So, I've been working on restoring a '79 280zx, and man, it's been a fight. But finally, it's running, it's ready to go, and so I thought that from here on out, it'd be all cosmetic. That is until I started testing my lights.

Long story short, my right turn signal...

With the lights on (parking or head), the front right turn signal will stay solid (even without the turn signal being engaged), and the rear right will flash rapidly. With the lights off, all works well, except the left side (side mounted, not the entire left side) parking light/flasher blinks as well when the right is engaged.

The left side turn signals functions, no problem.

Any ideas?

Did you clean all sockets and bulb ends ?

Brand new bulb and sockets were scrubbed out. They were a bit corroded, but nothing too shocking. Would the sockets really cause the issue with the opposite side engage, working/not working depending on the headlights?

Edited February 23, 201213 yr by Trigger2

So, I'm convincing myself more and more that it's a wiring issue somewhere. Doing some more troubleshooting, and now it appears that with the lights on, the right side will just stay lit, won't flash in the back. With lights off, it actually engages the hazards. Removed the flasher (under the driver side dash), and problem's the same.

So, better question then would be, anyone have any idea where the wiring might be shot?

While it may well be an issue with wiring, have you checked the simple things first? You state you put in new bulbs...but did you put in the correct bulbs? I've seen similar oddities occur when the wrong amp bulb has been installed...

If that's not the case, you most likely have grounding issues somewhere.

I'm pretty confident I've got the correct bulbs in. I put in 1157's as that's what was in them. I'm not able to find any documentation to back up that's correct though. Doing some more troubleshooting, I found that when fuse #10 is pulled, turn signals work fantastic, but the tail lights don't illuminate, nor do the dash light (well, most of them). With it put in, headlamps on, I can see some stress around the middle of the fuse, but no snap. Turn signals with lamps on, no difference. But when I put on parking lights, bam. Fuse blows. Not just snaps, but melts and blows. With parking lights on, for the few seconds they "work", no external lights engage. Put in a solid metal bar, and it doesn't snap, but it doesn't fix anything either. So, there's some wiring issues around there, but it doesn't narrow it down much for me. I've got my hanes manual, but looking at the wiring diagram, I'm totally lost. Anyone got something a little easier to follow (maybe a bit less crowded)? Or something that actually shows what wiring is on what fuse?

I hope you did not buy the haynes manual because every haynes manual i have touched or seen are horrible...

You can get the Factory Service Manuals for free in pdf format at http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html

You will find some nice wiring diagrams in there that will be verrrrrrryyyyyyy useful. They have saved me multiple times since i bought my 76 last February.

A while ago I was having a hard time with my '81 doing odd things with the turn signals. I pulled out the whole multi-function switch 'collar' and took the whole thing apart. I cleaned the contacts with some metal polish to get the corrosion off and put the whole thing back together. Never found the problem directly, but after that they worked just fine. Might not help, but at the very least it's a quick place to start and it couldn't hurt.

I hope you did not buy the haynes manual because every haynes manual i have touched or seen are horrible...

You can get the Factory Service Manuals for free in pdf format at http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html

You will find some nice wiring diagrams in there that will be verrrrrrryyyyyyy useful. They have saved me multiple times since i bought my 76 last February.

He'll probably want the manuals from www.xenons130.com instead