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DOHC ZC Power loss at high rpm

3K views 17 replies 4 participants last post by  naedeloc 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, finally decided to join. I've been looking info up on this site for a long, long time. My time has come to ask a question about my 89 OBD0 DOHC ZC. My problem comes at high rpm usually 2nd or 3rd gear. It doesn't make a difference if it's cold or at operating temp. But doesn't always do it. It acts like its running out of fuel. The less throttle i give it the better it accelerates. No CEL, As soon as I turn the key off and back on the problem is gone till high rpm. I've added a youtube link to a video i took of it doing it. Yes i did get a little rev happy but i couldn't get it to do it and was getting upset. Lmk if you have any suggestions. Also has a PM7 ECU. FRESH REBUILD 10/20/15 was first road cruise.
 
#6 ·
Hey guy's, replaced that filter. It seemed to of been running good but only for a few short miles. The car died out and back fired pretty hard. I took the distributor cap off and found out the rotor melted and was twisted throwing off the firing order. I threw a new one on it and it ran fine till a few short miles it died again. The distributor was fire hot and the rotor was melted and twisted. It was still soft enough I turned it back and let it cool off. Made it back home. I did notice also I could hear a squeaking noise coming from the distributor so I'm assuming it has a bad bearing. Not sure if maybe this was causing my problem the whole time or maybe the fuel filter did fix the complete power loss because i did notice it didn't want to die out as much getting the car moving from a stop. I said I'd report back, so i did.
 
#8 ·
bad bearing can easily cause that stupid amount of heat that kept melting or softening your rotor.

Could also have been a severely overheating coil being overstressed somehow.

Along with teh enw distributor, throw new plugs and wires at it if they are older than a year.

If the plugs are less than a eyar old, yank one out and verify it is healthy.

Make sure you mark the distributor mount so you can get close. even another OEM distributor can be off timing slightly even with identical cast marks (sensors inside are not single solid fitment)
 
#11 ·
Ok so the new Distributor came in. And its running like dog sh!t. Getting ignition break up in the low rpm range and doesn't have the power it used to. The only difference between the two distributors that i can tell is the gear/position sensor/coil pick up or what ever it's claimed to be. My original distributor had a star shaped one with 4 points. The new one has more of a circle with 16 points. I did have to file the housing to get more rotation out of it to get my ignition timing where it needed to be. Also checked cam timing and it's spot on. It will drive now at least though. Idk if the gear is my problem or if i have a wiring issue going on. Any insight?
 
#12 ·
you got the wrong distributor. You should have returned it and gotten the correct one.

I would swap the new disty's ICM and coil over into your old distributor and see if it runs better
 
#14 ·
It ran though correct?

Just a test to see if its just the ICM in the new distributor going batshit crazy
 
#15 ·
BTW that only mentions a ZC 1st gen.


That does not say dual cam anywhere. It is most likely referring to a singlecam ZC

if it was the correct distributor it would NOT have needed any sort of modification
 
#16 · (Edited)
Good call. I guess i was in a hurry oh well. Anyone want a good distributor? Cut ya a good deal lol. I ordered a different one and already got it on. No bad bearing and it runs. Replaced the fuel filter and still no change. Cut out a couple times on my way to work this morning. If anything a little worse. Wouldn't rev past 3k. But as soon as I turned the key off and back on while coasting it was back to running normal. I'm not sure if i should just start tearing the harness apart or what. But i just made the whole harness in October. Taking care to look for any broken wires as I've been down that road making a harness for my old nissan. Also no CEL.
 
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