Jump to content
HybridZ

280Z Body Harness (Mod OEM or Painless)


Recommended Posts

Background: 1975 280z (fuel injected, 4 speed) LS1 swap with a modified stock LS1 harness for standalone. Engine is ready to go in and all the other bits (fans, radiator, hoses, fuel lines, etc) are ready to go in, then I just need to make my 10 electrical connections and I should be ready to fire the engine. Firing the engine for the first time is going to be great but then there is everything else electrical I need to make work. FYI Running autolite gauges, (tach, speedo, fuel, oil, rad temp, majority of which come from the LS1), I want to maintain all of the current features of the 280Z's interior (dash lights, defroster, etc) and my dual fans are controlled by the LS1 ecu.

 

Is it reasonably possible to modify the stock 280z body harness for standalone and is there a good walkthrough that someone has already done? I have searched for the better part of two days to find a good guide on how to modify the 280's body harness basically chop out all the engine management stuff but nothing. Lots of great LS1 builds, but after that there is no discussion about the body harness. I have found plenty of info for people doing various stand alone bodyharnesses like Painless and how to hook it up, which should be easy enough, but if I can avoid spending the $300-$600 would be great.

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unlikely that a guide for wiring will be found.  To use the original body harness, download the wiring diagram.  Then get someone that is familiar with electrical/electronics to identify and mark the loose ends of the body harness in the engine compartment and instrument panel areas.  Then have that person form an interface wiring diagram between the two new and old areas of body harness.  Then it is a matter of interfacing the old and new wiring with splices.  The headlight harness should be modified to add relays for the heavy current to be controlled by the headlight stalk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The EFI harness in the early 280Z's is essentially completely separate from the the rest of the body harness.  It even has its own fusible link.  You can unplug it without chopping any wires, leaving all of the other car functions intact.  I have one from a 78 in my garage, no cut wires.

 

Search for threads dealing with switching to carbs.  You won't really be modifying anything, just adding a few more loads.  Some relays, a power supply wire, and grounds, are all you need to focus on.  If you find yourself getting ready to chop a wire, you're probably making a mistake.  Some of the guys on classiczcars.com have put together some really nice full color wiring diagrams in .pdf format that would be handy for you.  Much easier to deal with than the photocopied FSM diagrams, or the paper FSM.

 

Don't think in terms of "chopping".  Chopping is bad.

Edited by NewZed
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...