FastWoman

Your turn signal won't flash if either one of the signal lamps (front or rear) is out. If the rear one stays on solid, check the front to see if it's out. The third lamp, of course, is the dashboard indicator light. Check that it's working too. Headlights are electrically another matter. Check your grounds. The high/low beam switch should have a good, beefy ground (black wire) on the other side of a 6-wire connector. Check that the contacts in the connector aren't burnt. On the other end, electrically, your headlights and signal lights draw their +12 power from one of the brown fusible links (don't know which one). Because your signal lights are working (sort of), I doubt this is the problem. However, check your voltage at the battery, at the fusible link, and at the left top two fuses in the passenger fuse panel. That should all read the same. If there are any significant voltage drops between these points when the lights are on, you'll know you have a faulty connection somewhere. In all likelihood, you'll have some very corroded crimp connections in the wiring tree on the righthand side of your engine compartment. Aside from the +12 from the fusible link and the ground on the other side of the high beam switch, everything else runs through two different circuits (fed by the above two fuses). Multiple things would have to be out for your headlights (both of them) not to work, but that's quite plausible too. My guess is that it's the ground wire off of the high/low beam switch. If you find that your connections and/or switches are getting too crusty and unreliable, you might do as I did. I wired my headlights to relays, taking most of the current load off of the (precious) combination switch. This sort of work isn't for the electrically clueless, but it's not rocket science either. Do you need 1978 wiring diagrams, or is this a job for your mechanic?

I tend to agree with others that the best fix is to replace the switch. That's a repair you can easily do yourself for less money (for the part) than you would pay the mechanic. However, if you need something to get you by for a while... I'm looking at my '78 FSM. From what has been said above, there may be differences in the way my '78 and your '76 are wired. However, if the overall logic of the circuit is similar, I note the following: The switch is the first stop between the turn signal fuse ( one of the IGN circuit fuses in the passenger side fuse box) and the signal lamp system, so one of the wires coming into the switch is going to be +12VDC. When the hazards are not switched on, this contact is closed. When the hazard switch is turned on, this contact is broken, the left and right signal lamps are connected together, and these lamps are powered through a hazard flasher unit off of a different fuse (from the BAT circuit of the passenger side fuse box). With all due respect to EScanlon, who is very knowledgeable about electrical matters, bypassing the switch is simply a matter of recreating the connections the switch would make in the "hazard off" position. In this case (AT LEAST IN A '78 MODEL!!), you'd find the wire that's +12 with the key in the IGN position and dead with the key off (color coded green in my car). Then find the wire that leads to the turn signal flasher unit (color coded green with a yellow stripe in my car). Jumper between the two, and don't connect anything else up. That would do it IN MY 1978 VERSION. As far as I can tell IN MY 1978 VERSION, it would be possible to blow anything up by connecting the wrong two wires, as the closest ground is on the other side of each lamp. You might have lights come on inappropriately, but that would probably be it. I guess it is possible, though, that you could blow one of the two fuses involved in this circuit (either for the turn signal or the hazard) by jumpering the two +12 wires together. That could happen in the ignition off state, where the two fuses would back-feed power from the BAT circuit to the IGN circuit. If one of the fuses doesn't blow, it could cause your engine to keep running even with the ignition key off, and it could eventually drain your battery (because the IGN circuit is never switched off). However, it wouldn't cause permanent damage to anything. Your fuses protect against that. Again, and this is important, THIS IS ALL WITH RESPECT TO 1978 WIRING. THERE MAY BE DIFFERENCES IN THE WIRING OF YOUR 1976.

Is it important to you to have only original parts, even if your hazard flashers aren't functional, or do you want to get your system functional, even if you have to replace the OEM switch and/or connector with a generic one? I'm assuming your '76 is wired similarly to my '78, and I'd be happy to check the '78 factory service manual for you later, when I have a bit more time.

