ambigu0us

So, i exhausted most of the above suggestions. I did take a wire straight from the starter spade connector and touch it to the positive terminal on the battery and the engine tried to crank. I traced the wire from the spade connecter to the relay bracket and found where it split in order to connect to the relay bracket. I peeled off the electrical tape and discovered that the wire from the starter's spade connector split into to. Multiple times I tried touching a wire to the the split and to the positive terminal and it continued to crank and only started up once. A friend suggested I take the spark plug wire out, stick a screwdriver in it and make sure it touches metal and try to turn the car on and see if it sparked. I got no spark. About two months ago I replaced the car with new spark plugs and new spark plug wires. Can anyone suggest what I should look into next?

One thing I forgot to mention is that I recently changed out the starter. I checked the battery cables and connections for corrosion or dirt and everything was clean. I found the relay and unplugged it and sort of reconnected them so that the pieces were touching and turned the key and it would start up or at least click a few times and start up. I went and got ready for work and came back out and the car did the same thing as before, click a few times and then it just started up. So, now I'm a bit confused. I'm thinking I need to clean the metal connectors off (?) but then my questions is if it's been connected all this time how could they be dirty? Or perhaps the angles that the wires are coming in at are crimping it at some location causing it to not work properly (???) But to answer the tranny swap, a friend and I did it ourselves. He was more experienced in it. I recall discussing the neutral sensor bypass, but neither one of us could find it and the car started up, but that may be a point of concern at this point, I'm just not sure where or which wire it is.

Hey all, So I'm a bit new to working on cars, done a little work here and there but am still pretty much an amateur when it comes to this stuff, so any help would be greatly appreciated! I have a 1978 280z, did a tranny swap and made it a manual a few months back, but lately I've had a few problems with the ignition. It usually does one of the following: 1. Start right up. 2. Start up and slowly whines and dies. 3. Turn the key and it clicks (under the dash, I believe it's the relay) and then there's a second click somewhere from the engine and it either starts or it doesnt. 4. Turn the key and the relay just clicks. As of a today, it's only clicking (#4.) A friend suggested redoing the wiring (?) but I was curious to see if anyone else had this or has had a similar problem to this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thank you!

Hey all, I have a 1978 280z and am trying to install a fan regulator. One of the wires has a large metal "screw" (I'm not a 100% sure what it's called, but it looks like the things that "plug" up the Low and High pressure ports on the A/C compressor.) The "screw" says to attach it to the A/C Clutch, where do I find that? I'm pretty sure that is my A/C compressor, and it has to either go in one of those two ports? I've seen a few schematics online and anything referring to the word "clutch" is shown to be at the front of the A/C Compressor. Figured I ask, before I start fiddling with it. Thanks!

Hey all, so I recently switched the manual transmission from my 1978 280z to an automatic (which came from a '77.) Since the swap, the ignition doesn't seem to be working. I can turn the engine and hear a click coming from the engine, all the electronics come on, but it seems to not initiate the starter and turn the engine. After a few tries it eventually works, but I feels like it's getting worse and worse. Any suggestions or recommendations of where I should start looking to solve the problem? Thanks!

Hey all! My buddy and I just switched out the automatic tranny for a 5 speed manual. We started the car up and heard a continuous thumping/grinding (?) noise. We're thinking it may be that the starter is misaligned, but I'm wondering if the starter for an automatic is different than one for a manual? Does anyone know if this is true or have any suggestions? Thanks!!!

Thank you all for the replies! I am going to look into the car this weekend and will let you know what I find!

Hey! So I just recently purchased a '78 280z. It, for the most part is in amazing condition, but it has a handful of noises/problems that I want to try to fix. If anyone can help with the following, that would be awesome! A metal 'shrill'/metal vibrating noise when car is parked or while accelerating. Wasn't as bad before, but has gotten progressively louder. Oil pressure gauge dips to near 0 when parked or at a stop, but moves back to the middle of the gauage when driving. Heat comes out of defroster vents, but not from the regualr vents on the dash. Water leaks into passenger side when it rains. Seems to be coming from the top left side of the passenger feet area. (Behind the glovebox-ish) There is a thumping noise when I hit bumps coming from the rear of the vehicle. The car also rocks side to side when I hit a bump at high speeds. I think these two are connected. I know it's an extensive list, but any help would be great! Thanks!