Zs-ondabrain

I attempted to buy one of the Michaels clocks and it was to big to fit in the 70 240Z clock shell. So I went to Value Village and grabbed 2) $2 travel clocks. I brought my 240Z clock shell into the store to make sure before purchasing them. They were totally different on the outside but upon getting them home and tearing each of them down, They were identical and from the same manufacturer. So I chose the one with black hands. I removered the seconds, minutes, hours and alarm set hand. I had to use the *Dremel* to remove the lip on the back of the 240Z clock face. After a test fit to make sure if fit nice and snug, I used some 2-sided tape to hold the clock to the back of the Datsun clocks face. After it was mounted using the tape, I found some very small, sharp screw to screw the face to the clocks black shell from the front. This makes sure that the clock will not fall off due to heat or the tape failing. The screws sit far enough to the outer portion of the face to not be seen when the clock is re-assembled. I then cleaned the face with rubbing alcohol, dried it with a blowdryer, then applied the MSA "White face gauge sticker to it. Rubbed out all the air bubbles and then re-installed the minute and hour hands. Then flipped it over and stripped some speaker wire to attach to the spring and tab for the battery. I then tied a knot in the wire about 3" away from the clock and slid the wire thru the time adjustment hole. *Please note that when I mounted the clock body to the face, I mounted it so that the time adjustment screw lined up with the hole on the case that was originally for the power wires of the OEM clock* I then went to Radio Shack and bought a single AA battery holder with 2" leads for about $1.50. Got it home and attached it to the speaker wires from the clock. *Make sure that the "Marked" or "Striped" speaker wire goes to the Positive tab on the clock* I set the clock and installed the battery. I was SO very sure of my swap that I wasted NO time to install the clock back in the car. I put the battery in the glovebox and walked away. I checked back 24 hours later and it was dead on the money, NOT a minute off. I figure it this way, I got a clock in the kitchen that has had the same AA battery in it for 2 years now. 1) At $4 for a 2 pack of AA's. That's $1.00 a year to replace the battery every 2 years. 2) the clock was only $2 3) it took a wopping 40 minutes to remove my 240Z clock, gut it, tear apart the travel clock, install it on the face, wire it, set it, install it and walk away. I also found that a dab of hot glue on the adjuster knob (on the inside of the clock) will allow you to adjust the clock like the Old stock unit. That was last month and it's still exactly set to my wrist watch, almost to the second. Not back for $6 and 40 minutes. For more info and to see the problems and solutions to the white face gauge kit from MSA, please look here.. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28936&highlight=Problem+MSA+white+face+gauge+kit Dave.

sounds like the back SU is running lean and the Previous owner cranked up the idle screw to compensate for it. reach under the rear carb and turn out the big knurled knob about 1/2 turn, to see how that feels. Also start checking all of your vaccum hoses for leaks and loose fittings. 10/30 is actually a little thick for the SU's but if you check the dipsticks on top, you'll barely see 2 small lines, keeping some 20 weight near the lower line will allow the SU's to react a little faster under acceleration. turn down the idle screws as you increase the fuel on the bottom half. Get yourself a flowmeter from the local auto parts store. Use the Search function here at the site. There has to be a couple hundred posts from the pros about ajustment. Good luck, Dave.

The usual thing about the ZX dizzy is it works, or it don't. You did'nt mention whether you changed the plugs or not. What kind of plugs are you running? It most likely (being a Datsun) should have NGK BP6es or similar plugs. Might be time for a new coil as well. Dave.

figure it this way Justin, $250 for the full kit, $12 for the tube of sealent, $20? for shipping totals out at about $285. Compare that with the man hours of repairing all the rust damage because the last owner did'nt replace the weatherstripping all the way around. It looks like next Saturday may be the day for all the cutting and welding of your battery tray, dog legs and lower door areas and the floor holes. My 9 year old turns 10 on the 11th but her party is on the 12th. I think I have aproval from the wife to work on yer Z that day. Dave.

I thought about that too but 20 to 30 MPH off, not usually a condition on gearing or swaps. 5 to 10 MPH maybe. And I just reread the title "240Z speedo" Duh, sorry. anyways, this is what I meant about the resting needle placement.

