seattlejester

Very cool, did you guys have the valve seats replaced? Or are you adding fuel treatment?

I'll have to bug you when I get to the wiring point for that. Always good to have an experienced eye. Is your 240 in seattle now? Or is it still back home?

Well if the combo switch goes, I think I'll try adapting one from another car. Now that I've started crawling over the wiring wall I was skeptical about, the worlds my oyster as they say. (Above my favorite wiring tool, my friend bought me when I did his tail lights, after having spent a good decade with pliers, and automatic stripper is a god send) So since I destroyed the high beam selector switch, I bought a replacement to toggle between. If I really felt like it I could have added a momentary button switch in the stock location for flashing, but the toggle serves just as much function. Fabbed up a little switch mount to go along with it. Unfortunately the little plastic switch I bought was a little dodgy, as even the slightest jiggle would interrupt the circuit. So I bought an all metal one and painted it black. The switch is actually dust black so the flash is just picking up the difference, in the car you really don't notice. And I think I will be doing the relay upgrade, one HID on my daily died, and I have to constantly check that the halogen replacement is on, as it pales in comparison. From all the wiring diagrams I think I can accomplish it for much less than the 158$, actually I have all the parts and I'm sitting at around 30$. In regards to wiring, I only have a few tidbits to address, and none of those will need to be addressed until the motor is more along it's way. Figure out the resistance needed to get the fuel level gauge to take readings from my fuel cell. Find 12 volt source for electric fuel pump. Make relay to power E-fan (super easy, I think it will actually come with the kit I'll be buying). Motor Progress: Pulled the head off of my 79 zx L28E. The PO had mentioned it had smoked blue, indicating burning oil, pointing towards fried piston rings. Took off the head to find that the head gasket had also blown internally so that may explain a bit of the situation. Block itself looks to be a bit worn as it is devoid of any cross hatching. Minimum deglazing, most likely a slight bore up will be in order, this will be left to the shop who takes it to decide. Currently contemplating head decisions. From what I understand, the only real mod to bring the E31 head up to speed is to replace the valve seats with steel instead of the bronze seats. That looks to be ~150$ if I bring in the bare head, that combined with a 3 angle valve, and a thorough cleaning is going to put me at about 400$ conservatively. Datsun LLC offers a rebuilt E88 head for 450 shipped. I really won't know if the head will be salvageable until I remove the E31 from the L24 to assess damage.

Yay a PNW thread . Let me know what you end up tapping for the fans. I'm thinking I'll just be running a stand alone on mine.

So when I tried to fix the switch below it disintegrated on me (probably the cause for a few headlight failures). So I hard wired the headlight (RW I believe) and wired it to the ground (black wire). Unfortunately this didn't do anything. So I kept tracing and went through the right hand combination switch. Took it apart and got to the rocker assembly. Three things caught my eye. 1. The contact patch was blackened. 2. The brass rocker wasn't sitting straight. 3. The spring loaded nubbin was sitting at different heights with respect to each rocker. So I grabbed a set of pliers and squeezed the holding points to flatten them out and expand them. Cut little bits of wires and stuffed them into the cap to raise the heights of the nubbin. And used a blade to clean away a bit of the blackened patch. Put it back together, and low and behold, headlights . Now off to do the headlight relay mod. Big thanks to classiczcar community for pointing me in the right direction. Now I can put on the weatherstrip and doors, and focus on the engine!

Atlantic Z scan You can find the FSM with a quick google search .

Pretty much getting used to the wiring aspect of things now. As mentioned above the horn didn't work. It would just remain on. Since it was past 11pm, I decided to stop playing with the horn. Tackled it again today, found that when you pulled the little copper contact it would stop. So the green black wire was grounding before it reached the horn switch. Pulled off the hub to find. The little boss at the bottom had cracked and was allowing the switch contact to ground before actually heading through the switch. Put a layer of electrical tape then melted it in place with the soldering iron. Then looked at how the switch grounded to the chassis. Ideally the little spring piece would be pushing up against the hub adapter to complete the circuit to the ground, but it really didn't seem like it wanted to sound. So I soldered on a wire to the lock nut for the steering wheel then attached it to the little spring bit. After some consideration I decided it would be better to have the connection detachable. Now I have the comical horn. Will be replacing with a hella unit when time/funding allows. Last real bit to address...the headlights. Wish me luck! Edit: completely stumped on headlights. The headlights themselves don't turn on, but when one turns on the high beam the voltage read above of about 11-12volts is going through. But the moment any drain is placed on the system (like placing a light bulb and completing the circuit), it promptly goes to 0. So for some reason the wiring harness isn't supplying steady current.

