DoubleYOOHZ

In the process of replacing it now. I will update once it is done.

1977 280z. Sorry, i left that out.

Hello Z Community, I am coming back in hopes to revive my Datsun once again. Before I jump back in I want to give a back story to this situation. Car has been sitting in garage for the past 9 months. I charged the battery in hopes to get it cranking and starting again. After some attempts of failure, I left the car in the ignition and turned to "on" (where you hear the buzzing). Fire ensued. The fusible link for the Alternator/Ignition Relay link caught fire. (diagram below) I replaced the fusible links and charged the battery. It can be seen below (black). (You can see some of the fire aftermath at the bottom of the fusible link. It is like a pimple) Car started to idle rough but then idled perfectly. However, it can not hold its charge. I would attempt to drive the car the next day, but it would struggle to crank. So i made sure I charged the battery again and drove the car around. Battery is new. From previous attempts(previous thread), we did test the alternator and did get a charge. I wanted to ask the community, what is withholding my car from holding its charge? I do want to mention, there is an aftermarket radio that was installed in the vehicle by the previous owner. A friend suggested that improper installation caused a short circuit and was the leading cause of the fire. I pulled the radio today and found copper(or some metal exposed). Would this have instigated any issues to what has happened to me? (pic Below)

I did have a bad connection with the negative cable. When I got it back from the shop, it was struggling to start. We wiggled the negative cable and it started right up. Seems to be the area where I crimped the wire was getting loose. I will try replacing that negative cable. How would I check to see the current draw with the key off? I have not taken the battery cables off yet. However, when I have there are sparks and relays clicking. I had charged it with the charge and it starts up beautifully. Do you folks know what is the average voltage reading for an idling car? The fact that my 280z was getting a voltage reading of around 13.XX V was just alarming since it is barely charging. When I gassed the charge, voltage reading never exceeded pass 14 V.

Hello Z community, I am coming back to this thread again because this problem is now persisting. Before, my car was charging. Now it is barely charging. I took the car for a drive two days ago and when I started the car today, my car would not start. It was a dead battery. From the dash tachometer, it read 8V. I charged the battery, and it started up flawlessly. Below, I posted some results from my volt readings. It is not the same as before. It seems to barely charge the vehicle. What I dont understand is how my battery dropped from 12.4V to 8V from just two days of just sitting the garage. Before start up: 12.41vCar in idle (900rpm) : 12.83vCar above 1200 RPM : 13.88vCar at idle with headlights on: N/ACar w/ headlights on above 1400 rpm: N/A Would it be the voltage regulator/alternator?

Hi guys/gals, Just wanted to give you a quick update on my transition so far. I did take my car to a specialist where they did install a OEM exhaust manifold along with a new fabricated down pipe. Here is the thing, When I got the car back, I noticed the car was over heating. We are talking about the car reaching 250 degrees. My meter was pushing far right and I was so confused. Then I remembered that I saw liquid stains over my cap and rotors. Turns out when they displaced my intake manifold, they had to dump of radiator fluids out. So... I filled it back with radiator fluid. Not too happy with this mistake. So far, I did install the EGR apparatus. I am awaiting for the transducer and EGR control valve. My concern is the smog specialist said that the "3 way rocker rubber hose," that came from the engine block and connected to my air flow meter hose, was not smog compliant. Is this true? I find this questionable and wanted to ask you folks on this.

Thanks for all the replies folks. When I bought the car, I thought i did my research to know about the car inside and out. I guess I am still a newb. As for now the cat is installed on the car. I may have realized that this vehicle may have been tracked in its previous life with the PO. Headers, No EGR, Full exhaust system, full front and rear brake upgrades, and much more cosmetic upgrades. I can see why you moved out of Sac steveJ. My vehicle is a California Model. It states california on the underside of the hood along with smog guidelines. Included are the words "catalyst." I'll try ebaying these parts when they come up or even craigslist. Thanks all.

I see... Damn....that is expensive. Thanks SteveJ. I now need to debate what I should do...

Thanks Stevej, I believe I need the stock headers and not the manifolds. On the Zstore, they sell aftermarket (not sure CARB compliant) headers. EDIT. Exhaust manifold = headers? They are both the same thing?

I think you are right Zed Head. The stamp or sticker was the point the inspector was stressing about. I Could not visually see a brand listed on the header. I need to go under and see. Woudnt running this vehicle with this header be technically illegal still even if i installed a bung on the egr tube? I am having no luck finding stock OEM headers. I know MSA sells some headers with smog fitment but it says it may not be CARB compliant. I am in Sac/Yolo county. I failed the inspection test and they did not proceed with the smog "sniffler" test. Being that I had bought this car years ago, I do not know if the PO of the PO would remember.

