SteveJ

The combo switch is on the right. That is part of the turn signal switch. I don't think that wire dangling is part of the headlight circuit. What colors are on the wire? I'm thinking that you might have lost the ground at the turn signal switch. That would cause you to lose your headlights. There are turn signal switches available on eBay. Just don't expect a good one to be cheap. You could also try contacting ZBarn to see if Roger might have a good one available. There is this auction: 150520446415. Compare it to your switch.

Yikes! I hate IPOs (Idiot Previous Owners). Of course, IF I ever sell my Zs, I'm sure someone out there will curse me as an IPO, too. If you need any help, keep posting.

Here's the link to the article Ron is talking about.

You'll have to drop the tank at least part of the way down. There are some vapor hoses you'll need to deal with as you drop the tank, too.

Jamie, I left you a voicemail. Call me back or PM me.

Just be sure to carefully follow the modifications to jumper out the voltage regulator. You'll probably need to go to Radio Shack, too, to get a diode to add to the circuit. I'll give you a call after I run some errands.

Jamie, do you need me to drop by on Saturday to give your electrical system the once-over?

So are you insinuating that the "power bulge" is just another example of sex sells? If so, don't tell my wife. She'll get jealous when I'm in my garage with my 240Z & 260Z.

Do NOT use WD-40 as a lubricant. It is not a lubricant. Greases will tend to trap dirt. Search for dry lubricants. DuPont makes a line of them.

That is why many of us have switched over to using relays for the headlights. The majority of the current for the headlights will go through the relays and not through the switches.

Correct. It's 8 degrees at 750 RPM. It doesn't take much in the way of tools to set the timing: metric wrenches, inductive timing light and tach. You can find a book on Holley carburetors on Amazon. That should tell you how to set the floats to get rid of the rich condition. Of course, cylinders 3 & 4 will probably have to be richer than 1 & 6 due to the design of the intake. Don't forget to look at your plugs. Compare them to this chart.

Ed, fix the known problems first. You say the car is running rich. Get the mixture and timing right. Eliminate the easy causes for detonation. Then see if you still have a problem. Otherwise, you'll empty your wallet trying out everything and hoping something works.

I think your URL is being truncated. That's not a valid address.

Do you still have the smog pump installed? If not, is the inlet to the exhaust manifold where the smog pump feeds plugged? Have you checked the timing lately? How about your spark plugs? The mixture? Here is where I'm going. If your car is sending too much unburned fuel into the exhaust while it is adding air to the exhaust, you can get a backfire. Typically, there is more unburned fuel immediately after you let off the gas. If the timing is off or if the plugs are fouled, that could lead to more unburned fuel in the exhaust. If the car is running rich, you get more unburned fuel in the exhaust. If the timing is too advanced, you could get knocking, too. If there are hot spots in the cylinders (usually caused by deposits or corrosion) you can get detonation. What octane are you running in your car?

Have you tried looking at the FSM? I'm pretty sure it has troubleshooting guides.

I beat you only because I was brief for a change.

It could be the u-joints. Also, look for more loose/missing bolts.

I remember you mentioning your occupation before, Jamie, and I wondered if that thought was going through your head. If you really want to get wild and crazy about that, I could make some recommendations while you're in the design phase that could make your life easier.

XenonS30 is available, even when your hard copy isn't... I got this picture from the PDF at that site.

Jamie, The Pertronix is a good move from points. Many people have swapped in a 280ZX electronic distributor instead. For my 73, I did the Crane ignition. A previous owner of my 74 did the 280ZX swap. I'm not sure where all of the tach problems come from. The Crane was plug and play for me. Boy, when you're through, you'll have replaced about half of the wiring in the car. For upgrades, look at Blue's site. The link is below. I did the ZX alternator swap many years ago, myself. However, unless you're doing things to increase the demand on the alternator, it doesn't add anything. Personally, I'm not sure that swapping to a voltage gauge improves anything since I don't know much about the accuracy of the 280Z voltage gauges. Some people claim some safety benefit to moving away from the ammeter, but that's only if you also redo the wiring in the dash.

By his profile, I'd guess a 78.

Have you looked at Rockauto for a replacement module?

You could email the company and see if they would be so kind as to provide a wav file. Heck, it could even drive some sales.

Actually, the colors could be off. I forgot you had a 71, and I was looking at a 73 wiring diagram. XenonS30 doesn't have a 71 wiring diagram. It would be great if someone who owned a 71 FSM would post a scan of the wiring diagram. (If someone posted a copy elsewhere on this site, it's able to hide from my searches.) In the meantime, you could look at the 72 FSM, understanding that there could be differences between it and your car. As E put in his post, forget about the existence of relays with regard to the ignition. Relays were used for accessories and the horn. Your car has 12VDC from the battery to the ignition switch. When you put the key in the RUN position, the circuit is completed to black/white wire, carrying the 12VDC to the fuse block and out to many different circuits.

That's what I recalled reading, but since I was too lazy to search for the description, I didn't try to give specifics.