SteveJ

Edit: Some things got clipped out by mistake. Does your distributor still have a plate like this? Here is how it's lined up on my 240Z. Here's what you might try to do before messing with the oil pump. (Minimize jumping around.) Set the car at TDC. Align the mark on the plate to the middle. Verify that the rotor is at the #1 plug. From there, you'll have a better idea of what way you need to go.

Did you retard timing any after moving the wires? It might be too far advanced.

After looking through the wiring diagram, I am guessing that mystery connector is for the fog light switch. You don't have a fog light switch? Well, North American cars are wired for fog lights, but Nissan didn't install a switch. It's just as well. The engineers designed the circuit to come off the parking lights. That circuit already has enough issues without fog lights added.

Please make it easier to provide help. Wiring diagrams differ by year. As for why your tachometer is maxing out, I would posit that there is too much current flowing through the tachometer. Maybe the black/white wire from the tachometer has been damaged and is slightly coming into contact with ground. This would cause more current to flow through the tachometer sensor and less to flow out to the ignition. Maybe you reconnected something wrong, though there shouldn't be anything connected to the black/white wire between the tachometer and coil positive. While the car is running, measure voltage to ground at the green/white wire on the ballast resistor and also measure voltage to ground at the black/white wire on coil positive. There shouldn't be much of a difference in voltage between the two. Also measure voltage to ground at the black/white wire on the ballast resistor. Pleas report your results. After you supply the year of your car, I can look at the FSM to try to identify the mystery connector. I'm guessing you have a 72 since I see short pigtails on the fusebox, but I don't see sockets for bulbs around where the control panel goes.

Tools from this kit may be more gentle on the paint than an old screwdriver. https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/auto-body-trim/trim-and-molding-tool-set-5-pc-64126.html

Most people use 20wt oil in the dampers. You should check the level in the carburetors. Also, with the car off, try to lift the piston in each carburetor. The damper oil should provide a fair amount of resistance. I'm wondering if the front carb has enough resistance. Ace Hardware stores typically carry 3-in-One brand oil that is 20wt.

Well, if anyone is joining me in Birmingham, bring plenty of water and light clothing. It looks like it will be as hot as the Memphis or Austin conventions. https://www.wunderground.com/calendar/us/al/hoover/KBHM

What type oil did you use in the dashpots? Is the oil staying in the dashpots?

I can't download the MOV file. There's something wrong. Can you upload it to YouTube?

Who is joining me in Birmingham?

Pro tip: Don't use RTV on the valve cover gasket! I was working on a guy's 280ZXT last year and found some idiot used RTV on the valve cover. I convinced the owner to replace the gasket since I was going to do a valve adjustment. I was delayed on the valve adjustment because I was picking off pieces of RTV from the camshaft and other places under the valve cover.

Isn't that a black/white wire in your photo with the male bullet? If it is, it should not have voltage when the battery is connected and engine on. Otherwise it could short. The white wire should be connecting to another white wire with a female bullet. I'm thinking that white wire with the female bullet is in your photo, but the insulation color is obscured by the black wrap. It feeds the brake lights/hazard lights and the horn (2 circuits).

Something isn't right with the wire colors in your description. The blue/white wire from the fuse box should connect to a blue/white wire that goes to the cigarette lighter. That is the purpose of the circuit. A black/white wire is typically a switched source that comes from the ignition switch. There is also wiring in the center stack area for it to connect to an inline fuse going to a green wire for the electric fuel pump that Nissan didn't install for the US market. (Note: There is another black/white wire that goes from the tachometer to coil positive, but we won't take that tangent right now.)

Buy a Nissan valve cover gasket. They hold up a lot better than the aftermarket ones. Here is the current part number: 13270-Y7010. You can order at your local dealer or an online dealer like https://www.nissanparts.cc/

The oil pump looks like it's about a tooth off. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in. This is how it should look: (Courtesy of a post by @siteunseenfrom 3 years ago) Also, the pickup location on the distributor does not look right. Every Pertronix install I have seen has the pickup closer to the radiator like in the photo below. Also, see the photos in this thread: You might also want to put some bright (or fluorescent) nail polish on the timing mark while you have it at TDC. That will make it easier to see with the timing light in the future.

With the car at TDC on the compression stroke, take a clear photo (preferably close in) on the pulley and timing index. Then take off the distributor and take a photo of oil pump shaft where it turns the distributor.

If you use the zip tie, don't make it tight. If it's tight, the wires will be pushing and pulling on the grommet when the mechanical advance is moving the plate back and forth. If it pushes out, that's just an opportunity for water and dirt to infiltrate.

It won't take too much slack to clear. Your other option is to route the wires to run counterclockwise from the pickup to the grommet.

You can pull some more slack wire into the distributor to clear. Also use some electrical tape to protect the wires more.

I haven't had too many issues with the 280ZX ignition. The Pertronix is one of the lower cost options, provided you have a good 240Z distributor to start with. I have only had it installed for about a year, so no reliability data on the Pertronix, yet. The reviews seem to be mixed to me on the 123. Some people love the adjustable nature of it, but some people have complained about the quality of the distributor caps. (You won't get a good spark with a bad cap.) As far as simple, it's probably easier to install a Pertronix on a distributor on the car than swap in a 280ZX distributor. With regard to the ignition modules, you can keep a couple in the car with a small screwdriver and replace one easily on the side of the road should you ever have a failure. (I only had a bad one on a rebuilt distributor.) If you go with the ZX, consider getting the bearing plate(s) a user listed here. I had a Crane (the cheaper between the two you can use on the Z) in my 240Z that I installed in 1997. It worked for 13 years and died with very little driving. I'm not sure if it was a bad module or dirty optics. I didn't have the drive to dig into the cause. Anyway, you have to mount the module somewhere. The ZX distributor and Pertronix do not require mounting a module somewhere.

The best fluid is one that meets the specifications in the FSM. You don't say if you have a manual or automatic. For the manual, it's oil that meets GL4 specifications. For the automatic it's Dexron.

I am interested.

Per @Patcon's suggestion, here is a video showing how to check the spark: When you add oil to the cylinders, make sure you don't add too much take out all of the spark plugs turn the engine over by hand if you can. Also, considering the time it sat, I hope you did drain the gas tank of the old fuel.

Not surprised about the rocker. I even mentioned having to bend it in my description of tearing down and reassembling the switch: https://fiddlingwithzcars.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/turn-signal-repair/. It's toward the end of the post. Now you have a great understanding of how the switch works. Wait until you need to dig into the headlight switch. 🙂

Not sure what you found or who might have said it. putting wires through grommets that are already in place? Not likely. You'll never get the connectors through. Tubing? Well, maybe with this: