Captain Obvious

Haha! Yeah, I was going to point out that while everyone else is trying to shorten their shifter, here you were trying to lengthen yours. Gotta go against the grain, don't ya!

Yes, the shifter thread is 8mm. Can't help you on the availability of any extenders though.

That's how he rolls. Let it go. Don't tell me you haven't considered the same thing on a warm summer evening...

I know there are already a bunch of different diagrams showing headlight relay upgrades, but here's my version of the traditional concept. This traditional version is the simplest and (assuming you can find the proper mating connectors) it's possible to do it "plug-n-play" with the original harnesses. Advantages are: Simplest and plug-n-play. High side switched (doesn't have any hot wires out to the headlights unless the headlights are turned on). Headlight current passes through just one set of relay contacts instead of multiple contacts in series. Disadvantages are: Have to run a new wire and fuse from the battery. All the headlight current (both sides and both high and low beams) all goes through the same fuse. One failure point. All the headlight current goes through the same set of relay contacts (maximizing power loss in the relay) One of the original fuses in the fuse block becomes completely unused (tit's on a boar). The other original fuse in the fuse block (and the fusible link) is now WAY oversized for the current new use. The writing on the fuse block cover is now incorrect and misleading as is the fusible link size and listed use.

Right. You don't need SPDT relays. A pair of SPST's work just fine for the simplest approach. I used that same sorta basic concept, but I used four relays instead of two. That way, if one side fails, I can still have a bulb lit on the other side. In other words, if I lose one low beam relay, I could still have the other side. Now, of course, the low side switching for both of low beam relays is a common fault, so if something goes wrong on my low side, I'll still lose both sides at the same time. So with my four relays, the relay contacts and relay coils are not shared fault modes between sides, but the switch and primary side wiring still is. Using four relays also means I don't run as much current through each pair of relay contacts so I don't dissipate as much power in the resistance of the relay contacts. That means I get more power delivered to the filament instead of heating up the relay contacts. I took a bunch of measurements before and after all my mods. I gotta find my numbers...

I should have been more specific. I should have said... If the car hasn't been modified by a previous owner, then the electric fuel pump is mounted on a bracket back by the tank. Now, of course, if a previous owner mounted a second electric fuel pump up in the engine compartment and wired it in somehow, then there's no telling what electrical modifications he preformed to make that possible. As for the mystery connector in question, take a look at the upper left hand corner of the 260 wiring diagram. There's a connector with yellow wires that says "To Pressure Sw." And take a look at pages AC-5 AC-12 and AC-13 of the 260 FSM. They talk about the high pressure cut-off switch there. No telling if that's what that connector is for NOW, but I think it was ORIGINALLY for the AC system.

The fuel pump uses the same style of connector, but the one you found in the engine compartment is most certainly NOT for the fuel pump. On the 260, the electric fuel pump is mounted on a bracket back by the tank. I don't have a 260 anymore to double check, but I believe the connector you found in the engine bay is for the air conditioning system. High pressure cut-out switch maybe? Mounted on the receiver/drier?

Hi Tamo, Actually I think the drawings in the FSM for the alternator section are pretty good. Are you having a problem with yours?

I've never seen a center off relay like you described. The relay upgrades I've seen floating around have one side of the relay contacts always hot, but I don't see that as a problem. None of the three wires that go out to the headlights are hot unless the relay is closed. I guess I don't see much difference between one side of a relay always hot and one side of a switch on the stalk always hot. One side of something is always hot. One question... You said the relay upgrades you've seen use SPDT relays? I don't think they have to be double throw. SPST relays would work just fine. Maybe it's just easier to find SPDT? I'll draw up what I did. It's a little different than what most people do.

My one kid is eyeing my cycle. "Can I have a cycle when I get older?" I can't legitimately tell him he can't with mine sitting there... I tell him "After you're out of college and living on your own, your mom can't tell you "no" anymore."

Well the main reason I'm going is to socialize and see cars. A riverboat cruise would be cool, but it would probably be lost on me because I'd be yakking about the cars anyway and not looking at the sights. Tentative plans are to fly in on Thursday. Not sure what time I'd get there, and not sure how to get from the airport to the hotel. I'm assuming there's an airport shuttle. And fly out on Sunday after the festivities are over. The shuttle between the hotel and downtown is convenient, but not worth a hundred bucks. I wish there was a cheaper registration option for people who weren't bringing a car and only wanted to attend (but not even eat at) the awards ceremony. And yes, someone needs to organize a couple "Classic Zcar Club" events so we can all meet up. I heard that SteveJ was in charge of that... Remind me to avoid the hotel bar while they're doing karaoke. Philip, You two will be in your S2000, right? You're not bringing a Z are you?

Seriously? He towed it from MO to NJ for you??? Wow! A laminated wiring diagram included with the car is never a good sign. And I like the multiple generations of cycles. Yours and the kids? You two ride together? Good luck with the project. Looks like a great starting point.

