Starter issues, Brake Issues, Electrical Issues

[superwombat]

Well, I've been searching through the forums for about 2 hours now and I can't find the answer to my question. (See, I'm being a good little forum newb)

I recently purchased a '76 280z and have been fixing it up. There are a couple of little problems that I can't seem to get to the bottom of.

1. The starter. It was running and starting fine and dandy. I hopped in it to drive home from work and just got a 'click' No spin. The voltage guage read fine, I assumed my starter had just bit the dust.

The car push-started just fine, but the Oil Pressure guage shot up to 90+ I KNOW it wasn't doing that before. About halfway home the guage went back down to the normal level.

I swapped the starter with a rebuilt one from NAPA. I can hear a hum or a buzz from the starter when I turn the key now, and the radiator fan moves a couple of inches, but the engine still does not turn over. We shorted across the connects and got the same result. Took my old starter to AutoZone and had them test it, it tested out fine. Put the original back in and now it hums as well but doesn't turn over. We tried jumpstarting the car, still NG.

Is there anything I'm overlooking? The battery is only 3 months old. I guess I'll have it tested just to be sure, and possibly get a second new starter in case I got a dud.

2. Brakes:

I did the toyota conversion on the front end and replaced the rear brakes at the same time. Bled everything out real good and tested them out.... right to the floor, they do pump up if I hit the pedal a few times. I havn't heard that you need to do anything special with the toyota conversion, so I shouldn't have to mess with my proportioning valves or anything right?? I didn't rough adjust my rear brakes, because I read that those could be adjusted automatically by driving backwards and slamming on the brakes and that sounded kind of fun :-P I guess I sort of suspect there might be an air bubble somewhere but I felt pretty good about my bleeding job. Any other Ideas/Suggestions of things to look for??

3. Electrical:

This one is a doozy. There are two wires on the side of my ignition switch. In the Service Manual they are referred to as "STG Lock" If I connect these wires at any time, I blow a fuse marked "Dome Light". I don't see in the diagram where the dome light circuit has anything to do with the ignition. If I leave those wires unplugged the dome lights work just fine. I don't even know if those wires have a purpose since it seems to run/drive/start fine without them.... (Well, it used to start, doesn't now, read above. :-P)

Any Ideas??

Thanks for the help. I've done a lot of reading and learned a lot of things from these forums. I've got a four day weeked coming up and I'd like to get the little lady road worthy before the end of it.

[Bambikiller240]

1. Have you thoroughly cleaned the battery cables? (removed ALL corrosion) Starter wiring was installed correctly when the starter was replaced? Checked ALL of the fusible links for damage? Oil Pressure gauge symptoms sound weird to me. No ideas there.

2. Are the bleed nipples at the TOP of the calipers? (They should be) You wouldn't be the first person to install the calipers upside down. Did you replace the Brake Master Cylinder?

3. I doubt the fuse marked "dome Light only serves the dome light (it doesn't on a 240Z) Unfortunately I cannot suggest anything one this issue

[superwombat]

I'll check the cables some more when I get home to look at her.

I did not replace the master cylinder, I will check the orientation of the calipers, but I'm pretty sure I got it right.

[superwombat]

Well.... The brake problem was caused by the rear drums not being rough adjusted well enough, so that one is fixed.

The starter issue was caused by a poor ground from the engine to the frame.

I still can't find any resolution or information on the bizarre STG-LOCK wires and why they keep blowing the fuse. I guess that's just more of a curiosity than areal problem since it works fine with them unplugged.

Thanks for all of your help on this one.

[EScanlon]

Well.... The brake problem was caused by the rear drums not being rough adjusted well enough, so that one is fixed.

The starter issue was caused by a poor ground from the engine to the frame.

I still can't find any resolution or information on the bizarre STG-LOCK wires and why they keep blowing the fuse. I guess that's just more of a curiosity than areal problem since it works fine with them unplugged.

Thanks for all of your help on this one.

The STG-LOCK wires go to the ignition switch and connect to the two wires that attach to the side of the tumbler housing. That's a switch that buzzes when you open the driver's door and the key is still in the ignition. Many times this switch gets removed. If you have a rectangular opening on the lower left of the ignition switch housing, it's gone.

The rear brakes don't adjust with the reverse brake procedure you mentioned. That's on 70's GM vehicles, and I believe also Ford and Dodge. I may be wrong on that, but they are definitely NOT on the Z.

To adjust the rear brakes, you use your Parking Brake, Hand Brake or Emergency Brake (depending on what you call it). When you pull up on the handle it takes up the slack and clicks the adjuster if necessary. A properly adjusted hand brake should only alow 6-7 clicks max.

Hope this helps

Enrique