There may be any number of causes for your car's running rich, but it probably wouldn't be a vacuum leak. Vacuum leaks tend to lean the mixture. Even so, it's a very good idea to get vacuum leaks under control. The air flow meter can be adjusted to alter fuel/air mixture, but that's a job for someone with the equipment.

I think he was asking about the fuel injection module (driver's side), not the ignition module (passenger side). Module might not be the right word, granted, but I think he's talking about the big box with the semiconductors in it. I'm not being critical, mind you. I'm the world's worst dyslexic. I understand and sympathize with the error(s). DYSLEXICS, UNTIE!! :classic:

Er, well, that's where the relays are located. The control module is located behind the driver's kick panel.

I read in another thread about an overflow reservoir cap that kept being blown off, with lots of coolant spillage, etc. Others were speculating it was a blown head gasket (i.e. with exhaust pressurizing the coolant system and blowing coolant and gasses out through the overflow). Look here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35701 It would appear the problem still isn't diagnosed, but it looks like you might have a similar problem.

FAIW, the warranty book for my '78 has a page where the original configuration of the car, owner info, etc. are recorded, apparently by the dealer. The engine s/n is also included there (at least on my car).

Hi Draztik, FAIW, I think the starter cable on our new Dodge Hemi truck is about 6 gauge (!!). It seems to start just fine. Maybe it's a gear reduction starter. For your car, I think 4 ga would probably work much better. I've always been pleasantly surprised at the new breath of life a starter system gets with new cables. :-)

Yes, head milling will result in the sprockets being closer to each other, so the same number of links of of chain inbetween will leave the cam sprocket turned a bit and the tensioner ever so slightly more relaxed. The effect on valve timing would be somewhat like having a worn chain. I don't know much beyond that. I think I've read that the cam towers can be shimmed to add the height back, but I might be imagining that.

What was smoking? The starter itself or the + cable? Is the cable in good condition? Is it a good quality of cable? When the cable got hot, was it just at its one end? It's possible the connector at the end isn't making good contact with the wire. (Just a theory.) If it's the starter I think you're in good shape. I think most of the AutoZone parts are lifetime warranty. You don't even need your receipt, as they'll just look it up on their computer.

Hey, I had my Z out at night for the first time. (I don't really get out much.) Wow, my lights were beautifully bright and steady. That was the best $5 I spent in quite a while.

It seems this is a purists' question, and the criteria only serve to exclude others from the club. Can't we cast a broad net and say that sports cars are used for competition driving, whether on a curvy course, a drag strip, or in the mud? Dunno, maybe the bar could be set higher: A *real* sportscar has only one seat and no doors.

FAIW, I've just done a lot of upgrading to my electric, including the addition of headlight relays. My total cost for the headlight upgrade was about $5. Yes, I used cheap Chinese knock-offs of Bosch relays, which I bought off of Ebay. They're rated at 40A, so I expect them to hold up. If they don't, I can buy name-brand Bosch relays and swap them out in a few minutes time. If you feel you can unwrap about a foot of wiring tree, identify the four largest red wires (but check your FSM, in case the 240 is wired with different color codes from my 280), snip them, solder/crimp in new connections to the relays, and wrap everything back up, you might want to consider this approach. This part of my upgrade project took me about 2 hr. I think about 2/3 of that time was spent cleaning oxidized copper wiring, so that I could solder it. Use a fine sandpaper, splay the strands, wipe, rearrange, splay, wipe, etc., until shiny. Crimp, and then infuse solder for a solid connection. I posted a schematic in this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35588 It's pretty simple stuff. No need to buy an expensive kit to do it. If you want to go back to stock, you'll be able to reconnect the four headlight wires to each other, and you're done. That's not completely unaltered, of course, but the evidence will be wrapped up in a wiring harness where nobody will see it. (You'd be amazed at the misdeeds and bad original design I found wrapped up in my own harness.)

