Hey Guys,

Sorry I've been out for so long....kinda lost my job and things have been rough lol.

I've been having starter issues.....again.....and finally decided to find another starter. Got it in this afternoon and installed it in hopes that it would correct the problems (Problems like not being able to hook up to the flywheel and turn it over just right and continuous tinging on hitting the ignition). I'm still getting the tinging, which leads me to believe that shes not getting enough juice to turn her over. The new starter did correct the issue about not being able to hook up to the fly wheel.

But now after a few turns of trying to get the engine to turn over, I got a nice little burst of smoke from under the dash board. The scariest part about this is the fact that it isn't blowing fuses, lol.

My center console gauges are no longer working either....

Has anyone had an occurrence like this? I'm sure that its just a bad connection, loose ground or something.

If anyone has had an experience like that and could lend some advice as where to start searching for the problem (like behind the three center gauges) I would greatly appreciate it.

Sounds like the starter wire might have grounded itself out! then again idk why the gauges would have stopped. You might need to pull your dash out and check...

And as for the starter not getting enough power, try this out. http://www.xenons30.com/starterrelay.html

Wow sounds like a really bad ground. Best thing to do is go to www.xenons30.com and download the free FSM. Go through the wiring diagram and see where it might be.

I be in process of pulling the dash apart right now.....everything looks clean thus far. I guess the last guy was too lazy to get this far back to screw ***** up lol...

I've been ground chasing since the day that I got the 260....I've got dim headlights, the whole 9 yards.

Thanks for the link Blue, I'll be messing with that after I finish with my dash harness adventure...lol

Ok.....now I'm damn confused. I get the better part of the dash apart and decided to try to turn her over and see if I might be able to see the origin of the smoke (i know, dumb idea) but this time she turns over and fires the first friggen try.

However my rpm gauge isnt working either now so I know there is still a problem somewhere.

Sorry....had to vent.

I blame corroded connections and or wires...

Blah, now my taillights and side markers are out. I hate electrical problems.

I had that same issue! It was my fuse box! it was melted away around the tail light side and the connector was broken. Might want to check that

Actually, you were right about the connections....I cleaned them off and got my lighting back. It took a few clicks on the switch for it to work, but they finally came on.

The starter is solid as a rock....its doing great, so thats a plus.

My last a final situation is the gauges....they are not illuminated or working. Looks like I'll be testing those wires tomorrow. It seems like every time I work on the wiring its a situation that snowballs into a massive project that takes all day. This whole thing starter with rewiring the windshield wipers.

Oh fun times...And ya the wiring can be a pain in the *** but do it right once after fixing the 36 year old wiring and you wont have to fight it again for a long time usually.

Um as for the gauges I'd still say its the connectors being dirty or just loose. Or just a bad fuse. Never know lol

Ok, I've removed the gauges and checked their connections....their suprisingly perfect. The complete under dash part of the wiring is almost perfect aside from a few cut wires from before my time. I've fixed most of them.

Current status:

Gauges are illuminated, however the lighting is quite dim.
NO gauges are responding aside from the Amp meter.

What I've done to correct the problem:

Checked connections and as much of the wiring as possible.
Checked all fuses and fusible links.
Beat my head against the dashboard.
Studied the worlds smallest wiring diagrams in my haynes manual.

My next question is this; Does anyone have wiring diagrams specifically for the gauges? I have found the lighting for the gauges, but not specifically for how they are wired for operation.

Doh, just found the wiring diagrams = )

My bad

lol was gonna say. Uh as for the lights did you check your dimmer switch?

As for the gauges... Hmm Maybe check the senders in the engine bay?

Also checked fuses in the shunt....they be good.

I'm kinda wondering if it could be the voltage regulator now......

Ya, I cranked up the dimmer switch back and forth with no resolve.

I haven't checked the senders yet, but I'm pretty sure that the issue is in the wiring since they were both working up until I fixed the windshield wipers.

It be on the list tho.

Rawr......it randomly began blowing the fuse for the gauges lol

Damn what a mess @.@ Well all I can say it check for shorts really, other then that its just testing the wires lol

Ya, its a pain....but I wont give in to these bastages.

Could you advise as to where I can locate the body harness earth point which is shown in figure BE-5 on page BE-4 of the body electric FSM?

I doubt this will help anything as it is on an entirely different harness than the instrument, but I thought I might as well check it at this point. I'm frustrated and out of fuses haha

Im honestly not to sure... But it will basically look like a wire that was a sheet metal screw screwed into a grounded metal. Heh not much help but i never worked a 260Z just a 280Z

Bah, thanks anyway.

I've discovered more issues....this time with the rear lamps. There is very little of the original wiring in sight......its terrifying. I'm still looking for that ground in hopes that this could assist in correcting the issue.

Found the ground, twas secured.

I'm losing hope lol

I'm still at it like nobodys business.....

I did notice that my Altenator doesn't have the Stator on the top right side of it....which leaves a wire loose. Could this attribute to this problem? How do I resolve this issue....buy another Alternator?

I bought the current one from Advance auto so I'll be pretty peeved if this isn't the correct one.

Finally figured out what the problem was!!!! Twas the blinkers...I unhooked the flasher units and everything is ok for the time being.

So I now know that the issue lies in the terrible self wiring from the previous owner.

All is good now!!

Thanks for all the help BlueKitsune

@.@ Wow all that just for the blinker?

And your welcome, Good luck with fixing all the bad wiring!