Daniel

Dale I've had a couple of 73's and have not seen that problem.I can make some guesses that may help.The first place I would look is the fuse holder it self.Make sure it has the correct fuse in it.I think it is a 20amp.I don't have my book here.That being correct I would check the holder.With age the heat and cooling of the holder clip can cause it to spread out.That resistance(in the form of poor connection)causes heat.I disconnected my battery pulled all my fuses,making darn sure I could replace them in the proper place,and cleaned the holder clips with contact cleaner.With age also comes oxidation of the clip,resistance again.This is easy,heck I got brighter headlights out of it!Another thing is to make certain that ALL--I mean tag/glove box/interior/sidelights/ALL your bulbs are working.I have seen bad bulbs/sockets cause a short that is not bad enough to pop the fuse but be enough to overload the circuit. You could also use the contact cleaner on your bulb sockets.Again I can't hurt and its easy.I think you'll find that something that shares that fuse is the problem as the brake lights aren't really on long enough at one time to create that kind of heat.Pull the fuseand what ever quits working is sharing that circuit. Daniel

mark,The heater panel is a real pain to remove.If you are going through with it you may try to find a 73 panel.It is lighted Daniel

Hi Mark,I haven't had time to look at my Z but I did look at the wiring diag.It shows only two wires connecting to the rheostat.If one is loose ,the dash lites should not work at all.There are just connectors that put the rheostat in the circuit.You should be able to just unplug the two wires from the rheostat and connect them together. This should not require removing the rheostat.Also I read where someone had written of the difficulty in replacing thdash bulbs.Its not hard.You just wiggle them back and forth.They are held in place by the "spring" tention of the bulb holder.The small gauges require the removal of the glove box liner.You just bend the liner to remove it.Its cardboard.Ihave a friend that made one that was easier to remove.I find that removing the clock gives better access to the other gauges.It is held in place by a "Y" type yoke.You'll see what I mean once in the dash.Remove one screw and remove the clock from the rear of the dash.It's easy!Be sure to disconnect the battery before starting this "funfest" Daniel

Mike,I don't know about flywheel bolts.The reason I use teflon tape on thermo bolt is that a steel bolt and aluminmum hole cause a chemical reaction that is similiar to welding.This is due to dissimiliar metals.The teflon acts as an insulator.I'm not sure why the thermo housing is the worst,maybe the extra hot and cool of the collant adds to the problem.It seems a Z car right of passage.Everyone fights that demon at least once.Along with vapor lock,dim lights at idle and exhaust smell getting into the car when you let off the gas.All common demons to overcome.

make sure to use teflon tape on the bolts on your head and thermo. housing and you won,t have to fight that battle again next time.

If you put teflon tape on those bolts you won't have to suffer that grief next time.

No more calls we have a winner!! Yeah Mark If that thing won't dim you don't know what position it was in when it broke.I would wire around it.Then you know you are getting full voltage.I have never had a use for that dimmer in any of my Z's.The other info. I gave can then be tried for maximum results.

Mark,Also make sure your dimmer knob at the dash bottom under tach.is turned up fully.Sometimes the simple things will drive ya' nuts! Daniel

Mark,As I say the dim is "normal'.Lets discuss a couple of things in hopes of a cure.The first is if your battery is staying charged,cranks strong you haven't got alt. or battery problems.The coil is what fires your spark plugs.It has nothing to do with lights.Thebulbsat are in your car are most likely 71 models as well.As the lamp burns the filament burns up.The black stuff you see at the ends of a flouresent tube is burnt filament.Even though the light burns the filament has grown weak and deposited the burnt filament to the inside of the glass envelope.In your case that is almost like putting sunglass lenses on you bulbs.I think new bulbs will make your dash problem less severe.Oh yeah I was told once that those were I think 6watt bulbs and you could replace them with8watt.So i was told.

The dim lights are"normal" for 240's. I've had 4 they all did it .The voltage regulator can be tweeked to solve the problem,but only by someone who understands auto electrics.Severe damage can occur if this is not done correctly!