You can put a big choke on the power supply to the CB. Better still, you might run both your (fused) +12 and your ground directly from the battery. If you do that, I bet you won't need a choke. Twist your + and gnd wires together, and keep them away from the ignition circuitry, including the ignition module on the righthand kick panel. Before doing these things, though, you might want to make sure the noise is through the cigarette lighter and not RF interference. Try the CB on (internal) battery power and make sure you don't get the same thing.

An upside down "N" is still an "N." An upside down "Z" is still a "Z." "N" for Nissan. "Z" for 280Z. The steering wheel is correct in any orientation, just like the wheel centers. It's all part of the great circle of life. Be happy.

Here are a few photos, BTW: Pardon the fuzziness of this photo:

Hey, I finished with this (not so) little project! Here are a few pics. I'm sorry I didn't detail the whole process, but I'm not going to handle any of my cameras with dirty hands. Here are the two MaxiFuse blocks. I think they look pretty nice. Here's how I mounted them to the relay box. I used two rails of 1/4" aluminum edge trim: Two more views of the boxes: Note the black epoxy paint on the vacuum bottle. It doesn't look quite as sickly this way. Here's a view of the wiring harness. Note the extra branch, which goes to the headlight relays. (The relays work great, BTW, just as I sketched out.) I know what y'all are thinking. You're probably thinking I need to put a bit more color under the hood to jazz things up a bit. I'll consider it. After a job well done We decided to go out in our powerboat to have a sunset dinner on the water. Our transmission went belly up. We had it rebuilt only 3 years ago. A kind soul dragged us back to dock. Next project... FOLLOW-UP: It wasn't the transmission. Yea! It was something jamming up the propeller shaft but not anything obvious like a rope wrapped around it. Sort of fortunate that it happened, because we discovered that both of our anodes had rotted away. (Replacing anodes while holding one's breath is quite an adventure!)

I had an old '73 Plymouth Fury III whose gas tank got punctured by a bouncing stone. (I spent a week wondering who kept siphoning my gas!) I cleaned around the hole, kneaded some epoxy putty (gas tank repair stuff), and quickly stuffed it over the hole. The repair held for at least few years until the day I sold it. I dont know if that would work for you, but it did for me.

A solid solution, as in a solid line? Yes. I simply bent a length of 3/8" copper tubing to shape, painted it with black epoxy, and connected the two ends with short lengths of generic hose. I used a pulley wheel (i.e. for ropes) as a form for bending, so that the tubing wouldn't kink. Finally, I took my OEM vacuum line, which is still in "OK" shape, and put it in storage. My replacement is 100% functional and durable and looks quite alright. BTW, I also replaced the rubber hose from my valve cover to my throttle body with a 1/2" painted copper line. I made my own flame arrester out of bronze screening, which I soldered into the tube.

Very nice, Arne! I've bookmarked that one! Mike, if it works, it works. You probably went to more of a heroic effort than I would have. FAIW, I've discovered that copper tubing of various sizes makes an excellent large-gauge and multiple wire crimping material, as long as you sweeten the connection by infusing it with solder. I've been reconstructing the high current bits of my engine compartment wiring tree this way. I even used a short length of 3/8" copper tubing to construct a great output post connector for my alternator. It's really beefy and actually looks not too homemade.

