dashlights/ accessories

[280zgod]

alrighty well i bought a Z from someone and they had a crappy do it yourself stereo job in there so i removed it. After that the dashlights no longer turn on and my accessories no longer work( heating, a/c, etc) but the funny thing is this little flip down light on the dash that didnt work before now works. It's a crazy problem car i bought but its fast so its worth it any idea of the problem would be great or just a place to start looking would be nice. BTW this is my first car and i dont have the factory repair manual or much car electrical exp so if you answer please spell out stuff for me thanks.

P.S. I've been wondering, and not even my Nissan dealer knows this(trust me i've asked half the people who work there), but does anyone know what the "catalyst" light tells you and I'd tell you a story about its fuse but to sum that up i cant get one for it and it scares me. thanks again

[TomoHawk]

the catalyst light tells you the catalytic converter is running REAL HOT- there's a temperature probe in there. Probably because the engine isn't running right- like it's way lean or something.

To help with your electrical problem, you can download a wiring diagram & print it:

http://www.angelfire.com/pe2/modeltom/ferrari.html

Just above the Gallery link. It's for a 1978 280Z tho. You should probably start by back-tracing the power wires from the radio. I would cut them totally off, restoringthe original car wires, and I would think things should go back to normal.

Double check things first, before cutting, in case I might be wrong...

[TomoHawk]

Oh yeah-- check your fuses first. I think those things might be on separate circuits.

Then go to eBay or a swap meet & get yourself an owner's manual and a Haynes repair book, then the factory repair manual.

[4381821]

I've got a 260z, and the exact same prob. The guy pulled the stereo out before he sold it to me, problems started right then and there. My head lights work, but not the turn signals, tach, oil, speedo.... the fan, center light, hazards are ok.

So I replaced the alternator because my a volt. meter on my battery was only showing 11volt. Nope, still low. I found another voltage regulator in the little service pockets in the back, and it grounds while the one on the car doesn't. Neither change a thing when used. uurrgggh. The battery is brand new too, I thought that was it at first... nope. no blown fuses anywhere either!

[TomoHawk]

I had something l ike that happen last summer. Turn signals quit one day after I cleaned the interior. I had a service guy chase it down after I worked on it for a day. It turned out to be one of the connectors that wasn't connected right because of the corrosion. the service guy cleaned the connector some, andput it back together the right way. My headlights & turn signals were netter & brighter after that!

We need to work on this connector-corrosion thing and figure out a (sure-fire) way to fix them (connectors) good enough to keep them from smoking, and the car from flaming.

It'll increase your insurance value, as well as your own safety and makethe car better overall.

[4381821]

well well well, it appears shatty wiring is at fault for me...

I ripped out ALL of my interior panels and found 8 dead wired in the back section, that were still hot, but not plugged into anything! Problem still not solved....so I started hacking into the dash. After untaping every set of wires....Cha CHING! There's some ghetto arse wiring for power, where one wire gets spliced into 3, all by tape multiple times!! Tell me this isn't factory

EVERYTHING works now except my turn signals. I plug those dawgs in, and it blows a fuse every couple seconds. My clock is even ticking, haha. My voltage is up into the 14's now too!