Ignition switch

[jbc3]

Background, 78 280z, bought w/ no engine. LT1 is in and beginning the wiring. Previous owner had a "start button" installed under the dash jumping the black/yellow to the starter.

I've been repairing a bunch of cut/hacked wires and decided to trace the ignition wires to get rid of the button start. I found that the ignition switch has the tell-tale yellow paint marker all over it and was obviously a JY piece. So it turns out that the "start terminal" on the ignition switch is in a different place than the plug. I moved the Black/Yellow wire on the plug and the ignition circuit seems to test out fine now.

Were the ignition switches different over the years? Just want to make sure I know for future reference for compatibility when/if I need to find replacements.

 

Plug (the way I found it)

empty..... empty

black/white ..... Blue/Red

Black/Yellow ..... White/Red

 

Ignition Swith

Start .....Empty(no terminal at all)

On/Start ..... Acc/On

Nothing .....Power

[Here comes trouble]

Your ignition pigtail is correct the way you found it.....Just about all the ignition switches of the 70's including Z, sedan and pick-up exchange.... The early ignition switch pig tails contained five wires while the later ones as yours contained 4....early models...............BLK-BLU..... empty >>>>>>BLK-white.....BLU-RED >>>>BLK-yellow-white red. My 78 Z has non-locking steering column ignition out of a 620 Pick-up..... I find it is very cheap to pop an ignition switch and locking nut and plate out of a pick-up in a Junkyard and have it re-keyed and eliminate the Z locking steering mechanisim which can be dangerous if out of alignment and can lock at speed.. Lot of these jerry rigged start buttons were used to correct a starting problem in Z's. I had a 76 with jerry rigged button ...correctly wired it and it woiud not start half the time and I went back to the jerry rigged button that started every time.

[jbc3]

Thanks trouble,

I am not sure if my steering column locks... I never really paid attention since it is not running and the key sits in it all the time. (I'll check tonight when I get home) If it is a locking switch then it's probably out of an early 70's or earlier Datsun? So if it is a non locking switch, there is a possibility of the wheel to lock? If so, I'll have to make sure it's set-up properly. If the person that hacked the wiring did the switch too, I need to verify it's done right

The wiring was spliced, hand twisted and covered with duct tape! Maybe an emergency roadside repair, but it was all tucked in and covered like it had been there for a long time...