SteveJ

The OP's profile says he has a 280Z. I just got tired of suggesting that people put their car info in their signatures.

That's right. Who needs to pay a gym membership for a steam bath? All you have to do is live in the Southeast in the Summer.

A possible common thread I can speculate on quickly would be fusible links. Especially, if one of them was corroded some, it's fault current could have been too low. Fusible links should always be checked with an ohmmeter and while out of the circuit. Also get back into your center console/dash and look for any possible bare wire or connector that could have come into contact with ground. Another possibilty would be that you have a bad ground.

You haven't provided enough information. Your dash lights are out. Does that include your speedometer & tachometer? Are your running lights still working? Did you or the PO use the stock radio wiring, or did you tap into a circuit? If it's the latter, how was the circuit hacked/tapped into? If it's what I suspect, it will be tricky to diagnose because it's not stock. Take the center console out, along with the radio, and see if you can find a bad ground or other loose wire.

My thoughts? Well... Empirical tests are typically more trustworthy than subjective tests. Compression gauges aren't expensive. It's easy to do a compression check. If you think it's the valves, that isn't too difficult to check, either. If you're not feeling too comfortable doing those tests, buy some beer and find a friend who is comfortable with checking. As for the plugs, it 5 & 6 aren't wet, it's probably not too much oil/gas. Rings have to seat. The shop is fingering the carbs because they believe the compression is good and that poor fuel delivery is causing the car to run like crap.

Where is this wire in the car? That would help in figuring out what it belongs to.

Sarah, as far as turning on the car, are you referring to something like this?

You could always buy a gauge and test the compression yourself. While you're at it, buy a timing light, too. Also, how do your plugs look? Are you sure you're getting enough fuel to the carbs? Get a set of feeler gauges, a remote starter, and a socket set. Take off the valve cover and check the clearances. The measurements are all in the FSM. If you're not sure if something looks right, take pictures and post them. There aren't enough facts in you post to tell you whether or not you're on the right track. By the way, did you get the rebuild done by a place that specializes in early Z cars?

Part numbers are available online...

Yeah, I was going through my parts bin Monday night thinking that I should pack some spares: radiator hoses, spark plugs, rotor, cap, ignition module, electrical supplies, etc. Ah, the joys of driving older cars...

Below 90 degrees? That takes all of the fun out of the drive, Carl.

I've read from multiple sources that the fuel pump wiring was in the early 240Zs even though they did not have fuel pumps.

I'm going to be there, though, you already knew that.

I left the .com out of the link.

The FSM has all of the relays in section EE. Just go to XenonS30 (link below), and you'll have all of your answers.

Shame on you, Guy. The procedure for testing the Master Vac is in the FSM. Just read the BR section. In the 72 FSM, it starts on page 21. While I know you are referring to your 71, it should be the exact same procedures. By the way, give me a call on my cell phone when you get to the convention.

That one is listed. The OP was looking for a locking cap.

Heck, you should offer him $3000 if the car is in good shape. The guy bought the car for a quick flip, and now he's getting nervous.

Do you happen to know the part number? It's not in the catalog at Carpartsmanual.com

MSA specifically says on their website that the 70-78 locking caps aren't available. This thread describes an alternative, though I don't know how difficult to find. Since it looks like reddat has one listed on eBay, they might be available elsewhere. He does put quite a premium on his parts. Yeah, I was right. It is available cheaper.

Have the positive side (downstream from the switch) on 86 and the ground on 85.

Have you looked through the diagnostics in the FSM? I'd be surprised if it's not covered.

There are still shops that will properly rebuild alternators instead of sending them off to who-knows-where to have them rebuilt. It costs more, but you get what you pay for. Anyway, the trick is finding those shops.

Two clues that the OP has a 280ZX. First, he did say 1980, after S30 production ceased. Second, he's a Kiwi. IIRC, only the North American market received the L28 motor in the S30 body style. If it was an S30 280Z and not an S130, then there would be ways to make things work.

I talked to Guy. The alternator in question was rebuilt. He swapped in another alternator, and it worked fine. I guess that someone did a less-than-stellar job of rebuilding the alternator, probably not getting the field wire hooked up right.