I got a call from MSA yesterday and they said they were having issues with a few ZXP's. After a little research, They discovered that the issue with the ZX alternator and the ZXP alternator adaptor was ONLY is the 73' 240Z's....

So if you have purchased a ZXP thru me or MSA and have had Battery drain issues. Please post on this thread.

What year 240Z?

What was the Issue(s)? (battery drain? Melting wires? what?

Average Climate in your area of the world?

Any other electrical mods that may have contributed to the issue?

What was the solution? What did you do to fix it? (replace alt, ZXP, wiring?)

Not looking for a discussion. Just the facts. The glue in the ZXP's melts but this is not the issue at hand. Just need to know if your 240Z had an issue with the ZXP installed and what year your Z was.

Thanks guys. I wanna report back to MSA soon and help figure this out.

Dave

I installed the ZXP in my 1973 240Z a few weeks ago and I did start having battery drain issues. The battery would go flat after sitting in the car over the weekend. I did not attribute it to the ZXP but I also did not notice the issue before the ZXP was installed.

I found that if I unplugged what I think is some sort of relay near the passenger side kick plate the issue went away. I've been driving the car every day since I unplugged the relay 2 weeks ago and I have not noticed anything not working so I have not spent any time to track down what it is supposed to do. I was guessing that it was the rear window defogger relay as that never worked anyways...but I could be wrong.

Thanks Steve, These are the things I'm looking for. I hate for MSA to have to tell their 73' Z customers that "They can't get one, due to possible issues with their 73's electrical system"

Anybody else?

Dave

Dave, let me know if you have any ZXP customers with a 73 in the Atlanta area. I have a clamp ammeter that I could use to look for likely suspects for a battery drain.

No problems in my 72, I've left the car parked for as much as 2-3 weeks at a time since installing it with no trouble starting it up again.

Dave I have a '73 model and I swapped in a 280zx alt myself without using your ZXP. I know you aren't looking for a discussion but if there is anything I can do to help let me know. I use a battery terminal on/off switch so I wouldn't notice any battery drain. I do however hear at least one relay clicking on when I switch the battery on.

Dave, I did the ZX Alt swap before you offered your plug-in version and made my own with the diode using the connector from the old regulator. On my 73 with a 2/73 build date the electric fuel pump relay turned on as soon as the battery was connected and stayed on. At the time i wasn't using the electric fuel pump, so I just removed the relay and never had an issue with the battery draining, even when not driven for a month.

Dave, I did the ZX Alt swap before you offered your plug-in version and made my own with the diode using the connector from the old regulator. On my 73 with a 2/73 build date the electric fuel pump relay turned on as soon as the battery was connected and stayed on. At the time i wasn't using the electric fuel pump, so I just removed the relay and never had an issue with the battery draining, even when not driven for a month.

Where is the fuel pump relay? That could have been my problem as well as my electric fuel pump is currently disconnected at the pump.

The relay is under the dash on the passenger side near the pull handle for ventilation. It should be easy to find - just feel for the warm one.

Where is the fuel pump relay? That could have been my problem as well as my electric fuel pump is currently disconnected at the pump.

I hate to clutter up this thread but there are two I think. Second pic in this post. Relay A and relay B:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=329611#post329611

Edited July 23, 201014 yr by Mikez73

Connect the battery with the key out of the ignition and wait for 5 minutes. The offending relay will be warmer than the rest of them.

Connect the battery with the key out of the ignition and wait for 5 minutes. The offending relay will be warmer than the rest of them.

That's how I found it. I just did not know what the relay did as I currently have the fuse pulled out of my electric pump. I'm guessing that I can no longer use the pump with the way the car is wired.