TomoHawk

Would you believe the connection pin for the coolant sensor (for the gauge) pulled out!? I had to replace the bullet connector and thus the whole wire, and while I was pulling out the slack, the thing suddenly got loose, so I kept pulling and there was the end! FYI, the pin has a wire that goes through the sensor body, to the base of the sensor, where there's a little washer-like thing that probably generates the resistance for he gauge. The sensor is hollow. It's not leaking coolant. BTW- can you get the connector for the other (EFI) coolant sensor? It looks like a fuel injector connector, but the groove is offset, probably so you don't plug it onto the wrong thing. The wires broke off inside the old factory connector.

That's what I said, so I'm not worried about getting it to a repair place, but there is still the possibility of a little dripping from the crack. Maybe the tube could be glued in or just put a bit of sealant on it for safety in the meantime, while I order a new aluminum radiator? BTW- a couple summers ago, it was so hot that after I got back from a long drive, the vent on the overflow bottle was spurting! Somebody thought I had a leaking radiator, but I put too much water in the overflow bottle to begin with...

My radiator has a small tube on the filler neck where the overflow hose connects, and it broke off! I can push the tube back in, so I think I can at least drive it to the shop that works on radiators (Rad Air) but is this something that can or should be repaired (soldered back on) or would this be an opportunity to upgrade the radiator? There are few, if any, actual radiator repair guys left. I was wondering if switching to an electric fan would be a good idea. The stock fan is working fine, but it seems to be a bit of a drag on the engine, until you get on the freeway. I have a Duralast replacement for the stock alternator; I wonder if I'm taxing the electricals.

The relay enable switch is connected to accessory circuit- the defog switch. Regardless of whether the switch is on, the lights are off when you turn off the keyswitch. Before, I used de FOG switch to turn on fog lamps, so I'm just rewiring the relay for driving lamps, which should only need the one minor change.

A problem I discovered was that the RW wire to the turn signal lever/beam switch is grounded regardless of whether you toggle it.

Then you are probably in violation of the regs in many, if not most, states. You should take the vehicles to the dealer for immediate corrections, or you need to read the owner's book, and your state's motor vehicle regulations, to find out how to properly operate the lights.

Asian brands don't seem to care about American regs. They just want to "make people happy" to sell more cars and thus give them millions of watts of light to light the road and everything to both sides. That makes Americanians think it's OK to drive with fog lights on always or when it's not permitted. I tell people it's ILLEGAL in Ohio, and they say they use fog lights for "safer driving" or they have bnad eyes add "need more light." SUVs and big pickups are worse- the lamps are at eye-level. Bruce- I'm sorry; I forgot the put the chassis ground for the lamps. The relay is SPST and only switches the hot, and the relay gets its supply directly from the battery; the small switch is a toggle to enable the relay. This diagram should be correct.

Hello! I am installing some driving lamps, and I will use a relay. I can wire the relay directly to a switch, but common sense (state laws) tell you that driving lamps are only supposed to come on with the high beams. So I have a 12V feed from the ACC circuit on the fuse panel to the relay, and I wanted to wire the relay's ground to the high-beam (ground) wire so the driving lamps come on with the high beams, because the high beam switch goes to ground, right? Attached is a simple schematic. BTW- It's a 1978, so the High beam wire is a RW wire, according to the FSM I atached a simple diagram

You can clean & lubricate the linkage, but after it wears or gets loose, there's nothing that you can do to restore it. So a source of a suitable replacement or a way to replace the ball joints would also be a great benefit.

I'm sure you could put in the Ford wiper motor, and it will never quit, until you flip the switch. You could also set up the toggle switch for both slow and fast speed.

Has anyone gotten a decent upgrade for the 280Z wiper motor? I mean something you can get from a post-1985 vehicle, which is when they used the waterproof motors. I have a wiper motor from a 1997 Escort ZX2, and the bolts align almost perfectly with the holes on the bracket, and the shaft fits the linkage just right. The Escort motor is a DC motor with a ground, and switched 12V connections for low- and high-speed. It also has auto-park without the extra swipe the Datsun motor makes. Yes, I cleaned and lubricated the linkage and pivots, but the speed is still just too slow. I used DeOxit for the pivots, and it worked very well.

