Captain Obvious

Yeah, I remember that metaphors episode. My work buddies and I spent the next couple weeks talking like that after that episode aired. Drove our boss nuts (since he didn't have any idea what was going on). Sitting in a meeting, nodding approvingly..... "Nancy at the Christmas party."

Really? They used the same window in both the old Rockford Files and that X-Files episode*? Did you actually remember that, or did you figure that out somehow? I would have a new level of respect for you (if that's even possible) if you remembered that just from watching those two shows!! * Hungry - Rob Roberts works at Lucky Boy and eats brains. I love the part when he's at the OA meeting describing his issues to the other attendees.

No, there's a rolled over metal beaded edge. I chucked it up in a lathe and cut the bead off just as exploratory surgery. Sorry if I gave you any false hope. It's an autopsy.

If it truly has less than 30K miles, then your chances for success go up. Do you have the documentation to be sure that it's not 130K, or 230K?

Cool. Glad you got to the bottom of that and glad it was that simple. I've been inside of multiple ignition switches to date, and I believe it is time for everyone to replace their switches because they all look like this inside:

Was it that transparent? OK, I'll stop. Captain out!

I don't remember where I got my links from last year, but they were just like the ones that Eurodat got from Courtesy. They're official Nissan issue, and they have the Yazaki part numbers on them. I don't know about the other vendors, especially that one pic above from ebay. Those certainly don't look like genuine Yazaki. Looks like something put together with parts bought at Home Depot.

I'm assuming we're talking about an early style inductive pickup style tacho? Back side looks like this, right?: If that's the case, then you really only need to make connection to two wires (not four). Just to get the engine to run, the only two you need to connect to are the two white wires. The one with the red tape should come from the ignition switch, and the one with the black stripe should go to the (+) side of the coil. If you don't connect the other two wires (Y/R and B), the tacho itself won't work, but that shouldn't keep the engine from running. Will just keep the tach at 0.

LOL! Was hoping that would be a viable option for you!

You should call Dr. Nichols at Plexicorp. I think they're based in San Francisco.

Assuming all of the links over the course of the Z were made by Yazaki (and I suspect that is the case), the you shouldn't have to measure the conducting part of the link. The insulation thickness difference between those two series was different enough that you should be able to tell the diff between the two just by measuring the insulation diameter. The overall outside diameter of the (red) FTX-0.7 is 2.2mm. While the overall outside diameter of the (also red) FLWX-0.85 is 3.2mm. Should be pretty easy to tell the difference. And as to the discussion about the quantities of #5's and #6's... It appears that it's just another mistake in the documentation. On the pic, they are clearly indicating that there exists three number fives and one number six. But in the details below, they have those quantities switched. It's just another mistake in the docs. I wish my stickers were readable. It would add one more level of confirmation to the discussion if someone with a 77 or 78 could post a pic of their readable stickers.

Thanks Wayne!!! Looks great! This is a fantastic tool for all of us. Don't know what we would do without you.

Zed Head, Forgot... I also saw the notes about the fusible links in the 76 TSB as well. I went digging in there to see what I could find about the changes. I really think the snippet you posted does a really good job of showing the function of the links:

I got the same impression about the melting spot as you did, but here's the rub... They clearly do the tin dip before they put the insulation on. And Yazaki don't know how long the end user is going to cut the length of wire. So if they are tin dipping just in select spots, they won't know where that dipped spot will end up (or how many will end up) in the finished product. I think the dip has to apply to the entire length. And as for measuring the resistance difference between the red and the brown, I don't have a meter anywhere near that good. Probably easiest to push an accurately known "highish" current through it and measure the voltage. But I gotta ask.... Why would you need to resort to measuring the resistance when you can just look at the jacket color or measure the diameter of the conductor with calipers? Based on the thicker insulation of the old style red links, I suspect they are the FLWX 0.85.

