SteveJ

What do you mean by "no charge"? Is the voltage dropping to battery voltage? Are you measuring current? Is this a really old truck with a generator, or are you using alternator and generator to mean the same thing? What are the chances that you can find a wiring diagram to post here?

Both the brake lights and parking (aka running) lights have constant power. Neither depend upon the key being in the On or Start position to operate. They are on completely different circuits, though. Again, diagnostics were posted to isolate the problem. Once those results are known, then we will know whether the problem has an easy fix or more diagnostics are needed.

Those would not come into play with the switch off. The OP said he messed with the radio before his problems started. Considering the circuit has constant power, it would be tempting for someone to tap into that circuit for the memory functions of the radio. The fact that the radio was touched recently makes that area a prime suspect. I hope the OP will follow the troubleshooting in post #8 and let us know the results. If more diagnostics are required at that point, it can be performed in a measured approach instead of shotgunning ideas.

Keep in mind that I know a lot about troubleshooting because I've done enough things to cause trouble, whether it was in my cars or in my projects at work.

From the wording in the article, I would say that the author intended to say that the automatic was first available with the 260Z. So either the author was wrong, or the article was poorly worded/edited. It contains the usual stuff about the 260Z was only built for 18 months, blah, blah, blah, neglecting the fact that the 2.6 was used outside of the US through 1978. Be careful what you read online. There are a lot of poorly written articles that will misinform in perpetuity.

Why do you expect the problem is around the fuse block? In electrical troubleshooting, the first thing to do is isolate. In this case, remove the cover from the steering column and disconnect the 6 wire connector on the headlight switch. Use a test light across the fuse and see if it lights up. If it does, continue troubleshooting. Let's follow your hunch about the fuse block. Disconnect your battery and remove the block. Look for debris that could touch the inner side of the fuse to the chassis. If you don't see anything there, it's likely in your dash harness. If it's the dash harness, chances are that the green/blue wire has been chafed somewhere or someone tapped it as a continuously hot source. (Think aftermarket radio here.) Where the wire was tapped may have some bare wire that is coming into contact with the chassis or dash frame.

If the car runs, the ammeter is working. For the other circuits, check the third fuse down on the left.

I drove the Z to spend the day at Festivals of Speed. I got to spend my day taking photos and hanging out with friends who brought out some great classic Datsuns/Nissans.

@JSM - This

@Patcon - Here's another one for you.

What kind of detail are you looking for, and what year car?

How about pictures of vintage race cars on display?

Do you have headers in your car?

Most of the sources I have seen say to use an LED that matches the color of the lens.

I drove the Z to work today in order to go to the Georgia Z Club meeting afterward. It was a great day to drive the car, too. Here are the S30s that showed up.

No.

Thank you. It's clear now. The relay is to bring in the retarded timing points on the dual point distributor in the automatic transmission cars. There is a clear description of it on page EE-26 of the 73 FSM. When the temperature sensor gets up to a certain point, the switch closes and energizes the relay. The relay closes the contact between the second set of points and ground.

Condensers are still available through Rockauto. Search under ignition parts. As for the relay, try cleaning off some of the crap that is coating the wires and give us any wire colors you can make out. Be sure to identify both the main color and the color of any stripe that may be on the wire.

You should join us at some of the Georgia Z Club events. http://www.facebook.com/georgiazclub or http://georgiazclub.wordpress.com

The word is official. Nissan will be the featured marque at the 2018 Grassroots Motorsports Mitty. https://www.themitty.com/ So make plans to come to Atlanta twice in 2018: late April for the Mitty and October for ZCON.

Look to make sure the 6 wire body harness connector is connected to the dash harness. If it is, take it apart and inspect for corrosion and damaged connectors/wires.

Yeah, 0.01 A isn't going to drain the battery fast.

Eastern Beaver (https://www.easternbeaver.com/) also has some products that Vintage Connections does not have. You have to do a pretty good sized order to make it worthwhile, though.

Also, if you aren't comfortable with using an old school ammeter, sometimes you can diagnose a current draw with a clamp ammeter like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071SHLWTW It will be a "Lightning Deal" on Amazon at 8:15PM Eastern Time on Friday.

The most likely culprit is in the charging system as Zed Head said. A bad voltage regulator will also kill the battery. Try unplugging the voltage regulator and see if the battery is dead the next day. To Dave WM's point, will the battery start the car if you charge the battery? If it does, then continue diagnosing the electrical system. Here's some tips on diagnosing: https://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/some-electrical-basics-and-troubleshooting/