Datsun Z car (240z, 260z, 280z) ignition upgrade guide

[@kyushaspeed]

Hey guys! I thought I’d throw my experiences with the various types of ignition systems available for the good ol’ Z cars into a KZbin guide! Please share with anyone or groups that might find it useful 👍 Also, let me know what you think. Did you find it valuable? 🤔

[@originalphilliousfog]

Hi, great video, at the cheap & simple end the advantage of a 280zx e12-80 distributor over fitting an electronic ignition to the points distributor is the reduced mechanical advance, only 17 deg, ideal when using side draught triples with no vac advance, idle at 17 deg all in by 2600 - 2700 rpm at 34 deg 👍

[@kyushaspeed]

originalphilliousfog thanks! I found that changing the weights and the mech advanced bar so that a little more peak advance occurring later befitted mid range torque. This was when I ran 45DCOEs (mentioned at the end of the video).

[@Rkenshin00]

I literally appreciate you so much. Thank you.

[@kyushaspeed]

Rkenshin00 glad I could help 👍

[@brendanlink600]

The l28 is also in the mk nissan patrol and im currently doing the ignition over haul great video

[@kyushaspeed]

Cheers Brendan! The L28 I used for my stroker motor actually came from an MK patrol with the single downdraft carb 👍

[@kenyonstewart7120]

I had a Pertronix Ignitor II in my 1972 240Z. It died on me after a couple of years and not that many miles, leaving me stranded and having to get towed. It evidently is a common problem with the Pertronix units, it's the heat that kills them I think. I have switched back to points for now, but have a Megasquirt unit and will switch to that in the future.

[@kyushaspeed]

Thats interesting. Maybe there was a bad batch. I ran a Pertonix for over a decade at full 12V before retiring for a Nissan optical dizzy and MS1 to control spark. Good luck with the MS too!

[@keithlowry9639]

Hi, great videos, I got a 73 240z, sometimes it does fine sometimes no spark, I got the pertronix, followed instructions it worked for a bit, then same crap, no spark, so I put points back in, runs fine then same crap, no spark, so I put pertronix back in, I only have 5 wires, 2 black with white stripe, 1 green with white stripe and the red and black from pertronix, I have it all unhooked, I turn switch on, b/w wire at ball/ res is hot, I bypass resistor and connect to g/w wire, which in turn makes the 2nd b/w hot, so I have a hot b/w wire and red wire from pertronix on positive coil postand the black wire from pertronix on the negative coil post, everything connected, turn switch on, test light shows everything hot, both sides of coil light up, but no spark coil, flamethrower that came with pertronix, I'm stumped, would you like to be the man to help me, just a simple answer would be great, thanks in advance

[@kyushaspeed]

Hi Keith, To clarify, the BW wire from the ‘run’ key position at the ballast resistor should be connected got the red pertonix wire (red pertronix wire should not connected to the coil). The black pertronix wire should connect to the negative pole of the coil. The positive pole of the coil should be connected to the GW/BW wire that runs past the tachometer. Is that what you have installed? The GW wire supplies cranking voltage when the key is turned to start. If both points and pertronix work for a period of time then fail, you may have a problem elsewhere in your ignition.

[@keithlowry9639]

@@kyushaspeed thanks boss, I will go back over it tomorrow morning, thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes

[@kyushaspeed]

@@keithlowry9639 no worries! Feel free to hit me up on Facebook messenger or Instagram DMs if you need further help.

[@keithlowry9639]

@@kyushaspeed I'll try to find you on Facebook

[@keithlowry9639]

@@kyushaspeed hi yas, well i put it all back together, blk/w wire from tach to positive post on coil, black wire from pertronix on negative post from coil, on ball/res, one end i have b/w wire from key on, and red wire from pertronix, on other end of ball/res is the g/w wire, when turn the key to on, all 4 points show hot with test light, but still no spark from coil to cap, i feel dumb, i know im missing somthing simple/stupid

[@robp9124]

Great Video's Aaron. I took the Mallory Unilite Path , Optical with mechanical advance, when I shifted to Webers. Nice easy bolt on solution. You've got me interested in exploring other options though :)

[@kyushaspeed]

+Rob P the Unilite is a bit of a unicorn! I haven’t seen a new one for sale for some time. Is it easy to work with?

[@robp9124]

Ahh , ok. Didn't realise they are hard to find now. I purchased mine about 6 Years ago ?. Been flawless , and documentation is fantastic. I originally had a 6al running it , but it died recently. Took me a total of ten minutes to rewire it straight to the coil.