Thanks Steve. You just pointed out that I slipped a decimal point in one of my earlier comparisons. I had said that .3 was similar to 32 ga, but it's not. That would be .03, not .3 Wonder if it's too late to edit my previous incorrect info... Not too late. Fixed it.

So for some additional info, I couldn't stand it anymore so I started playing around with some of the on-line translators. Everyone likes info, right? Here's a probably correct interpretation of most of the pertinent info on those Yazaki fusible link data sheets: The only thing I can't figure out is exactly what is the difference between the FLWX and the FTX series. It clearly has something to do with tin-dipping. My guess is that the FTX series uses smaller individual strands and then they tin dip the strands a second time once they are wound together. Might make them more accurate or have a sharper melt characteristic? Anyway, here's some datasheets. FTX (this is where the 0.3 brown comes from): And the FLWX (this is where the 1.25 black link comes from):

Well I'm pretty sure there isn't any 28 Ga wiring anywhere in the infrastructure. There might be some stuff that small as it enters components (like solenoids and the like), but I don't think actual wire in any harness is that small. In any event what you said about the 0.3... "if 0.3 hasn't been melting, what reason would you have to go to 0.5?" echoes exactly my note above when I said "anecdotally that the brand new 0.3 "sorta brown, sorta tan, sorta salmon" links I have installed run nice and cool. Implication being that they are large enough." So I agree... Why argue with success, right? Put the smallest, easiest to blow protective device in there that still allows the system to operate properly. The only thing I DON'T know is if I have ever operated my system under peak load. By that, I mean... I've never run the HVAC fan on full blast at night with the high beams on, while running the rear defrost, wipers, and hitting the brakes on a hot summer night while running the A/C and having the flashers on. Probably never will.

Very nice work. I do very little sheet metal work, and the stuff you do highlights how amateur my efforts are. Looks great.

Fuses and other protective devices are not a field of expertise I've been even grazed by in my travels as an EE. But I can tell you that even though the whole thing sounds so simple and mundane, I highly suspect the experts in the field would be quick to refute that. In other words... I bet the people who really know what they're talking about in this facet of engineering (which isn't me) would be able to debate the finer points of this for hours. That said... I took a quick look on the web and came to the following conclusions: 1.25 mm sq is approx. the same as 16 ga 0.3 mm sq is approx the same as 22 ga 32 ga And also with some web searching, it seems that the "general convention" seems to be that the fusible link gauge should be four sizes smaller than the wires they are intended to protect. So, for example, 12 ga. wire should be protected by a 16 ga. fusible link. And 18 ga. wire should be protected by a 22 ga. fusible link. All that really makes me wonder if that brown 0.3 mm sq link is really really correct. Maybe that red link really was the correct one all along?

Haha!! That's what I figured. And the August 1976 would be the start of the 77 "model year", so it all makes sense.

Is that a seam in the middle? Like someone took something designed for a wider car, cut some material out of the center, and then bolted the two remaining pieces together in a narrower configuration?

Haha!! Very nice! Next time we're together, well have a fuse-off. So... Out of curiosity, what value fuses did you use, and what made you choose those values?

Haha!!

I had the camera handy, so I took some additional pics. Here's the correct position for the links on the 77-78. This time I took the pic from the angle that everyone likes. As it's shown in the FSM: And here's a pic that (although it's hard to tell), you can actually see that one of the White/Red wires is larger than the other three. That's the position that gets the largest (black) fusible link. The W/R wire gauge is larger to account for the higher current that circuit can potentially carry. Who knows... Since the blocks are just screwed to the fender well, maybe some of them have been switched around? So if you're looking for a way to definitively determine which location gets the largest fusible link, you can check the wire gauge sizes: And here's a pic of what remains of my fusible link labeling. Can't make out any of the color listings. Would be great if a 77 or 78 owner could post a pic of better condition labels, but this is all I got left. I can make out ??L (which I assume would be H-L) and "IGN", but that's it:

LOL! I see what you did there. And I like it!