SteveJ

Actually, I don't trust the chain stores electrical testers. About 15 years ago, a friend said the Lamp light was on in his car. I suspected a bad internal VR. The chain store said the alternator was good. I said BS. He got another alternator, and the idiot light wasn't lit anymore.

Oh yeah, I made the mistake of buying the Blackdragon relay kit. I re-engineered the hell out of it, too. I would have been better off just starting with primary wire and relay bases.

Download the FSM from here. The file should have a wiring diagram. Also check the Engine Electrical section. There you will find the correct wiring for your alternator. The little cylinder is a condensor. It shouldn't be getting 12 VDC+. If it did, you're doing something wrong.

Dang it, John. You're about a month late with this. Let me see how much I like the lights I bought from Blackdragon Auto.

Wiring diagrams in the FSM will tell you pretty much all you need.

Dang, Will. Just Z cars? I want to park my wife's wagon there so I can put more stuff into it.

Unfortunately, Jeff, I have left a few breadcrumbs over at Zcar.com that might lead some people over here. By the way, John, don't be afraid to contribute to Classiczcars.com. I'm about due to kick in some more money. Mike has worked hard and has put plenty of his own money toward building this site. We all benefit through the exchange of knowledge.

You could try Eddie Radatz. You can find his number here.

Tyrone, track down Tony D over at Hybridz.org. (He's also a member here, but he doesn't visit often.) He can probably show you exactly where you need to start reading in the California DMV code book.

I don't think they'll have any problems with those. That's why there is a funnybone forum here. I'm about to completely give up on Zcar.com myself. The auto logging out all of the time is BS.

Actually, let's take a step back. Rob, did you read the FSM? The Engine Electrical section that I referenced before has the diagnostics from EE-20 to EE-23. Perform those tests as described. It's a lot easier doing the right tests than to keep trying out our other suggestions.

Found on Atlanta Craigslist...While it's not an S30, at least it's a BSR.

Thanks, Will. I got the old page with the price list the last time I checked. Maybe I had an old cookie in my cache.

A cheap gas tank won't get you much further ahead than you are right now. Try contacting Roger at Zbarn. That's probably as low cost as you'll get on a gas tank, provided he has one available.

Will, is registration on the website, or are we supposed to email someone? I already have the room booked.

Stephen is right. Marc bought Z Car Magazine when it was having problems. He changed it to ZC&CD. I don't think he was trying to steal from subscribers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he felt embarrassed about taking the money and not being able to repay it or supply a magazine. To me it is a shame he left the community. He took a lot of knowledge with him.

If the S terminal never detected too high of a voltage, your alternator would keep pumping out current. It seems like the opposite is happening. With the negative battery cable disconnected from the battery, check continuity between the B terminal on the battery and the positive battery terminal. (Actually resistance is better at this point since you've already found a dodgy fusible link.) If there is too high of a voltage detected at the S terminal (basically a voltage difference), it will shut off the current. I'm thinking that is what is going on. Ref 78 FSM section EE pages EE-13 to EE-15.

For a lot of connectors, you can find them at Vintage Connections. Some of them may not be exact, but they are as close as you can get. If the connector bodies are intact, you can remove the wire and put on a new connector (provided you have some slack in the wire).

Honestly, it's mostly just reading what other people have done and doing a little reading and research. (It doesn't hurt that for the last 4 years, I've been doing a lot of debugging wiring in emergency generator controls.) Have your son start reading the FSM, especially before he tries to tackle a problem on the car. There is a ton of great information there. By the way, the red links on the Courtesy Nissan page replace the brown links.

Rob, Have you tried having your son hold the engine at about 2000 RPM and take a voltage measurement? That aside, this is my first thought. The 78 is the first Z with an internally regulated alternator. The first alternator could have been bad. It wouldn't surprise me if they gave you the wrong alternator at Autozone. For future reference, tell them an 81 280ZX for the alternator. That way you'll get an internally regulated alternator. Second thought. You might not have enough tension on the alternator. Read the FSM (Download it from the link in my signature.) and get a good idea of the tension needed. Another member here told me he needed to use a broom handle to get enough tension on the belt. I haven't changed out an alternator belt in about 9 years, so I have forgotten what I used for leverage to put enough tension on the belt. Of course, don't go overboard or else you could damage the alternator. Third thought. You might have received a bad alternator from Autozone. It happens. Last thought. Check your fusible links. There are two sets in the 280Z. In checking the link, it's important to remove it from the car to check continuity. Also look for damage in the box where the links reside. If you find that you have a bad fusible link, DO NOT replace it with regular wire. You can get replacement links from Courtesy Nissan Parts (link below). If you insist upon making your own, look at the FSM for the area of the wire and convert that to the proper AWG size. From there, you can buy fusible link wire and make your own links.

First off, please stop and organize your problem description. It sounds like you may have at least two separate issues. (By the way, thank you for posting the model year. It helps to be looking at the correct wiring diagram.) The hazard lights, steering lock switch, and voltage gauge are the ONLY components downstream of that fuse. Right now you have a dead short in that circuit. You have two choices. (1) Keep blowing up fuses until you find the short. (2) Use a continuity meter/ohmmeter to find the dead short. Having only two components off of this fuse will make it easier to find the short. You'll need to locate Connector C-6 and separate the two parts of the harness. One side has the Red/White (RW) wire from the fusebox. The other has the RW wire going to the voltage gauge. No, I'm not sure which side will be which. Touch one ohmmeter probe to the R/W wire and the other probe to the downstream (outer) side of the hazard fuseholder. If you get continuity, that is the connector side that is wired straight to that fuse. (Note, you may need to use male and female spade lugs to make contact with the wires in the connectors.) Now take the second probe and touch it to ground. Almost any exposed (unpainted) metal surface, such as a bolt will do. If you still have continuity, you have a dead short in the hazard light circuit or the steering wheel lock switch circuit. Disconnect the hazard flasher, and conduct the last test again. If there still is continuity, take off the steering column cover and look for the steering wheel lock switch. Also with the flasher disconnected, test from the Green/Blue (G/L) wire to ground, just in case the circuit is shorted downstream of the flasher. Do a continuity check to ground on the R/W wire on the other side of the C6 Connector. If you have continuity there, the real fun begins. You'll need to remove your voltage gauge to see if it is the culprit. As for your "alternator not charging", you'll need to provide a lot more detail on why you think you have a problem. What have you checked? How is the car/charging system behaving? Is your battery dying? Also, don't be afraid to download a copy of the FSM and read through some of the diagnostics written on the electrical and charging systems.

Register at ZDriver.com at look at this thread. I'm not sure where Skittle connected the G wire on the HEI to. It may be the positive terminal off of the distributor (reluctor). I sent him a PM over at Zdriver. The other thing I wonder about is whether or not the W terminal should be connected to a condensor. (See attached document for notes I found on the HEI.) Since I haven't ever played with the HEI, I do not claim any expertise or specific knowledge in its applications, wiring or behavior. (How's that for a disclaimer?) HEI Notes.doc

According to what I see from the wiring diagram, you are correct. The voltage gauge and the hazard lights are on the same fuse.

Good reference material.

Jenny, are you looking to do the rebuild yourself or farm it out? What state do you live in? Is there a Z Club nearby? If so, there's probably someone in the club who could recommend someone to do the work?