HusseinHolland

Another question - mounted on the relay bracket is a rectangular unit (#4) described as a "shunt unit" I'm not seeing what the purpose of this unit is. Any input on that?

Yeah - I edited out the F U C K at the end of the clip 😆 maybe the click is just the various relays that are powered on start. Perhaps that draw is reasonable. When it starts normally, the draw is so brief it's hard to gauge whether it's pulling that much. I'll update with results after I've driven it awhile in warmed up stop & start conditions. This is an original manual trans, 4 speed California spec car - has the cat, floor temp warning circuit, etc., I bought it from the original owner in California, and everything on the car is pretty much original (and worn out). Besides the dealer-added AC, and the more recent EFI harness hack, I haven't found any evidence of ****ery on the car

The buzzer comes on with the key in the ignition, door open it will stay on, otherwise it goes off as soon as the engine starts. Partly because I hate those whole car diagrams that have no color coding. I can't read them easily & tend to cross circuits in my head. The best ones I've ever dealt with are Volvo. They show every individual circuit, but include ANY associated junctions that overlap, so they is no question of what you are looking at. They also show current flow in each case. example: Beyond that, I am totally unfamiliar with the Datsun wiring conventions & I really don't want to spend hours on visualizing the overall path of the given circuit in my head; I have to do that when fault tracing. Given that the issue is in the starter circuit I'd rather just do what I can with things like the starter relay, which if the issue with load on the factory circuit, will now be completely negated. I'm going to do a drivetrain conversion on this, so I also don't want to go too nuts with the stock engine management either. That's another reason I'm adding the additional power management in the bay.

On my lunch 1/2 hour I swapped out the bullet mirrors (that were wobbly) for these chrome ones - I think they look more appropriate, however the pass side doesn't have the range of adjustment to make the rear quarter visible form the driver's seat. These came from ZcarDepot. These were inexpensive, but... pass side is USELESS. Anyone else dealt with this? Also laminated the original cold start notice I found in the sun visor

Video of the click/ammeter draw. This happened when I was sitting in queue for the pharmacy to pickup my Mum's prescription 😞 YT Video So, I added the starter relay when I got home. I'll see if that resolves the symptom. I didn't eliminate the fusible links yet, I want to do one thing at a time added riv-nuts to the top to secure the fuse panel that will replace the fusible links, and supply current for the headlamp relays, etc., moving forward bridge wires routed @Zed Head- thank you for the wiring diagram link I don't think there is an interlock relay on the car

Thanks for the schematic - I was wondering if the starter solenoid trigger came through a fusible link - I couldn't ascertain that from the manual. I'm wondering if the link is contributing - one common denominator is that I typically dislodge the links/cover when I'm leaning over to check this stuff. I was wondering if I'm loosing current via the link under load. The green one does feel pretty warm to the touch. I was going to remove these & run the circuits via the fuses on the fused battery supply I added

Good to note. I was going to remove the solenoid from the one I took out & see if there is anything obvious with it. I don't really want to invest in expensive new parts for this drivetrain, since it will be going away in the next year or two.

I can see if my neighbor can help out later. The annoying thing is that it is not predictable or specifically repeatable under fixed conditions, which doesn't help in diagnosis 😞 I'm going to add a starter relay (temporarily, I have a VW kit from my X1/9 ) & see if the issue still arises.

Sounds like the starter to me - I can't imagine there are any mechanical relays that would make that heavy click. I guess I can try & video record it, when it happens next. Was fine this morning coming to work. Yes, both new and old starter symptom is identical. If I bridge the solenoid with a screwdriver it cranks every time.

Drove the car about 35 miles today, there is still a vibration in the steering wheel - The only thing I hand't changed yet was the column rubber joint, so I did that after work. The u-joint still feels nice & tight. Also swapped out the 1/8" wheel spacers for 1/4" to get a better safety margin on the caliper clearance off the wheel hub

I put a Delco Reman starter in after work. There was already a reman in there Needless to say the problem still exists. I don't understand why the ammeter shows a heavy draw when it clicks if the problem lies in the wiring. I'll put a new spade I=on the solenoid trigger next. Another question - I can't figure out how the clutch MC cap comes off, it won't turn no matter if I try just turning, push down & turn, lift & turn. I don't want to break it. Seems to have tabs on the sides, but I don't see how they retain it

I would not add dynamat. Having made the mistake of doing so on my X1/9, it is a royal PITA to remove should you need to do so. It can be applied judiciously to act a panel damper, but that's a different goal from what you are proposing. I'm sticking with the original matting on my 75, I just added a layer of batting to the original undermatting to help keep it's integrity

- I'll have to take a closer look. I'm going to drive it around for a couple days, it still needs all the rear work, but it feels pretty good now that the front end isn't floating all over the road.

