NewZed

Check your dealer. Some of the old parts are still available. See below. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Electrical/Distributor/240Z/ForManual/tabid/1688/Default.aspx http://www.courtesyparts.com/spring-gov-p-276887.html Also, your dist. number doesn't show up as a 240Z number, close but not quite, but the list in this thread may not include them all. Your dealer might have a dist. number part reference for the spring. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/electrical-s30/34192-280zx-distributor-advance-curve-reference.html

You had an external regulator with just one green wire running to its plug from the harness? Can't tell what you mean. L just needs to be switched, i.e. only has power when the ignition switch is on. There's another description of how to get it done at the very bottom of the page you got your first drawing from. atlanticz.ca. If you don't have a voltmeter, a test light will work. The new alternator just needs switched L for excitation, S to sense voltage, the big white wire to feed the fusible links and the battery via connection at the starter lug, and a ground (commonly though both the mounting bolts and a black wire).

It might be that your 75's ammeter uses a different wiring scheme. Someone with a 73 or 72 just had a similar problem. You could just use a voltmeter to find what the ZX alternator needs at the T plug, S(sense) and L(amp), and go from there. The only one that you really need the VR plug for is L, it would be switched power. Find L on the wiring diagram and use that for L on the alternator. Use the meter to be sure it's switched power. S just needs to be at the battery or a point on the system's positive circuit, but one of those wires is probably always hot so would work.. If your alternator isn't marked with L and S you can probably find a diagram in a ZX FSM. And as I mentioned, power for the brake check relay might also come from the external VR. It does for 1976 and it can cause problems.

Post a picture. And, to be clear, it's not the VR that has G/R wire it's the car's wiring harness. And make sure you're not looking at the plug upside down. Go by location, not color. Check the diagram in the FSM, Body Electrical. Look for blue like 1976 as an option too. When you're done, search for "brake warning lamp check relay" if your battery starts dying when the car sits for a few days.

Looks like you left a hot wire unprotected and it shorted. Which instructions?

I'm not suggesting that you replace the transistors. It's just an example of what can go wrong, and replacement is kind of difficult. Plus, an exact spec. match for the original transistors is not available. You didn't say if you bypassed the dropping resistors or not. You can measure resistance of the injectors with an ohm-meter. I don't know how much resistance it takes to cause a no-open problem. If I swapped injectors, I would try to match impedance for the whole circuit since that's what the ECU was designed for.

I've seen it described that failing ECU's will sometimes flood the engine. I had one fail and the guy that helped me push said he smelled gas from the tail pipe. I was too busy trying to figure out how to avoid a towing fee to check for sure. I replaced the transistors on that ECU and it worked, so my guess is that the two big transistors that control the injectors can fail just like the igniton module transistors do, causing erratic and excessive cirrent flow (when igntion modules fail you'll see high RPM readings and poor igntion after they get hot). What's the impedance (resistance) on those Ford injectors and did you keep the harness resistors? Maybe you're running too much current through the ECU transistors and you've damaged them. Nissan used several ECU models on 75-78 280Z's. They deem to differ by CA vs. Fed. and auto vs. manual. You just have to check the numbers. 75-78 Fed. manual all seem to be the same model.

On my 76 the instrument lights are on the same switch as the tail-lights. If your instrument lights are out, tails might be too. Save yourself a traffic-stop and check. I've seen some rusty relays over by the fuse box though on my car. A bad relay overheating and opening up might explain your symptoms. The main ignition relay is where I would start. You can't really tell that they're bad from the outside. I've attached a picture of mine, which had been bypassed when I got the car.

Decisons should be based on criteria like: daily driver, faster than a Subaru, shiny and new looking, cooler than my neighbor's car, etc. You haven't established any, not even one. So it's impossible to know what you're looking for. As for "newer", you're talking about 41 yrs. old vs. 35. Post #2 here is informative and along the same lines as your question. It's subjective, don't try to be objective. Whatever makes you feel good is the right choice. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/52263-newb-project-faq-what-engine-swap-how-much-will-it-cost/

I had to quote your ironic statement. Pretty funny. There's a 20 amp fuse inline, if that helps.

Show a link to the kit or describe it. Resistive wire heaters would typically run off of 12 volts. And, the endless do-loop, look in the FSM. Page BE-4. Shows a switch, some wires, and a fuse. Called "Heat Glass".

