DoctorMuffn

I had full coverage, but they don't take into consideration that it was a decent quality classic car; they'll end up averaging purchase prices from the Auto Trader or something. License Plate 4CVW749 and the VIN HLS30131212.

If I may I would like to inform all that my 1973 S30 was stolen Saturday night. It was stolen from the corner of 6th and Orange in Huntington Beach, SoCal. It was silver and I had recently installed the fender mounted mirrors. If anyone hears anthing or notices a new owner or new parts supplier be suspect for me and when all seems well get the best deal you can. Sometimes it hurts a great deal to think about it, and the first night I hopped on the classifieds to get ideas for new cars I was beginning to long for it like never before. It's really an amazing thing how when you work on and tune and care for a car it feels as though it becomes part of you. I hope this sort of thing never happens to any of you. If only I could just get the body back in one solid piece; I would never let her go.

I enjoyed the humor of it... That is after I found out it was humorous and not meant to be taken seriously. I'm not worried about it though... The natural course of the joke led to why it's funny and why it shouldn't be done. Such is the flavor of life. Maybe we should double check before we do uncommonly suggested things but still keep our humor when blatantly rediculous comments are made. Heaven forbid we should become joke Nazis and make this forum dryer than a piece of wheat toast. Thanks again for all the help to this point. Lesson learned: It is important to check your FUSES thoroughly. Looking is NOT enough; you need to test properly for continuity and voltage. Thanks for the soundingboard to learn such things, ClassicZCars.com.

I definately don't have all that... I live in the O.C. and I'm white... most of us don't know what a 22 is. Besides, if I did use one my dumbass would install it pointing right at my knees. :stupid:

Just a follow up. I'm lazy and I haven't replaced the fuse for my horn that I borrowed to make my brake lights and hazards work; but they still work. And I just got back from court this morning to find that the judicial system has changed a bit. Apparently you show up at 8am in Southern California courts only to be diverted to another court room where you wait up to 3 hours for your officer to show up. No longer is your case dismissed if your officer doesn't show up at 8am like you did; instead they have the benefit of receiving subpeona and then being appeased at the expense of your time while you cancel your day to wait for a cop to "fit" you in. Anyway, and needless to say (almost), my officer did show up, but I was still able to get my fine commuted to a lower fee. And the fix-it ticket was addressed yesterday when I showed proof of correction and paid bail. Just so you know the court system has yet again endured changes to help it become one of the most efficient racketeering organizations for the state known to us; I'm just glad the judge was nicer than the officer.

Pulling the fuse out allows me to not break the fuse in my ohmeter if I happen to be testing a live circuit even though I've already checked for key off voltage. I'm still new to this diagnosing/mechanic thing so I don't trust the results very well. I won't forget to tell you guys how my court date goes this coming Thursday. Now I just need to find a frigin' sheriff to write off my fix-it citation.

I guess I haven't been reading enough... Thanks again guys.

Fixed it!!! It turns out that the little electrical "drum" I am holding in the picture was not my hazard flasher/relay, but the boxy guy to the the right of him in the kick panel was. I tried to replace flasher/relay with my buddy's good one, but the brakes and hazards still didn't work. All said and done I went to a friend's house tonight ready to tear the dash apart to pull the hazard switch and every damn component that I thought might be remotely related to the circuit. It was, however, my intention to check the easy stuff first and thoroughly with my ohm meter for continuity and volt meter for where the power stops circulating within the circuit. I started with the fuses and notice the brake light fuse was wide open in my continuity test; which was extremely odd because it looked damned perfect! So I change it with my horn fuse (which should have been a 10 ampere but happened to be a 20) and oila! The little lights started shining to my prompt brake pedal depressions and the sounds of my furious laments. We broke the glass casing of the fuse to find that it had burned itself out at the very edge inside where it connects to the metal contact point. Moral: If you are checking fuses don't just look at the damned things... Pull 'em out and check for continuity. And walking your way back through the circuit with a DVOM is really the best way to diagnose the problem.Thanks for all your input and support guys. Sean

I just realized... maybe I should mention that I don't have an automatic tranny hehehe; it's 4 speed. And the wires leaving my break switch are the same color green as the wires entering this electronic device. I'm going to visit or call MSA to find out what the "relay" (as they call it) flasher unit looks like.