Below there are some pictures of the headers and missing EGR device. Headers are a little hard to see but from what the smog people told me, OEM headers must have some stamp that is visible for the inspector to see. These two are the reasons why I failed the visual inspection test. I honestly do not know what type of aftermarket headers these are. There are no labels. I will lift the car up to see if there are any labels on the bottom.

The shop said that the headers on my vehicle was illegal to operate on california roads. The EGR device was removed by the previous owner and the shop said it was a requirement for the smog to pass. I did not have the EGR installed on the motor because that was how I bought. This is all new to me at the moment and I am a little disappointed that my prior research was minuscule. I will try to post a picture of the header and "no EGR" device in an hour.

Hello Zs, My car is now running again. It is a 1977 datsun 280z. Here in california, there are some questionable smog laws. It was sitting non op but I was able to get a temporary vehicle moving papers. I ran over to get my car smogged at one of the local shops. In the initial visual inspection, it had failed. It had aftermarket headers along with missing EGRs. The owner that I purchased this from said it was bone stock besides the removal of the catalytic converter (he turned it into a straight pipe) with new exhaust. I was completely dumbfounded... I want to daily this vehicle. Would it be just as simple as removing the headers and installing a EGR system? I dont want this to be a money hole. Someone from California with any advice?

@Dave WM@Zed Head- I just ordered the correct OEM fusible links. However, after cleaning the female and male terminals of the fusible links and battery, I have been able to sustain charging levels. Lets say, at the battery level readings when I did the F to A link, wouldnt the data tell you that the voltage regulator is doing its job? If the max output is at ~16v (when the F is connected to A), and I am getting a voltage reading of ~14.5v (when FN is connected to battery) shouldn't that be an indicator of functionality? Before start up: 12.6v Car in idle (900rpm) : 14.45v Car above 1200 RPM : 14.68v Car at idle with headlights on: 12.68v Car w/ headlights on above 1400 rpm: 14.55v In this case, it makes me wonder about the back feeding of electricity to cause my fuse to overheat/burn. If it happened twice, it will happen again. Zed head- When I measure the ground on both sides of the main link, which main link are you referring to? The Alternator/Relay link?

@Dave WM - Sorry. The battery with the engine off read as 12.67v. I'll be honest with you, the gauge and the insulation is something I dont know about. I picked up the insulation and gauge from oriellys and put them together as i thought it seemed fit. The light from the dash does light up. Originally, the first fuse that burnt was the OEM fusible link. I dont understand when you are asking if it is 50% rated current of the fusible link? If you can elaborate, Ill do my best to answer. @Zed Head - You just made me realize something. I think I have done this wrong. When I did the F to A (bat), I measured at the battery terminals. I completely did it wrong. I wont be able to do the test again until tomorrow.

@Dave WM - Im sorry for the confusion and frustration about this. I am clearly frustrated with the unparalleled data. @siteunseen - These are homemade fusible links. I purchased the parts from Oriellys. I did just order a set of factory OEM fusible links. @sweatybetty - Thanks for the read! So... Different results again. I have to test these results in a couple hours if it still produces the same data. Basically, from the burnt fusible links that I posted above, I replaced them. I then cleaned battery terminals along with the terminals of all fusible links. Only two are homemade fusible links. At idle (around 1100 rpm), the car is hovering above 14v. You can see a jump in voltage when I gas the car. When the car dips to 12.4v, that is when I turned on the lights of the car. Gassing the engine raised the voltage readings on the battery. What do you guys think? Could it have been just the burnt fusible link that limited my voltage? I am really cautious to not take this reading firmly because I had a different reading before. I will report back with another trial reading.

Before I dive any deeper, I took apart the fusible links and notice something interesting. The fusible link that is registered to the Alternator and Relay seemed to be burnt or charred. Kind of weird, dont you think? Maybe there is a reason why my previous fusible link caught fire. I dont think this prohibits my alternator from charging as you can see from the data but I wont rule it out. Any reason as to why this charring happened to the Alternator fusible link?

I also think it is my voltage regulator. I will take a look at the video and FSM in diagnosing the voltage meter. I will report back. Thanks @Dave WM

@Zed Head - Terminals are all clean. Simply, you stated it outright. It isnt charging at higher rpms. @siteunseen - The car is running but it is not registered. No insurance or paper work done yet because it is still in its revival period. I was going to take it to autozone or oriellys but I did not want to risk getting the car impounded. I want to make sure the car runs great before I purchase insurance and all of the above. @Dave WM - From the tachometer, the lights do turn red before I crank the car. The voltmeter does show higher voltage after the car has started. Then there is a drop in voltage when lights are turned on. Also, voltage seems to drop when car increases its RPM. So today, I did the F alligator to A (Bat) to test the alternator and measured the voltage. I got 16.47v. Seems like the alternator is doing its job at making as much voltage as possible. We can assume the culprit is the voltmeter?