This is a really interesting thread and I hope it keeps on. It's pretty early to draw any firm conclusions though. The initial determination that seam-welding is ineffective could really be about the method and quality of welding more than just welding itself. No offense, but maybe, as you kind of inferred, you just used the wrong technology. I hope you'll do some strut bar testing before the roll-cage. Work up from cheap (things that most of us can do and afford, the really interesting stuff) to expensive (things most of just read about). On the test jig- if the rear is only attached at the top of the tower and front transverse link attachment point, then the pivot point will be at the top of the strut tower (edit - "pivot" is not the best word since that's a key word for the test. Flex might be better. Might show up as a sideways deflection where the measurement point is. Learning.). The rear link attachment point won't be in play and the whole back section of the car could be bending at the strut tower. There's no triangulation, right? I hope I actually understand what you're doing. Like any other anonymous forum member, I may not have a clue what I'm talking about.

Thanks for taking the comments in a positive way. Considering RebekahZ's comments, you could probably qualify your statement about S30 seam-welding to the 280Z body only. Maybe the 240Z benefits from it, but Nissan improved things in the 280Z to where messing with them lowers stiffness as you've shown..

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Looks like a lot of work to generate what are essentially just two data points. Then a big leap to draw a very broad conclusion. An R&D firm would go out of business quickly using this methodology. What's the error in your measuring instruments, for example? 0.5 degrees is difficult to measure. You could have a loose bolt here - "The rear is solidly anchored to the concrete, bolted to the mustache bar and diff mount brackets, two studs and four bolts" - giving some deflection. It's an interesting area that could use more data shared (the racers are still keeping their secrets) but reproducibility is important. No way to tell if your work is valid. Edit - didn't mean to sound so negative. I've done some R&D work though and it's easy to get misled on why the numbers change. If you can reproduce the work using the same tools, you'll at least get a better idea of the quality of your measurements. For example, put the car back on your measuring frame and see if you get the same numbers. Take it off and put it on a few times and see what you get.

Shows available online - http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/home.oap Or here for 6x more - http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/11-3052

Not an expert but ignoring Lamp seems reasonable. The VR itself is probably wired to provide the current to the alternator windings from one of the other power wires, and the completion of the circuit from the harness is unecessary since there is no actual "Lamp" at the ammeter. Sorry for guding you down the FSM path when it looks like it's not right. Maybe this is why so many people just swap to an internally regulated system. FYI, it looks like you could get factory part for $113. http://www.courtesyparts.com/regultr-vo-p-283142.html Here's a link to a thread from a guy who really knows the 240Z wiring. He makes these for MSA. Shows only five pins in the adapter. http://www.classiczcars.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=11 Here's another link showing all of the VR models that Nissan went through - http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsuns30/DatsunZIndex/Electrical/EngineElectricalFittingParts/tabid/1630/Default.aspx

I have a 76 and my external VR is gone. In retrospect, I recall other threads about five wires where there should be six so your harness might be right. It would still be worthwhile running the diagnostics in the FSM. See if the NAPA VR has the letter labels L, A, N, IG, F, E on the back and compare it to what should be. Maybe you can swap a wire. In the meantime you might re-title your thread to something like "1973 240Z has only 5 wires at the VR plug instead of 6" or something like that. There are billions of "HELP, not charging right" threads out there. Maybe even trillions.

The high "+" on the ammeter typically means that a lot of amps are flowing. Maybe because you're charging a discharged battery. The missing wire is the "L" wire. In theory, I think, the alternator should either not produce a charge or take an engine rev before it does. "L" flows current through the windings to start the charging cycle. Some alternators have enough residual magnetism to get things started. It might work but it's not quite right. In short though, you might not really have the problem that you think you have. The great thing about the early Z's is that Nissan wrote extensive diagnostic procedures and diagrams in to the service manuals.

1973 BE-5 shows factory green wire with an inline fuse and no relay. Kudos to the OP for finding the fuse. You know you have power out of the fuse, follow the wire.

Aren't you just asking for problems? They're mint!

Why guess when you can know? Strap an old milk bottle in there for overflow, drive it for a week and see what's in the bottle. I had a headgasket that leaked from the passenger side rear. Coolant only, all external. I've read of others with the same problem. You'd probably see a rusty, coolant washed trail down the back of the engine if you had the problem. And my 76 280Z has never needed "bleeding" or burping. I think that might be an early 240Z cooling sytem issue. Finally, if your cooling system doesn't work you might have the core bypassed. Apparently this can cause problems by changing the coolant flow path through the engine. Read up on bypass versus block-off of the heater core.

Many people remove the BCDD entirely and their engines still run. Not sure your statement is correct.

I was trying to strengthen a mind and you've allowed it to stay weak. An opportunity wasted. Oh well. There were probably part numbers on the bag too, that could have been searched. http://www.courtesyparts.com/

It might take a shift in thought patterns to get to the answer.