SteveJ

Just bumping the message. It's less than 3 months away.

You may want to get a used wiring harness from someone like Z barn. Even if you have to rebuild it, it won't be as badly hacked as what you have. Just tell him that you need a body wiring harness (and maybe instrument wiring harness) for your month/year Z. (Look at the build plate inside the driver's door.) Steve

I've had plenty of experience dealing with electrical gremlins in a 73. Just make sure you have a good multimeter and know how to use it. Also, get a copy of the factory service manual. You'll need the wiring diagrams.

I looked at the selection on RockAuto. The listing for a 92 Civic wiper motor should be the correct type for the modification that Dave described. It is $89.89 including the core charge.

Ron, I opened the floor for brainstorming. It doesn't matter if you tell me something I already thought of. I'd rather have that happen than for an idea to be left out. Anyway, I inspected some of the wiring around the combo switch when I was looking at the car, and I did see some signs of overheating. I did not observe any insulation that had burned through or any solder joints that looked overheated. Steve

Dave, I was hoping you'd chime in. I already suggested to Scott that he contact you about the headlight relay upgrade. The parking light relay upgrade might not be a bad idea, either. (Scott is probably going to think I'm on your payroll;)) The fuse box that was in the car showed plenty of signs of corrosion. That's why I suggested the fuse box upgrade. We tested with all of the tail lights, turn signal lights, and side markers out, and the circuit was still shorted out. I'm not sure just testing with just one bulb out at a time will make any difference. I didn't test from the harness connection under the dash (Green wire with Blue stripe) to ground. That would have confirmed whether or not the short was between the fuse box and the combo switch. Another thing I didn't check was to see if the inspection lamp was on. I tested that theory with my own car. I did see a significant drop in resistance, but it wouldn't account for readings as low as what I saw on Scott's car. Anyway, it will be another week or two before I can help Scott again, so maybe I can develop a test plan to ferret out the offending circuit by then. Steve

I went to see if I could help Scott with his car. The car looks to be in pretty good shape. It spent a significant portion of its life in California, possibly in Northern California. The car does not look like it had been abused. The alternator had been swapped to an internally regulated alternator, and the car had the plug with the proper jumpers in the socket for the voltage regulator. He had disconnected the battery before I arrived, but it had been connected for a while. The battery voltage was 1.4 volts and dropped to zero when I connected the battery cables. I took the battery cables back off and checked the resistance from the positive cable to the negative cable. It was less than 1 ohm. We disconnected the alternator but discovered that the ring lug for the ground had broken when he replaced the alternator previously. (We put a new ring lung on later.) The resistance was still below 1 ohm. We unplugged the jumpers for the voltage regulator circuit with no change in resistance. I unplugged all of the fuses in the fuse box. The fuse box showed signs of corrosion. The lid showed melting that was not reflected by the fuse box, indicating that the fuse box had been changed out previously. With all of the fuses removed, the battery terminals finally showed an open circuit. We started replacing the fuses one-by-one. When we plugged in the fuse for the parking light/brake light circuit, resistance dropped dramatically. I disconnected the ground from the combo switch. No change. I put the ground back and pulled the connector going into the wiring harness. No change. I reconnected the wires to the combo switch. I inspected the brake switch for proper operation, and it worked. We pulled all of the side marker lights, tail lights and front turn signal lights. I found some corrosion in the lights, but I don't recall seeing any corrosion completing the circuit. Things I did not check: 1. I did not look for the installation of an aftermarket alarm. 2. I did not look to see how the stereo was wired in. 3. I did not inspect the back of the fuse box. Does anybody see anything that I missed (besides the back of the fuse box)? I believe Scott may be intending to order a modernized fuse box from MSA. Anyway, I'm open to suggestions. Steve

That is why I keep a fire extinguisher in my cars. I've had to use it before (from my own mistake), and it kept me from losing my Z.

Is there a reason for dredging up a thread that is over 3 years old? I'm just curious.

Jeff, get real. EVERYBODY knows that the US is the center of the known universe, and things don't actually happen until we see them in this country. That's why we KNOW people are lying about 76 260Zs, etc.

You MUST have bought those in Canadaland.

See, that's why we need Canadians participating in these forums to remind us Americans that the metric system exists.

Actually, that's a WHOLE LOT worse. Where are you getting this info from?

The valve clearances are in the FSM, and the numbers you posted aren't right. Kammy's Valve Adjustment Procedure is one of the more popular ways of checking your valves. (The FSM will also have all sorts of other specs such as spark plug gaps. Download a copy yesterday.) Also, have you checked your thermostat to make sure it is closed when the car is cold? A thermostat stuck open will cause poor running when the engine is cold.

What can I say? I'm an advocate of tough love.

Arne, Solano County is between SF and Sac. I forgot about getting the engine swap past the smog referees. The OP has his choice of Northern California Z specialists.

Okay, so you've thrown a lot of parts into the car with no results. My first suggestion is to hide your wallet from yourself. Second, forget who that mechanic is. Don't even drive on that street again. I don't care if you live on that street. Move if you have to. Third make friends with the membership of ZONC. Ask them who they take their Z cars to and trailer the car to a reputable Z car mechanic.

It's not REALLY BAD, but it would be a good idea to swap out the carb oil with 20 wt.

PM sent.

Just an FYI, I noticed from surfing the NAPA website that you might need the stock number, 7333, to find the correct plug.

1. Go with the base plug, BP6ES. 2. Your ignition seems to be getting most of the cylinders. The wires for 3 & 4 are next to each other. Is your distributor cap in good shape? Also, check the wires. Both are cheaper than replacing other ignition components.

[ Okay, I misunderstood what you said in the first post. My bad. When you say the plug is wet, does it smell like gas or could it be oil? Can you post pictures of your plugs? Also is the Z in question the 74, or is it another year Z car? Have you tried using NGK plugs? Do that, check your timing & plug wires, and then balance the carbs.

Is the setup a triple carb? I don't know why 3 & 4 would be shared otherwise. Of course, that could just be my own ignorance...

First, it sounds like there is a good chance you shorted out your battery. Second, check your fusible links. They could have fried. Third, you could have burned up wires that are taped together in the wiring harness. You may have to strip off the tape and check.