[@richardzedman1160]

I just fitted a 280zx dizzy to my 260z what do i do with the ballest Do i take wires of it and join them together

[@kyushaspeed]

Richard Zedman I believe so. The ignition wiring on a 260z should be very similar if not the same as a 240z. www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

[@charlesstine1952]

I also did this, but I’m wondering now if my mad blaster is actually what I need for a coil. I’m not using my ballast at the moment (74 260z)

[@kyushaspeed]

If you’ve removed the ballast resistor from your ignition, I recommend installing a 12V coil. There is a difference between a ballast and non ballasted coil 👍

[@stacysoto1907]

Did you add a msd 6al ignition box to your system??

[@richardzedman1160]

@@stacysoto1907 no

[@andrewturnock5665]

Any experiences with 123 Ignition products? Seeing if valid for A12 engine in a 120y

[@kyushaspeed]

No personal experience sorry. I understand they are a good upgrade if you only want to optimise your ignition timing curve for a modified engine. If your engine is mostly factory spec I would recommend upgrading the points to a Pertronix to be able to remove the ballast resistor and get a hotter spark (eg. GT40 coil) and leave the factory ignition timing curve as is.

[@mikegrizwold2522]

I have one in my 71 with triple weber 40DCOE's. Works great but you have to set your own curve numbers. I used to run a mallory unilite which always seemed to work well but I wasn't sure I was getting the proper full advance.

[@EzamHealth]

Hi man, this this conversation work on a Nissan L28 engine?

[@raharold]

There is definitely good solid advise in there. Well done! I guess your recommendations are directed towards those that choose carburetor setups. In my opinon the next logical step after the investment in electronically controlled ignition is to step up to electronically controlled fuel, a.k.a fuel injection. If you are going to end up with FI in the end, why not invest in an ECU that can control both fuel and spark? There are lots of options for perfectly good, reasonably priced older technology ECUs these days, you don't have to buy the latest and greatest offering from Haltech. They are nice ECUs but they are fairly expensive. I run a Wolf v500 EMS on my turbo L28 s30 running fully sequential injection and ignition. I picked one up for $800 back in 2008. I'm sure they can be had for much less these days. Anyway, that's just my $0.02 for what it's worth.

[@kyushaspeed]

You are correct. Most if not all modern ECUs support FI of some kind and most sequential as well. Converting from carb to FI does require a bit of effort installing fuel pumps, running new lines, etc however (well for my ITB FI build anyway 😂). I reckon there are some out there that would prefer the induction sound of carbs over FI too!

[@Kylem5005]

I know this has been a few years now but I picked up a new distributor for my 78 280z but now I get no spark, is there something more I need to do? I assumed by doing it this way it would just drop in and go.

[@tallnrough68]

How to modify the 280z tach to work with the 6AL ? I want to get the MSD 6AL with the rev limiter for my 1978 280z

[@kyushaspeed]

Hi Randy Robinson. I was able to get my 280ZX tach to work by bridging the internal resistor used to being a 12V signal down to 5V. The MSD naturally puts out a 5V square wave signal. This might work for you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2bTnX9plr-VsKM

[@michaelsliwinski8044]

Thanks again Aaron!

[@kyushaspeed]

+Michael Sliwinski do you feel inspired to upgrade your ignition? 😉

[@michaelsliwinski8044]

@@kyushaspeed Hello Aaron. I enjoy your channel. I have three SERIES 1 240Zs. OCD obviously. Two on the road / restored and one with restoration well underway (running with rebuilt engine and transmission only needing the body work and interior completed). One of the two on the road has electronic ignition but is the only car giving me any operating trouble. So I am very interested with your experience and setup. The offending vehicle occassionally shuts down while driving - at various speeds / not just high rpm. My suspicion is coil intermittent failure. After cool down it will typically restart. I dont know how old or the mileage on the coil. I have a spare new Mallory Unilite electronic ignition system I bought in 2012 for replacement and may utilize if a coil swap doesn't help. The current setup is a concern as not installed by me and it includes the ballast resistor which I thought was not required. Anyway thanks for sharing. It is greatly appreciated from the far off USA!

[@Rekinortiher]

Great info Aaron thanks.

[@kyushaspeed]

Thanks Reinier Korth!

[@douglasg8827]

With a L28 using dual webers and points, is it worth the large cost to jump to Jenvey fuel injection, or using msd would do the same job but a fraction of the cost would be the way to upgrade. Do you need to add a crank sensor?

[@kyushaspeed]

If you retain the mechanical advance in the points you do not require a crank angle sensor. If you want to control the ignition curve (removing/locking the points) you will need some form of crank sensor to measure position. If you want to swap to coil on plug you will need to measure crank position and a reference to cylinder 1 TDC for the ECU to determine which cylinder to fire. In my opinion, well tune carbs can extract almost 95% the potential of an engine if tuned properly. EFI improves drivability performance eg. cold start, idle.

[@lukeh7038]

Looking to purchase a CDI unit for my 71 240z with triple 45's and see there is also a MSD 6AL-2 on the market. Are these a better option being digital over analogue or is it not worth the extra?

