SteveJ

1. Yes 2. Don't know. Of all of the issues working on old cars, I have to admit that it has been lower on the list.

70-74 tanks lack baffles 75-76 tanks have baffles for fuel injection and large well for spare tire 77-78 tanks have baffles and small well for spare tire.

Right now, you have two options. Buy a used fusebox or buy the one from MSA. A 70 or 71 fusebox will work for you. As the wiring ages, corrosion builds and increases the current flowing through the circuit. However, instead of being a spike that would blow the fuse, it is a gradual heating that slowly does its damage. You'll also need to inspect the side markers and front turn signals for corrosion. The long term solutions are 1. Get a parking light relay harness. (Search) This reduces the current burden through the switch, too. 2. Replace the incandescent bulbs with LED lights. This can dramatically drop the current through the circuit. 3. Both 1 & 2. Double your pleasure & double your fun. This topic has been covered extensively here and at Zcar.com. Do some searching if you want more details. You might also want to put the year of the car having the problem in your post. That way you will tend to get more specific responses.

Dan, here is a picture of the fusible link on my 73. I bought this link from Mike McGinnis at Banzai Motorworks.

You might need to attach a larger picture. I can barely see that one myself.

You could bring the car over to my house tomorrow or next weekend. and we could dig it out. Look at page BE-3. The connector is the one on the far right of the dash. There is an arrow going to #10. If you trace that wire, you'll see it go to the relay on the right side of the board. Send me a PM if you want some help.

Please keep in mind that ZBarn is NOT Roger's primary job, so sometimes it goes on the back burner.

Did the valve train noise start up after you replaced the plugs? If you didn't get a spark plug wire on securely, you could end up with a dead cylinder. The miss would be noticable. The picture you posted was very small. I couldn't see enough detail.

I was the one who posted the link for the ignition switch. I think it went back up to $81 or so, but it's still the best deal I could find. It was on Amazon

Read your spark plugs. Look for carbon fouling. That 4 barrel carb might be dumping too much fuel in.

Thanks for the links. I still have the flat top carbs on my 260Z. They perform just fine for me. I haven't found a reason to spend the time and money to swap out.

What year is your car, and what colors are the wires?

Since you have the head off, you might want to check to see how true your surfaces are.

Thanks for the part number Ken. I've been searching for sources for these bolts. (Of course, if I was intrepid enough, I would dig through the archives here and at Zcar.com where people have discussed fasteners.)

Check all of your electrical connectors and repair/replace as necessary.

Car and Driver took care of the road course comparison. For the past few years, they go to VIR for their Lightning Lap comparison. They used up the brakes in a 370Z and stuffed it. They did a post-mortem on the the brakes after that. The Mustang GT was over 3 seconds faster despite the solid rear axle. Of course, this is done at only one road course. YMMV.

Dave, I looked in my garage. I didn't see it in there.

Keith, Two resources that you should download include the Fuel Injection Bible and the factory service manual. You can find the FI Bible at Blue's tech tips (link below). The FSM is available at XenonS30. Look in the EF section to start. You should also search this site for a color version of the wiring diagram. I think there is one floating around for the 77. If you are patient, you can see what is powered by the key in the run position as opposed to the key being in the start position.

Hopefully this helps. This is taken from a wiring diagram contained in the 71 FSM Supplement that Dave, aka Zs-ondabrain, posted a while back. Positive for the ignition switch and for the headlights comes from the White/Red wire. The White wire comes from the battery, goes through the alternator and supplies the White/Red wire until the alternator can. First scenario - You start the car, turn on the lights and the car dies. The alternator/battery cannot supply enough current. (Shorted alternator or bad voltage regulator maybe?) Without enough current, the car dies. Second scenario - You move wires and replace connectors. Maybe you bypassed the alternator and are pulling from the battery only. Your headlights work and the car will run...until you drain the battery. Again, the voltmeter will give better information.

Hmm, this adds a twist and gets my wheels turning. I think I have a better idea of what's going on. I'll have to copy some information from the wiring diagram (at home) to explain it better.

Actually, it can come into contact with the hold down frame if not secured properly. That burns up the wiring fast. I found that out the hard way. The insulation idea is prudent IMHO. I have some left-over toolbox liner that could work for me.

This makes much more sense than the original problem description. The answer would be that you have a dead short somewhere between the fusebox and the battery. The real question is why didn't the fusible link burn out? Anyway, the ignition and headlights branch off the same circuit between the battery and fusbox. Therefore electrically they are the same wire. If that wire is shorted to ground, such as can be the case with a loose fusebox, the ignition and headlights would not operate properly, since the current from the battery is going to ground. If you break that contact to ground, the headlights would work, and so would your ignition.

The issue could be with your fusebox or the back of it. Corrosion can play a lot of tricks with the electrical system. You've already seen the effects of 40 years of aging on wires. Keep in mind that the headlights are on a completely different circuit from the parking lights. For the early Z cars like yours, the positive side of the headlight circuit does not even go through the combo switch. If there is a loose component (wire, fusebox, etc.), banging on the dash could move the component to make or break a fault. The back of the fusebox is NOT insulated, so there is the danger of a loose wire or fusebox wreaking havoc.

Welcome. I know there is at least one not too far from you. Look at the classifieds at http://www.zcar.com. By the way, you need to give a price range that meets your requirements if you want real help.

Art, That is a voltage regulator, and it will work on your car. Conventional wisdom suggests replacing both the alternator and regulator at the same time since failure of one can damage the other. In the past, I have been lucky in bucking conventional wisdom on this. YMMV. By the way, if price is a consideration, you might also try Rockauto for the alternator and regulator. Another course of action is to find an automotive electrical shop and having them rebuild your alternator.