timek1m Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 ok, i have a 1975 280z and the electrical dont work well, most dont. the interior, head lights, and rear brake lights work, but other than that nothing works. so anyone know why? dont work: dash, rear tail lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskubitz Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 my guess is the 32 year old wiring is bad. Although it's a pita, you might want to think about changing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timek1m Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 i've already changed the rear bulbs to check if it was, but it isnt the rear bulbs. any clue? i dont know if it is the wiring, hoppe not..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 You driving lights and dash lights all run on the same circuit. More than likely it's just a blown fuse. Check through all the fuses in your fuse box (passengers side kick panel) and I'll bet you'll find the problem. If you replace it and it blows again after turning the key on, someone botched the wiring in the radio...I know I've had two Zs where the PO had wired in a new head unit and had the same thing happen. The dash lights read as a ground when they're not on. Lots of people seem to mistake it as one and run the radio ground to it. When it's powered up and the lights come on the radio tries to ground it and the lights try to push power and overloads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timek1m Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 ok, thanks a lot. this is more helpful than 32 year old wiring. ill give it a shot when i got the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeiss150 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Hey guys, I'm having a similar problem. I have a 72 240Z with mostly stock wireing. I keep blowing my fuse for the dash lights, marker lights and tail lights (I believe they are all on the same 20amp fuse). The fuse dosen't just blow it heats up and starts to melt the plastic of the fuse block. Maybe its suposed to be a 10 amp fuse in there? either way it will still blow. I've had the raido in there for 4 years now and this problem just started a few months ago. What could be grounding out? The only mods I have done to the electrical are, the dizzy (e-12 80), coil (stock 280z), altinator (60 amp 280zx), honda fan, new light bulbs for the dash lights (stock), new radio, and thats it. What should I be looking for? I don't have a lot of electrical experiance but I have an amp meter and I'm sort of smart. tell me where to start looking. Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badjuju Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 have you done any of those above mentioned mods recently? are there any water leaks in your car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8ZRACER260Z Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 This indicates a high resistance not a dead short which would blow the fuse imediately. Sources of this can be numerous but use common sense. Go for the most likely first. Check your bulbs, the lead contacts on the back of the bulbs spread out over time and can short out. Then check the wiring on the back of the fuse box the culprit should show some discoloration or melting in extreme cases. Note the color code of the wire and locate a schematic to trace the circuit. If you can isolate the items on the circuit you can locate the source. Example if there is a junction point where several wires branch out, one by one eliminate the load (Bulb) and see if the problem goes away. If not this could be caused from a wire that has had its insulation worn away and is partialy contacting some rusted metal. This would explain why it is not a dead short. Let me know if I can help further. I was an Avionics tech in the Marines for 5 years electronics on a Z is simple to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeiss150 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 none of thoes mods are new, I did them about 3 years ago. I'm water tight in the cab I don't know about the wireing in the engine compartment? What should I be looking for? Matt- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrism Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Dude, You really need to get the schematic for that car. It shows where every wire in the car goes and what devices share power and ground. It also shows how the switches work. That helped me when all my lights went out. Found the ground wire inside the steering column had come loose. I must have tugged on the harness at some point and made it come lose. That killed the dash lights and the wipers also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeiss150 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I have a schimatic... I had a few minutes to look around yesterday and it seems that there are two fues that are going bad. I suspect that it might be the fuse block itself. I bought a new one on ebay should be here in a few days. Im going to keep looking though just incase its a ground somewhere. I'll keep you posted! I also read a post about soldering a 12 gauge wire across the altinator side of the fuse block to take some of the load off the fuses... anyone done this? Matt- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeiss150 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Ok, so I got some time to work on the fuse problems today. Heres what I found... I replaced my fuse block with a new one (ebay $15 ... excellent condition) and before I replaced the fuse block I took the marker lights apart and they had rust all in them..... hmmmmmmm. So I cleaned up the marker lights and put in new bulbs. Then I put the new fuse block in and hooked up the battery.... Well half my problem is solved. The marker/ tail light/ dash lights work great, no blowing of the fuse. BUT... The "HORN/ BATTERY" 20 amp fuse is an instant blow. I check the body ground and it is tight with no rust or dirt (i took it off sanded both contact points and screwed it back on). Where is this thing grounding out? I can feel a little "Zap" when I touch the car as I get out ... Where should I start looking? Thanks, Matt- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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