SteveJ

I figured I would let the cat out of the bag. From September 2020 at the unveiling, I thought that Nissan finally designed a Z I would want to buy new. I was too young to buy an S30 or S310 new. I was young and broke when the Z31 and Z32 came out, and I never was really taken by the Z33 or Z34. Yes, the RZ34 is a Z34 with a new wrapper, but I really liked the heritage touches. To me it looks more like a GT car and less boy racer. When I talked to a couple of Nissan people during the pre-sales road shows, they confirmed New Sight Orange would be coming. The first Z I remember was a 260Z in New Sight Orange. It was owned by a former NASA test pilot, and I lived down the street from him. A friend's father bought the car and got it back on the road. My friend got to enjoy it for a few years before the car was hit by an uninsured motorist. My first Z, a 73 was originally New Sight Orange, though someone with questionable taste had it repainted a color similar to Metallic Gold, though it looked worse than a MAACO paint job. I still have that car and hope to return it to New Sight Orange some day. I was excited to hear that Nissan was holding to its word that orange was coming back, but my excitement diminished when I learned it was on the Heritage Edition only with a sticker of $62K (plus whatever the dealers think they can charge for a special edition). So I set about looking for an alternative. I noticed that dealers were finally coming off sticker price for the Z. On the other hand most of those Zs were Gun Metallic. While I don't worry too much about color, I didn't really want grey. No blue Zs with manuals were popping up nearby, but finally a Z in Sport trim showed up at one of the closest dealers sporting Ikazuchi Yellow Pearl paint. I took it for a test drive, and the wife loved it. It felt right for my new daily driver, so a couple of hours later I drove it home. The new Z has very good acceleration as one would expect with 400HP on tap. The steering feels extremely light at low speeds, but the feel improves as speed increased. With no limited slip, it's easy to spin the tire a little getting into traffic. The seats are comfortable, and the shifter is in easy reach. The clutch engages higher than I think it should, but I am just going to live with that. The blind spots are huge, but the blind spot warning system seems to work well. The view out the rear window is small, too. I have an Android phone, so one of the USB slots is taken by the phone if I want to use navigation. If you want more creature comforts, or if you are planning on tracking the car, go for the Performance trim. The yellow pearl paint stands out, but it doesn't look like a taxi, even with the black roof. I have experienced one problem with the car so far. Yesterday, the TPMS monitoring system lost communications with all 4 tires. I drove the car around for a while, and the system found the left front, though that didn't last. I guess I'll see how good the local service department is.

I recently visited with @inline6 to see if I could help him with an issue with his wiper motor. Though we thought we fixed it, my meter readings said we still had a problem. It turned out to be a self-inflicted issue that @Captain Obvious helped me to understand. Thanks to @inline6 finding an old thread (linked below) and @Captain Obvious getting me to focus on the diagram in the FSM, I was able to develop a better understanding of how the wiper circuit works. I hope I can convey it clearly in this thread. Anyway, here is the thread @inline6 found: Page BE-17 of the 72 FSM shows the wiper circuit, but it is confusing because it is a challenge to relate the diagram to the physical layout of the components. It also shows how the circuit is when the wipers are parked. The motor is not in the first photo, but the relay clamps to the motor, and the gearbox attaches to the motor. The relay is a 3-pole, double throw (3PDT) relay. In it's de-energized state, the contacts connect the motor to run in reverse for parking. The cap on the gearbox has a blue/red wire and red wire. The picture above is for a 73, but it was the clearest picture I could find. If you look carefully, you can see two rivets on the cap. On the other side of the cap, there is a set of contacts. These contacts allow the gearbox to break contact between the armature and ground when the wipers are parking. The gearbox has a wheel on the back with a raised area to push on the contacts. When the switch is turned on, the relay is energized. The blue arrows in the diagram below show going from the positive of the battery to the motor. The green lines show the contacts closed. The return path from the motor to ground depends upon the position of the wiper switch. If the switch is in low, follow the brown arrows. If the switch is in high, follow the red arrows. When you turn the switch off, the relay is de-energized. The contacts in the relay go back to the normally closed position. This reverses the power flow through the wiper motor. The motor keeps going until the wheel in the gearbox comes into contact with the contacts in the cap. At that point, the current return path for the motor armature is opened up. (Actually, both sides of the motor see the positive wire. This isn't an easy circuit to understand, especially if you've never taken a wiper motor apart.

