Turn Signals

[76BlueZ]

Hello,

I purchased a 76 280Z a couple months ago and it runs and drives great but I have a problem with the turn signals and high beam. When I move the signal stalk, I have left turn signal, but no right and when I pull back the high beams are inop. I bought a turn signal stalk/switch advertized as fitting a 76 but it was the wrong size. The month/year the car was built stamped on the door plate is 7/76.

I want to buy another new switch, but don't want to end up with the wrong part again. I checked JC Whitney (carparts.com) and they have a part with stock # HLS1026 and they want $183 for it. I'm trying to make sure I find and buy the right part since I can't find it anywhere locally. I'd appreciate any help/advice on how to find this part or fix the problem.

Thanks!

Dan

[TomoHawk]

First make sure your circuits are working. Get a good wiring diagram. If yours is like my 78, then you can probably just plug into the connector under the dash, and ground the circuit to turn it on- but check first.

It might be just a saimple connection problem, and not the switches.

[zbane]

TomoHawk,

just a question that might help BlueZ-

When you engage your high beams do you push the stalk forward into a different position or pull it back?

I push mine forward, but I can pull the stalk towards me to flash someone for passing- it's on a spring and resets to neutral for this. Someone unfamiliar with this kind of setup may assume that their stalk was faulty, even if it weren't.

[sblake01]

zbane, S30's don't have passing lights. You have an S130, they're different. On a 280Z (no X) you pull the stalk, with the lights on, to engage or disengage the high beams, it springs back. There are two versions of this stalk for a 280Z. 12/74-7/76 (25540-N3605) and 8/76up (25540-N4701). I would suggest not buying this type of thing from JC Whitney, Autozone etc. Either OEM, Black Dragon, Motorsport, etc. You might first try searching for the thread on cleaning and repairing the combination switch.

[TomoHawk]

Sblake is correct, in that your 280Z doesn't ( or shouldn't) be able to flash the high beams with the headlamps off. If you can, then you probably have some kind of short or problem in the switch.

Sometimes I need to flick my lever forward to get the high beam switch to click in totally, so I can pull it back again, but it otherwise works OK. (I'll put one of those on the To-Do list.) There are many more other more important things to do until then, since I (almost) never use the high beams.

[ZCCOR#109]

be sure that ALL the bulbs are working, test them, clean contacts, etc.

My 72's wouldn't flash at all because a bulb was out. New bulb and they flash.

Normally you would think the system would "blink" flash on the good bulbs, i.e. the front or rear, and you could readily see a bad bulb on the other endo fo the car that wasn't working. NOT SO with a 72 model.

good luck

[280z1975]

Like other have said before, check the bulbs and other things.

You can test your turn signal unit using the procedure in the attached scan of a page in the following post:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22127&highlight=turn+signals

You should also test your hazard and turn signal flasher units and possiably replace them. It's a cheap fix for something that can fail and be a pain in the rear.

Also check your fuses, if the horn fuse goes NOTHING will work on your turn signal/ headlight combo switches.

An auto multimeter is something that can be VERY helpful to determine if things are not working correct on your car and to track down problems.