I'm actually looking to just replace it with a more modern fuse. Amperage suggestion? Atlantic is recommending 50, guy at parts store recommended 40. So the rear end is perfect, all the lights come on when they are suppose to and work as they are supposed to. The front blinkers are a bit finicky, driver side works all the time, passenger works 50% of the time. The combo switches are looking pretty dirty so I may be removing it to clean it up a little. For some reason the passenger signal light display on the tach stays on when the headlights are on, but the lamp itself turns off O.o. Edit: Turnsignal lamp harness actually had a bad ground, this caused the circuit to go and borrow the ground from the hazard relay. Quick removal and soldering of new ground on the bulb holder and the blinkers work marvelously. Headlight harnesses are reading a voltage difference of ~11.6 volts, but don't want to turn on for some reason. The front engine bay loom is putting out 12 volts, and the headlight harness works when wired directly to battery, but not when plugged into harness even when jumpered directly. And the fuses labeled Column and the one above it labeled Domelamp in the fuse box keep burning out. Putting the ring terminal on the fuse box have given me front side markers, the ammeter, and dash lights, but it seems like it blows out those 2 fuses. Tracing the two fuses is proving to be quite an exercise as it seems to connect to absolutely everything. So I believe I have the horn wired correctly, with the green wire going to the horn, the green and red going to the battery, and the green and black wire going to the switch, the problem is that the horn stays on the moment the battery is connected. I even took off my steering wheel and pulled the horn switch to no avail. Will be checking that tomorrow, either the relay has fused itself, or the horn boss is installed incorrectly (unlikely, 1 wire...). And for those of you who were wondering: Difference, the shrink wrap for the screws is slightly bigger with one of the mirrors, and one of the mirrors came wrapped in bubble wrap.

Alright, I'm an idiot. Ring terminal goes to the bottom of the fuse box to the little bolt held underneath. Actually did find my fuse box and had installed it with the "new" fusebox sitting on the dash. After running back and forth a bunch of times, referring to the FSM, then finally referring to the diagrams as recommended, noticed the fuse box actually had 2 WR wires going into it. Upon furious googleing I found a few pictures with the wiring harness showing one a few wires other than the pigtails running through the center portion. Flipped over the fusebox sitting on my dash, low and behold, a screw on the bottom to power the fuse box. Put it on, connected battery, no drama, turned the headlight stalk and was greeted with some extra light. The driver turn signal and both driver and passenger side markers light up when the combo switch is on, and all brake likes turn on. Unfortunately the headlights still don't power on and the blinker isn't blinking. Will be tracing those back, but main issue solved. I appreciate all those who commented, and I do appreciate the concern that Miles and NewZed have expressed and will be taking them to heart. Really did need a bit of a push to remember how to ride the electrical wiring bicycle. The smoke from the first failure was indeed the fusible link blowing, which on a 240z is actually just a wire, not it's own module like in later 260 and 280z, which is why it took a while for me to recognize the error and end up repeating it with my splice.

Alright then, you guys will get the full splurge. Main question I want answered, where does that ring terminal go (pictured below)? Info: Battery outputting 12.3 volts. When the terminal in question touches metal it sparks, wire is hot (active) putting out 12.3 volts as well. Based off of diagram: Possibilities are as follows. Comb Sw (Combination switch, stalk off of steering column) Ignition (Connects directly to starter) Fusebox (pretty self explanatory) Ammeter (ammeter fuel combo gauge) R. Comb L. L.H (LH Rear tail light, also connected to RH tail light) So pictures/results. Took out the ammeter in good hopes that the terminal would be unplugged. No luck, both the white wire and white wire with red stripe are feeding into it. Then checked the fuse box. Already has a white/red wire feeding into it. The white/red wire in question is branching from this same wire. Ignition and combo switch are both being fed by white/red wires. Starter motor cranks so ignition is getting power via this wire to ignition. Combination switch on the other hand is not getting power. No headlights, side markers, LR turn signals. When stepping on the brakes, taillights illuminate. This points towards the combination switch or fuse box not receiving power from the ring terminal, since the fuse box has it's own separate power source another white/red wire with a male connector this points towards the ring terminal supplying power to the combination switch/dash lights. Now the dash is fully mounted, thus it makes it really difficult to find out where the ring terminal goes. I know it should be powering the combination switch as the ring terminal grounded is putting out 12.3 volts and that's exactly what the stalk needs. If someone could be so kind and to point out where this terminal goes. It would be much appreciated.