That was all part of the 70s effort to annoy people into wearing seat belts. It got even worse in 74 as everybody was required to integrate seatbelt interlocks with the starter circuit. People got very perturbed that a bag of groceries in the passenger seat kept you from starting the car until the groceries were safely buckled in. You can even still see interlock in the 75 wiring diagram though the NHTSA rescinded the requirement and every automaker immediately ditched it.

The subharness for the fuel pump that Nissan designed for the 73 when trying to solve the issue of vapor lock consisted of two 4-pin relays. The power for the coil in relay 1 came from the neutral between the VR and alternator. It is a yellow wire. The power for the coil in relay 2 was the black/yellow wire from the starter solenoid. FP relay 2 was normally closed and cut power the fuel pump during starting. These two relays were mounted on the passenger kick panel with the wiper relay, horn relay, and AC (fan) relay. The device shown by the OP is mounted under the center console on the driver's side.

I'm thinking it might be the buzzer for the seat belts. My 73 has the same device.

Year?

I believe you'll find that the interior panels are going to be more like the 280Z (75-76) than the 240Z. If I can remember to take photos of my 260Z when I get home, I will post them. Then you can visually compare them to the 240Z trim panels.

I think I know someone in the local area who has knowledge of tracing electrical circuits.

We had a club drive to a BBQ place and later to a winery. The GZC refers to this as a wine & swine drive. Here are some photos from before the drive and at the BBQ place. With temps in the 90's, I opted to return home after lunch. I almost forgot to mention that @Tirnipgreen was able to join the festivities with us, though he skipped the initial drive.

How about a photo? Yes, it's from my 73, but I think the 70 would be similar. Yes, it branches off the main wiring harness.

That's the ground wire for the VR. It shouldn't be carrying a lot of current to begin with. I have a replacement in the box that I bought from BlackDragon (Victoria British) a long time ago. Let me see if I can find it. Meanwhile, I suggest you test resistance to ground on the engine side of the harness where that wire connected to. Frankly what catches my eye is that loose green wire.

The wiring work is getting inspected, and I've barely even started.

On the other hand, I did use some of the parts in the hardware kit. I can't remember which parts because it was many years ago.

Yep, it's the ECU. When you have to resort to percussive maintenance, it's pretty much ready for a restoration.

Jump 1 to 5 & 2 to 3. I even found a source for the 6 terminal connectors to make a nice looking plug for the VR connector.

Solenoid was the wrong term. I apologize. That's what I get from going by memory. Look in the EC section of the FSM. On the bottom right of EC-10, you get a very vague description of the throttle opener. That is what prevents the throttle from slamming shut when you are off the gas quickly. Basically, it uses the engine vacuum to keep the butterflies open some to prevent an overly rich condition. When the 280Z came out, the system that car used is known as the BCDD or boost controlled deceleration device.

But is the solenoid working?

Does your car still have the solenoid to keep the throttle from slamming shut when you get off the gas? If it doesn't, then you have a sudden rich condition when you lift off the gas.

There are easier ways to find that 10mm socket you dropped.

Vredestein: https://www.vredestein.com/classic-tires/products/990-SPRINT-CLASSIC/

They were on both sides. You can see the other side here: https://www.brelegacy.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=photo240z_image008&Category_Code=brearchivephotos240zs And here is the passenger side of the 3 car: https://www.brelegacy.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=bre2_240_3_ocraceway_002&Category_Code=brearchivephotos240zs

Search for LED list. The updates from October of last year are the latest. Vendors on Amazon change their product lines, so some searching may be required. Auxito for the bulbs Koito via Toyota for the H4 housings or Hella.

And THAT is a good reason to consider their product.

By the way, if you go with the brand bulbs I recommend, they are polarity independent so you don't have to incorporate relays into the headlight circuit.