My 1978 280 Z car

[Jennys280Z]

Good advice from everyone! Yeah, what they said!

I still think it's electrical! Fresh oil change, ignition, clean connectors. You should know a lot more after that.

About your "dumb question" -- If you have scrap lumber sitting around, try this: Set the emergency brake, and put your car in gear. Put a jack under the control arm of one of your front wheels, and jack several inches. Put a couple of 2x6 blocks under the tire, and release the jack. Jack the opposite control arm, and put 4 2x6 blocks under that tire. Jack the first control arm a few inches more, and add two more 2x6 blocks. Then you'll have 4 2x6 blocks under each tire. Change your oil, and then remove the blocks in the reverse order -- first two on one side, then four on the other, then the remaining two. You can also use jack stands, but they're frankly a bit difficult to get under there -- even the short ones.

If you want to get fancier, buy a pair of ramps, but be aware that they like to scoot when you're driving up on them, unless you somehow block them. Another method is to do the above with a couple of 2x6 blocks and two ramps. Substitute the ramps for the 4-block stack. When you're done, just back the car off of the ramps. Easy.

Ramps scare me. Okay? I admit it.

But I don't like how high my jack stands makes me jack my car up either. I feel safe when I'm under the jack stands (though I've learned i have a mild claustrophobia)

I wish I had an elevated surface that was also really long I could easily drive up onto. Or better yet, one of those garages like they have at Minute Lube where I can stand up straight and access the bottom of my car! Why don't they rent garages like that out by the hour, btw? I'm sure crazy people like us would fill that niche of the market.

[Jennys280Z]

argniest,

buy some Deoxit D5 Electrical Contact Cleaner. It costs money. But just do it. Inspect your electrical connectors closely. Some 320 or 400 grain sandpaper...I wrap little pieces of sandpaper around the tip of a tiny flathead screwdriver and it works great. Deoxit both ends of all connectors. Pull them off and on a few times after spraying, then just leave them doused in the cleaner as you install their locking metal G-clips. PS It takes awhile for it to dry so don't start running your motor right after using this stuff.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Caig-DeoxIT-D5-Series-Spray-100-Contact-Cleaner-NEW-/330516786337?pt=DJ_Gear_Lighting&hash=item4cf455eca1

Note the title says D5 but the picture in the ad shows D100. I've had great luck with the D5, and have used most of the can. I'll buy more if this one runs out.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Jennys280Z

[Jennys280Z]

Per Tom Monroe, an L-block that burns a quart of oil every 600 miles or less is unacceptable oil consumption. Thus, a quart every 1000 or so is fine. Through proper maintenance you could improve that further without worrying about rebuilds yet.

[FastWoman]

Ramps: Yes, they're a bit scary if you drive the car up onto them, as there's a slight chance you could over-run them if you're careless. However, if you use them like jack stands, they're quite steady (better than jack stands), and you can roll down off of them when you're done.

Jenny, the next garage I build is going to have either a lift or a floor pit!

Cleaning connections: Deoxit is excellent, but even WD-40 can do a good job -- rub with craft paper around a screwdriver tip. If the connection is crustier than that, try wetting some paper with vinegar. Even crustier? Try 600 grit sandpaper. However, brand new connectors would be the best of all. If your connectors are anything like mine were, they're practically falling apart.

Edited January 11, 2011 by FastWoman

[argniest]

Cleaning connections: Deoxit is excellent, but even WD-40 can do a good job -- rub with craft paper around a screwdriver tip. If the connection is crustier than that, try wetting some paper with vinegar. Even crustier? Try 600 grit sandpaper. However, brand new connectors would be the best of all. If your connectors are anything like mine were, they're practically falling apart.

The connectors in the car/engine/etc seem to be OK overall. Although I know what you mean. A few of them should be replaced because somebody broke the clips off. So that means they pull of a lot easier than they should be. But they are not to the point of just wiggling off by themselves. I am not saying they are that bad.

however,I am sure they need to be cleaned. And I will do a better job of that, based on what you are saying there. The good thing, is that from what I can tell there are not that many connectors in the engine area. Yes there are some, but not a crazy amount. At least not what I can see from the top side of the engine. Very doable.

The thing is this, it is hard to tell by just looking at them, exactly how clean or corroded they are. I mean I think I need to get a good magnifying glass so I can see down in them better. It is pretty small space to be looking at. I mean to be scientific about it, I need to make sure they really are clean.