2050-Z, Everything sounds like it is working exactly as intended except for the click and then completely dead. And as Zed Head suggested above, that is probably as simple as bad battery cable connections. The charge light is supposed to light up if the key is on and the engine is not running. The beeper is supposed to beep six times or so before stopping. Clean your battery terminals and cables and the "click-dead" thing should go away. As for the two small wires hanging down below the steering column, I believe those two used to connect to your ignition lock. They are used to beep the beeper when the key is in the ignition and the door is opened. A reminder that you have left the key in the ignition. If you removed the ignition lock portion, you had to disconnect those two wires to get the lock out of the car.

So I think I have the green light for ZCON 2015 although I'll probably fly in instead of drive. I'd love to have my car there, but I just don't think I'll be able to swing that. So without entering a car... Do I need to officially register? About the only thing that sounds like it might be a problem is that I'd really like to go to the awards presentation at the end. I don't need food or drink... I just want to sit with some friends whom I've never met and have some good conversation. Patcon and siteunseen, you guys are going without cars and without registering? You guys got a plan for the end presentation?

Oh, and something I forgot to ask about... You mentioned above that you had not noticed any ears on the tail lamp connectors, but what's confusing to me is that the photo you posted HAS the mounting ears. Did you take that pic or just nab something similar (but not quite identical) from off the web?

Cool Got any pics of what you nabbed at the yard? Your intention is to swap them out for the original roundish headlight connectors? I toyed with the idea of getting rid of those roundish connectors completely and hardwiring the headlight connector pigtails right to the main harness. I was trying to minimize voltage drop and power losses in my headlight circuit and any connector is a source of some drop. The fewer connectors the better. In the end I kept them, but can get rid of them in the future if I change my mind.

Congrats! And those numbers look fantastic! I saw your other thread where you throttle position switch was out of adjustment. Glad that was the only serious issue. That was an easy one! So now that you got the WOT switch working properly, can your nose tell a difference? Is it less stinky?

No they don't. The later roundish style headlight connectors are actually FOUR cavity connector shells which only have three positions populated. And to make matters worse, two of the cavities accept a smaller crimp on contact, while the other two accept a larger contact. Cycle terminal does not offer that style, and I've not found it anywhere. The only thing I HAVE found (new) for sale is the smaller of the two crimp contacts. I got a couple spares of each (male and female) from Cycle Terminal a little while ago, but I've not turned up a source for the larger contact. I did buy some easily available larger contacts from Digi-key and while they might work in a pinch, they're not quite right. I can get them to click in and hold into the old contact shells, but they're not as good a fit as the original Yazaki contacts. Anyway, get the info out of me now because I just did a whole headlight relay and harness upgrade, so before I forget the details! When I get some time to breathe, I'll make up a thread about it, but I can't do that right now.

Are the two mounting ears necessary? I (thankfully?) have never yet had to mess with the the tail lamps. Anyway, if the two mounting ears aren't important, it looks like Cycle Terminal has something close. http://www.cycleterminal.com/250-connectors.html

Well, here's some carb trivia that I just learned... They changed those clips somewhere along the way. Earlier round tops used a different clamping scheme. Here's what the older version looks like. This is what I was thinking of when you said you needed a clip: However, your carbs don't use that scheme. But here's the thing... I knew I had seen cable clamps like the one you need, and then it struck me... Flat tops! Here's a cable clamp from a 74 flat top that looks like it would work perfect and it's yours if you would like: Assuming the size is about the same, the only significant difference is that the later versions are slotted where the screw mounts. This allows for more adjustability for variations in cable sheath thickness. I can send two of the slotted versions if you want both sides to match. Send me PM for shipping details?

Have you got a pic of what it looks like? I'm sure I could find a pic with some searching, but you're the one looking, so you get the honors.

I got one. You just need the question mark part, right? You have the plate it screws to, right? Post a pic of exactly which part it is that you need and I'll get it to you.

I think someone had been mixing parts before you got the carbs/intake combo. The carbs are definitely 72. I can tell because of the water passageways at the bottom of the face that mates with the intake manifolds. Only round top year they did that. And the N33 manifolds are from 73 which originally had flat top carbs on it. 74 used N36 intake manifolds. So I'm guessing that someone had a 73 car with flat top on it and they pulled them off to install some 72 round top carbs instead. Then at some later date, the whole intake tract got pulled off and sold.

Yeah, I don't know what made them draw the relay the way they did, but they certainly could have done a better job with that part. Like the fusible links... They spent a lot of effort trying to make the components on the wiring diagram somewhat match the physical location of the devices on the car. And then they screwed up the fusible links when it would have been easy to draw them "right". Unfortunately, they're NOT drawn where they actually appear on the car. Haha. Maybe you're right. "It's too complicated for you... You shouldn't work on it yourself. Take it to the dealer."

Those intake manifolds are from something that used to run flat top carbs. Either 73 or 74. Don't remember the numbers... Four of the holes (two on each manifold) are blind and were used to mount the idle mixture tube. The two nipples (on the front manifold) were used for some of the extra vacuum plumbing that went with the flat top system.