So pictures. Combo switch does indeed have a white wire with red stripe feeding into it. But it is already connected. Took out the ammeter in good hopes that the terminal would be unplugged. No luck, both the white wire and white wire with red stripe are feeding into it. Then checked the fuse box. Already has a white/red wire feeding into it. The mystery terminal that can be seen on the left of the picture above connects to the wire that feeds the fuse box. So still not sure where it's supposed to go. The thing that makes the most sense is that this white/red wire would connect somewhere that powers the column, as the column inputs aren't being recognized (left and right turn/headlights), but I'm having a hard time tracing where the wire goes since it goes into a large black wiring loom.

I will concede it has been a while since I've wired anything or took any of electrochemical cell classes. I am testing the wiring harness in an attempt to prevent a future meltdown with fuel and an interior in the car. In my defense once again, the last thing I wired was a polarity switching motor for folding side view mirrors so both positive and negatives sparked. I do have a multimeter but I am used to small circuit boards this much amperage is fairly new to me sans some headlights and fog light installs.. But I do recognize your concern and will be more careful and a more through review of my concepts before I tackle it again. And I believe the ammeter suggestion may be on the right track will report after a trial.

I think you are on the money with the Ammeter will check back in after fix attempt. Thanks!

Howdy folks, I'm posting here in hopes of getting a little more direction. I am currently trying to wire up my 240z to make sure all the wiring is in the clear. And I am lost as to where the red wire with white stripe goes. It has a ring terminal so I'm guessing it gets mounted on a stud or something? The FSM isn't very clear as it just shows: Right now I'm not getting the driver side rear brake light the passenger blinker or either headlight. The blinkers aren't responding from the combination switch, and I have no dash lights. I know it has to power something, but I just don't see what it attaches to. I don't have the following wired: No horns No antenna No interior dome light No door ajar switches No door ajar buzzer No rear side markers No blower motor No heater core No radio Motor is not in the engine bay, just the starter and alternator are wired up to test the harness

But the fuse box is fully occupied, and the screws that hold the fuse box doesn't have any open terminals.

It is a white with a red stripe, and that makes sense that it is a power wire, but where does it go? It has a ring end so it has to be screwed in somewhere, but I can't make it out in the FSM where it's suppose to go. I mean it is that wire right? Thanks for the observation, I'll have to go back and apply dielectric grease on the grounds.

Ah, thats what I meant, the word was escaping me. Now onto my night... Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap. Started out well, checked out my wiring, grounded everything (or so I thought), and shined up my housings and such, made sure they worked by wiring them directly to the battery to test the bulbs. So I wired up just the alternator and starter then cranked the motor. The started motor cranked, the rear turn signal worked, and the driver signal worked (the signals only worked when the flasher was activated, but did not work when triggered from the steering column. But no headlights, no dash lights, no passenger turn signal. Looked around and found this little one not grounded to anything. Tapped it to the body and sparks started shooting everywhere from where it was touching. So I unhooked the battery, then proceeded to ground it first before attaching power. Made sure all the grounds I was thinking of was covered. One from the negative terminal of the battery cable grounded to fender. This one from the engine bay wiring loom grounded to a hole in the chassis. And this one in the rear grounded to the trunk. Not shown is the ground on the left side of the driver seat. Connected the power and was greeted with a large puff of smoke as the wire from the starter that feeds the rest of the wiring harness turns red hot and melts. Thinking it was due to an old corroded wire, I retry with two fresh 16 gauge wires wrapped together (make one large thick wire) with all the nuts and such bolted down. And I was greeted with an even larger plume of smoke. Aftermath can be seen in this picture: The wire that goes to the wiring loom is completely melted only the metal remains in some parts as the plastic all melted off. Took off the battery cable, and removed the white ground wire in the cabin like it was the first time, and the blinkers work, and the starter cranks. Now what's going on? From what I understand of the wiring harness, white is for power? What am I doing wrong? I'm bloody confused... For full disclosure: Radio is not wired up No antenna No interior dome light No door ajar switches No door ajar buzzer No rear side markers No blower motor No heater core Motor is not in the engine bay, just the starter and alternator are wired up to test the harness From what I understand, the wire from the starter is getting bloody hot, indicating that there is a feed back somewhere in that section when the white wire is grounded. When the white wire is not, there's no feedback? I really am lost for the moment and kind of freaking out.