The needle could have slipped. Is it a stock (unmollested) speedometer? I ask because I have white face gauges in my 70' and the speedo was off by 20 MPH after I did the face swap. This is where you need a friend to follow. Have your friend do EXACTLY 30 MPH. when he is doing that 30 MPH, have him put his hand out the window to let you know he's doing 30. Look at your guage and mark the speed your needle is at. roughly find out exactly how much it's off. now go home. If you can take out the gauge (2 wingnuts, the speedo cable, and the 4 bulbs) remove the 4 side screws, seperate the black housing from the metal gauge assembly. Use a flat head screw driver to push down on the small wire that stops the needle at 10 or 20 MPH, so that the needle can move past it's stopper wire. Note where the needle rests on it's own. Pull the needle straight up to remove it. Then put it back on about 20 MPH counter-clockwise. When I did mine, I had to put it back on so it would come to a rest half-way between the MPH font and the 160 font. When it's push on and resting where you think it should be, push the small wire back down again so you can slip the needle past it. let up on the wire and pull up on it a little so it's back where it should be. The speedo needle should now rest on the 10 or 20 MPH mark like usual. get back in the car, screw on the speedo cable without actually installing the gauge or reassembling the whole gauge. Take it for a test drive with the gauge sitting loose in the speedo hole. Have your friend do the 30 MPH again and see if you got it or if you need one final adjustment. The answer may be a whole lot easier than this but this is what I had to do to fix my own mistake. But like I said, the needle may have slipped and needs to be put back on correctly, by you. Good luck. Dave. By the way, what year Z is it. or is it even a Z?

just a quick insite on every 240Z, the key does NOT have to be on for the lights to operate. New cars-Yes. 240Z's-No. If the steering column cover is off, the white/red or the red/white 12 gauge wire should always have power, flip the headlights on and the other wire should get power. Anyways, the turn signal stalk is for switching the HI and LO beam (ground wires). The headlights each have a fuse in the fusebox in the upper right corner of the fusebox. Reddog929 was correct in the color of the wire for the headlights. The parking lights and sidemarkers, as well as the dash lights are all on the same circuit. and have almost nothing to do with the headlight circuit. Other than the fact that the combo switch controls them. Just make sure that the combo switch is getting power and the fuses are ok in the fusebox. Check the connections on the passenger side kick panel. The headlight wires are the only ones of the colors mentioned earlier in the upper passenger dash area. Start with the fusebox, then the combo swith, then the red and red/yellow wires at the headlight plugs in front of the radiator, also check to make sure that the hi/lo switch is getting a good ground and distributing that ground to the white/red and white/black wires on the white switch case on the T/S switch. by the way, the fusable links, if there are any left from the previous owner, are located on the starter to the large white wire going to the engine harness. The other should be on the alternators power output bolt to the other large white wire going to the engine harness. They should be about 5 inches each, and should both have a ring terminal and quick disconnect terminal (male or female) in a clear or blackened (by heat) rubber boot, to connect to the white power wire. hope some of this helps, It's late and I'm tired so I might have goofed, but I doubt it. Dave.

PLEASE DISREGARD THE DIAGRAMS ON POST #22!! The Diagrams on Post #22 are incorrect and have been modified to correct the Universal (J.C. Whitney) delay unit and the EQUUS 9030 delay unit. After installing these units into my 240Z and Justin54321's 72' 240Z. I discovered a flaw in the Diagrams. Because of my "PARK" relay, their instructions do not apply. So I have modified the diagrams to show the correct wiring of those 2 units. Not having installed the HELLA unit as of yet, I can not be sure if it is correct or not. So I changed the HELLA diagram to what I think will be correct. J C Whitney delay diagram for Honda upgrade 1mb.bmp EQUUS 9030 wiper delay full diagram under 1mb.bmp HELLA wiper delay unit into 240Z with Honda under 1mb.bmp

The 91' Honda Civic has the correct motor but here's a few shots to help get the correct motor. The motor on the right is the Honda motor. When you get the motor home, hold them side by side. the slots on the shaft should be aimed the same way. ( / ) ( / ) When you find the correct motor at the yard, save the 3 bolts and the washer and nut from the motors shaft. Dave.

I had to HUNT as well. Kept finding those "Spider legged" motors. Takes some time to find the right ones. I think I'll make an extra trip to the Pull a Part just to do research on the motors and what cars they are available in. *UPDATE* on the Delay unit instal. Good News!! It turns out that when you instal the honda wiper motor and MY relay set-up to allow the Motor to "Park", the delay unit only needs to put out a 1 second ground to the blue/white wire. Delay units already put out a timed 1 second pulse, The instructions call for you to "CUT the Low speed wire, put the COM wire towards the motor and the N/C wire to the switch side of the cut wire" BUT...... it turns out that the way I designed the relay set-up will allow a simple 1 second grounding of the Park wire to give an intermittent wipe. Vholaa, intermittent wipers. Most or Every delay unit that I've come across is huge or at the very least, a severely ugly hunk of plastic to try and find a place for in the Z, that allows access for the driver to operate the delay unit. And now the GOOD NEWS!.... Good news is that the delay unit can be turned on and set for a specific timing (2 to 20 wipes per minute) then tucked under the dash, out of site. THEN run the power wire of the delay unit thru a small 12 volt switch and back to the ACC. wire on the ignition, and install the small switch within reach of the driver. When you flip the switch on, there may be a slight delay of up to 5 seconds but it'll do 1 wipe and set back to park, then wipe according to your setting of the delay switch.. Pretty damn cool. HUH? Just remember to shut the switch off before normal operation of the wipers (Low or Hi) Dave.

