SteveJ

What can I say? I'm an advocate of tough love.

Arne, Solano County is between SF and Sac. I forgot about getting the engine swap past the smog referees. The OP has his choice of Northern California Z specialists.

Okay, so you've thrown a lot of parts into the car with no results. My first suggestion is to hide your wallet from yourself. Second, forget who that mechanic is. Don't even drive on that street again. I don't care if you live on that street. Move if you have to. Third make friends with the membership of ZONC. Ask them who they take their Z cars to and trailer the car to a reputable Z car mechanic.

It's not REALLY BAD, but it would be a good idea to swap out the carb oil with 20 wt.

PM sent.

Just an FYI, I noticed from surfing the NAPA website that you might need the stock number, 7333, to find the correct plug.

1. Go with the base plug, BP6ES. 2. Your ignition seems to be getting most of the cylinders. The wires for 3 & 4 are next to each other. Is your distributor cap in good shape? Also, check the wires. Both are cheaper than replacing other ignition components.

[ Okay, I misunderstood what you said in the first post. My bad. When you say the plug is wet, does it smell like gas or could it be oil? Can you post pictures of your plugs? Also is the Z in question the 74, or is it another year Z car? Have you tried using NGK plugs? Do that, check your timing & plug wires, and then balance the carbs.

Is the setup a triple carb? I don't know why 3 & 4 would be shared otherwise. Of course, that could just be my own ignorance...

First, it sounds like there is a good chance you shorted out your battery. Second, check your fusible links. They could have fried. Third, you could have burned up wires that are taped together in the wiring harness. You may have to strip off the tape and check.

I believe that the interior is for the accessory relay. I think maybe someone is tapping off 12VDC to go between the ballast resistor and the accessory relay. I'm guessing someone was looking for switched power, and if I was a betting man, I would suspect a bad accessory relay precipitated that hack.

I bought a set of non-retracting belts from Courtesy Nissan a few years back. I think they are hiding in my garage. They were in my 73 for about a year or so in the garage. I didn't drive it much. Send me a PM if you are interested. We could probably work out a deal.

The belts are a bolt-in replacement. These are retractable belts. I purchased a set of belts for my 73 from WESCO before MSA offered them. They are the same design as what MSA sells, anchoring behind the seat. (I wouldn't be surprised if MSA didn't go through WESCO or WESCO's supplier for their belts.) It can be awkward to get the belt to extend with the MSA type, especially for us old farts who have less groping capacity than when we were young. For my 74, I purchased the "roadster" style. It mounts at the top anchor point and uses one of the bottom anchor points. It extends and retracts better than the set in my 73. These seatbelts don't look stock. They are not a restoration of your existing seatbelts. They are a great option for those of us not concerned with originality. If you want the MSA type, you can see pictures of my install in my gallery.

Yes. I posted on an installation a week ago.

Without pictures, your guess is better than mine.

John, Now you have polarity correct. I suggest you look at my link for a meter with a higher scale for current. If you don't want to do Amazon, I think you can find one at Wal-Mart. I think you're starting to see why I was telling you to look at Chapter 10 in the Haines manual. As for the voltage regulator, there was a reason I said, If the regulator is bad, your current will drop to zero. Been there. Done that. Regardless, you have a serious current draw on your battery, and that is exactly why the battery drains so quickly.

The old Z-Therapy SU video had all sorts of tips on it, including painting the console. It might be worth a look for you.

Here. I have to learn how to stop spoon feeding...

Maybe. You didn't post year and body style. Just a question...How much do you trust 30 year old seatbelts in protecting the life of your passenger anyway?

If the meter goes negative, reverse the leads and try again.

11.5-12 volts is on the low side at the battery, even with the car at idle. What was the RPM? Did you do the test at 2500RPM? What was the voltage with the car off? An ammeter with a 250mA scale may be enough, but there is a chance it isn't. You can look at this multimeter on Amazon. It's under $14 shipped, and it does have a 10A scale. The test I wanted you to do is to look for a shorted component that is draining the battery. If the battery is being drained quickly, it could have a large (greater than 1A) draw. If you order the meter today, you could have it by Wednesday. Not surprising, but not meaningful unfortunately. Exposed wires can lead to short circuits. Improper stereo installations sometimes involve bypassing fuses, eliminating protection for the wiring. This can lead to draining of the battery or even an electrical fire. Tape off any exposed wires. Please go back to my detailed procedure. The wording and order were given on purpose. If you don't understand something in it, send me a PM. Heck, I'll even call you and talk to you about it. Besides, I have a numb hand and don't feel like typing out explanations for all of the tests.

Okay, let's get some better diagnostics going. These diagnostics assume that you know how to take voltage, current, and resistance measurements. If you don't, use your favorite search engine on how to use a multimeter. Measure the resistance of your battery cables. There should be only a tiny bit of resistance. On my 73, the 15 year old negative battery cable showed only 0.1 ohms to ground. Post your results for what you get. Fully charge your battery. Install it in the car and measure the voltage at the posts. It should be around 13.2 volts or so. Now measure from ground (any exposed bolt on the body) to the bolt where the positive cable attaches to the solenoid. Let us know the two voltages. If they match, your battery cables are definitely good. Let us know the voltages. Saying a signal is present does have any useful diagnostic meaning in these tests. Look for corrosion around the solenoid while you're at it. Now, if the battery is draining fast, you need to see how much current is flowing through it. With the battery in the car, hook the positive cable to the battery. Do not connect the negative cable. Make sure you are using a multimeter capable of measuring 10 amps. Set it to the 10 amp scale and plug the positive lead into the jack for 10 amps. That lead will go to the negative terminal of the battery. The common lead of the meter will go to the negative battery cable. If you do not get a reading, set the meter at the next scale down, move the positive lead to the proper jack, and measure again. Keep dropping the scale until you get a reading. A normal electrical system should only be drawing a few milliamps. I suspect that you will have a higher reading than that, though. Common problems that can cause a high draw on the battery are bad voltage regulators (Unplug the voltage regulator and re-test. If the current drops to zero, replace the regulator.) shorted alternator (Again, unplug just the alternator and re-test.) improper stereo installation improper aftermarket alarm system short circuit (remove fuses one by one until the current drops) You'll also want to check to see if the battery is getting a charge from the car. First check to see if you have enough tension on the alternator belt to turn the alternator. After starting the car, take a voltage measurement at the battery. It should be around 14 to 15 volts depending upon the temperature with the car at 2500 rpm. If you have a Haines manual, look at Chapter 10/Electrical system. There is some good diagnostic information there. If all else fails, send me a pm.

Okay, the data is getting better. I'll post some more suggestions later on to help with the diagnosis.

Okay, I'll bite. What's a solid signal? Did you just check continuity across the battery cables? Why do you think it's the starter? What's the voltage at the solenoid when you try to start the car? Option 1: Diagnose the problem. (See you FSM or Haines manual for diagnostic procedures.) Measure the resistance of the battery cables in ohms. Measure the voltage at the solenoid when you try to start the car both with your battery and when you jump-start the car. If you aren't getting enough voltage to the solenoid, it won't engage properly. You can replace the solenoid without replacing the starter. However, if it's just the battery cables, you pay about 1/3 as much for the solution. Option 2: Throw money at the problem. Buy a starter. Buy battery cables. If that works, fine. If not, buy more parts. I apologize if I sound harsh, but I tend to be direct. Take measurements and post facts. You'll get a lot less guessing and much better answers. P.S.: Don't forget to check your fusible links. They are getting old.