Some serious electrical problems.
01-31-2014, 10:23 PM
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 8
Some serious electrical problems.
I've got some Electrical issues on my 78 280Z that nobody can seem to figure out. The car runs great for about 15 minutes. All of a sudden the dash lights go out, the taillights go out, the voltage meter goes haywire, the E-brake light comes on, then finally the car will shutter a couple times then die. It will not crank again until left alone for about 10 minutes. When this happens I can smell a burning smell that I've traced to the left rear tail light area, but I can't seem to figure out how the symptoms are related. The first time this happened was right after I installed an MSA exhaust. The exhaust doesn't extend past the rear of the car, so I thought maybe the exhaust had melted some of the wiring harness back there. I've pulled it apart and can't find any bare or melted wires. I've even taken the car to an auto electrician and he can't find anything. I dunno what else to do.
02-03-2014, 04:21 AM
#2
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 302
I would first look at the alternator. The burning smell may be a red herring. The alternator is about the only common point for all of the systems that might possibly recover after cooling down. By the way, have you checked your fusible links and connectors for them?
02-04-2014, 07:17 AM
#3
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 8
Yes I did, funny you said that tho. I never considered the alternator a suspect. I've never seen one gradually go out over a period of several months. I went out there to tinker with it one more time yesterday and It wouldn't start. So I hooked the cables up to it, it started right up. As soon as I pulled the cables it died. So Im in the process of changing the alternator. Thanks for the reply. But the bad thing is, when I got the car back in august of last year, the guy said he had just replaced the alternator. And I believe him because it looks brand new. So either he got a bad one, or something on the car is tanking alternators.
Last edited by licketysplit; 02-04-2014 at 07:19 AM.
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