Skipping on acceleration

[Zippy69]

Howdy Z folks,I'm on the 240sx forums, but a friend of mine has an 83 280zx with an 82 engine and 5-speed. The problem is that the car skips upon accelerating when cold and also the brake light lights up when accelerating. He has taken it to his mechanic but they can't seem to figure it out. I told him that if anybody would know, then it would be someone on the classic Z forums. I tried searching, but came up with nothing.Thanks guys, I'm sure you can help him out.

[evildky]

sorry but with such a vague problem it's hard to offer much help, could be anything to bad plug wires, rusty gas tank, loose electrical connection, dead AFM almost anything?

as for the brake lite only 2 things make it come on, one is the switch under the e-brake handle, if the handle isn't all the way down or the contacts are bent it could be contacting, just look to make sure everything is free and clear, the other is the sensor in the master cylinder cap, check your fluid and if the level si good check the wires for signs of damage allowing them to short

[Zippy69]

I hated to be so vague, but he has had this going on for a while and I'm not able to get a look first hand and he isn't too mechanical.I'm almost 100% that they have covered the basics.It only does it when the engine is cold, so I'm wondering if it's the air meter, and what is the best way to check it?And I had already told him about the fluid level and the e-brake, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't some other possibility.

[evildky]

if it's only acting up when cold it could be the FICV, as for checking the afm, 2 of the contacts will show varying resistance as the flapper door gets moved, what happens is that contacks in the rheostat wear out, but it would do it all the time cold ro not