I used a tiny screw driver to scrape them off, and poke around carefully, inside each connector. And I think it did make a difference. But I want to be more thorough. So I will go back through each of them, once I get a magifying glass...and inspect them. And then clean them with sandpaper, etc as you described.

Do you think I need to do this with the main connectors inside the car too. At least all the ones I can get at, without ripping the dash off. I have a feeling I will be doing that too (taking dash off) because now my headlights are not working, and only when I turn on the high beams, then I have headlights. And the two orange side markers on the front sides of the car dont work now. And I swear one of them was just working the other day. And also my passenger side brake light stopped working. And I swear I saw it come on last night for at least a few times. And I know I checked it before. So something in this wintertime is making my poor car a little crazy and me too.

Another thing is that my turn signal light was dimly lit when turning on the lights to accessary position or to full lights on position. I wiggled the wires in back of the car (I installed a custom made 6x9 speaker board back there a few weeks ago, so I can see all the back sides of the lights in the tail end of the car).

Wiggling/moving all the wires that didnt seem to fix it. However, I rapped on the dashboard a few times, and the turn signal light went off. And I have seen that trick make the headlights come on too. Because I noticed since this wintertime happened, and I idled the car, when I turned on the lights, they didnt come on right away. Sort of a delay, and then they would come on. But now they dont come on at all, unless like I said, I turn on high beams, and then they work fine. uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh

None of these lights, brake lights, etc had any problem in the summer when I was driving. And the car sat in the garage during 45 days. And suddenly this wierd stuff starts happening???? very frustrating. Yet more setbacks for me and my car.

There are a lot of wires in the Z car to track down. So I might be doing that before anything else.

Why do I feel like I will have a degree in basic electronics and electrical troubleshooting when this is all over.

Edited January 11, 2011 by argniest

[argniest]

Inspect your electrical connectors closely. Some 320 or 400 grain sandpaper...I wrap little pieces of sandpaper around the tip of a tiny flathead screwdriver and it works great. Deoxit both ends of all connectors. Pull them off and on a few times after spraying, then just leave them doused in the cleaner as you install their locking metal G-clips. PS It takes awhile for it to dry so don't start running your motor right after using this stuff.

So you are saying to clean them with sandpaper first on both sides of connector male and female...then squit deoxit on both ends, pull/push them a few times, and then connect them together, insert a metal clip (assuming I have that metal clip in the first place). And then let it dry.

I have also heard that I could put some diaelectric grease in all connectors. The only thing about that is that once I do that, it would be next to impossible to ever clean it out. If that was ever needed for any reason. So I am leery of doing anything that is next to impossible to undo.

[ZCurves]

So you are saying to clean them with sandpaper first on both sides of connector male and female...then squit deoxit on both ends, pull/push them a few times, and then connect them together, insert a metal clip (assuming I have that metal clip in the first place). And then let it dry.

I have also heard that I could put some diaelectric grease in all connectors. The only thing about that is that once I do that, it would be next to impossible to ever clean it out. If that was ever needed for any reason. So I am leery of doing anything that is next to impossible to undo.

No worries about the Dielectric Grease. I have used it on every connection on my '78. When I was reworking my harness, I pretty much performed what Jennys280z mentioned to do.

The Deoxit and other contact cleaners will most certainly remove any grease that it encounters.

Fastwoman mentions that her connectors were coming apart, now is the time to check those and replace if needed.

[Jennys280Z]

So you are saying to clean them with sandpaper first on both sides of connector male and female...then squit deoxit on both ends, pull/push them a few times, and then connect them together, insert a metal clip (assuming I have that metal clip in the first place). And then let it dry.

Yeppers. A can of compressed air is good to have on hand too, as you can blow out loose particulate matter after sanding but before spraying.

The metal clips are already on your connectors, "locking" them in place. Make sure you don't drop any when removing/installing them. The coolant temp sensor and thermotime switch have G-clips which hug all four corners of the connector so they are more difficult to remove/install. A tiny slot screwdriver is the best tool I've found for removing the clips. Make sure you don't drop them in the engine bay or lose them when you have them off the car. Irreplaceable devils, they can be.

[FastWoman]

Jenny, yes, you can lose the clips, and I doubt you can buy replacements, but you can make them easily enough -- probably just bending them from small paperclips.

Andrew, you wouldn't believe just how badly my connectors were coming apart! In fact one of my fuel injector connectors completely crumbled between my fingers. Yikes!

