280Z Turn Signal Replacement (with pics)

[Stephonovich]

I have a '78 280Z with turn signals that refused to work correctly. Most of the time they'd engage, but then the retaining mechanism did not work, so that you had to hold the switch in place for the duration of the turn.

 

I found a guy on Craigslist in Middletown RI who had "Z Parts". Emailed and asked if he had turn signals, among other things. Said he did, so I headed out for a little road trip. Incidentally, it was also the first time I'd taken the Z out on anything resembling a road trip (about 1.25 hour drive). Handled it beautifully, and discovered even completely stock, it is capable of 130+ MPH. Surprised me, anyway.

 

So, picked up two turn signal/combo switches for $20; one off a '76 and one from a '78. The '78 mechanism wasn't nearly as good as the '76, but those two have different connectors.

 

Took it home, and after much tearing apart, determined many subtle differences between the two. If I had a soldering iron, I would have been able to keep the good mechanism of the '76 with the stock wiring of my '78. Ended up cleaning the '76 mechanism out and squirting copious amounts of WD-40, which worked fairly well. I kept all the spare parts from the project, so one day I'll get around to doing it right.

 

Without further ado, pictures (apologies for the blur):

 

 

There are 6 screws to remove the plastic cover. The 4 at the corners are all the same. The one in the center is the big wide one, and the one closest to the ignition is the one with the washer. When you go to re-install it, I'd recommend getting the 4 corners torqued about 3/4 of the way down, then the center, then the ignition side, and then torque the corners fully.

 

 

The upper shell slips out. Pull the part covering the ignition cylinder out first, it makes things easier.

 

 

This shows one of the large screws on the side which hold the two sides together and onto the steering column.

 

 

This is the connector on a '78. 6 pins, which combines the high beam switch and turn signal switch.

 

 

These are the two connectors on a '76. The narrow yellow-ish one is the turn signal switch, the white one is for the high beams. The wire color coding is exactly the same between the two years. Based on this, one option would be to remove these connectors and crimp them onto a '78 style connector (or vice-versa).

 

 

This is the inside of the turn signal switch on a '78. There is a metal contact which brushes against one of three contacts. Fairly simple. This is another way to mix parts between the two - desolder the three wires on the brown board, resolder them to the brown board on the other year housing, and connect the wires. Easier than removing and crimping 6 wires, provided you can solder.

 

 

This is the same switch, but minus the copper contact. Turns out it falls out. Which may or may not lead to much confusion and cursing upon reassembly.

 

 

 

Said copper contact. Make sure it is securely in place before you reassemble everything.

 

 

This is the inside of the '76 turn signal switch. The next picture shows the part which connects to the plastic piece, which engages its own switch. Not sure if the pictures show it well, but the metal housing is also completely different. The '76 does not have a raised metal bit where the handle goes into the housing; the next piece instead acts in its place.

 

 

The piece on the right is common to both years, and is the high beam switch. The metal part is the switch which connects to the plastic part on the handle.

 

 

Better shot of the switch on the '76.

 

 

Completed assembly, cleaned up and a little black paint.

 

 

There are 6 screws you need to re-attach everything. Two on the turn signal switch, two for the high beam switch, one for the long metal arm that runs in a groove on the back of the steering wheel, and one for the grounding wire. Sorry, I don't have pictures of those two.

 

Make sure all your connections are tight, and test it out before you tighten everything down. Also, there isn't really any guide as to where on the steering column the switch housings should be. Use the metal arm which contacts the steering wheel as a guide - it should touch the wheel, but not be bent too much. Also, the wheel should reset the switch to neutral, but not be overly noisy while doing so. If the assembly is too close to the wheel, it will make rather loud clunks while engaging.

[lastbrunneng]

I had a similar problem with my 76, the mechanism kept jamming and when it wasn't jammed it still didn't work very well. I also had two spare switches with the different style connector. I cleaned the internals of the switch and then I dissasembled the wiring harness (didn't cut any wires, just unrapped it all) and just transferred the appropriate peices to a better frame.