SteveJ

You are crossing your circuits. The two fuses on the right are your headlight fuses. The left and right headlights are fused separately. The turn signals are powered through the ignition fuse. It's the 3rd fuse on the left. You have a lot of inspecting of your wiring to do. About 16 years ago, I made the same boneheaded mistake. I had to splice in 3 feet of wiring in the engine harness to replace what burned up.

It's not like there are that many 240Zs listed on eBay with a seller in Springfield, Oregon. I found it easily enough.

Um, I put in a ZX alternator in my 73 in 2001. The ammeter works just the way it's supposed to. Check the more recent posts on this subject. I don't know where the idea that the gauge doesn't work came from, but it isn't correct.

Well, you've proven that the pop was from the ammeter and that you're probably at least a little dangerous when it comes to electricity. At least the 22 AWG wire would probably have functioned similar to a fusible link. Please do not drive your car around until you fix your electrical issues, or at least carry about a fire extinguisher or two that is rated for electrical & gasoline fires. It could save you from losing your car.

Not quite right. The positive and negative leads on the ammeter need to be jumpered out. Replacing/repairing the ammeter is an even better solution. The positive is a white wire, and the negative is a white/red wire. Use a 10 AWG wire since the wire would be carrying a significant amount of current. By the way, I don't recommend this action unless you are fairly compentent with wiring. If the wiring comes loose and touches ground, you could have an electrical fire, especially since you don't think you have fusible links in place. Another user on here has used Bob's Speedometer to repair his tachometer. They do other gauges as well. You could also try Zbarn for a replacement ammeter.

The pop was most likely your ammeter. With the alternator shorted to ground, you had a large current flowing through the ammeter when you hit your starter, blowing it up. Your description was excellent in describing what still worked. From the battery, the cable goes to the starter. It would normally go from there to the fusible link, which you suspect is missing, and on to the fusebox. In the fusebox, it goes to the horn and brake lights. Another branch on the circuit goes through the ammeter to power the rest of the circuits. If you take out the ammeter, you kill the car.

As long as you're answering questions... Why is the sky blue? Did Ted Turner really invent color? Why are hotdogs sold in packs of 10, yet hotdog buns are sold in packs of 8?

Be sure to search on this site. There are plenty of posts on headlights. Dave Irwin & I have described the circuit ad nauseum.

Did you look at the FSM on the page I referenced? Did you not notice the connector that the gauge was plugged into? Did you not have to unplug the gauge to be able to test it with a 9 volt battery? Either you are asking for a lot of spoonfeeding, or you are leaving out a lot of details.

You should have 12VDC to ground at one of the pins in that connector if you do the test as I described above. It is a 4 pin connector. One pin goes to the oil pressure sensor. One pin goes to the temperature sensor. One pin is the ground for the light bulb. The fourth pin is your 12VDC source for the gauges. I cannot tell you which pin it should be since the colors denoted on BE-3 (not BE-2 as I stated earlier) do not match the wiring diagram on BE-5. Have the ammeter/fuel gauge installed when you test for voltage.

And did you use a voltmeter to check the connector in the wiring harness?

What about the Temp gauge? Did it work with the 9V battery? Finish the diagnostics I listed before to confirm the diagnosis. You could have two separate problems and not realize it.

Plasti-dip or Plasti-dip spray?

Where in the dash harness did you find the wires? What other connectors are nearby? Location can help narrow down function. Edit: By the way, a quick look at the 71 wiring diagram tells me that instrument lighting is the purpose.

At one time I posted what wires need to be jumpered on the seatbelt interlock to defeat it. Search through the archives to find it.

Not too surprising for a northern car. There was a guy who posted at Zcar.com that went by Matteo. He bought a Z from Chicago, and it had plenty of tin worm and fiberglass. He restored the metal on his. Search for his posts over there.

Glenn, Thanks for elaborating. It helps a lot. The tach and gauges are on completely separate circuits. As Leon suggested, there could be issues with connectors, quite possibly the dash connectors. If the car is running fine otherwise, it reduces (but doesn't eliminate) the chances of a failing fusible link. The FSM does break out the circuits in the BE section to make it a little easier than just following the wiring diagram, but you will still need to look at the wiring diagram from time to time. Of course, the troubleshooting section of the FSM does suggest something interesting. A bad voltage regulator could affect your gauges. The EE section tells you how to test the voltage regulator. The FSM is your friend and can give you better advice on fixing your problems than many of us.

It could also be the seatbelt interlock relay. As Leon suggested, the information is available. You'll just have to do some sifting to find it.

Glass fuse going bad, corrosion in connectors, hacked wiring, fusible link, full moon...You don't give us much to go on. When exactly are they going out? Your description is a little confusing, too. Are the gauges malfunctioning, or is it the lights for those gauges? Have you had other electrical issues? Have you checked the voltage of your battery with the car running to see if the alternator & regulator are working properly? Overvoltage conditions can cause issues, too.

You're now officially Ron. We'll also periodically change your name to keep you confused. No one that I know of is manufacturing reproduction harnesses. You could try to adapt a Painless kit or get a used harness from Z Car Soure, Zbarn or Z Specialties. Don't expect used wiring harnesses to be perfect or cheap. You can get many different types of replacement connectors from Vintage Connection. When getting a used wiring harness, try to get one from a car with a similar build date to yours. If the wiring harness has a part number, contact Mike to buy a CD of the parts manual to find the part number appropriate for your car. If I was given a choice between 3 Z cars, one with a bad body, one with a bad motor, and the third with bad wiring, I'd probably take the one with the bad motor. I'm not even that good with engines, either.

It's difficult to say. What is your goal? One of the best ways not to waste your money is to know what you're trying to achieve and why you're trying to achieve it. However, we're moving away from the purpose of this thread. I suggest you start a new thread in the appropriate section to ask suspension questions.

Okay, so you're near Attalla.

He's probably not near a Harbor Freight unless he's near Huntsville or Chattanooga...

For whatever reason, the driver's side door panel for a 74-76 is a very rare item indeed. Roger may not be back in the swing of things after the loss of his wife. Meanwhile, keep searching eBay. They do show up from time to time.

280Z springs aren't a good choice for the 240Z.