SteveJ

Actually, both the turbo and N.A. wiring have a wire going to the resistor. Look at the full wiring diagram. In the turbo, there are two wires. In N.A. the wire is WB coming off the coil and is spliced with a blue wire elsewhere (unless the wiring diagram has a mistake since in the EL section, the wire coming off the coil is blue). Digging deeper, I looked at the wiring diagram for the 81. It shows the blue wire splitting off with one branch signalling the ECU on pin 18 and the other branch going to the resistor for the tachometer. This is turning into a good mystery...

One thing I didn't try was to put my clamp ammeter on it to see if there was much current flow. I was also disappointed that I didn't think to bring a rheostat that I have to see about adding resistance. In the 280ZX, I didn't see the tachometer signal branching to the ECU. Has anybody seen it differently from me?

Guy described it exactly as I did it a couple of years ago & no leaks.

Here is the situation. I met a young man who bought an 83 N/A that has a turbo motor swapped in. There are two blue wires coming off of the negative on the coil. One went to the power transistor, and the other was cut. The car runs in this configuration, but the tachometer does not work. When the cut wire is reconnected, the car dies. The owner said that the tachometer did not register when the wire was connected. I put a voltmeter on the negative of the coil and checked the voltage when connecting the cut wire. The voltage went to zero. I measured the resistance of the blue wire to ground (assuming it goes through the resistor, to the tachometer and to ground). It was about 850 Ohms. What is the value of the resistor supposed to be? It just seems like we're grounding out the coil when the wire is connected to the tach.

To the contrary. I appreciate you sharing your experience.

Just get rid of the shielding, you sissy.

Enrique was trying to track down the reason for a little drift in timekeeping he had between his power supply and his car. He asked me about it, but I didn't have the opportunity to delve into the issue. My guess is that the non-quartz clock is just more sensitive to voltage. Doing a refurbishment like ZClocks goes to a quartz movement that is probably less sensitive to the voltage.

The OP has a 280ZX. The fusible links are grouped together without a stray fusible link like the 280Z.

Did you check all of your fusible links with a meter?

Personally, I have not, but lots of people in the 240Z world have. Search through the archives here. You'll find plenty pro & con.

Can you get a Pertronix Ignitor in Australia?

Well, you could go over to Nissan : Datsun ZCar forum :Nissan Z Forum: 240Z to 370Z and look up user h4lights. He will be able to address your questions. Searching a little bit more, it looks like if the bulbs were designed for a 24VDC circuit, you probably will get little light output on a 12VDC system.

I bet I can help you track down the problem with the lights... Take off the clam shell on the steering column and look at the 9-pin connector coming off of the headlight switch. There's a good chance you'll find damage on the green/yellow wire. However, if you do need a new headlight switch, I do have a spare. Send me a PM if you're interested.

Thanks, Guy.

Here's a link to the video from SHFTPNT! taken at Sunday's C&O. Pete Thomas was one of the featured car owners for the month.

Where does the other end of the wire go to?

Are you referring to this website or just Pennsylvania?

I think the best part is to see how many S30s there are hiding around the greater Atlanta area.

It was another great day for Caffeine & Octane in the Atlanta area today. There were several Classic ZCar Club members in attendance including Pete Thomas, Pat Carr, Joe Travis, and Hodge. Aside from a great turnout of S30s, including two fantastic examples restored by Chet Whittel, the Cannonball Run Mercedes made an appearance. Pete is a minor celebrity now since the film crew for C&O interviewed him and took many pictures and lots of video of his car for their monthly feature. If you are in the Atlanta area, you really should try to come out. C&O is a show unlike any other. Caffeine and Octane ? November 2013 Edition (295 pictures) | Steve's CARtography Enjoy the pictures.

Keep in mind that a fusible link is designed to burn up the wire but leave the insulation intact. That is to prevent another short to ground.

Look good does not necessarily mean they are good. Did you remove them and check them with an ohmmeter? Did you use a voltmeter to see where you do/don't have voltage?

Let me google that for you - Check the first link.

Hmm, do you think the wire may have come off your ammeter? That should have shorted to ground.

Zspecialties may have a used harness. By the way, could you tell the source of the problem? Did you have a fusible link at the alternator, or did someone replace it with normal wire?

Phil wasn't being sarcastic. There are a few of us around here who are still interested in the flattops. In addition to the ones mounted on my 260Z, I have four more lying around in my garage.