They sound like the right thing for my needs; fog lamps don't illuminate things in the distance. I will see if there is a compatible Hella lamp with a bit less intensity or a bit more dispersion. But I already have a relay and appropriate wiring installed for the fog lamps. Mine are actuated by the de FOG switch.

Thanks anyway. eBay auctions don't show you photos of the innards, unless you get very lucky. Obviously the sellers just want the do the least work to sell the thing. They usually just have a bunch of photos of the outside. Asian sellers are worse: they have 6 photos of the front, and six of the back.

I"M not interested in finding auctions on eBay. I would like to hear from people who have experience with how well they work, and what kind of bulb is employed.

Has anyone seen or experienced the Marchal 652 Driving Lamps? I know they were used on sportscars, "sporty cars," and Mustangs, etc. in the 1960s, and are now a bit pricey, but I have a chance to buy a pair. But before I spend money on what I may not be able to repair or replace (I don't even know what bulb they use) I'd like to get some informative opinions from people that I can trust. ThxZ.

It seems that the higher wattage bulbs also use a higher voltage. That is, the 70W bulb is 24Volts. So a bulb swap isn't that "simple." In general, I'd say that you could probably put a 70W bulb into a lamp that was designed for a 55W bulb, with a small amount of additional current draw and heat. For such a lamp, is a 100W bulb too much? For a spot lamp, you'd want a LOT of light going down the road, as long as you aim it properly, and don't melt the wires or the lamp.

Yes, those modules are made to work with the extra brake lamp as well as the one motorcycle brake lamp. There are many kinds with different features other than the simple one in the posted link.

I prefer the 3200K light, not the over-bright white light, so when I see the word 'performance' associated with bulbs, it tells my they make white lights, but I will look into them anyway.

What I did was to scrub it with wire wool and brake cleaner, the paint it with a shiny aluminum paint. It looks much nicer now.

That's good, but you still have to get people to pay attention and stop tailgating, so they will have time to notice the improved lighting. Have you considered using one of those strobing/flasher devices, like some motorcycles have?

AFAIK, the Zed has TWO speakers in the rear, the 240Z has them far back by the tail lamps, and the later cars had the under the window behind the seats. I replaced my 4-inch stock speakers with better ones, to handle the 40W stereo, and I have no problem hearing the music. You can also add the aftermarket speaker panel (with 6x9 speakers) that replaces the taillamp cover and rewire the stereo for much louder sound.

I was searching for some brighter 70W H1 bulbs for the auxiliary lamps, and it seems that all you can get is LEDs. Then I viewed a few Youtube videos that pointed out the brighter LED bulbs were bigger and wouldn't fit. Is it worth pursuing an LED bulb to replace the standard halogen, even for the 55W bulb? Where would you be able to get higher-wattage halogen bulb(70W or 80W or more) in a nice 3200K color ? It seems you'll need to order from an overseas supplier, such as Germany or China.

It wiyld probably be easier to scrub it and paint the thing, but it has pins and joints with overlapped parts, so it would probably not be completely painted, unless you cut the pins, which I am not comfortable with, considering it needs to be very strong to lift the car.

I was searching for a new jack to replace the old rusty one, and I eventually came across a slick jack that you get with your Mercedes, Chrysler, Honda, Volve, et al. It is a pantograph design is much lighter (about half) than the heavy scissor jack, and lifts the car in a similar way to the scissor jack. What I didn't like about it, is that it only contacts the car on one side of the rocker seam, so it looks like it might slip off. The cars designed to use the jack have a dent or pocket to hold the lifting pad.

I am unsure about those red LEDs regarding the brightness. Ordinary red LEDs aren't bright at all. Super-bright LEDs should be used instead. Are you willing to put your classic car at stake to save a few dollars on a cheap lamp that can barely be seen in daylight or not much brighter at night, when people are driving with tired eyes and not paying much attention anyway?