Well, I'm not quite finished, but I've made progress. (Life gets in the way.) I've got the MaxiFuse blocks installed. That was of course the easy part. The harder part is sorting through all the crusty, corroded bits of wiring harness and rebuilding the high-current parts of it. The ground line, which appeared to be about 10 ga and bolted to the block under the front heater hose clamp, was crimped in multiple places to branch lines. I pulled all that apart and replaced the wiring with 10 ga. crimped connections that I've sweetened by soldering. The alternator wiring looked worse. It, too, was 10 ga, fused at 80A (!!). It had multiple crimp connectors that were crusty, corroded, and burnt. I upgraded to 8 ga, thin-insulated, teflon ensheathed wire, crimped and soldered, with the same wire running from the + post on the alternator all the way to the MaxiFuse block. I found that copper tubing made a great crimp material. Just pinch it with vice grips, and it snugs right up. Then infuse with solder, cool, and tape. I also made the lug at the alternator post out of 3/8" copper tubing. I put the 8 ga main line, a new 16 ga line with a bullet connector on it for the condensor, and the branch line to the field coil connector inside the 3/8 tube. I then crimped, soldered, flattened the end in a vice, and drilled a hole for the post. I finally put a piece of heat shrink around it. It looks great and is 5x beefier than the OEM. With this wiring, I was perfectly comfortable upgrading my fusing back to 80A. (I had previously downgraded to 60A, but upon seeing what horrors were inside the wiring tree, I think the wiring wasn't even competent to handle 40A.) I took out the 10ga +12 wires and their branches from the starter lug to the fusible link assemblies and from the battery post to the two EFI fusible links, and I replaced it all with a 4 ga cable from the starter to the MaxiFuse block. The branches of the original lines were crimped and crusty, albeit not burnt. After getting the new fuse blocks put together I went to start the car, and it wouldn't start. I quickly found the problem. The fuel pump wasn't pumping (again!), and the problem was in exactly the same spot. I jiggled the offending wiring harness connector at the firewall, and the fuel pump came to life. Engine runs, and everything is happy. I've decided to break that one wire out of the large connector and to use a bullet connector instead. I don't want to have to be jiggling connectors every time my engine doesn't start! Along about this time, the mosquitos and gnats were swarming again, so I had to call it quits. I'll do the headlight relays tomorrow and hopefully get the updated wiring tree all taped back together. This project has gotten more involved than I wanted, but at least I've resolved several trouble spots before they had a chance to become trouble. It all looks very nice too, of course.

Check with junk yards? Failing that, there's nothing wrong with "stitched together." Isn't that what Nissan did -- stitch it together? If you want a top-notch job, find a sailmaker or someone who makes biminis and covers for boats. Either that, or find a good upholsterer. These people all do some incredibly fine work. They could even do the quilting pattern on the earliest Z's. I bet there are some good sail/bimini/cover shops in Portland.

Fixing a dieseling problem is somewhat mysterious. It happens when compression is too high (from a lot of carbon buildup) and/or when there are tiny parts in the combustion chamber that glow hot enough to keep igniting the fuel/air after the ignition is cut off. I *think* your choice of spark plugs can do that. There are 3 types of NGK plugs recommended for my '78 -- the B5ES-II, B6ES-11, and B7ES-11, being hot, medium, and cold plug types. You might try the colder plug rating (?). As I recall, the 240's use the projected plugs (e.g. BPE7-11). There are also some products touted to burn/clean carbon out of your cylinders. I have no idea whether they work. I've also gotten advice from an old/experienced mechanic to mix 1/2 gallon of diesel fuel in with a full tank of gas to burn out the carbon. I was a kid at the time and did this without questioning it (on a Toyota Celica). I got some very funny looks and a strong warning from the service station guy. The car ran OK on the mixture, and it didn't seem to make any difference that I could tell with regard to the carbon. I've also heard of the old-timers throwing handfulls of rice into their flathead engines to knock out all the carbon. I DON'T THINK I'D TRY THAT!! But that's what they did. I'm just guessing that this problem has a longer-range fix, seeing as it took a while to develop (assuming carbon). I think the most important thing is to determine why your engine is building up so much carbon and to make sure it is running as cleanly as possible. I think the engine might eventually burn off all the built up carbon that way. Perhaps it's running too rich? What do the plugs look like? Good luck!

I thought you meant the caps on top of the towers. You should be able to find vinyl material at almost any fabric store and cut it to shape. Know someone who sews? You can also repair vinyl by sticking a backing to it with vinyl adhesive, and then impregnating the rip area with new vinyl under a textured mold. If done carefully, it can actually look pretty good.