Zs-ondabrain

gonna dissagree with you guys this time. If you had an inspector in there, messing with stuff. Check you Hazard switch. flip it up then down (on off) wiggle it and test your Turn signals again. The turn signals go thru the hazard switch and if they were messing with that it could be the problem. if that doesn't fix it, Then try the new flasher. Dave

Oh ya, and all this while Trying to QUIT SMOKING!!! It's 9:30 and I've only had 5-1/2 cigarettes today. Might have one more before bed but gonna try and pass it up. We'll see. I've been meaning to quit for about 25 years now (started when I was 13, I'm 39 now) and figured it this way......... I love my wife, my hobbies and my kids, I wanna be around to finish the race. I ain't getting any younger and smoking ain't making me any healtheir. Wish me luck!! Hopefully being in the garage will keep me busy enough to get thru this. God forbid anyone wizz me off this week. Dave

So lately, been doing a little work on the 260Z. Decided to do something DIFFERENT with the Fuel door. Always loved the round, flush doors on other cars. It'll have the magnetic "push to open/ push to close" pop-out catch. But when closing up the filler area, I had to make a drain with a tube if any water gets in as it won't spill out like the stock lid allows. I also had to modify and extend the spring loaded hinge, then reinforce the lid and hinge to minimize movement or missalignment when opening or closing. My damn camera broke yesterday so here is the minimal amout until I can take more pics. So when making the design or Mod, I, as you all know, LOVE Datsun. So I thought, a round lid should be familiar to all in "the Know" And what I'm thinking is paint it the same color as the car but have a Blue tinted Pearl for the middle and red tinted pearl for the outer circle halves. The do something similar for the lettering in the center section. So it'll be more of a Ghost design that you actually have to look to see it.

The partial phrase of "Wanna Be" implies that I'd like to be smart enough to just go out and fix his FI system, without having to "Go back to school" to do it. I like the Z's for their simplicity, not for their Simply Old FI parts. Occasionally, Mechanical is better than electrical. This is one of those times. And yes, I do see the Humor in it. And I'll be giggling when his SU powered Z is screaming down the road getting 25MPG. Dave

Ready to Put a set of SU's on there yet? Tyler? Ready when you are. Just pick up a set and I'll help instal them and gladly RIP all that Fuel Injection crap out. Hell, I'll even let ya put it in MY garbage can, this time. LOL Dave

Or better yet, I'll tear into it tomorrow morning and find out exactly what you need.

Tell ya what, come up here this week-end and I'll GIVE you my 25 Gallon Oiless which only needs a simple rebuild kit, I think, or hope. http://www.ereplacementparts.com/porter-cable-cpf6025vp-type-25gallon-oilless-vertical-air-compressor-parts-c-129_1662_2197.html email or PM me Dave

Depending on the situation, I would start with a Pilot hole and slowly enlarge to the needed size. Make sure the plastic is up to room temp or even warmer. Cold plastic will crack under pessure. let the bit do the work, don't force it. There is metal behind the plastic and foam so keep that in mind while driving. If the bit starts to wonder when it hits the steel, it'll ruin the plastic. I like to use a Dremel with a small sanding drum to slowly widen the hole.

Same with the 260Z airbox, it was a 1/4" too small for the fan to fit thru the hole. So I cut about 3/16" lip off the box to allow the cage to fit thru snuggly. Works friggin awesome!!!! Like a damn tornado in the dash now. Just trim the fat and make it fit, you won't be sorry. Only a 2 wire hook-up and you're done.

Great work Julio, I don't know if you knew of this but I too did this a while back. See post #8 and #19 Good stuff. Safety is key in these cars and the more we're seen, the safer we are. Dave

