SteveJ

Some day I should probably make an instructional video for people to use their meters to diagnose Z electrical systems. There are still plenty of opportunities for tech tips.

Actually check voltage to ground off of pin 72 on the relay (It goes to pin 5 on the ECU). While starting, if it is 12VDC, you don't have a ground. If it is 0VDC, check resistance from pin 72 to ground. It should be low, less than 1 Ohm. I am not aware of any major changes between the 75 & 76 systems, so you should be good with those parts. Additional things to check: Ground for the fuel pump - Does the black wire at the fuel pump connector have continuity with the chassis? Does the Green/Blue wire at the fuel pump have continuity with the same wire color at the fuel pump relay? Measuring to ground, are you getting 12VDC (battery voltage) at the fuel pump relay with the white/red wire, black/yellow wire, and black/white wire? Are you sure you have a good ECU?

The voltage for the coil on the fuel pump relay comes from the Black/White wire. The negative goes from the relay to pin 5 on the ECU. You should read the EF section of the FSM. I suggest using the 76 version since it's a better quality scan than the 75. If the relay coil isn't energizing, the fuel pump circuit isn't complete. I suggest that you not bypass it. Get everything working right.

I had an issue with the gland nuts on the fronts. When I was ready to do the backs, I applied brake fluid around the gland nut once a day for a few days. The gland nuts on those came off nicely.

It's also available from Rockauto if it's not at a store near you. Rockauto has stepped up their shipping speed for most of their parts.

https://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/hazard-switch-brake-light-turn-signal-circuit-analysis/ Top & bottom should flash. Headlights and hazards have different ground paths. The negative side of the headlight circuit goes from the headlights, through the high/low beam switch and connects to a ground wire at the steering column. The black wire for the ground is shown going all over the place in the wiring diagram, but it does look like it is supposed to use the wiper motor body as one of the places where it is bonded to the chassis. [Edit] I missed two other ground points. One is going to the battery, and the other is the ground in back that I mentioned for the turn signals. The hazard lights are grounded to the same places as the turn signals.

It's a challenging to know what exactly a previous owner did. It's even more challenging when you aren't that familiar with the cars to begin with. Last month I went to a guy's house to help him with his 260Z that he thought had stock ignition components. I looked at the ballast resistor and saw it was a 240Z resistor. Plus there were a couple of minor wiring issues. Once everything was sorted out, he was in a position to fix his car. It looks like someone could have taken a later motor and put the 280Z distributor on it. The wires to the ignition module could hide under the hoses and plug wires in the area. That was the discussion we were having in some of the earlier posts. I hope Jim is able to find someone who can go out to see what you have. Once that is understood, we can probably put you on a path to getting the car back to running.

I forgot to add that a VERY small slot blade jeweler's screwdriver can work for an extractor tool.

For the terminals that go into the shells, I found this type crimping tool works perfectly and is much cheaper. http://www.frys.com/product/1922790?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG The jaws are shaped to curve the ends back into the wire. One caveat is that I usually close down on the terminal slightly with some pliers or the end of the crimping tool itself. The lack of a ratcheting feature is a bonus because it will open up quickly and easily if the wire slips out. Also, it's not that bad of a drive for Stanley to go up to Manhattan Beach Frys store.

Yes, we looked. No, it isn't.

After the vinegar, I suggest a solution of baking soda followed by a rinse of denatured alcohol. The baking soda neutralizes the vinegar, and the denatured alcohol will help get rid of residual water.

Many of them are available. http://www.vintageconnections.com http://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/connectors.html - You have to order a fair amount to make it reasonable from here. I have other links at home.

Randy Jaffe is taking his BRE car there.

I'm not seeing where the wiring is hiding for the matchbox if it is a 280ZX distributor. That's why I was thinking it was a 280Z distributor. Of course, the wires could just be hidden well enough. I could swear that the wires on my 280ZX distributor are more visible, but that could be that I don't have as many things in my engine bay that could conceal the wiring.

Unless that car started out as a right-hand drive and you converted it to left hand drive, you have a 1978 280Z body. The distributor and ignition are from a 280Z. Jim @jfa.series1, is there a knowledgeable person in ZCOT who could make the drive up I-35 to help him with testing?

I think if the blue wire from the wiring harness is still connected to the negative of the coil, the tach should still work.

Amazon has several sources.

What is your budget?

Your car has been suffering from neglect. Aside from the corrosion, it is also obvious that the SUs are missing the dipsticks. The good news is there are plenty of knowledgeable people living a couple of hours west of you. Atlanta has a really good early Z community. You'll need to get the gaskets for the carburetors. Those come in kits. You'll probably also need new hoses from the float bowls to the carburetors. You may also need new needles if someone messed with the carburetors and bent them. Get some straight 20W oil. You can probably find that at your local Ace Hardware in a 3in1 brand bottle. I have two or three of those in my garage. Hopefully you won't need floats. I can't remember if those were reproduced yet or not. Z Therapy doesn't list them in the product line. Get the SU video from Z Therapy (http://www.ztherapy.com). Download the factory service manual. See the link in my signature. Ask questions.

Do not overthink this. The TIU acts essentially like an overgrown Pertronix or matchbox on the ZX distributor. Points, Pertronix, and electronic ignitions all work off the same principle. They detect the position of the distributor and close the circuit between the distributor negative and ground. That allows the coil to build a field and discharge. The electronic ignitions (TIU/ZX) require a reluctor to detect the distributor position. @Captain Obvious once posted a nice oscilloscope capture of a reluctor waveform. Bruce, is there any chance you still have that handy? You could replace the TIU with an HEI if you wanted to, but you would need a 260Z distributor since it requires a reluctor to operate. If you wanted to convert the car to a ZX distributor you would need the ZX distributor mount, and ZX distributor with the electronic ignition module attached. The early ones seem to be preferred, though I'm not knowledgeable on why. The negative wire from the coil goes to the negative on the EI module. The positive on the coil gets jumpered to the positive on the EI module. @240260280 has a nice write-up here: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html. I did the conversion on a 240Z in a very short amount of time.

All 260Zs ran the TIU.

And this level of detail is why I tagged Carl.

I would tend to agree with Jerry. I was talking about this car at lunch with @Patcon. I think if you could get 2 or 3 people in an auction who really want a one-owner 240Z, it might go higher. The problems with the Hagerty valuation are 1) they tend to run high IMHO and 2) they group the 73 with the earlier 240Zs. Within the North American 240Z community, the 73 isn't considered as favorably as the 72 and the Series 1 cars. @Carl Beck could probably give a better idea of what the higher end cars are swapping hands for these days.

At first Mike's name didn't click with me, but as soon as I saw the photos, I realized I knew the car. The car looked great back in the summer of 2011, and it still looks great. It was definitely Mike's baby. It's probably a great opportunity for someone to purchase a nicely restored one-owner 240Z. That's coming from someone who owns two Zs that were rode hard and hung up wet by multiple owners.

Here are the ones I have from the 2011 ZCON.