SteveJ

Did you at least try to clean and lubricate the linkage? It made a significant difference on my car.

It's part of the opinion. There are people who say old engines need more than what current oil contains. I haven't come across any studies, just anecdotes. Therefore, it comes across as opinion.

Look at the FSM or owner's manual. It will have the minimum specifications for oil. Newer specifications are supposed to be backward compatible. The main difference is the reduction in phosphorous, typically as ZDDP. Lots of people have opinions. Few people have facts.

Somewhat, and then only in America. It's not like a solid date that everything changed. Many interior parts (Such as door panels, dash and center console) were in common with the 75 280Z. Carburetors were shared with the 73 240Z. I don't have a detailed list, but if you REALLY want to know when different parts changed, look at all of the different pages in the microfiche link in my signature. Parts is parts. Some fit. Some don't.

Oh sure, I take too long to answer, and you figure it out yourself. :-P

Did you have both bulbs out when you checked voltage? If not, you're probably backfeeding through the circuit, especially if you've lost the ground. For your vintage car: The positive side of the circuit goes through fuses (right and left) an on to the headlight. There are two negative wires: one for high beams and the other for low beams. The high beam wires join together to go back to the turn signal switch, and the low beam wires do the same. At the turn signal switch (if your contacts are good) the switch will complete the circuit for either the high beam or low beam. The wire then goes over to the combo switch on the other side of the steering column. When you turn on the headlights, the circuit is completed to ground. You can trace the circuit with an ohmmeter to ensure you have low resistance to ground.

Let me know how the door panels are. It could be worth your while. Steve

Does it still have the water park? My senior class went there back in 83.

It's Manteca Datsun. Write it in cursive, and see if you agree.

Search on here for headlights and parking lights. You'll find a lot of information pertaining to your query.

Want better prices? That's easy. Contact all of the auto parts suppliers you can find. Be prepared to make a few trips to Japan and China. Buy hundreds, if not thousands, and sell what you don't need. Sarcastic? Okay, I'll cop to that, if you want to admit you are coming off as pretty ignorant. If you want better prices, shop around. Just be prepared to find that the cheaper parts are sometimes exponentially cheaper in quality. Maybe you'll get some bargains in there, too. Yeah, MSA isn't always the cheapest. Some parts are still available at the dealerships for less. My links have a good start for your pricing research. Be prepared for many parts to come back NLA.

How much contact? Take pictures and show us. You might be able to get away with a thicker head gasket.

I bought that harness. I wasn't impressed with it. I replaced the relays and all of the connectors. In other words, I wasted my money. The relays are not common, so if you lose one, good luck replacing it. They also did nothing to weatherproof any of it. In addition it's designed to plug right into the existing headlight connector, so you'd have take the connector apart, drill a hole in the headlight bucket, put in a grommet, thread the wires through the hole and put the connector back together again. It's not exactly plug and play.

And the fuse?

Here is some research material for you: Tony D's smog wisdom If you are living in California, Tony D's experiences and research will help you. Focus on the more recent posts to look for changes in the laws.

The wire colors in the write up I did are the same in all S30s. The thing I learned from reading these forums and studying wiring diagrams is that the switches are different between the earlier 240Zs and later S30s. (Early 240Zs switched the ground on and off. Others switched the 24 VDC+.) So, since you can't find one for the 280Z, create your own. (I didn't know a lot about automotive wiring when I did mine 10 years ago.) Study the BE section of the FSM. I think for the 280Z it will show connectors between the engine harness and headlights. Locate those connectors and study the plugs. Post pictures if you want. There is a good chance you can find compatible plugs at Vintage Connections. From there, it's not that difficult. Ask questions here and get answers to create your design. Document your work and post your results.

Did you try switching between high and low beams? Frequently with a bad headlight, only one element goes bad with the dual filament bulbs, so you still have one or the other. As for the fuses, NEVER trust a visual inspection. Pull the fuse and test with an ohmmeter. If it is more than about 0.2 ohms, replace it.

In the future get a pre-test done, or whatever they call it before its an official test that is reported to the state. That "GROSS POLLUTER" phrase is NOT a good thing to have associated with your car. It's times like these that I'm glad I don't live in CA.

Mechanical adjustment is correct on original regulators. I think most any produced in the last 20 years or so are solid state. Those boxes are sealed tight and non-adjustable. You have a point on the blown fuse. Ty - was the headlight completely out or dim? If it is dim, that means the other headlight is backfeeding through it. On the other hand a headlight can blow from overvoltage, and the fuse will go through unscathed.

That is based upon the assumption that the person who put in the new alternator knew what he was doing (provided the alternator has been replaced at some time). If you get an alternator for a 280Z from the parts store, you might get one with the internal VR or you might not. There are plenty of opportunities for error.

Run the test I described. Light output is VERY dependent upon voltage. Dropping from 12 VDC to 9 VDC will decrease light output by around 50%. Relays and headlights have been beaten to death on here. Search and read up. As for selecting headlights, contact H4Lights on this site. It's his business. He has evaluated many different products and is a treasure trove of knowledge on the subject. A cheap headlight conversion can cause a fire, too.

That wouldn't work, since MSA offers replacement fuse boxes for 240Zs. The OP has a 280Z. The correct url is http://ezwiring.com/. I have to say that I'm somewhat skeptical that they could build a harness to factory specs for $250, though my definition of factory specs would be to match wire color/striping, gauge, length and connectors. Of course, that is true if you don't know what you're doing. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just being honest. I spliced into my wiring harness 16 years ago and haven't had any problems as a result of my work. If you do it right, it's not a problem.

Two causes that I'm aware of for premature failure are overvoltage and bad manufacturing. The overvoltage condition is easy to check. Have someone start your car and operate the gas pedal. Check the voltage at the battery with a voltmeter and have your assistant take the car up to 2000 RPM. If you're reading much 15 volts (14.5 is preffered), the system voltage is going too high. Now, this is where YOU SHOULD PUT THE YEAR OF YOUR CAR IN YOUR POST OR SIGNATURE. To diagnose an overvoltage, the year of your car is important to know. For instance, the 78 has an internally regulated alternator. If you put an interally regulated alternator in an earlier car, you can get an overvoltage. Dave's standard relay harness is not designed for the 280Z. Contact him, and he might build one for your 280Z.

Below the coil is the ballast resistor. It looks pretty old, too. You might want to take the wires off and measure the resistance to make sure it is not shorted out. From the details you added, your tach is shot or badly miswired. Also, download the FSM for your car. See my signature for the link. Look carefully at the wiring diagrams in the BE and EE sections and compare them to your car. We know that there will be some differences owing to the pertronix. However, I wouldn't be surprised if you found some wiring hacks in it.

Actually, I've helped people on here and Dave has helped a lot more with their electrical problems. Of course, the people helped usually provide enough data, either in the original post or in follow on posts. Since there isn't enough data in the first post, I think the OP will get guesses unless he has the problem again and gathers more information. It's not impossible, just difficult.