brighter bulbs?

[TomoHawk]

Junk yard for headlamps!!? That dealer guy is nuts; go find a friendly & helpful Nissan dealer.

Just go to a NAPA or other basic auto parts store and look in the lightbulb section. It's just the the basic 7-inch lamp, but you will probably find Sealed-beam, halogen, etc. On eBay, you can find H4 conversions, crystal lens jobs, etc.

While you're at it, get a pair, and keep things matched.

The fun part is getting them out! :tapemouth

thxZ

[sblake01]

I'm sure the Nissan dealer employee was referring to the connectors rather than the headlamps but the answer still sucks. I'd be on the phone to corporate headquarters with that person's name, which dealership she works at, and a desicription of her response to the question. And leave the eBay headlights alone. A lot of that stuff is ricer type crap. Your local auto parts store has the correct 6024 or H6024 headlamps.

[the_cafe]

thanks for the suggestion i appreciate it i may just do that. if i cant find the parts i need for it i may just have to part it out. this zed has seen its better days and might require more skill then i ever could give it to keep it going.

[soundmasterg]

I'm sure the Nissan dealer employee was referring to the connectors rather than the headlamps but the answer still sucks. I'd be on the phone to corporate headquarters with that person's name, which dealership she works at, and a desicription of her response to the question. And leave the eBay headlights alone. A lot of that stuff is ricer type crap. Your local auto parts store has the correct 6024 or H6024 headlamps.

I had a similar problem with the parts guy at Wilsonville Nissan, who pretty much refused to look up anything old and said nothing was available. I complained to the general manager and he pretty much told me to suck off, and he cancelled the sponsorship with the local club I was in because I had the temerity to complain about poor service. Then he lied about what had transpired when the president of our local club called to find out what the story was. I made the mistake of emailing the local owner of that dealership to complain while I was still mad, said some things in the email that probably shouldn't have been said, and ended up getting kicked out of the local club I was in. An unfortunate situation for all concerned and I ended up getting pretty screwed by the deal. It seems like some of the Nissan dealerships are trying too hard to sell new cars and are forgetting about customer service these days.

Greg

[H4LIGHTS]

The best relay kit I have found is from Painless Wiring. It is not a plug and play but the components are good.If you decide to make it yourself there are wiring diagrams available online or I have one available that I can email you. Use good relays! Cheapies will fail at the worst time and leave you in the dark.

Edited September 20, 2008 by H4LIGHTS
typos

[sblake01]

Generally speaking, by the time the 280Z was released, Nissan had considerably improved their electronics skills. Things like shunts, fusible links, and larger gauge wire were added to the system and would generally circumvent the need for added relays unless you were addidng some type of higher performance lighting. Wiring problems on 280Zs are generally caused by corrosion at the connections or previous owner hacks/lack of maintainence rather than the inadequacies of the wiring system itself.

Edited September 20, 2008 by sblake01

[TomoHawk]

I can agree with Mr. Blake, that cleaning the connections on a 280Z for the lights improves them significantly. I maintain them annually, and I have plenty of light.

[Poindexter]

The best relay kit I have found is from Painless Wiring. It is not a plug and play but the components are good.If you decide to make it yourself there are wiring diagrams available online or I have one available that I can email you. Use good relays! Cheapies will fail at the worst time and leave you in the dark.

That Painless Harness is ANYTHING BUT! What a miserable job installing it.

Dave here (Zs-ondabrain, with the assist by Arne, I believe) sells an excellent fully plug-and-play kit that works perfectly, and uses OEM quality parts too. I would avoid the Painless kit at all costs, unless you want to remove the plugs from it and then reinstall them just to get them through the headlight surround pass-through holes. (whatever the exact part name is) Ugh, an utter nightmare!

Of course JMHO, but I would suggest that anybody considering this work should read Dave's thread first- and the testimonials too.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20365

Of course I have no connection whatsoever with his endeavor- nor with any other Z ventures. I just appreciate extremely well-thought-out, designed and executed parts.

[TomoHawk]

According to his (the_cafe) profile, he's got a 280Z, so Dave's upgrade won't help him.

BTW-

the Painless wiring stuff really is good, but only if you are wiring a car from scratch, like if you were assembling some kind of kit car.

the_cafe-

Are you sure the headlamps are dim? Did you clean the lamp faces? Dirt scatters light. Or maybe you're used to driving with the ultra-bright newer headlamps. Driving a zed isn't like a newer car, and certain things need to be accepted by the modern driver.

Edited September 21, 2008 by TomoHawk

[Zs-ondabrain]

Thanks for the compliments Seth, but Arne was only involved with the ZXP (ZX alternator adaptor plug) and the SCP's (Sidemarker conversion plugs) I owe Arne alot for his ideas and help but I take full credit for the Headlight Harness and Parking light harness.

Necessity is the mother of invention. My fusebox melted and lights went to hell, so I Needed a good fix. Everyone offered wiring diagrams but nobody MADE a Harness except for Black Dragon, and that harness is a Joke. Period. So I designed and made my own and the rest is history.

I do make a Hardwire version for the 280Z but you'll obviously need to cut a few plugs off. But that's it, no tearing the car apart like the BD and Painless require.

Dave.

[the_cafe]

Are you sure the headlamps are dim? Did you clean the lamp faces? Dirt scatters light. Or maybe you're used to driving with the ultra-bright newer headlamps. Driving a zed isn't like a newer car, and certain things need to be accepted by the modern driver.

the headlights didnt have dirt on them. i just cleaned them at the plugs that plugs into the blub itself they were dirty. when i said up above that i cleaned the grounds with dielectric grease i was talking about the plugs that plug into the blub itself. my bad. for the record where are the grounds located to check for the headlights if this happens again and i get dim headlamps on the 280zed?

Edited September 21, 2008 by the_cafe

[TomoHawk]

On a 280Z, the ground connection is under the steering column, and is completed by the headlamp switch. In fact, the power for the headlamps goes through the headlamp switch twice; once from the battery/fuselink to the fusebox, and second is the ground leg for the lamps. The turn signal dimmer switch also has one that controls the high beam

The round connectors inside the engine bay have 3 round pins- one is the switched power from the battery, and the other two smaller pins are for the low & high beams.

On the blade connections on the lamps themselves, you may use a very light smear of dielectric grease to slow the corrosion, but it'll take another 20 years maybe before they get really bad and need servicing again. Also pay attention to how the back of the lamp bowl seals to the headlamp block, and how well the inner-fender liner protects all that stuff.

HTH