Sweet, You ROCK Will!! I'll take 6 terminal boots for the fusable links on the starter and Alternator. I need to redo mine and 2 of "ZUP"s engine harness's that I'm rebuilding for him. And I'd also like to start making "TRUE" early 240Z Fusable links, with the male 10mm terminal (that seems to be like "Mission Impossible" to find) and the clear boot over it. Thanks again Will, Dave.

Here's one for ya Will, Do you have a lead on the clear rubber terminal boots for the alternator and starter fusable links? In rebuilding the harness's for a few people, I've notice that EVERY Boot is now blackened from electrical heat. I've even seen them totally black from almost catching on fire. I'd love at least a dozen to start with. And have you thought about the Chromed trim piece on the 240Z taillights. I ask because in doing the LED conversions, I've come across some trim that literally dissentigrates in your hands, from heat, exhaust gasses and UV brakdown. Dave.

Toss the Converter, Get a front diff mount from MSA or ANY of the other suppliers mentioned on this site. As for the oil pressure, As long as the oil is inbetween the "HI and LO" marks on the dipstick, you should be fine. Just rememeber that the car is 25 years old and the Oil Pressure gauge could be worn out (it happens) and may need to be replaced. Look for another or aftermarket oil pressure gauge, and try that before making a big deal out of the possible Bad oil pressure. Not a bad idea to do a pressure test on each cylinder, just for the hell of it. Dave.

Don't forget your after Christmas gifts..... Can't wait to meet ya and get that stuff in the Z with ya.. The wife still won't tell me what she got for me, supposedly it's in the mail and should be here by Friday. She keeps teasing me about it with the old "Neener Neener Neeeener, I know what ya go-oot" Drives me fricken nuts, but we'll see on friday. DEESZ, let us know how everything turns out when ya get all those upgrades on the car. Happy to help and Merry Christmas to all my past and current customers, You've all made the last few years of building the upgrades for the 240Z's, a pleasure. I can't remember another time in my life where I was this happy working my butt off for other people. The compliments, great reviews, word of mouth advertising and all the calls and E-mails have made it all worth it. Thanks again to EVERYONE on this site for the last 4+ years of Great info and friends. Dave.

So I had some time and found my wiper delay unit from years ago, that never got installed. Now that I figured out the whole relay for the park circuit thing, I attempted to install the Delay unit, with success. So here are three wiring diagrams for the HELLA delay unit (HL87200) , AQUUS 9030 delay unit (I think I got it from Schucks Auto Supply), and a universal drawing for other makes of delay units. On the instructions for your particular delay unit, it should show you which wires are (COM) (N/O) and (N/C). These wires are pointed out on the Universal drawing. (COM) to the motor, (N/C) to the switch, and (N/O) to the Park wire (Blue/white wire) If that not park it correctly, use an IN4001 diode from the Blue Datsun wire to the Blue/white "Park" wire, with the stripe on the diode facing the blue (low speed) wire. And cut the (N/O) wire and tape it off. If you have any questions regarding the delay unit into your 240Z with the 91' Honda Civic or 94 Accord wiper motor upgrade with my Park relay, please PM me here or at my email address below. Dave. EQUUS 9030 wiper delay full diagram under 1mb.bmp Universal delay diagram with switch and relay under 1mb.bmp HELLA wiper delay unit into 240Z with Honda under 1mb.bmp

First thing first, When you pull the door panel, DON"T mess withthe window. But rather grab a flashlight and inspect the inside bottom of the door for loose nuts, bolts or washers. Then start looking for where it came from. The window is jambing for some reason and it's probably a loose nut or bolt. Let us know what ya find. Dave.

Like I said, Higher Octane fuel and retard the timing a little. That should do it. Let us know what happens. Dave