@Zed Head & @Dave WM - The quote " I just had tested the car when at 2000 RPM and it read 12.07v " occurred when I started the car and had a second person rev the car to 2000 rpm to which gave me a reading of 12.07v. Car was not in idle. When car is in idle and idling at 1100 rpm, the readings from the battery gave out 13.6 and 13.34v. Im sorry about the confusion. thanks for the detailed explanation Dave. I really appreciate this. Unfortunately, I do not have alligator clips and I will pick some up tomorrow to test this out.

Hey SteveJ, are you referring to just removing the F connector or removing A and connecting it to F?

@Dave WM - When you are referring to the F to battery check, I am assuming you are doing an alternator test from the factory service manual. I am a little hesitant to do this for some reason. Am I just removing the F connector from the alternator and then measuring the voltage at A and E? Or do I remove the nuts from A and connector at F and put A wire to F? I dont want any blow fuses. I checked out all of the fuses in the box and it was okay. Dont know how to test fusible links? Measuring Voltage at the connector? what I am really confused on is "connecting A terminal to F terminal" part. Can you guys elaborate?

@siteunseen - From a visual inspection, the belt looks tight onto the alternator. I will give it a tug and see if it is loose of some sort. @Dave WM - My Idle RPM is around 1100. I know this is high because the RPM stated on the hood of the car says it should be around 800- 900 RPM. I dont know if I have air conditioner. I have fans that just blow air. I dont see an air compressor near my block. The alternator has not been replced. When I replaced the fusible links, the car ran fine but battery was not getting charged. Some thing may be fried since my radio is not working anymore. It used to work (aftermarket radio) I thought my voltmeter should jump if I used my headlights to compensate for the energy usage? But it dipped. Are you referring the the tachometer (the three circles?) There is a red light charge before starting the car. @SteveJ - Will do. Your site looks informative. I will go thru this and see if I can assess the drop. @Zed Head - I do drive the car around the block for maybe 20 mins. But I do see a drop in battery voltage in its ability to crank the motor. I just had tested the car when at 2000 RPM and it read 12.07v.

Hello Classic enthusiasts. My 1977 datsun 280z car is almost up and running. The problem is a little hard to describe. I replaced the battery and the car ran fine. I notice the car started to lose cranking power after 8ish car start ups. Around this time, the car would struggle to crank. I charged the battery right up and the cranks beautifully. At first, I thought my alternator is not charging my battery (which seems to be the case). I went through the "Alternator not powering battery" thread and could not assess my situation. I did some testings on my car with a multimeter and found some questionable data. From the battery, Trial #1 12.6v - Engine Off 13.6v - Engine Idling 11.88v - Engine Idling w/ headlights on 11.90v - Engine Idling w/ headlights on and max fan 12.90v - Engine Idling w/ lights and fans turned off Trial #2 12.42v - Engine Off 13.34v - Engine Idling 12.06v - Engine Idling w/ headlights on 12.01v - Engine Idling w/ headlights on and max fan 13.36v - Engine Idling w/ lights and fans turned off It is weird how I got different voltage readings for when car is at idle and when car is under load.. I do have to bring up that about a year ago when I was working on my car, when I tried to start my car the fusible link caught fire. Weirdly enough, it was the alternator and Relay fusible link. I replaced the link and the car starts up fine but then the car battery would not be charged by the alternator. The 1977 came with a voltage regulator that is located below the fusible link box. Would there be any chance that when the fusible link caught fire, it shorted my voltage regulator? What could be the problem being that my car is not charging while under load? If I read through a series of forums correctly, I believe that the the voltage should be around 14V while idling or underload.

@cbuczesk-I am thinking that I have to buy negative offset rims. I looked at the car again today and I was scavenging what might be problems for larger wheels. Looks to me that my suspension might be an issue since it seems be be maybe 3.5 inches away from the wheel. @beermanpete& @Zed HeadThanks for updating me on that.I was looking down under today and I saw the springs to be a small inconvenience. The wheel was maybe 3 or 3.5 inches away from the spring. So getting a wider wheel seems to be on the contrary. If I believe what I see is right, the car seems to upgraded to edibach springs and lowered an 1inches to 1.25 inches. Please dont crucify me but I was going for a flushed look like Bobby Rosillo's 240z with similar rims ( Rota RKR). http://www.enginethusiast.com/wanagan-midnight-bobby-1972-datsun-240z-1974-mazda-rx3/ He seems to be running 15x9 on all 4 corners... if i understand correctly. How is his car flush when those rims come in negative offsets? Would running 15x9 (or even 15x8) Rota RKR with 0 offset be better off for me or do i need a negative offset to avoid rubbing?