SteveJ

Nice.

Jai's battery was tied down when I first saw her car, and the battery was smaller than stock. I made a bracket for her that would work on the battery she had, but it could be adjusted later for a stock sized battery.

The horns are sounded at the same time. One has a high tone, and the other has a low tone.

It's not arrogance. It's your ignorance. I know what I'm doing. Claiming that you know how to use a meter and understanding the results are two different things. You measured resistance from the parking light circuit (constantly hot) to other wires that also go back to the battery, and you don't know why they have continuity. Hint: They are all connected together like they are supposed to be. Study the wiring diagram. I have. You think that a dead short between the fuse box and the combo switch (the description at the start of this thread) is the same as an overloaded circuit. (And I have documented in detail one possible cause for the parking light circuit overload on this board.) I told you to get a tool to help you with diagnostics, and you say that you don't need to because your meter tells you what you need to know. I'll give you another clue. I'm interested in current flow, not voltage or resistance. If you have a typical multimeter, it goes up to 10A. If you tried to hook it up to the parking light circuit in its current condition, you could blow up your damn meter. The brightness of the test light can be used as a relative measure of current. On the other hand, you could buy a clamp DC ammeter that has a high enough scale. A decent one will run you about $40 or more, and you will have to learn the limitations of the meter. Test lights are cheap, and you can get them from any parts store on the way home from work. And yes, it is attitude when you claim to know what you're doing when in reality you are just guessing wildly. It's still attitude when you are indignant when you are called out on your ignorance. If you want help, you have to pay attention to what people tell you to do. If you do not want to follow instructions that will identify your problem, then you are correct that I am not the one to help you.

Here is a stock hold down with how I situated the J bolt

You don't even know what your meter is telling you. That is obvious from your first post. You don't even know the difference between a dead short and an overloaded circuit. What you're lacking in knowledge, however, you're making up with attitude. If you want to drop your attitude and learn how to diagnose your problem, let me know. There are reasons for the instructions I give, and I don't necessarily explain them fully. Then again, I don't need to.

It hooks on the lip.

IMHO, that is not necessarily the sign of a blown engine. If the engine has never been apart, the oil control rings might be too worn to do their job. <sarcasm>Yeah, only 40 years and who knows how many thousands of miles, and the engine is already worn out. Man, that is poor quality.</sarcasm> Get a realistic view. It's an old car. Rings get worn, valve seals & gaskets dry out, water passages experience corrosion, etc. The engine may need to be rebuilt. As long as you can find someone familiar with the L series motors, you'll be in good shape. You can take it to some place like Dandos or Z Car Garage. You have the resources nearby. You just need the cash to pay for it.

It doesn't sound like anything the OP is experiencing. You need a different set of diagnostics, similar to what Dave WM described in post #15. Buy a test light and post back when you have it.

You only needed reinforcement for what you already suspected. Rockauto has a decent price on a Bosch brand listed as new.

I would suspect that it's an issue with the stator and/or brushes. They are more likely to be affected by the increase in speed. I wouldn't see the regulator caring. Does the alternator go back to 14.3 when the engine goes back to idle?

I'm surprised it hasn't folded in half with that rust.

What do you mean by "no charge"? Is the voltage dropping to battery voltage? Are you measuring current? Is this a really old truck with a generator, or are you using alternator and generator to mean the same thing? What are the chances that you can find a wiring diagram to post here?

Both the brake lights and parking (aka running) lights have constant power. Neither depend upon the key being in the On or Start position to operate. They are on completely different circuits, though. Again, diagnostics were posted to isolate the problem. Once those results are known, then we will know whether the problem has an easy fix or more diagnostics are needed.

Those would not come into play with the switch off. The OP said he messed with the radio before his problems started. Considering the circuit has constant power, it would be tempting for someone to tap into that circuit for the memory functions of the radio. The fact that the radio was touched recently makes that area a prime suspect. I hope the OP will follow the troubleshooting in post #8 and let us know the results. If more diagnostics are required at that point, it can be performed in a measured approach instead of shotgunning ideas.

Keep in mind that I know a lot about troubleshooting because I've done enough things to cause trouble, whether it was in my cars or in my projects at work.

From the wording in the article, I would say that the author intended to say that the automatic was first available with the 260Z. So either the author was wrong, or the article was poorly worded/edited. It contains the usual stuff about the 260Z was only built for 18 months, blah, blah, blah, neglecting the fact that the 2.6 was used outside of the US through 1978. Be careful what you read online. There are a lot of poorly written articles that will misinform in perpetuity.

Why do you expect the problem is around the fuse block? In electrical troubleshooting, the first thing to do is isolate. In this case, remove the cover from the steering column and disconnect the 6 wire connector on the headlight switch. Use a test light across the fuse and see if it lights up. If it does, continue troubleshooting. Let's follow your hunch about the fuse block. Disconnect your battery and remove the block. Look for debris that could touch the inner side of the fuse to the chassis. If you don't see anything there, it's likely in your dash harness. If it's the dash harness, chances are that the green/blue wire has been chafed somewhere or someone tapped it as a continuously hot source. (Think aftermarket radio here.) Where the wire was tapped may have some bare wire that is coming into contact with the chassis or dash frame.

If the car runs, the ammeter is working. For the other circuits, check the third fuse down on the left.

I drove the Z to spend the day at Festivals of Speed. I got to spend my day taking photos and hanging out with friends who brought out some great classic Datsuns/Nissans.

@JSM - This

@Patcon - Here's another one for you.

What kind of detail are you looking for, and what year car?

How about pictures of vintage race cars on display?

Do you have headers in your car?