Greetings
My brother has a 1984 300ZX (non-turbo) that will run approximately 1.5 to 2 minutes consistently and then die. I can (promptly) turn off the key and turn it right back on, crank it, and it fires right back up again. When the car runs it runs like a screaming maneache.
Does any one have a clue what could be malfunctioning
Sure it's not more like 30 seconds? Have someone listening to the fuel pump (or check it for power/ground with a TEST LIGHT across the pump wires, not a volt meter) and see if it stopping. If so the ECU is bad/has a burned up trace in the fuel pump power. It's not the fuel pump relay, it only works for the first 30 senconds then the ECU directly controls the power to the pump. You can hot wire the fuel pump relay so it's power by key on power to keep from replacing the ECU or open the ECU up and resolder the burned up traces.
Thanks. I will consult the Haynes manual that my brother has for his car and determine what an "ECU" is. I will try the things that you suggest above.
Is the "ECU" very expensive? Wait, this isn't the electronic brain box for the electronic fuel injection system is it? I'll bet either right or left kick panel. (I once had a 77 280, 2+2)
Actually now when I fire it up it lasts around
30 seconds. It seen like it was around 2 minutes while I was transporting the car for my brother. It started do this a few hundred miles away from my current location in the middle of the Arizona desert. I would have to push in the clutch, turn the key to off and turn it back on, crank it, let the clutch back out and go till it would die again. (It would not restart if I didn't turn off the key and then back on.) I bet I had to do this a hundred times. At least it was consistant.If anyone else has any thoughts on this please don't hesitate to speak up.
That's what an ECU is.
It's most likely the fuel pump circuit in the ECU, cheap fix is to find the fuel pump relay (it's in the right rear quarter panel as I recall) and trigger it from the ignition switch. it's that or buy another computer. To be sure you need to listen to the pump or test the fuel pressure and see if it goes away when the car dies.
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