Not sure how this will work but pm.

These little buggers.

Apparently I just ordered a fender mirror (single) ... MSA is starting to get pushed on my bad list. It's the bullet style chrome fender mirror. They retail for 20$ a piece at NOSlocator (I think is the name), so when I saw 40$ on MSA, I had thought that it was the price for a set. Turns out they just sell it for double...I'll save my main rant till I receive the one from NOS to see if there is any difference that makes it worth the extra money, but to all intents and purposes they look the same. Finished resealing my blinkers and cleaning them out a bit, one had grass growing inside of it! Figured out most of the wiring and modified the interior pieces that I'm going to try and keep. Bought a used battery to test out my wiring harness, then the driver side seat and belts go in followed by the door. And to all in the area, once my car is out of the garage, I'd love to open up the space to people who want to get out of the weather to do quick 1-day jobs, granted it will be summer so hopefully working in your own driveway won't be so miserable . And I'm on the hunt for an orange fender blinker. For some reason I have 1 orange and 1 red O.o.

Nope hitting some walls, when I bought your fuse box I had 24$ to my name left, haha. Just ordered the voltage regulator delete along with fender mirror so waiting on those. Picked up a battery and the honda wiper motor at the junk yard, no Z's unfortunately (highly recommend grabbing one from a late 90's civic instead of accord, it has the same cut bolt as the Z, so no need to shave the threads) Need engine and locks, then we'll see where we're at. Unfortunately won't happen till probably 2 or three weeks at the earliest.

Well excuuuuuuuse me for not cleaning up my garage before I took a picture . In my defense, I just did a full service on a friends car, so I had to dig through all my stuff to level out his lowered car to drain the tranny fluid, hence the wood and rotors lying on the floor, the air hoses for his brakes, and the jack precariously balanced on top of everything. He treated me to dinner right after we finished so I didn't have a chance to clean up...

Haha, I can relate! Progress: And a big thanks to Devil_s30 for the fuse box. And a big F*** you to my past self for throwing away a perfectly good fuse box.

Devil_S30, yup a a short tail. I actually may have to take you up on that if you are selling one, just did a thorough search and it's not popping up anywhere. I was pretty set on an MSA or custom unit, so I think I may have misplaced it. Didn't think to at least save the plug. I actually just shot off an e-mail to a local z parts guy to see if he has one. s30zgt, thank ye. If you are referring to the dash wiring harness, it should come out with the dash. The body harness and the engine bay harness should unclip from the dash making it pretty easy to remove. Easiest way to check the harness would be to plug the wiring harness in and see if anything works, next would be to use a multimeter and check every wire (probably my next step). Yea, wiring is my least favorite job. Sure I've spliced a wire, made extra connections, added relays and all that, but never tackled an entire harness before. I mean with all the things I've eliminated, the wiring is pretty simple (heater, radio, antenna, rear turn signal, speakers, door ajar switch, door buzzer, hatch glass warmer, interior light all gone), but it's still a chore none the less. But knowing it's one of my last snags left is pushing me through .

Plugging everything in and stuff wasn't that bad. The wiring harness is a bit stiff, but still intact, all I have is the PO's word that it was running before it came into my hands so theoretically it should all be working. I'm not using/missing a few things so I'll have to clean my garage today in search of all the things that have rolled away. Can't believe I can't find my fuse box right now .