Glad I found this thread. I re-foamed & upholstered my original Z seats in leather. They look great, but are really uncomfortable & lacking in support. I have lower back issues & sliding around on the seat just doesn't work for me. Since I'm getting a 2006 350Z in a couple weeks to use for a drivetrain conversion in my 75 280Z, I think I'll add the seats to the work. Probably do them long before the drivetrain, actually.

hhhmm... I don't see any blobs on the black gear that would assist in determining where the original setting was 😞

Thats awesome - comes out to 17cents a terminal, seems fair. I bought a batch. The starter acted up again today, so next order of business is to remove it & see if I can determine a specific issue with the solenoid as you had.

@Captain Obvious - looks like it may have been tweaked then - there is no blob on the clamp

I'm not sure I mentioned it on here yet. A neighbor who is also a car nut noted that a good friend of his up in RI has a 2006 350Z w/6 speed that will not pass inspection due to rust in the rear subframe. He suggested that I would perhaps be interested in the car to use as a donor. That is the ideal way to go, as I will have all the EMS, modules, etc., and everything else that I might need. The price he is asking is less than I would pay for a CD009 trans & VQ35DE motor, and he's going to deliver it in a couple weeks 🙂. Apex Engineered makes a front subframe designed to properly locate the Nissan V6, so I will likely go that route & then fabricate whatever else I need from there.

Thank you! OK - so looks like Yakazi YPC series - EasternBeaver does have them, and it appears CycleTerminal does, but no stock of male pin I do have some proper (OEM Fiat/Volvo) EFI hose clamps left over from my D-Jet & LHII days - I may just use Oetiker clamps, it's not as is they need to be removed at regular intervals anyway.

Runs very smoothly now - this is idle during warmup https://youtu.be/_dLoJwT2UqY

So, the ambient temps dropped back into the 60's today, and I could not duplicate the problem. I did look at the wiring & tighten the spade. Not sure how much that matters when it's relying on the round pins on the bridge connector. I took that apart & cleaned both sides with contact cleaner. I'd really like to replace these pins. Does anyone know what series/brand they are (Yakazi, Furukawa, etc.,)? The oil pressure gauge worked again after this, so I have to consider that these contacts are less than ideal now. I could see that there were issues with the hanrness along the frame rail, so I stripped out the ground wire to the alternator, which had clearly overheated at some point. Thankfully it hadn't shorted or melted through the insulation of any other wires besides the smaller grounds that splice into it. The connector at the inner fender was not tight at all. One of the heavy gauge black wires goes/comes from inside the cabin, not sure offhand what circuit it is grounding, but the connection was not good at all. made a new ground cable for the alternator, and tied in the 2 smaller ground wires that were previously connected into a separate ground. At the other end, I separated the grounds that came from the cabin & added a separate eyelet Alternator end wrapping that up, I ran the engine & immediately smelled gas - #3 injector hose clamp was not fully tight at the rail. I will need to redo all those at some point. I hate the open slot hose clamps, they are not appropriate and always cut into the hose

I'm gonna say it's not been messed with

I took the front cover off mine to check the needle track - on Fiats' version it can develop carbon buildup that throws the values off at differing points of the scale. Lookig at it again, I think mine is original in terms of spring setting. I haven't driven the car enough to know whether it's performing at it should. I do know the fuel pressure at the rail is low (30psi) once the motor has been run for a awhile, during warmup I noted 34-36psi. I'll start a thread on that when I get to testing / checking the fuel pump, etc.,.

So, the stock EFI does actually manage close to stoich on the highway? Or did you tweak the AFM settings to lean it out? I like having a WBO2, just to know what's actually going on, esp. under load conditions. I will add an AEM WBO2 to my 280Z, but that's going to happen when I do the VQ35DE conversion.

I searched & did not find any specific content related to solenoid and/or starter circuit. Now that I've actually driven the car on short (3-5 mile) runs around the local towns, I have found that the starter will not engage unless I cycle the key several times once the engine & bay are hot - I can hear an audible click from the starter, and the amp meter shows a heavy draw at that moment the key is held in the start position. Up til now I have only started & run the car idling in my driveway. I gather the issue can be related to the wiring from the ign sw. to the starter solenoid, if it's not the solenoid itself. Since it seems to be a heat soaking thing, I was leaning toward a mechanical issue with the solenoid. I don't see a relay in the wiring diagram between the switch and the solenoid terminal. If the wiring is a common problem I will add a relay to offload the the switch & draw current directly from the battery. I had to do this on my X1/9 at one time, so I am familiar with setting that up if needed. I did find a "Starter Relay Upgrade" on ZcarDepot, however I don't see that my 75 even has such a relay in the diagrams. As an aside, I also see that the OP gauge doesn't always read pressure, although it did previously when I was just idling the motor in the driveway, so that also needs attention. Any typical failure points to look at in that circuit? Any input on these?