then died. then would not start again. I let it sit and tried again later and got it to repeat the same scenario. Thied putting some starte fluid in throttle body to diagnose if it was fuel or spark and no fire. so I disconnected a spark plug and checked that and got no spark. So moving along I disconnected the ignition control module from the coil and checked the two terminals and got hot on one side but no continuity to ground on the other side. I even tried checking it while turning the engine over but still nothing. I disconnected it on the other side and determined that I had a hot and ground the other two appear to be signal wires. I am now trying to figure out where the wires go from that point but cant seem to find the wires coming out the other side of the harness. Maybe I am chasing up the wrong tree and the problem is somewhere else.


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## jp2code (Jun 2, 2011)

I've got the HD long bed too. They are hard to find these days because they were built as work trucks. Usually businesses bought them and scrapped them when they racked up the miles.

First I would say to check are the fusible links. If someone tried to jump start it and the cables were reversed, it would blow the links and things like the injectors would have no power.

The next thing to try would be to swap out the plugs for the injectors. Your truck should have 2 of them. My 1994 has 6.

Finally, I think your VG30i might have 2 coils for the ignition. I know that the Z24i did. You can swap those out to see if the truck runs better. 

Last is a picture of mine pulling my new Xterra home a few months ago.


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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

It doesn't have the VG30i it is a VG30. I will check the fusable links, Mine is a 1986 so it has throttle body fuel injection so it might be easier to determine if there is a injector issue.


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## jp2code (Jun 2, 2011)

The throttle body injection is the VG30i. I think the injectors are supposed to have about 5 ohms across the internal coils.

The newer multiport plenum injection is designated the VG30e. My injectors run 11 to 14 ohms of resistance. 

I'm not sure if Nissan made just the vg30.

You might also want to check that the fuel filter isn't clogged. 

And does the fuel pump still make the 5 second whirring noise when you turn the key on? If not, the fuel pump isn't working. Could be a blown fuel pump fuse.


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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

Maybe it is the VG30i. I just know that when the service tech at nissan checked the VIN he said it was a VG30 and not the VG30E. I an pretty sure it is not a fuel issue. When I turn on the ignition I can hear the injector priming and if I spray starter fluid in the air cleaner it does not fire. That leads me to believe it is a spark issue. I have power to the firewall side if the ignition module but no hot or ground to the other side even when turning the engine over.


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## jp2code (Jun 2, 2011)

Do you know how to check the codes?






[VIDEO] Checking Error Codes - Infamous Nissan - Hardbody / Frontier Forums


[VIDEO] Checking Error Codes Hardbody Forum (D21)



www.infamousnissan.com





Do you know what the Fusible Links are?






Fusible links - Infamous Nissan - Hardbody / Frontier Forums


Fusible links Hardbody Forum (D21)



www.infamousnissan.com


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

It's a VG30i. The "i" is for throttle body fuel injection. In VG30E, the "E" is for multiport fuel injection. It would end in "S" if it was carbureted. Your symptoms sound like you have a bad distributor, which is very common on VG engines. Typically, the will work fine when cold, but as the vehicle is driven and the engine heats up (along with the distributor), the distributor will fail and there will be a no spark condition, causing the stall and subsequent "no start." Once the engine cools down, you will be able to start the engine and drive until it heats up and fails, again. If possible, it's best to stick with a genuine Nissan reman distributor. Aftermarket parts tend to be hit or miss as far as quality and sometimes you'll get a bad part right out of the box.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

travisg96 said:


> Maybe it is the VG30i. I just know that when the service tech at nissan checked the VIN he said it was a VG30 and not the VG30E. I an pretty sure it is not a fuel issue. When I turn on the ignition I can hear the injector priming and if I spray starter fluid in the air cleaner it does not fire. That leads me to believe it is a spark issue. I have power to the firewall side if the ignition module but no hot or ground to the other side even when turning the engine over.


The D21 hardbody series used the VG30i from 1986 to 1989, and used the VG30E from 1990 to 1997. Both models used a single ignition coil. A resistor/condenser module was used with the coil which has two wires on each side; when testing the module, one pair is for the resistor which should have a reading of 2.2 K-ohms, the other pair is for the condenser which should have a reading of infinity. So to summarize, you may have a bad coil or a bad resistor/condenser module. It's also possible that the crank angle sensor that's inside the distributor is bad. Make sure the harness connectors are tight and the pins have no oxidation.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

rogoman said:


> The D21 hardbody series used the VG30i from 1986 to 1989, and used the VG30E from 1990 to 1997. Both models used a single ignition coil. A resistor/condenser module was used with the coil which has two wires on each side; when testing the module, one pair is for the resistor which should have a reading of 2.2 K-ohms, the other pair is for the condenser which should have a reading of infinity. So to summarize, you may have a bad coil or a bad resistor/condenser module.


...or a bad distributor, which houses the optical sensor...which Nissan calls a crank position sensor, although it is actually a cam position sensor.


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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

Ok so will a distributor off any vg30 work or does it have to be one from a d21


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## travisg96 (Sep 6, 2020)

How do I test the distributor


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