The relay by the fusible links is that the ignition relay? Well sometimes my Z won't start like the battery is dead I wiggle the maxi fuse I can hear the relay going on and off. If I wiggle it just right it allows me to start the car. So is this the ignition relay and does it mean it's starting to fail? And how much are they?

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

it definitely has something to do with the ignition. cause i have my power wire for my radio hooked into the cigarette litter fuse and while driving the radio will shut off and on very quick but. maybe a bad ground. i know i went to start thew Z when leaving my parents and she wouldn't start again so i wiggled the use and while doing that noticed the ground wire going to the starter wasn't connected so i connected that and she started but quickly died. maybe that ground is just bad.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Did you ever download the FSM for your car? It takes out a lot of the guesswork...

_________________


-Chris

Where do I download it? I am gonna check that circuit tomorrow. I have a laminated wiring diagram for my Z so I'm gonna check that out.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

noticed an exposed ground wire so i taped it up and so far the gremlin is gone and the headlights still work.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html

The 78 FSM is available for free download. I printed the FSM for my Z and put it in a binder with plastic insert pages.

_________________
Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster

Thanks Phil I think my Z came with that manual. Already in a binder. I'll go to my garage and see.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

is it possible for a bad relay to go and off whenever? i thought i fixed my gremlin issue but it returned again. i think the relay must be faulty. i am going to pull it out and buy a multi meter and test it. once i figure out how to do that.

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

With a Z car, ANYTHING is possible. I learn something totally new on every Z I climb under. But don't blame the new relay yet. Question your own decision that you found and cured the problem in the first place.

You have what is called "an occasional open", which means an electrical current SOMETIMES stops flowing where it should, for some reason. They are the hardest and most-frustrating problems in the car business. Thats because while it works, it's unidentifiable. You can only find and fix it when it DOESN'T work.

It might not qualify as a "Gremlin". Gremlins are unexplainable phenomena which occur when everything is right ~ they defy physics, sometimes.

Your problem is curable. You should start by learning where the current is SUPPOSED to go (trace your circuit), then walk thru it until you find where it DOESN'T go.

Better you than me. I hate chasing electrons. The 'Tron god has a cruel sense of humor.

Frank

_________________
1970 240Z

PS ~ I know John T a little. He's a nice guy who hates to insult someone unnecessarily. So sometimes he doesn't say what he's thinking.

Sometimes.

Right now I can picture John biting his lip and shaking his head, picturing all the wire-and-metal-eating roadsalt you splashed up under your hood by driving your Z this past winter, and trying hard not to say I TOLD YOU SO.

This is just the FIRST symptom of Datsun Z Winter Syndrome, and it only took 3 months. Just wait.

Frank

_________________
1970 240Z

well i just replaced the Ebay maxi fuses with ones from advance auto and the problem went away. faulty fuses?

_________________
Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694