Zed Head

Some of the stuff I wrote above is probably wrong for this specific case. Because A is also usually connected to the battery positive post. So if it was shorting through the alternator it would short even with the VR unplugged. It's just one of those things to check overall. So, in sum, it still kind of looks like a bad VR. IF the wiring is not shorted to ground somewhere.

It's more of a hot weather problem. But it is something to be aware of. Another thing to be aware of is the quality of today's mechanical fuel pumps. Quite a bit on the forum about problems there. So even if you get an eccentric you might still have a problem. You can do a fair check of the pump by moving the lever by hand. It's just a part of owning an old Z car. Each model and year seems to have their own special problems. I'm posting doom in everyone's thread. I'll take a break.

Here's the plug to the VR. Not sure if it's the harness or the VR side though. Nissan just kind of stuck it in there with few words attached. They show the labelled plug but the test is done from the "yellow terminal".

Pretty sure the wiring for it is there though. Look at the last few posts in the Z's on Bat... thread about the V-3 kit. Mechanical pump alone does not work well.

If you measure low resistance from A to ground then your alternator is probably bad. BUT. It could also be the wiring. Check resistance from the A terminal in the harness to ground with both the VR and the alternator unplugged. No offense intended, but this is one of those cases showing why people should get familiar with how their meter works, when everything is working right. This problem is really kind of a "measure...check, measure...check, measure" kind of problem. Simple things to check to narrow the problem down to a certain area. Many of us have a list in our heads and once the meter is in hand it's just check, check, check, fault. You can even check resistance through the pins of the VR. I was going to suggest to SteveJ that he do that before he sends out his unused VR. Check resistance from the battery feed pins to ground. If it's open there should be no draw caused by the VR. If SteveJ was at your car he probably would have done this already. The meter is your friend.

It is.

Didn't find a specific test but did find a drawing. I think that "A" might be stamped in to the back of the alternator. Set your meter to resistance and measure between the A terminal on the back of the alternator and the alternator body. It should be infinite resistance. OL.

I retract this statement. I didn't really look at the diagram I posted. If the alternator A circuit is shorted through the alternator stator coil then you'll have a draw also. It would short when the VR was plugged in. You could easily check it with a meter. I think it might actually be a test procedure in the FSM. Heading there now...

My conspiracy theorist side says that the market is being artificially inflated. Some of the bids are antithetical to the whole point of an auction. The same guy that got the last 73 by bumping the bid by $27,000 bumped the bid on the 145 car by $15,000. Just not normal. If this was the stock market the FTC would be investigating unusual activity.

Here's the bidding on the car above. Makes no sense. Makes you wonder...

Prancing to the bank... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-datsun-240z-222/

The odds seem good that your VR is bad, if it's from the same batch that madkaw and the guy he was talking to got theirs. Hard to tell, so far it's just a bunch of people talking about parasitic draws and clicking or non-clicking VR's. In short though, if you don't have a parasitic draw with the VR unplugged but you do with it plugged in that seems like a good indicator of a bad VR. There are only two paths from battery + to Earth. Edit - there is also the path through the alternator when the VR is plugged in. Missed that when I posted. Check with meter. Poor quality VR's was one of the reasons that many people converted to internally regulated alternators. You just couldn't find a good replacement external VR. That was when the market introduced solid state VR's. Looks like they're back to mechanical but they're still bad.

You jumped in to the middle of a thread with several comments about new VR's. So, confusion.

You're not really doing a seller a favor by letting them continue to sell bad product. It just digs them a deeper reputational hole. If they're bad the best thing you can do is to let them know. Is it MSA? Can't remember who the main contact is there anymore. Maybe one of these guys. @Joseph@TheZStore @James@TheZStore

I did a Google about BAT and found some interesting info. Kind of answers my wonderment question. https://www.autoweek.com/news/industry-news/a32712976/hearst-autos-acquires-bring-a-trailer/

My comment wasn't directed at anyone specifically. I wonder if he had to pay for the BAT article, or if BAT is becoming like Hemmings, trying their hand at journalism. I think that BAT started as a low level (cheap) auction site. Now they have big money auctions. Kind of fascinating, how businesses can blow up. I wonder if there is a BAT echo chamber happening for the Z's and other makes. Just a thought. Would the big bids be happening on the other auction sites? Anyway, good luck to mr. horse and his auctions.

Some of you guys must know who they are. I don't. Looks like they're just clearing out fo the Z collections while the market is hot. Posted another pump it up pitch this afternoon. Back to 1976...76...76......

1977 280Z already at $43,000 with a day to go. It does look good. It's one of the "prancinghorse" guy's collection. He got a full BAT page writeup. Must be nice. Probably helps. Must be part of the collector club. BAT still doesn't know that they stopped putting the engine number on the plate in 1977. Oh well, the collectors know. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-datsun-280z-90/

$14,500. Kind of seems like a gamble with the level of documentation. Wonder who built the engine? This is all there is about it. Power comes from an overbored and stroked fuel-injected 3.1-liter L28 inline-six

You time-stamped the video to just the ending but the first minute is the best part. It's almost like a planned "do not do this" comedy routine. No offense, I had images of Benny Hill come to mind. Gasoline sloshing out of the hole immediately, "listen for the tapping "squirt-squirt-squirt"", then the end of a Sharpie as your "fuel removal " tool, splashing around in the raw gasoline. I'm going to guess that you were befuddled from huffing raw gasoline fumes. It was amazing though how much fuel came out in a simple 9 volt battery tap. Those were some big squirts. It seemed like too much. Almost like the injector tip was covered in liquid fuel. Probably a clue, after the fact. That wasn't normal injector squirting. Also, watching the video again, I think that intake manifold was probably full of fuel. When you started barring the engine over the cylinder probably filled almost completely with fuel as the piston dropped and the intake valve was open. It was on the intake stroke. Then as soon as the piston started rising on the compression stroke it evacuated its contents.

WOW! Too bad you weren't looking at the hole when you were doing the "hear it ticking" part. You could see it ticking. 0:23. Edit - watched some more and see that you were. Oh well. Check your oil for gas. It's probably at 0 viscosity.

No offense but you seem to be going round and round with "sag" and rake. If you explained what you were trying to do and what you've changed so far you might get better advice. These cars are old and in many cases the springs themselves have "sagged" from when they left the factory. So one person might get rake and another might get sag after replacing parts. The MSA "spacer" is just a way for people to replace their old 280Z insulators with new 240Z insulators. But even the rubber in the insulators has parts that sag. There is actually a small rubber piece inside the insulator that's called a spacer, that compresses over time, causing "sag".. So, another point of confusion. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/axle/rear-suspension/13

Are you sure it's not an L26? The LXX would be stamped on the block. And where are you going to find an extra 2.2 mm of stroke? Seems like a lot even for a reground crankshaft. Not an engine expert...

It will be about 0.7" less than it should be. MSA/Zstore designed the spacer to give 280Z owners an option to get their proper ride height with a new insulator. Sorry for the ranting. I've been watching World Cup soccer. We got van Gaal'ed. p.s. I don't know what the wheel gaps are on a 280Z so can't really say what they'll be with four 240Z insulators. But they will be 0.7" lower in the back than a factory stock 280Z. According to MSA.

I'll bet a person could just make a solid "donut" of metal or plastic and extend the short insulator studs to make a much cheaper adapter. The donut takes the compressive forces and the standoff nuts and studs take the tensile. Should work. https://www.mcmaster.com/standoff-nuts/ https://www.mcmaster.com/studs/