Argneist, if you're having lots of electrical issues everywhere, it certainly wouldn't hurt to undo every connector, clean, grease, and reassemble. It would be a bit of a project, but from the sound of it, I think it would be well worthwhile. Don't forget to undo your ground connections, clean/sand the metal, and reconnect -- with dielectric grease. If you ever need to clean out dielectric grease, BTW, you can do it with any number of solvents. However, I've never had to clean dielectric grease out of a connector.

I don't think you need to get too crazy with the cleaning. Your interior connectors probably just need a quick spray with WD-40, working the connection a bit (plugging, unplugging, plugging, unplugging), applying grease, and reassembling. Engine compartment connections might require a light touch of 600 grit sandpaper. Note: Don't use a coarser grit, and don't get aggressive. You don't want to remove plating/tinning. In all honesty, I think craft paper (e.g. paper bag material) wrapped over a small screwdriver tip, wetted with WD-40 or Deoxit, is plenty rough to clean the connections. I would recommend that first.

There's no need to remove your dash. Your light connections are around the steering column. The ECU connector is behind the left kick panel. The FSM will show you where all the other connectors are. I've owned two Z's now, and I've never had to remove the dash. In fact I've never had to remove the dash of any car I've ever owned. I do lots of wiring work, so if it were necessary, I'd have done it already.

One other thing I didn't comment on before: You mentioned replacing the fuel pressure regulator and fuel pump for good measure. You'll go broke quickly by doing this sort of thing. Not only that, but you'll be depleting a scarce antique parts supply for the rest of us. I've never seen a bad fuel pump or FPR, and there's no reason to believe yours is bad. You should simply test your fuel pressure. If it's good, then both components are good. You can borrow/rent a gauge from many auto parts stores, and you can buy one for around $50. If you're inclined to replace parts just "because," then please make your cast-off parts available to others in the Z community, as most of them will be perfectly good (and we could use them).

Good luck with the cleaning! I'm sure you'll iron out at least a few problems just by having clean connections.

Edited January 12, 2011 by FastWoman

[argniest]

Well you are right, I dont want to buy parts just for the heck of it :-))) Im glad to hear that fuel pumps dont normally go bad. I looked at local car shop fuel guages and it seems like all of them are for connecting to newer cars on the fuel rail, I guess there is some port on the newer cars which the Z doesnt have. So its like I need an old school fuel pressure guage. Im scared of getting the wrong kind. I read some threads on here about fuel pressure guages, and people said different things. Liquid filled???, air filled??, etc....so now I am nervous about buying the wrong kind. sigh.

What I would really like is a old school fuel pressure guage, that has a digital LED readout I could put inside the car. I would pay lots of money for something like that, if anyone knows where I can buy something like that!!!!! I looked online and havent found anything like that.

Thanks for advice on cleaning stuff. I will be very careful as I always am, before I do anything to the car. I study things, and think it through before I go ripping into anything in this car. That comes from my software engineering background I suppose. 80% of the work is in the thinking and design phase, and 20% of the work is actually doing it. Well, I will find that deoxit and start pulling one apart at a time and cleaning it.

I have color coded wiring diagrams that are laminated. I bought them off the internet. I am assuming they are accurate. I will compare to the original 750 page manual that I have, to see what I find. The person swore they were accuarte. I was looking at them tonight, seeing where/what the headlights are connected to. They are very pleasing to look at, and little did I know I would need to know every square inch of them!!!!

Right now, Im the most scared of having my z car die at a bad place, like when pulling out into an intersection and then getting clobbered by some big vehicle. It bums me out so much that the car died two times now, in 3 drives. Of course as I said it was like 5 to 10 degrees both times. And it never happened when it was summer and fall outside. Just on Jan 1st and 3rd when I got to drive my car, because the roads got rained on after it hit 60 degrees here, and then the roads were clear for several weeks. But its snowing again, and we are probably stuck with it for a while again. So I wont be driving anywhere for a while. Only idle it once in a while in the garage (with door open of course)

So, when it died, I was just driving along 20 to 30 mph both times and BAAAAM, the car just stopped running. It didnt start slowing down and then die. Just BOOM, dead. The electrical was still on, because I had on my stereo playing. But something caused that to happen, and besides the car starting on fire, that is the second worse thing to happen in my book anyway. And now I am the lucky one that has to deal with it.

