SteveJ

I don't see what the big deal is. I came up with a prototype of the turbo encapsulator before I was born.

Also, check the rheostat that controls the brightness.

John, You have a ballast resistor in your ignition circuit. You should have 12 VDC on the positive terminal of the coil when you try to start the car and 9 VDC with the key in the RUN/ON position. Here is a quick rundown on how the stock circuit is wired. Starting: The W/R wire carries voltage from the battery into the keyswitch. When starting the car, the switch connects the G/W to the W/R wire. The G/W wire goes into the tach, and the B/W wire goes from the tach to the positive side of the coil. The black wire comes out the negative side of the coil and runs to the positive side of the points and to the condensor and on to ground. The negative side of the points also runs to ground. Running: The W/R wire carries voltage from the battery into the keyswitch. The switch connects the B/W to the W/R wire. The B/W wire goes into the ballast resistor, and the G/W wire comes out. The G/W wire goes into the tach, and the B/W wire goes from the tach to the positive side of the coil. The black wire comes out the negative side of the coil and runs to the positive side of the points and to the condensor and on to ground. The negative side of the points also runs to ground. Having said that, failure points can include the condensor, the tachometer, and the points staying closed or open. (See page EE-35 in the factory service manual.) Also, please let us know whether or not you have stock points or if someone installed a different ignition system (Pertronix, Crane, MSD, HEI, etc.). If you're not sure, take off the distributor cap and rotor, take a picture of the distributor, and post it. Also, make sure the condensor is on the negative side of the coil. It looks like it's on the positive side in your picture. By the way, the condensor and ballast resistor look VERY old. Consider replacing them. It would help, too, if you would tell us if the car is an automatic or manual. The automatic had a dual point distributor.

Actually, one of the first things I did was to replace the relays with standard SPDT relays, and then I decided to use longer wires to move the relays into the engine bay better. I'm sealing the bottoms of the bases with liquid electrical tape to keep moisture out of there.

Sarah, I stand corrected. As you stated, the condensor is off the positive. If it burned up, there is the chance that the condensor is bad and grounded out. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's good. Ariel, the EL section has what you need to know about the alternator starting on page EL-18.

Actually, I don't trust the chain stores electrical testers. About 15 years ago, a friend said the Lamp light was on in his car. I suspected a bad internal VR. The chain store said the alternator was good. I said BS. He got another alternator, and the idiot light wasn't lit anymore.

Oh yeah, I made the mistake of buying the Blackdragon relay kit. I re-engineered the hell out of it, too. I would have been better off just starting with primary wire and relay bases.

Download the FSM from here. The file should have a wiring diagram. Also check the Engine Electrical section. There you will find the correct wiring for your alternator. The little cylinder is a condensor. It shouldn't be getting 12 VDC+. If it did, you're doing something wrong.

Dang it, John. You're about a month late with this. Let me see how much I like the lights I bought from Blackdragon Auto.

Wiring diagrams in the FSM will tell you pretty much all you need.

Dang, Will. Just Z cars? I want to park my wife's wagon there so I can put more stuff into it.

Unfortunately, Jeff, I have left a few breadcrumbs over at Zcar.com that might lead some people over here. By the way, John, don't be afraid to contribute to Classiczcars.com. I'm about due to kick in some more money. Mike has worked hard and has put plenty of his own money toward building this site. We all benefit through the exchange of knowledge.

You could try Eddie Radatz. You can find his number here.

Tyrone, track down Tony D over at Hybridz.org. (He's also a member here, but he doesn't visit often.) He can probably show you exactly where you need to start reading in the California DMV code book.

I don't think they'll have any problems with those. That's why there is a funnybone forum here. I'm about to completely give up on Zcar.com myself. The auto logging out all of the time is BS.

Actually, let's take a step back. Rob, did you read the FSM? The Engine Electrical section that I referenced before has the diagnostics from EE-20 to EE-23. Perform those tests as described. It's a lot easier doing the right tests than to keep trying out our other suggestions.

Found on Atlanta Craigslist...While it's not an S30, at least it's a BSR.

Thanks, Will. I got the old page with the price list the last time I checked. Maybe I had an old cookie in my cache.

A cheap gas tank won't get you much further ahead than you are right now. Try contacting Roger at Zbarn. That's probably as low cost as you'll get on a gas tank, provided he has one available.

Will, is registration on the website, or are we supposed to email someone? I already have the room booked.

Stephen is right. Marc bought Z Car Magazine when it was having problems. He changed it to ZC&CD. I don't think he was trying to steal from subscribers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he felt embarrassed about taking the money and not being able to repay it or supply a magazine. To me it is a shame he left the community. He took a lot of knowledge with him.

If the S terminal never detected too high of a voltage, your alternator would keep pumping out current. It seems like the opposite is happening. With the negative battery cable disconnected from the battery, check continuity between the B terminal on the battery and the positive battery terminal. (Actually resistance is better at this point since you've already found a dodgy fusible link.) If there is too high of a voltage detected at the S terminal (basically a voltage difference), it will shut off the current. I'm thinking that is what is going on. Ref 78 FSM section EE pages EE-13 to EE-15.

For a lot of connectors, you can find them at Vintage Connections. Some of them may not be exact, but they are as close as you can get. If the connector bodies are intact, you can remove the wire and put on a new connector (provided you have some slack in the wire).

Honestly, it's mostly just reading what other people have done and doing a little reading and research. (It doesn't hurt that for the last 4 years, I've been doing a lot of debugging wiring in emergency generator controls.) Have your son start reading the FSM, especially before he tries to tackle a problem on the car. There is a ton of great information there. By the way, the red links on the Courtesy Nissan page replace the brown links.

Rob, Have you tried having your son hold the engine at about 2000 RPM and take a voltage measurement? That aside, this is my first thought. The 78 is the first Z with an internally regulated alternator. The first alternator could have been bad. It wouldn't surprise me if they gave you the wrong alternator at Autozone. For future reference, tell them an 81 280ZX for the alternator. That way you'll get an internally regulated alternator. Second thought. You might not have enough tension on the alternator. Read the FSM (Download it from the link in my signature.) and get a good idea of the tension needed. Another member here told me he needed to use a broom handle to get enough tension on the belt. I haven't changed out an alternator belt in about 9 years, so I have forgotten what I used for leverage to put enough tension on the belt. Of course, don't go overboard or else you could damage the alternator. Third thought. You might have received a bad alternator from Autozone. It happens. Last thought. Check your fusible links. There are two sets in the 280Z. In checking the link, it's important to remove it from the car to check continuity. Also look for damage in the box where the links reside. If you find that you have a bad fusible link, DO NOT replace it with regular wire. You can get replacement links from Courtesy Nissan Parts (link below). If you insist upon making your own, look at the FSM for the area of the wire and convert that to the proper AWG size. From there, you can buy fusible link wire and make your own links.