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The joys of an old car!


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Guest Anonymous

Hey All, i've had some problems slowly showing up with my new zed.. its a 75 260z, overall its really nice but it has its qwirks.. i miss my old zed.. :( ..but luckily that went to a good home (around 4 metres to the left in my garage - its now my dads!)

 

anyways, the first problem is the headlights.. i'm guessing its just a wiring problem and some of the connection aren't right.. but one headlight always seems to be more dim then the other, and sometimes one turns off, or if i turn on the high beams one turns on and the other turns off.. or whatever.. its really crazy! and not at all easy to replicate as it doesnt always do it.. most of the time a quick flash of the high beams will get em working fine.. either way its really irritating me! and i'm hoping to take out the lights soon anyways as i have some new bulbs to go in (the bulbs in there are brand new too.. so they arent the problem) and was wondering if there are any known problem areas i might want to look out for? cheers!

 

next up is what i'm guessing is the wiper speed control thingymabob (i really know my tech as you can tell) .. as when put on intermediate.. it will wipe once.. but never again.. my friend with a z32 said the speed of his intermediate is adjustable and there is probably a control nut or screw somewhere that needs to be tightened.. obviously our cars are a tad different but i was wondering if anybody knows what the problem might be?

 

well - thats it for now! next up is how to make a gear shifter boot for a stick that is nothing like the stock one in position or height! woo!

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Couple of areas to research. First is where the headlight harness plugs into the main harness just inside the fender well or in front of the radiator depending on your car. (I've only worked on 240 and 280 so am not sure which a 260 has.) Another is the ground to the frame rail and finally is the riveted connections in the fuse box going to the back of the spring connectors that hold the fuse. Those make more sense than the headlight switch and it's associated connections since you would expect the two lights to behave the same way if it was the switch. I'd put my money on the grounds or front harness plugs being dirty. Also check the fuse itself as they can act weird if they are dirty or corroded.

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Look for the posts I put up concering the install of relays for the headlights. Seriously, forget trying to fix the stock wiring, install relays. I did and my lights got about twice as bright! You're probably losing several volts from your battery to the lights now - ALL of the juice goes through the harness, fusebox, and the switch. the switch in particular cannot take the amperage, mine was brand new and SMOKED. A set of relays will take all of the load off of the switch. I don't know how different your car's wiring is than mine but my switch switched GROUND not hot which was weird I thought.

 

Dunno' about the wipers man ;)

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Being I own a 260(well, '74 US) I can understand your situation. Go relays as BLKMGK has suggested. They do make a world of difference. One thing you might want to try before this is checking the fuses, even if they look good. Sometimes you can turn one end but they still "look" good and test good. Really! both headlights can work with only one good fuse, but one side will be dim. Check with another fuse from a diferent block that is known to work(w/ same amperage) or buy new.

The wipers, can also be a wiring problem, but before that try lubing the joints under the cowl(in front of the front window/wind screen, 4 screws under the back of the hood/bonnet). This can sometimes cause a big resistance and will result in a failure of the switch, which would be the next thing to check. You can pull the switch apart and clean all the contact surfaces with a very fine sanding paper or metal polish. Don't bend the tabs to much as you have to bend them back. If all else fails you coul go relays on this item aswell.

Hope it helps

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Guest Anonymous

wow! excellent advice guys! cheers!

 

i've actually got aftermarket H4 lamps/housing with xenon globes in there atm.. so its VERY bright when its working! grr! hehe

 

but yeah, thanks a bundle - will be taking em apart to give it all a look over this weekend!

 

thanks again!

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