JTCN

Unfortunately after doing all of the steps in the swap guide, my alternator isn't charging the battery. With the car off the battery had 12.5v I turned it on (no lights/accessories) and it was around 12.4v With lights and fan on highest speed it was 12v. And the fan was hardly blowing on its highest speed. All of the wires for the 1975 year in the guide were the right color on my car, so I crimped the Green/Red wire to the White/Black wire. Then I crimped White to Yellow. The rest of the wires (Green and Black) I taped up the ends and left them dangling. I think I did the wiring correctly, but I figured I'd post how I did it anyway. For the alternator wiring I connected battery, earth, and the "T" connector. But I found a strange blue wire in my battery connector for the alternator. I think it connected to this thing on the back of the alternator. (Not my pic but it shows where it connects on the original alternator). http://img.photobuck...zps87ef6ea3.jpg My old alternator had the blue wire plugged into that thing but it broke off just from me touching it. My new alternator has one of those cylinder-shaped things on it but its connected to a bolt on the alternator itself. (Sorry I don't know what the things called lol) So for my first question, do I need to connect this blue wire somewhere? Could that be why it isn't charging? Here's an album I just made so you guys can see some pictures of it all. http://imgur.com/a/gM5pj If you guys see anything in these pics that even MIGHT be a problem, please let me know. Also If you guys want some more pics I'll go out and take some.

UPDATE: My alternator and fan belt came in today so I started and completed the project. Unfortunately after doing all of the steps in the swap guide, my alternator isn't charging the battery. With the car off the battery had 12.5v I turned it on (no lights/accessories) and it was around 12.4v With lights and fan on highest speed it was 12v. And the fan was hardly blowing on its highest speed. All of the wires for the 1975 year in the guide were the right color on my car, so I crimped the Green/Red wire to the White/Black wire. Then I crimped White to Yellow. The rest of the wires (Green and Black) I taped up the ends and left them dangling. I think I did the wiring correctly, but I figured I'd post how I did it anyway. For the alternator wiring I connected battery, earth, and the "T" connector. But I found a strange blue wire in my battery connector for the alternator. I think it connected to this thing on the back of the alternator. (Not my pic but it shows where it connects on the original alternator). http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/cd1105/IMG00215-20130127-1535_zps87ef6ea3.jpg My old alternator had the blue wire plugged into that thing but it broke off just from me touching it. My new alternator has one of those cylinder-shaped things on it but its connected to a bolt on the alternator itself. (Sorry I don't know what the things called lol) So for my first question, do I need to connect this blue wire somewhere? Could that be why it isn't charging? Here's an album I just made so you guys can see some pictures of it all. http://imgur.com/a/gM5pj If you guys see anything in these pics that even MIGHT be a problem, please let me know. Also If you guys want some more pics I'll go out and take some.

Alright so I did a test on the battery earlier. I got 12.5 with the car off. Around 14.8 with the car running and not charging. When I revved at steady 2000 rpm it was hitting 16 volts. The readings were also pretty sporadic. Just ordered a ZX alternator and fan belt, hopefully that fixes everything. I'm going by this guide: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html I'm banking on this fixing my problems, I really believe it's the voltage regulator considering all the common troubles people have with it. Even if this doesn't work at least it's an upgrade and 1 less thing to worry about. Edit: Got a few numbers mixed up, corrected them

Ok it's the next day and I'm ready to get to work on solving this. Is there a test I can do myself to check my voltage regulator?

Thanks, the symptoms of a failing voltage regulator definitely line up with the problems I'm having. Just found a guide for the ZX alternator swap, do I have to pull one from a junkyard or can I buy a brand name replacement? (Like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alternator-ACDELCO-PRO-334-1649-Reman-fits-81-83-Nissan-280ZX-2-8L-L6-/331625213876?hash=item4d36672fb4:g:7-UAAOSwPcVV2eDg&vxp=mtr)

I've actually been having problems with the alternator belt slipping, every now and then I hear it squeak. It used to be a lot worse. Squealed the entire time until i tightened it but I think the belt is stretched, so I'm sure I will replace that soon. In the mean time tomorrow I'll tighten it as much as I can again and see if it fixes the light issue. I have a feeling it's something more severe though.

UPDATE: After completing the install my alternator isn't charging the battery. Please see the post at the bottom of the page So I have a '75 280z and recently I've noticed my headlights get brighter when I rev the car. (Both in neutral at stand still and in motion) I also noticed that my dash lights and interior lights get brighter as well. The headlights are also very dim whether or not the car is revving or not, revving only brightens them a little and overall they're still dim. The A/C fan also gets louder and blows harder when revving. So somehow all of these problems are connected to something and I'm at a loss on what to do next. I've been reading a lot about this and my best guess is there's a problem with the grounds. If so, where are the grounds located? My problem isn't with the lights/fan getting brighter, but a possible problem with low voltage getting to these systems at idle (or in general) What do you guys think could be the source of all this? Sorry for the barrage of questions but I'm new to electrical gremlins and it's all especially confusing to me. Thanks for any help

I fixed it! you were right the belt was slipping. I added some tension and it's quiet and blowing cold. Thanks!

Hi, my '75 280z makes a horrible squealing sound whenever you engage the A/C. If you set the climate control to vent or any other setting the noise doesn't happen, only when its on A/C with the fan on. I heard it could be the belt so I sprayed a generous amount of water on the pulleys and belt and the sound persisted. The noise gets louder and changes pitch when I press on the gas. If I get out and look at the belt when the A/C is engaged I can see the belt slow down/catch on something. I've driven it with the A/C on for a few minutes to see if it would ever stop but it hasn't. At this point I'm kinda lost as to what it could be and what I should do about it. I'd love if you guys could give me some advice.

I was thinking about that but I don't really want to pay $270 for a set: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic02m09/33-1121 Would a 240z air dam bolt on no problem to a 280z?

I have a '75 280z and I've been looking for an air dam. I really like the Type 1 on the 240z but I can't find many pictures for the 280z type 1 and I wanna see some pics before i buy it The 280z air dam: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/7AD1/50-1403 Also I have 240z bumpers on my car so if there are any pics with 240z bumpers on the 280z type 1 that would be great. Thanks