Parking lights and brake lights are 2 different circuits. Go ahead and ground the black ground wires back there. That will help. As for which bulb goes where. 1156 bulbs should go into a single wire holder ( 1 black side wire and 1 wire coming out the middle of the bottom) Also look inside the socket to see if it's a single or double button. I've actually found double button sockets with only 1 wire coming out the bottom. The Parking light harness will allow or free-up extra power to the fusebox for the other circuits because the PLH gets it's power directly from the battery. But the brake circuit is still using old wires that have a lot of resistance. So again, clean the sockets, make sure the correct bulbs are in the correct sockets, ground the ground wires in the rear. But for the best results in the brake light circuit, do the relay upgrade from post #2. Godd new power wire all the way to the rear, new relay, new ground and a short run from the relay to the brake lights will seriously increase the power to the lights, reduce the amperage thru the rest of the circuit and keep everything cool. You don't need to be an expert to do this either. Just go get an inline fuseholder with a 10 or 15 amp fuse, about 15 feet of 12 gauge power wire, (15' just to make sure it gets thru all the twists and turns, over the passenger side wheel well, thru the inner quarter panel and over to the middle of the rear) Relays are about $5 at the auto parts store, (4-pin is fine) 1) 12 guage butt connector (yellow or blue) 4) female connectors for the relay, 1) small ring terminal and 1) red butt connector to attach the new wire from the relay to the brake wire going to the brakes. Dave

Old resistance will cause it to overheat without blowing. That kinda explains the melting without blowing the fuse. But definately check the brake switch and associated grounds, like Larry suggested.

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/SRC19 New fusebox's are found here. There is one ground in the rear. It should be bolted to the center rear section, between the taillights. You can tap the ground wires at each taillight and ground them right there near the tap if you want. Might be better than the stock single ground. You can also run a 12 gauge fused power wire to the rear of the car, attach a relay to the rear panel and follow these steps..... power wire to the #30 terminal Cut the brake wire before the right taillight and attach it to the #86 terminal on the relay run a ground wire from the #85 terminal to a good ground. Then attach a wire to #87 and attach it to the cut brake wire that goes to the taillights. This will give you Solid power to the brake lights, increase the brightness of the brakes, and severely reduce the amperage that normally goes thru the fusebox, brake switch and wires. The relay only needs a 12 volt, 0.25 amp signal to connect the battery power to the brake lights. Yes, you will likely hear the relay click everytime you touch the brake pedal but think of how much better the brakes are and how much safer the whole brake circuit will be. Make sure to run a fuse of the same amperage that is shown in the fusebox for the brakes, put the fuse between the battery and the firewall before the wire goes thru it. Dave

Keep in mind just how close the window is. pushing or hitting too hard could crack an old seal or even worse, the window itself. Just saying. Dave

Not every Z owner tries to jump the railroad tracks........ Almost ANY tire will rub if you lose the springs. 280Z are HEAVIER cars, compared to a 71 240Z and he never mentioned even lowering his car. Good struts and a BUMP STOP will or at least should slow this from happening, even with a full load of groceries in the car. By the way, my 70' has Tokico struts, Eibach springs, 225/50ZR16's on 16x8" Eagle Alloys and it NEVER RUBES. And all I did was roll the rear fenders up, just a little, not even a full roll. With a full tank of gas, and a full load of groceries, my tool bag behind the seat and 2 amps and 2 subwoofers AND 2 People in the car...............It still won't rub. Period. The dips in the road on the freeway would have to be huge in order for me to even hear any rubbing, if any at all.

Seriously?? Nobody?? intangible3, The fuses, fusebox, headlight switch and wiring ALL get hot due to resistance. Nissan (Datsun) Never put relays into the headlight or parking light circuits. Therefoe, all the listed parts carry the whole load of amperage from the battery all thru the circuits and finally to the headlights. I make and sell, as does MSA, a 240Z Headlight relay Upgrade Harness that will eliminate all the issues you're having. No more overheating, weak or dim headlights, melting or failing fusebox and headlight switch. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/SRC19 The link above will show you the Headlight upgrade harness, the Parking light upgrade harness (I also Highly suggest this one) and The 280ZX alternator upgrade. You'll also find the Fusebox you're interested in, on that same page. Start with the new fusebox, then the Headlight upgrade harness and Parking light upgrade harness, all at the same time. I also rebuild combo and turn signal switches for a fee if you find that they are damage due to the overheating. Dave

Arff Arff. I'm sure he knows I'm just messing with him.

