rpaquin

I'm having some headlight issues on an 86 z31...

It first started with an issue with the high beams flipping on but not going off unless one disconnects the battery, and the passenger side popup being a little hesitant to go down.


I also lost the low beam light on the passenger side, but could still turn the high beams on.

I have a spare motors for the lights out of a donor car, tried just connecting it and turning the popups up and down... driver side works, passenger does not.

I had spare headlight stalk but it turned out to be in worse shape than the existing one(altho both low beams did come on, so headlight looks good)... I guess it's time to buy a new headlight stalk. Just wondering if I should keep looking at the motor issue.

also, the pivot arm on the driver's side wiper looks to have failed, the nut is not attached to anything on the underside causing the wiper to not be vertical(hence the wiper doesn't sit right and also hits the newly painted hood.) Since it is about to be rainy season in florida, I'm going to have to fix that, any suggestions how to get to the pivot arm? looks like I have to take the whole thing out, taking off both wipers.


thanks for any suggestions/tips/input!

zxguy1986

Yeah, there's one motor for your front wipers. As long as one wiper is working, the problem is the other wiper's hookup to the pivot arm. Not easy to get to this stuff to work on it but it has to be done... In FL, it actually rains alligators, so you need wipers...

Headlight motors & operation are susceptible to the classic weak alternator/battery syndrome that Z31s have. Have your battery/alt system checked under load. You have to be charging at 13+ volts at all times. Check your battery terminals and connections for solid and clean hookups. Ground your battery directly to the frame, not just via the starter.

Once you are sure you have eliminated alternator/battery issues and have reliable power supply, you can tackle headlight operational problems one at a time. Start by checking all your fuses and relays for duds and bad connections, dirt and corrosion.

rogerz

here is a link to headlight switch care and feeding.

also be sure the headlight receptacles are good. I had to replace both mine due to old age (not my own the receptacle)

there is a ball joint type arm (plastic) for the wipers that gets loose and have to
reconnect.
here are some things that will save you headaches in future: Get your battery load tested. Be sure you have clean, tight corrosion free terminals on both ends of your battery cables. Be sure the ground (negative) cable goes to a bolt into the frame before going to the starter. grounding through the starter is not a reliable connection. Z's don't like low voltage. causes the electronics to act funny. it is possible to have enough amps to crank but not enough voltage to run the electronics. If you have one size fit all cheapo clamp on terminals they are a problem waiting to happen. Usually on a rainy night around Oh Dark Thirty.

Clean the connectors for the maf or afm, ecu and tps. Deoxit by CAIG is probably the best connector cleaner on the market. spray with CorrosionX after cleaning and before putting together this will help prevent any further corrosion.

Replace outer tie rod ends, and ball joints. replace the bushings with poly (don't forget to lube them as directed unless you like squeaky things). New shocks. Get new boots for power steering. all those things will make you think you are driving a different car. doing them piece meal is a waste you won't see a great improvement until you do the complete job. You need to get the car realigned after messing with the front. Have your tires in good shape and rebalance. Rear bushings nice too but more work and you won't notice as great an improvement. Rear shocks also because if the fronts are gone so are the rears. if car squats when you jump on the gas the rears are gone. If you have the electro adjustable shocks they are DEFINITELY GONE.

If you are doing a turbo car shocks (electro adjust I think may be only on the turbos) then you need the adapter plates to fit modern shocks to the car. Easiest way is find an n/a at the junkyard and take the mounting plates. They may be available thru NAPA (listed) but I had the n/a plates.

get the fsm from xenon. take it on a thumb drive down to kinkos. have them blowup EL40 thru EL47 (if memory serves other wise appropriate pages) 11X17 works well.
You should include turbo or N/A engine info as it makes a difference in diagnosing things.

rpaquin

zxguy - yeah, rain down here is no fun... it looks like the inside bolt is still attache on the wiper mount, but the outside one is not, so instead of standing straight up, the wiper mount for the driver's side arm is leaning like the tower of pisa...

the alt looks good, I'm getting 14+ and the cables to the battery have zero corrosion on them, nice and shiny (that could be because I've been taking them off so the bad light motor doesn't drain the battery ;-)

there is a place in ft lauderdale who could make me a custom high amp alternator (150-180 amp something?) but not sure if that is necessary. It was expensive, but not outrageously so (I'm thinking it was in the 150-175 dollar range) plus installation if I wanted them to do it.

rogerz - I tried cleaning connectors on both the units I have but something else is wrong inside the switch(es) I have.. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a new one, at least I can rule that out as a problem.

I'll have to clean the maf/afm, ecu and tps... I haven't touched that stuff. I went the mechanically fit route first, the list for next year is to pull the engine and transmission and go for a complete rebuild. The only thing I did on the engine was put a new timing belt in it and replace everything that came out (all the plumbing, water pump, thermostat, connectors, etc.) The heat in south florida really does a job on all the hoses. Just wanted to assure myself, that the engine would at least survive in good health for a pull out and complete refit. I had no idea when the timing belt was last changed. No reliable records on the car.

I've already replaced everything underneath, new tie rods, ball joints, new steering rack, new struts, new shocks, had the wheels refurbed (straightened polished and painted), new tires, new brakes lines, new calipers, new rotors, new bearings, new master cylinder (it wasn't distributing fluid to the rear at all) anything that deals with touching the ground or braking in any way, shape or form is basically new or very closely inspected. This car had been back yard mechanic'd out the ying yang by someone who didn't care/on a shoestring budget. I wasn't taking any chances. I spent about 4 grand in parts on that already.

the light and motor issue only appeared after I had the car painted... something got jiggled around most likely being apart for 6 weeks getting painted and rust repaired. I had some severe rot at the bottom of the driver A pillar that had to be cut out and fabricated.