On the 1st, As usual, you are correct in the fact that 27 years ago, my wipers slid across a dry window without fail. When I tore mine apart 4 years ago, I completely rebuilt the linkage by using degreasers and other grease and gunk removing chemicals to make sure there was a blank canvas to start rebuilding. I regrease with a white lithium cause it's light weight, sprays into all crevises and waterproof. Everything moved like a hot knife thru butter. I then completely rebuilt the motor and tranny by once again removing every bit of old grease and gunk that could possibly hinder performance or movement. Every contact was cleaned, every gear regreased, every contact rebent or fixed fixed for optimum performance. So after COMPLETELY rebuilding everything in the wiper system, it moved nicer, quieter, and stronger. BUT, not strong enough. I ran a NEW power and ground directly from the battery, and ran thru the speeds using good grounds and tested all movement compared to stock wiring. The change was little if any. So in final, The combination of 33 years (at the time) old gearing technology and old old wiring, the facts are as simple as this.... The 16 year old Honda motor has experience on it's side, a better wound motor, more torque and less ampearge use. on the 2nd, Yes, it is that much stronger/ more powerful. And yes, the Honda motor (in my experience and opinion) has better gearing and motor performance due to years of experience. I do not personally know the Amperage draw of each motor (Honda/Datsun) but I CAN tell you that the wiper related wires do NOT get as hot, as quick, with the Honda motor in , as compared to the datsun Motor. Fact. SO that tells me that the Honda draws less amperage than the Datsun motor. On the third, (3.1) The shaft of the Honda motor is similar but not Identical. It's a little smaller in diameter and width, but still slides into the Datsun arm with little play. Part 3.2....The motors and transmissions are NOT interchangable. The Honda motor is smaller and its main shaft is also a different diameter and won't interchange with the datsun drive gear. So in final, The Honda motor is just plain better, better use of gearing, better use of power and amperage, not as old and worn due to twice as many years on the job like the Datsun Motor. Just like any upgrade, it's done because of wanting something better, newer or up to date technology, etc. The upgrade is only for those who want to spend 1 hour upgrading their wipers to a more modern approach or solution. But if they wanna completely rebuild their OEM equipment and find a small improvement, that's totally up to them. It's all about personal choice.

Just a quick update, I just did a 94 Accord motor into a 72' 240Z. The problem with the 94 is not wiring or mounting but rather the shaft has to be ground down to fit the keyhole shape of the 240Z's wiper linkage. The problem with this is the way the linkage works, it has to be cut at an exact angle. I drew on a pic of the 94 so you can see what I mean. If you set the motor on it's end, with the gears pointing up, the motor needs to ran and use my harness to get the motor to PARK, then mark a line from the upper right mount to the center of the motors shaft. That is the angle that it needs to be cut at. Remove a little material at a time, test fit on the wiper linkage, remove a little more, etc, etc. remove material 9/16" down the shaft. This will give enough room for the linkage, lock washer, and the nut. Once again, the 91' civic is ALREADY cut at this angle and will slide into the Datsun wiper linkage with NO alteration And that's why I chose the 91 instead of the 94. The 94 Accord will work as well but need modification at an exact angle. Dave.

If you get it to work in the 280, post the results and findings and any changes compared to the 240Z upgrade. As for the second harness that is available. You'd need a honda motor with a long harness attached to the motor. I will be making these to each persons specs, (with or without Datsun plug, with or without Honda plug, length of wires per side) and they will start at $35.00 if you're interested, DO NOT request here on this forum, but rather via PM or my email below, in my signiture. I'm trying to keep my word with Mike and not get called a spammer again. Even though the full description and diagrams are here and can easily be done by Z car owners, I will make them for those not up to the challenge of "Do It Yourself" Dave.

Is it Deisel'ing or just running as if you did'nt even shut the Key off? If it's deiseling, go with a higher Octane fuel and retard your timing a little. If you did an alternator upgrade (280ZX alternator upgrade) and did'nt use a diode or My ZXP adaptor, it'll keep running cause the alternator is supplying the ignition with power from the lack of the diode. The other possibilities are sticky ignition switch or bad diode in your Voltage regulator. Wiggle the key after shutting the car off to see if it's the switch. If not, replace the Voltage regulator and see if that works. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Dave.

See there, now I'm gonna have to argue with ya on this one. Just remove the wiper arms, run the motor, let it park or stop, re-attach the arms and you're done, Come on over, I'll show ya exactly what I mean. Dave.

That's what I'm trying to find out. Look at the motor and compare it to the mounting chassic and the wires. If they are the same wires, mounts and shaft then YES, it'll work. Just use some (Female quick disconnect) connectors to jump your Datsun plug into the honda wires and test it out. that's the easiest way to find out and also what I did the first time. I wasn't about to cut into my harness to find out if it worked or not. Try the 89' first. Dave.

You don't have to cut at the shaft on the 91' Honda Civic wiper motor. It's shaped the same as the Datsun motor shaft (slice from each side of the shaft with the nut grabbing 1/3 of the shaft) That's why I chose the 91' motor instead of the 94' Accord, you have to cut the 94' shaft and it's much bigger (10+mm i think) Dave. This is the adaptor I made for mine, I actually built 2 of them, one for mine and one for sale. But it has the Honda plug that mates to the Honda wiper motor so you MUST have the plug still on your Honda wiper motor. $35