tail lights not working on 75 280Z

[jj280z]

My head lights, turn signals front and back, brake lights, and back up lights all work, but the tail lights and the running lights on the fenders and quarter panels are not working. Someone I was talking to about this issue indicated I needed to check to see if the ground wires were in good order.

My first question is where the ground wire would be? How do I check electrically?

 My second question is if the ground wire is good what else could be the problem?

[SteveJ]

There should be a ground in the back, on the passenger side, near the taillights. Look for a black wire. You'll need to pull off the back trim panel to find the wiring harness. Look at the mechanical connection and make sure there is not corrosion that would inhibit current flow.

[S30Driver]

Are the front parking lights also not functioning?

[jfa.series1]

John,

This is the site I referred to at the club meeting - get your FSM here, it should include the wiring diagram if you don't already have it.

Jim

http://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html

[jj280z]

The parking lights do not come on either. The only lights that come on are the head lights. Do the access panels that have plastic rivets just pop off? I was hesitant to pull off these panels if I was going to have to replace the rivets.

[siteunseen]

You can take a 4 penny finish nail and push the center pins out of those rivets and get the rivet out plus reuse it.  You have to find the pin though and that  can be tough.  Nissan still sales those and there's some good alternatives on ebay.

Edited April 22, 2019 by siteunseen

[jj280z]

Thanks all for the help and the link to the shop manual. I'll leave a response when I get the lights working.

[jj280z]

I have attached several pictures showing the ground connection in the rear of the car. The connection looked clean, but I gave it a quick brushing any way. I also took out the passenger seat to get a look at the wiring bundle connections. I unplugged them and then reconnected them, but with no luck.

The first question I have is where is the other end of the ground wire go and how can I check the continuity?

The second question is how do I check the continuity of each of the wires in the 2 harnesses shown?

If the continuity is positive for questions 1 & 2, what should I look at next?

  

[jj280z]

 What I found after I checked the wiring bundles from the tail lights to underneath the glove box was apparent continuity. The problem appears to be the connection underneath the steering column as high lighted in the attached file. Because the car had been sitting around a long time, I am guessing that a thin layer of oxidation built up on the connecter terminals. I unplugged and plugged the connecter back together several times and it started to work. The parking lights and tail lights are terminals #4 & #5 on the harness shown high lighted.

0408_001.pdf