I hope it is just my flasher. It sounds so much easier to replace than a switch. Anyway, I'll check for those flashers tomorrow morning in my auto class.

Thanks again, Carl. I will check back again tomorrow of course, but one thing is for sure - I'm not gonna pay some guy to fix it for me without exhausting all of my resources first and trying to learn something. I know I can do it with Classic Zcar's help and MSA's expense is quite a good motivator. Until tomorrow.

Thanks, Carl. I'll try it here then.

Oh and I do challenge all of my tickets... I'll share that with you guys when I go to court and the sheriff neglects to show like they have 3 times before.

Okay! I found it - the flasher - but I don't know how it works... Or rather I think I've found it. If you take a quick moment to visit my gallery you'll see the pictures I just uploaded. I can't link them for you now because they are pending approval or something. But that's my kick panel and that's the piece I pulled out. it's the only round component I could find that even remotely resembles a barrel; everything else is rectangular as can be seen. It has two green wires coming off of it. I can take it out, but I don't know how to test it. It seems simple so I checked for continuity. I mean if it's a flasher it should have a bimetallic strip or something that creates contact or closes the circuit but then heats up and bends away opening the circuit much like a circuit breaker in a house, but I'm not really sure. I then tried to bypass and close the circuit with a jumper in place of that component, but my hazards didn't come on. I half expected them to come on with a pull of the switch as power was directed through my jumper but stay on as there was no flashing unit; keep in mind I'm still guessing, as I don't know if it's even the right part yet. But it was to no avail I didn't see any hazard/brake lights come on. I'm ready and willing I just need more direction.

I'm elated to see all the replies. I've checked a few things already, but it was a little difficult going over my turn signal switch with the DVOM. Besides, I don't think it's out since it works the turn signals, but I'll check it again. I will look for the flasher unit; especially since I did fail to mention that when the hazards are "pulled" on they do not come on. I want to do this right and not become a backyard mechanic who replaces things on a whim and then the next when the problem is yet to be resolved. I am getting a better picture of what the circuit looks like, and I'm going down to my car right now to test that flasher. If I can't find it I'll take a picture. Anyway, thanks again to everyone for taking the time to share your experiences and recommendations. I'll be sure to let you know what the problem is when I finally find it and get my brake lights back.

Car: 1973 240Z Sorry if I missed it, but I did a search and couldn't find anything exactly relevant. Furthermore, time is not on my side. Here's the problem: I got pulled over for no brake lights. The asshole (I know not all sheriffs are assholes but this one particularly was) hit me up for other stuff too, but I'll fight that in court. Unfortunately court is March the 24th, and I need to post bail and show correction of lighting the 23rd. That's the background and here's the progress. I've check my fuses; okay. I've checked the pedal switch; shows continuity and functions properly (pedal up creates and open, pedal depressed closes the circuit). Turn signals work. Light bulbs have been replaced. Interesting to note: with any turn signal on if I pull the hazard switch out (on) it will cause the turn signal to stop; hazard switch in (off) lets her blink again. They blink at normal frequencies (not too fast not too slow) and both left and right blinks are relatively the same. Where do I go now? It seems the hazard switch might be at fault, but when I called MotorsportAuto they said the switches rarely go out, but the relay is a more likely culprit. Plus the hazard switch is a bitch to remove. Next major component in the circuit is of course the relay, but I can't make any sense of the relay clump in the passenger foot well. Are there any other components to check and can someone explain the workings of the entire circuit? My orange factory manual is quite vague, and the CD is not friendly to me (it only shows part numbers not rebuild/troubleshooting diagrams or trees). Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a large assortment of tools including the most important - a DVOM. I can do tests I just need direction. Thanks in advance, Sean

Well now I'm really tossed up in this. I love the inline six and I too am inclined to an NA motor. Nothing is more attractive to me than the F20C from the Honda S2000, but the RB 2L six in NA form would be my RB pick, and it would help me maintain manufacturer integrity. At least I've narrowed my choices, but stalking around hybridz.org last night only spun me around even more. Thanks for the diff advisement; I was looking for it. The Doctor With lots to contemplate and many dreams to fulfill.