More Electric Nightmares

[Roujin]

Im shure i have a short somewhere but i cant think where to look 1st. When i start the car all the lights on the instrument cluster (seat belt, chg, ect..) come on but dont turn off. Also i got high beams but no low beams (its not the globe ive checked with a new one) and my horn dont work.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[240ZX]

Sorry to be so pointed but, after reading a number of your posts I suggest you take your car to someone who knows how to work on it!!! Or, if this is like your condensation problem you already know what to do! Right?

Tom

[Roujin]

I cant afford to take it to a mechanic. as for the condensation i said i know what it is not how to stop it.

There is no point being a smartalek

[SteveJ]

You don't post the year of your car, so it's difficult to guess. You might want to check to see if a previous owner hacked the wiring to add an alarm, stereo, etc.

[Roujin]

I got sick and tired of people telling me to look for oil when it is not what the problem is. If you really botherd to read the whole thread people where telling me to look for problems that i had already said it was not.

[Roujin]

Sorry steve its a 1980 model the last guy to have the car added a kill switch and another switch i have no idea what pourpose it serves (it dont seem to do anything)

[Roujin]

sorry again for those that dont know its a 280ZX

[MikeW]

Please be aware that few people here at classiczcars.com know much about the 280ZX and that you posted this in the "Datsun 240K" forum meaning that it might not be seen by many.

[240ZX]

I cant afford to take it to a mechanic. as for the condensation i said i know what it is not how to stop it.

There is no point being a smartalek

Sorry if you THINK I'm being a smartalek...as that was not my intent, just your interpitation! It just seems that alot of your responces to the good folks trying to help you with your problems, were a bit on the snippy side....displaying some frustration and little negativity! Based on your responces I'd have to quess you are pretty young....so do yourself a favor and please listen to whats being said, you may learn something you didn't know about the Z cars. Just some food for thought!!!

P.S. Its always helpful to fill out your personal profile so people will know what you have (car), what you do, your age, and what part of the world your from.

Tom

[EScanlon]

I cant afford to take it to a mechanic. as for the condensation i said i know what it is not how to stop it.

There is no point being a smartalek

jIM (per your profile):

I don't think any of us are intentionally trying to get "smart" with you, but you have to admit that even with the language barrier that American/Aussie and vice-versa can mean, it is hard to discern what you are asking for.

In the 48 hours since you joined the site, you've posted 32 times.

Your first post is a duplicate of this one, except worded slightly different:

Help 280ZX Electric hasstles

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Im left scratching my head trying to figure out why the lights on my instrument cluster will not turn off.

Also the headlights have high beams but not low beams, the globes look good but how can i test to make sure its not a ground problem?

any constructive advice will be apreciated

<!-- / message -->

Then you follow that up a short while later with:

im not sure what the 240 is like but when my 280 would not kick i found the problem laid in the ic module (Hitachi12-92) when i changed the dizzi the problem was fixed but i would overhaul the whole fuel system to make sure.

Im probably wrong but i hope this helps you

Which leads those of us that do try to answer people's question with even more questions as to how much you actually do know and how much you don't. After all troubleshooting the IC Module in a 280ZX is surely a heck of a lot more complicated than tracing down a lighting circuit in a dash....or so it would seem.

But this doesn't end with electricity, it also extends to body-work:

would i get away with bogging up this hole? or does it need welding?

its about the diameter of my forefinger

Which REALLY flies against:

Rust in the windshield,i would start with taking out the windshield sanding back the whole area. Then bog up any little holes (big ones may require welding skills). When bog dries, paint over with a can of kill rust then when that dries paint with touch up paint to match the body unless you want to paint the whole car. Get some sillicon sealant and seal the window back in and use some contact adhesive to `tack` the trim back on

I hope this helps (i need to do the exact same thing)

Which shows that you aren't a bodyman by training, as bondo / bog or whatever you wish to call it is NOT considered a fix-all for holes in metal, and especially not for rust. Also as a side note, silicon sealant isn't necessary if the windshield gasket is in good condition and there aren't any cracks or bends in the metal surrounding the windshield. Additionally, the trim is slid into the weathershield rubber, once the rubber is on the windshield and before it gets installed on the car.

So, while you may feel that you're being "picked on" or we're being "smark-alecky", it's apparent that you feel you know the answer, or are unwilling to hear what you don't agree with:

I got sick and tired of people telling me to look for oil when it is not what the problem is. If you really botherd to read the whole thread people where telling me to look for problems that i had already said it was not.

So, don't get upset with folks that are having a hard time understanding what you are asking, nor what level of expertise it needs to be explained in in order for you to accept the answers.

So if you bear with us, you will find that this place truly is:

Its nice to finally find a good site where you get advice and help instead of getting flamed by idiots who seem to have nothing better to do with thier lives than upset people.

And you'll find that we're not trying to make you angry, but rather trying to decipher you out.

FWIW

E

[Roujin]

sorry if i appear snippy (maybee language barrier),

about bog or bondo or whatever bodyshops here use it a hell of alot (my uncle in sydney owns a chain of smash repair shops) i grew up in bodyshops all over sydney and if its a hole smaller than your fist they usually just use putty and charge a fortune even going down to the point of putting metal fillings in the mix so no one will find out (magnet test). Finding out the ic module was the trouble wasnt hard but tracing a short in these cars seems like trying to find a particular stand of spagetti in a bowl of bolagnese. If i can find someone that has had the same problem maybee they can enlighten me with thier wisdom.

[Roujin]

about the condensation (even though its the wrong post). Im left feeling like a parot going "its not oil its not oil its not oil" and am getting tired of people telling me to look for something that i have said that it is not. or telling me that i know how to fix a problem when i have told them that i know what the source of the problem is but just wish to clean it up