Tonight I put my old Air Flow meter back on the car (because with the new refurbished one, it ran much much worse in fact it barely idled without me holding down the gas)

And then I just tested a few things. I noticed the back brake light worked, then it didnt work, then it did work the next 20 times I stepped on it. The front runner lights still didnt work, and the headlights dont come on yet either, but only when switched to high beams.

This stuff is making me crazy. I cant believe that I am going to have to pretty much check and clean every wire and connector that I can lay my hands on. I never thought I would have these kinds of problems with it. Because nothing like this happened until winter time. I never had one electrical problem at all in my 1000 miles of stop and go driving all summer and fall. For hours at a time I was driving all over the area, testing the car.

Maybe I was naive to think that a 33 year old car would not have problems like this. Maybe I was lucky that nothing happened all summer while I drove it. I just dont know....

[argniest]

argniest,

buy some Deoxit D5 Electrical Contact Cleaner. It costs money. But just do it. Inspect your electrical connectors closely. Some 320 or 400 grain sandpaper...I wrap little pieces of sandpaper around the tip of a tiny flathead screwdriver and it works great. Deoxit both ends of all connectors. Pull them off and on a few times after spraying, then just leave them doused in the cleaner as you install their locking metal G-clips. PS It takes awhile for it to dry so don't start running your motor right after using this stuff.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Caig-DeoxIT-D5-Series-Spray-100-Contact-Cleaner-NEW-/330516786337?pt=DJ_Gear_Lighting&hash=item4cf455eca1

Note the title says D5 but the picture in the ad shows D100. I've had great luck with the D5, and have used most of the can. I'll buy more if this one runs out.

CAn you take a look at this list, and tell me which one you are talking about? I see D5S D100S, etc

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?FTR=deoxit&search_type=main&WebPage_ID=3&searchFilter=deoxit

Also, I think this is what you are talking about. And its the only place in my area that says they have it.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/CAIG-DeoxIT-D5S-6-Spray--Contact-Cleaner---Rejuvenator--5-oz--101175859-i1134929.gc

I saw this special kit with more stuff in it??? Think this would be useful in my cleaning endeavors? Or just the D5 product above.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/CAIG-Audio-Survival-Kit-429166-i1134928.gc

Edited January 12, 2011 by argniest

[FastWoman]

Argneist, there's not going to be any dedicated fitting for measuring fuel pressure. You'll want to hook a guage to a roughly 5/16" "T" fitting. Disconnect the fuel hose from the output of your fuel filter, and put another tiny length of hose on it (with a clamp). Connect the other end of that length of hose to the "T" fitting (with clamp). Connect the hose that came off of the fuel filter to the "T" fitting (with clamp). The gauge should be connected to the third leg of the "T" fitting (with clamp). Then you're good to go.

I personally wouldn't see any use to an in-dash digital fuel pressure gauge. Fuel pressure goes up and down with engine vacuum, so unless you have both gauges going (fuel pressure and engine vacuum) and are very quick with mental mathematics, it's not really going to tell you much. Besides that, dashboard instruments aren't generally used for monitoring and diagnosing conditions that might cause your engine to run poorly. Rather, they are used to warn you that your engine is about to self-destruct somehow or leave you stranded. They're useless if they don't give you forewarning. Even an alternator/voltage gauge gives you forewarning -- to keep driving to the nearest shop, because you won't be able to start your engine after you shut it off. You'll know if your fuel pump goes dead, because your engine will immediately die. A gauge won't help you.

As far as dirty connections are concerned, how many 30 year old computers have you seen that still operate? Those usually have soldered and gold plated connections and have probably been stored in not-too-hostile conditions (e.g. in the basement or in a corner of a storage room). By comparison, a car's connections are mostly crimped. They might be tinned, but not gold-plated. The car would have spent much of its life in rather hostile conditions. I'm amazed these electrical systems work at all!

I haven't yet cleaned every connector on my own car, but then again it was largely working when I bought it. However, I've meticulously cleaned every connector I've encountered when doing other work, and I've rewired much of the engine compartment (which was the crustiest, most deteriorated part of the system). That said, if I had intermittent electrical problems all over the car, I'd just start pulling connectors and cleaning, without much attention (for now) to debugging. Can't hurt. If you've ever had mysterious problems in a computer, you might have been advised to re-seat all the connections -- pulling and replacing each card, each memory board, each ribbon cable, etc. It's pretty much the same approach.