More funky electrical problems
 

Occasionally, the fuel,door,and brake lights come on all at once while driving. The only other time this happens is when the key is on and engine off. nothing else seems to be happening, well the radio turns itself off momentarily when you hit the brakes too, but for whatever reason that goes away when the heater is on. The fusebox has been hacked, and all the fusible links are old and nasty. has anyone done a new fuse box/ fuse link retrofit? I want to get this straightened out pronto. Damn car, all I want is a month without problems so i can get some go fast parts. The volt meter has read almost 18v with the motor running since ive owned the car could i need an alternator too?

Sounds like a fautly ground wire, or possibly a + wire arc'ing out... which will be oh so fun to find.

As for the alternator runnin 18v... prolly ought to go to AutoZone or a parts place & have them check it on their machine.

I'd be tempted to check the relay box behind the right front headlight. Unplug and replug in the relays (maybe two or three times to get a good connection). Also, check out the fusible links. Also, just for giggles, check out your combo switch on the steering column....

Just some thoughts, but yeah, it a ground or something...

Or the ignition cylinder itself... Which are notorious for this kind of issue... :)

My ignition i think was replaced by the previous owner. Tha car has been stolen, like most Zs, and I gues they stripped the shit out of it. Nothing matched right to left when I got it. THe car was fine today, so its probably a ground. I dont want to start into the electrics again until my other projects are done. I have had a complete power steering setup just laying around ready to go in, still need to fix squeaky rear brakes, water leak by the rear hatch, and paint my interior (with Dupont, not rattlecan) this weekend. Oh, and do a motor swap on a Toy 4x4. So for now, I will accumulate enough parts to move the battery to the back, and maybe put a fuse/ fuseable link box back there too. I like buying parts, sometimes I just dont like installing them. Oh, Ive got a trans to rebuild too.

Back to the reason I started the thread, the three aforementioned lights that come on withe key on engine off come on sporadically when there is a lot of load on the electrical system. Is there a voltage sensing thingy somewhere that turns the Brake Door, and Fuel lights on with the engine off/ key on? I assume it has something to do with the alternator, but dont know. As for buying electrics from AutoZone, I think I will stick with Napa or rebuild it myself. I know everyone has had different experiences with different parts chains, but the big commercial places just dont seem to have the quality Napa does.