Now that you have a picture on the first post, I can tell you what the prolem is. Somebody, probably the Previous owner, bolted a "Park Bench" on your front end.... Sorry, couldn't help it. Dave

Tie rod ends, take the tires in to make sure they have a true ballance on them, Struts (KYB for a stock stance) That's for starters. The rubber steering coupler will reduce some feel in the steering wheel, where as the urethane coupler will increase the amount of vibration you feel. Dave

"215 will work on an 8" rim but will look a bit stretched" I knew there was something I was forgeting. Thanks Dave. And the 280Z IS a heavier car so the same setup will likely rub in the dips of the road. Most spring MFG's think the S30's all weigh the same. They need to make a stiffer spring for the 280Z to compensate for it's weight. Dave

Actually, the 225/50/16's will work great all the way around. And if you do a 215/50 in the front, it will be a shorter tire. Figure it this way..... the "50" in the measurement is a %. so 50% of 225 (mm) is 112.5mm tall sidewall. 50% of 215 is 107.5mm sidewall which is 5mm difference. Not a lot but still shorter than the rear. a good example of this is my new Rota 17x9.5's in the rear and 17x9's in the front. For rear tires, I went with a 275/40ZR17 and in the front, a 245/45ZR17. So this works out to be (275mm - 40% is 110mm sidewall in the rear. and 245mm - 45% is a 110.25mm sidewall in the front) so this is only 0.25mm taller in front. Which won't be seen or felt. Also, if you have a stock suspension, 225/50/16's will not rub as there is plenty of clearance between the tire and the wheel well lip. If you lower the car using Eibach PR Lowering springs, just roll the inner rear fender a little and yuou should be fine. My 70 has 225/50ZR16's and the car has been lowered with Tokico struts and Eibach springs, I merely rolled the inner fender a bit and it never rubs. Dave

now that a solution has come about, have we all learned to NEVER ASK "WHAT NEXT"?? you're just asking for trouble. It's a Datsun, never ask that question. Just be happy with the fact that it's just that one thing at the moment. Good to hear it's coming together though. Dave

Depends on what LED's and where you get them. There have been write-ups on them here and bulbs are available at http://www.superbriteleds.com or here.... http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2FBA9S6_specs.htm If you wanna take the time to remove the green, half painted (at the factory) plastic domes, from the inside of the gauges, you can use a lot bigger and brighter BA9's in there and LOVE the improvement. Most H4 upgrade housings are avialable from MSA, eBay and other sources. With the Upgrade harness in place, you can easily use a 90/100 watt bulb in there with NO harm to the system what-so-ever. here's a good place to start but DO NOT get anything with a "Diamond" cut housing. They suck. I would suggest Sibies, AutoPal or similar units. http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=7%22+round+h4&_sacat=0&_odkw=7%22+round+h-4+housings&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

What Arne said. The Parking light circuit consists of The dash lights, all 4 sidemarkers, front under bumper markers, rear taillights and the license plate bulbs, which totals around 19 bulbs. So now you know why the fusebox and switch overheats so easily. All that power runs thru the fusebox and switch without the help of a relay, and that's what my upgrade does. It introduces a relay and fresh power wire into the circuit so the switch is only sending a 12 volt signal (less than 0.30 amps) to turn on the relay, to transfer the power. The HLH or headlight upgrade harness is essencially the same thing, relays and power wire into an old circuit, reducing the amperage that would normally go thru that circuit.

Just be forewarned that the 4 watt upgrade from MSA has fitment issues...... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27184 My upgrades (Headlight and parking light upgrades, ZXP alternator upgrade and the Sidemarker conversion plugs) are all beneficial to the electrical system and safety of the vehicle. The HLH and PLH will increase the brightness of the outer bulbs, making your 240Z more visable at night and increasing the ability of people to see you before hitting your car. The SCP allow other drivers (to your left and right) to see your turn signal, in the front, better as all 240Z's front turn signals are below the bumper area and hard to see from the left or right. This and the ZXP alternator adaptor were Arne's Baby's. He brought them to light and I had the resources to make them, so I now make them and tell everyone where they came from. Thanks again Arne!! The ZXP allow the upgrade to a 60 amp (81' to 83') 280ZX internally regulated alternator. This recharges the battery faster, gives a quicker charge (at lower RPM's) and helps to compensate for 40 years of wire degradation. It also helps clean up the engine bay a little. You'll be happy with any and all of the upgrades. I, as well as Arne, Promise. Dave