My alternator fuse keeps blowing 260z

[cebu]

I need help quick, I have my car up for sale, and the positive terminal on my 260z battery touched the body while i was driving, and it shut off. And now its not getting a charge from the alternator, and the oil pressure, gas, and temp guages do not work nether does my headlights or my flashers. but my hazard still works. And there is a fuse that keeps blowing every time i go to start it.

So I'm guessing that fuse controls all of that.

The battery is good and the alternator is good i just need ideas of what wires would have melted so i know were to look. thanks

Edited June 7, 2009 by cebu
I edited it so it would be more readable.

[cebu]

Bump...

Edited June 7, 2009 by cebu

[cebu]

There is a guy in Houston that works on Z cars, so i called him up and he cant figure it out ether. thanks in advance for your help.

Edited June 7, 2009 by cebu
no need to read that again

[Arne]

There are several reasons you haven't gotten any help on this, Dustin. Part of it is that your posts are difficult to read, and therefore hard to get details out of. This is a technical forum, not Twitter or a txt msg. Posts with proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation are easier to read, and much easier to understand, which is important in this situation.

Speaking of details, there aren't many there. You say a fuse keeps blowing, but we don't even know which one. There are at least 12-14 different fuses on a 240Z, maybe more on your 260Z. We need much more detail on the original problem and its symptoms.

Lastly, electrical problems are a b*tch to diagnose by someone who can't touch and see the issue. Please don't be mad if we still can't help after you provide more detail.

Do you have a service manual with a wiring diagram? Do you have any test lights, ohm meters, etc.? How much electrical experience do you have?

[260zCaliCar]

I am nowhere near the diagnostician that the other people here are. But are you saying that the gauge isn't showing that the alternator is charging or did you confirm in fact that the alternator actually isn't charging.

Which fuse specifically do you keep replacing? Do you know what circuit it's protecting? These would be my first questions for you I suppose.

[Arne]

I merged the two threads into one. Don't need two on the same problem.

[cebu]

Ok, It is the Flasher fuse that keeps blowing, and it controls the gas, oil pressure, and temp gauge and i think my headlights as well.

i have an alternator tester it says its not charging, so i took the alternator in, and it checked out good. so the alternator works, its just not charging the battery

I don't much about electrical stuff, just the basics... but troubleshooting a problem like this, is very hard for me.

Edited June 7, 2009 by cebu
Spelling

[cebu]

Do you have a service manual with a wiring diagram? Do you have any test lights, ohm meters, etc.? How much electrical experience do you have?

I do not have a Service Manual, do i need one? There is wiring diagrams online.

I do have A test light and an OHM meter though.

(I'm trying to make these easy to read)

Edited June 7, 2009 by cebu

[260zCaliCar]

The flasher fuse is the third fuse from the left, bottom row. The right headlight is the far left fuse, bottom row. The left headlight is the fuse between the flasher and the right headlight. they are different circuits. The instrument harness is controlled by the third fuse from the right on the bottom row. It also is on a different circuit. So... I would have to guess that if all these items have failed, you have more than one bad fuse... OR and this has happened to me many times... The other fuses and/or holders are corroded and your getting a very poor connection. When you replace the fuse you think is bad, it "wiggles" the other fuses and you get a temporary connection. First thing tomorrow morning, go to the auto parts store and buy all new fuses. you need 9 10amp fuses and 5 20amp fuses. Replace all of them one at a time. Each time you take one out, clean the terminals (I would disconnect the battery before you do this). Once you have them all done, see if the headlights work with the key off. If so, remove the flasher fuse (since you think that's the problem area) and turn the key to the point where it normally blows the fuse (I wouldn't try starting the car yet). Do the gauges work? Do the headlights still work? If yes, start the car... Does everything still work (remember the flasher fuse is still out)? For me, this would complete the first round of troubleshooting. After this, I would remove the fuses for the headlights and gauges and replace the flasher fuse. Does it blow? If not... Then I would turn off the car and replace the removed fuses one at a time (turning the car off between each fuse installation) until it blows. This is probably enough troubleshooting to get a better picture.

As I said. There are many more people on this site that are better at this then me, and I will definitely not be offended if someone wants to say this is a dumb approach. But if I were in your shoes, I think I would attempt to isolate the circuit so I know which wires to start tracing. As a totally blind initial guess, I might consider something in the steering column since it's certainly a place where the lights and the flashers share space. But that's a guess with very little information, and no formal skills on my part other than what I have picked up playing with my own electrical gremlins. Good luck, let us know what happens. Oh, if someone else suggests something take their advice first... Good luck

[cebu]

Well what I did, was got a light tester and tested all the fuses, and that was the only one that was bad so i took it out and replaced it. but I'll do it again just to make sure I'm not missing anything.

[260zCaliCar]

The fuse may work, but it's connection to the car can still be bad if the contacts are corroded. All I can tell you is that I know from experience, and many others on this site share my experience... Just because a fuse tests ok, doesn't mean that its closing the circuit in your z... But I can only give you my 2 cents worth. If someone else as a simple test to determine why the headlights don't work without starting with the fuse, I'm all eyes. Every electrical problem in my Z was traced back to fuses that tested ok but the contact was corroded. Every single one.

I just reread your initial post. If by flashers you mean turn signals, and your sure all your fuses are okay, Then it furthers my idea that it might be the combo switches in your steering column since the hazard lights come before the turn signals in the circuit. Take the clam shell off your steering column and see if anything looks funny. Unplug the combo switches and see if you have power at the connector. Honestly, I don't have many more suggestions since all my experience is based on experience and generally all my electrical problems have been fuse related (or bad bulbs).

Just out of curiosity, (and please don't take offense to this question...) how do you know the positive terminal on your battery touched the body of your car "while you were driving"? My followup question is how could that happen, is your battery not bolted down?

[cebu]

I know Because I was driving down the road and it died i got out and looked and the battery and it was touching the body and it had stuck the the body... and I wasnt oncerned about the headlights it was that my alternator was not charging the battery... but for some reason i put a fuse in there the other day and now every thing works again...