Zed Head

Thanks for looking. I had noticed that that rubber strip was pretty chewed up, it's at the bottom of the second picture, kind of green and with big cracks in it. I assume that's the one you mean. It actually has moss growing on it (pretty common up here). It looks like an engineering afterthought to keep sideways spray out, so I had overlooked it. But it does look like it's not fitting the way it was designed to. I'll build it up and try to make it look like the other side and see what happens next time I roll it out in the rain, or pour some water on it if it's dry out. It's going up on blocks tonight for a five speed swap so I won't know for a few days (barring unexpected problems). I'll get back with the results then. Thanks again.

It's been raining here in Portland and since I have my car out of the garage and running well, I have found a large amount of water on the driver's side floor. I've looked through the various posts recently and in the past and was able to fix my leaky hatch using that information, but I have not seen a similar description of what I have recently found. I tore up the carpet and find that the water seems to be coming down the top of the rocker panel where the plastic trim meets the carpet and running over the edge in to the car. There is a large hole under the drivers seat, I assume from the PO parking nose up in the past and having the water run backward. I park nose down and the water is running off the rocker panel forward. I assume the water is coming down the front door jamb but I'm not sure how it gets there. Has anyone encountered this type of leak? I have also noticed what looks like a rusty separated seam behind the front of the door also. Could this be the entry point? Here are some pictures. Thanks for any help.

Windshield wiper switch on intermittent?

Thanks very much. The Courtesy Nissan link seems to tell the story. Red is 0.3. Red is the new brown at Courtesy Nissan. I wonder why they did that. But atlanticz still shows red at 0.69. So there is some dangerous information out there. If your red is not a Courtesy Nissan red you could have some burnt components. Or if you have a Courtesy Nissan 0.3 instead of red 0.69 you could have some mysterious fusible link burnouts. Thanks again.

Well, maybe that's how the red/brown confusion started. Nissan is giving out new red for old brown. Was there wire size information with the links? I have seen information on the web that shows the red links as being bigger than 0.3 mm^2. The atlanticz page for instance (although their diagram shows orange for the 76) - http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fusiblelinks/index.html . The red seems designed for a much bigger load than the brown, based on wire size alone. If so, the red won't give the protection the brown was designed for. I will have to go down to Nissan and see what they have for links. Maybe they'll let me measure some wires. Thanks for the reply and the work on the schematic. It would make a cool poster for a garage or den.

Hello. I'm new here but I really could have used this two weeks ago. It looks fantastic, and I second the comment about eye strain. Mine are still sore from trying to figure out how the mechanical voltage regulator was wired. The color coding is great, and you've gone better than the FSM also by adding color to the fusible links. But I see that you show two red links under the two covers instead of two brown ones. The labeling on the side of my 76 fusible link holders definitely says B, G, and two Br, and the manual says that B, G and Br are used also (page BE-6). I've seen some discussion around the internet that maybe the brown is really red and you should just use red ones, but my reading leads me to believe that the brown links are real, at 0.3 mm ^2 in size, just not used on many models and not as readily available as the other ones. Can anyone comment on this? And thanks again for the diagram and I'm glad I have the car it comes from. Bob

Thanks for the reply Dave. I made a hash of my first post though, (see edited). Realized that the job was only 80% done...

Made a mistake in my first post. Original and corrections shown below. Sorry for the messy post. Basically what I've found is that both of the two popular alternator conversion instructions will allow the alternator to charge, internally regulated, but they both leave loose ends for other components in the 1976 280Z. I am new to this site but thought I would share something I found out about upgrading to a 1979 ZX alternator on a 1976 280Z. Using the atlanticz.com instructions - http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html - the brake warning lamp check relay will be "hot" all the time, even with the key off, since it is spliced off of the S line to the alternator plug. I found that the slight amount of current it draws would drain my battery after a few days. According to the FSM, California cars also have an EGR cut solenoid that would also be always energized. I assume that the old mechanical voltage regulator ran the S line and/or brake check relay through the ignition circuit (I did not dig in to confirm) so this was not a problem. You can tell if you have a similar problem after the conversion, if you hear relays clicking when you reconnect the battery, with the key off. Edit 11:41 am 11/12/09 - The following is wrong, it will not let the relay work correctly. The relay needs to be energized when the motor is running/cranking, but dead when the ignition circuit is on. {{{I fixed the problem by wiring the system like zcarcreations recommends - http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/voltreg.htm - to get the relay back on to an ignition circuit}}} I ended up splicing the brake warning lamp check relay yellow wire, which energizes the relay solenoid, to the fuel pump circuit, which has a plug in the vicinity under the passenger seat. The fuel pump only runs when the motor is running. Edit 11:41 am 11/12/09 - This part still seems right {{{, but cut the S line splice off of the circuit and wired it direct to battery + terminal.} This also lets the alternator see mostly battery charge and not the voltage after the loads on the ignition circuit. I get a smooth 14.5 volts with the S line wired direct, but was getting a jumpy over 15 for the short time I had it wired through the the ignition circuit (measured with a good voltmeter at the battery).}}} That's all I have. I enjoy the discussions and hope this helps someone out if they decide to go with an internally regulated alternator. p.s. I also found that the dash voltmeter is pretty easy to adjust using the slotted adjuster on the back of the gauge.