[@kyushaspeed]

I have not used a 6AL-2 however I suspect the unit is more accurate and I understand it is my smaller than the analogue units.

[@rdcasey1982]

I have a 75 280z and i am wondering if i can install the petronix ignition conversion in its distributor? Do away with the old setup because parts for it are so expensive and i may need alot of them. Just wondering if it will fit and will the screw holes line up?

[@kyushaspeed]

I'm not sure if a Pertronix modules would fit a 75 distributor. I know only a L24 distributor is listed on Pertronix catalogue and I know the L24 distributor is a small diameter than the rest. Having said that the module itself is a replacement for the points. If the points are the same as a L24 then it is likely the module will fit. The other uncertainty is the Pertronix collar that sits below the rotor button might need modifying to sit properly. Does that help?

[@rdcasey1982]

@@kyushaspeed yes that does help I appreciate it greatly. I guess it depends on the diameter of the shaft that holds the rotor. Even if the screw holes were wrong i could probably drill and tap it to fit but if the diameter is different that would make it very hard. Thanks Again

[@warkal868]

Thanks a million!

[@kyushaspeed]

+Kal-El Ward has this video given you ideas? 😉

[@ia8382]

Hi Aaron, thanks for the info here...much appreciated. I have seen that when some people add the pertronix module and use a 3.0 ohm coil, the rev counter (tacho) doesn't work properly (it doesn't go over 4000 RPM). And ive seen some people use the pertronix module but still maintain the ballast resistor and use a 1.5 ohm coil. Have you experienced any of these issues before...? Would you leave your ballast resistor and use the 1.5 ohm coil with the pertronix module...?

[@kyushaspeed]

I had issue with a 240Z tacho not reading correctly with my 280ZX dizzy swap (similar principle to pertronix). What model Z car do you have?

[@ia8382]

@@kyushaspeed Hi Aaron, its a 1971 240z (UK RHD model). Ive actually put the 1.5 ohm coil back on with ballast resistor and the rev counter is still there?!

[@kyushaspeed]

If you use the ballast resistor it reduces the operating voltage to about 9V within the reading range of the 240Z tach. The 240Z tach is a current sensing tachometer different from later years. I have a video on the different tachometers if your interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKKkmXx9pMiJldU

[@datsun240z9]

I use the Pertronix with a 3 ohm and no ballast. I had the same issue with revs past 4K and the stock s30 tach jumping around. Once I upgrade the alternator to a 60 amp and with the headlight harness upgrade my problems were solved. No issues at all. Check the links below. www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4068 www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4651

[@gaetan_]

I checked my 240Z setup, it has a 280XZ non-turbo distributor, but the ballast resistor is still present (and wired) ... could you please confirm I can remove it safely? Thanks a lot!! :)

[@kyushaspeed]

Hi Gaetan. That is a difficult question to answer without knowing a little more about your setup. Sounds like you have electric points with the 280ZX dizzy. Do you have a coil that is ok to run without a ballast resistor?

[@gaetan_]

@@kyushaspeed thanks ! I read your guide again, as well as the 280ZX distributor tuto which you linked (and I missed the first time) : www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html and I am finally connecting all the dots ! I checked my coil : it is to be used WITH an external resistor. So I need to purchase another coil and follow the tuto to re-wire it without the resistor :) Until next year project : MSD box (6AL-2 programmable) with the MSD MAP sensor in order to have mechanical and vacuum advance! Your content gave me the confidence to do this, thanks again!!

[@gaetan_]

@@kyushaspeed In case you didn't know : I did some research and the 280ZX Factory Service Manual tells us the stock setup with the E12-80 distributor doesn't have a ballast resistor and uses an ignition coil with a 0.84 to 1.02 Ohms primary resistance. I was puzzled by this low resistance value but it appears the E12-80 electronic module is quite smart and dynamically manages the coil's dwell time ! Quite cool in my opinion :) I plan on trying a Bosch 0.9 Ohms coil.

[@kyushaspeed]

I did not know that about the E12-80! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@bradsmith6972]

What's your email address

[@kyushaspeed]

Hi Brad. Contact info is in the video description 👍

[@conspiratorsaredumb]

What can I do with a dual hall effect distributor? Does it have mechanical advance? I want to install megasquirt because some of the ignition wiring is gone on the 77 280z I just bought. I haven't taken apart the stock dizzy yet but it's two wire so I assume it has points. So I bought a used dual hall effect (3 wire) distributor from eBay thinking it was the 280zx model. It's definitely for a l28, but what year and model it came from I don't know. My money gun might've wasted $100 but I thought maybe there is something useful I could do with it? I don't even get why it has two hall effect sensors, they aren't even at equidistant angles. Any info would be appreciated.

[@kyushaspeed]

I'm not familiar with the dual hall effect sensor sorry. If it is three wire one wire might be trigger for RPM and another might be sync for cylinder 1.