Onion

I took it all apart again, and this time opened the actual switches. I made sure everything was activating, cleaned the contacts and sanded them a bit, put it all back together, and tested it out. It feels much nicer and firmer. I stuck it all back into the car, and nothing. I took a look at the fuse box, it still looks good as new. I'll look for a schematic and see what's going on.

I made some progress this morning. I was going to just plug in the new switch I got, but it turns out some of the connectors are different. My switch has a 6 pin connector (of which only 5 pins are present on both sides), a big three pin one, and a small ground bullet connector that plugs into the combo switch. It also has a mysterious one that plugs directly into some other one (which I suspect is the reason why the 6 pin connector only has 5 pins, the previous owner probably wasn't able to wire it up properly). The new switch I have has the big three pin, the ground wire, and only a three pin instead of the five pin plug. So, what I did was dismantle both, swap all the parts that were attached to the wiring from the old switch onto the new switch, and fired it up. I tried the brakes, which didn't work, but I also tried the left turn signal, which worked. I was about to try the right turn signal when I noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the turn signal switch. I quickly cancelled the turn signal and cut off the engine. I then disconnected the battery and took the part out to examine it, except I can't see anything out of the ordinary. Also, before hooking everything up, I sprayed some DeoxIt D100 on all the connectors, switches, terminals, etc, to get them nice and clean. Where should I start with this smoke issue? Update: I wired up the turn signal switch again and started the car. Tried the left signal, it worked. Tried the right, nothing happens. Tried the hazards, nothing happens. Tried the left again, and now nothing happens. I tried turning the wheel etc to see if it had anything to do with that and it still doesn't work for any of them. Could it be the actual parts of the switch that are damaged? Should I modify the wiring to the new switch so that I can try out those components?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3s043_Yow

Sorry, I always forget to mention year and model. Its a 1973 240Z. I have a spare turn signal switch from a 240Z, I'm gonna wire that up and see how it goes, it should help me figure out if its the switch or something else. Thanks for the info, Miles, I'll give it a try tomorrow. I found plenty of info from searching, and gave a couple of the solutions a shot (like checking the hazard switch since I read that it also controls those lights), but nothing worked, unfortunately. The turn signal switch being bad makes a lot of sense because it has a lot of play in it, and its nearly as degraded as my combo switch was.

Is there any possibility that my cam interferes with the idle power? Its one of the higher stage cams from MSA, my car is absolutely gutless under 3000 rpm. Currently don't know idle RPM as I have electronic ignition and a 240Z tachometer. I've got the 280Z tach sitting on my desk, I just need to swap it over when it gets a bit less hot. However, by ear, it sounds like the car is idling normally. Idle video, if it matters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99CW2gb4AP0

Link isn't working for me. Edit: Worked on firefox, good enough.

I'll start off by saying that all this stuff used to work perfectly. I have checked it multiple times. I started having issues with my combo switch, which melted the 9 pin connector. I bought the parts I needed and rebuilt the connector. After a couple tries, I got it working good as new. My taillights were working again, the brake lights were great, and the turn signals had no issue at all. Then, a couple weeks later, my throttle cable exploded. I had the car towed to the shop as I was going out of town later that day. The guy is really good, especially with classics, and owns a classic Mustang GT350. He's worked on my family's cars before, and is meticulous about his work. When I get back from vacation, two weeks later (note, my dad has been driving the Z a couple times while I was gone), I notice the brake lights aren't working, but the rear parking lights are. The hazards are completely gone, and only the front turn signals work. Today (about a month later), I got my new combo switch in the mail, fixed up some wiring going to that 9 pin connector again, tried it out, and my headlights are working again (other combo switch went bad). Still no rear turn signals, no hazards at all, and no brake lights. Parking lights are still working in the rear. I've checked the bulbs to make sure they're not just blown (which would be odd since both sides aren't working) and they're brand new. All the fuses are also brand new and look great. I looked at the wiring on the hazard switch, and there's no corrosion. I also checked all the wiring in the steering column when I put in the new combo switch today, and it all looked great as well. I'm really lost and don't know where to look, I'm absolutely terrible with electrical work. Thanks in advance to anyone that saves me from this mess.

I spoke to Dave about it and I'm very interested, but at the cost of $150, I'm going to have to put up with the dim headlights. They're only dim on idle, but as soon as I give the car a bit of gas, they brighten right up.

Thanks for the feedback, guys, but I just picked up two combo switches (one with turn signals included) for a really good price. I wired everything up and it works! It might be because its daytime, but my headlights seem really dim. I'll try them out later and see how it goes. Pharaoh, I'll send you a PM, I'm still interested in fixing my original switch and selling that off.

Sounds like the perfect time for coils!