aujbman

Thought I would try asking around here before I break down and take it somewhere.

Around the same time, these symptoms popped up:

• Headlights were stuck up,
  
• No rear or side running lights, (brake lights and headlights work)
  
• No illumination behind the switch panels on the dash.

Here is what I have done:

• Replaced headlight switch
  
• Replaced sensor box for taillights,
  
• Checked and replaced fuses in driver side kick panel
  
• Checked and replaced the headlamp relay and uphold relay in engine compartment.

What has changed:

When I replaced the illumination fuse the car dinged and the headlights went down, however, they are now not coming back up. This occurred before the headlight switch replacement.

Also, from the time I had the car it had a problem where every once in a while (more often towards the end) when I turned the headlights on, the passenger side would not come on automatically but would come on later after a few minutes, usually. This problem was remedied by the headlight switch replacement, now both come on when I turn them on.

And, if I put the switch on high beams, it would just cause one headlight to go out and one to stay on. If i pushed the switch handle the other way, they would switch, where the one that was out would come on and the one that was on would go out. This problem, even after the headlight switch replacement, is still occurring.

Mainly, I need to find out what is causing the running lights, both side and rear, to not come on. I have also checked and changed all bulbs.


If anyone has anything else they would suggest I try before taking it somewhere I would greatly appreciate it.

cords z31

hey, im actually having the same problem you are having, my headlight retract switch doesn't work (the switch on the left side of the gauges to just make the headlights go up/down) and my side markers and tail lights do not come on at all.

so far what I have figured out was that it is not a relay, or anything with the switches or motors, its the actual wiring. I have pulled the retract switch out and found out what 2 wires have the power in the wiring harness, one is supposed to be power in, then you push the switch and it sends power out to the relay, so my problem is im not getting any power in at all. I have found this to be the case for the headlight switch as well, I do have tests you can run to make sure your switch is fully functional as I have figured out what every wire input on the switch does. and once again, I get power to both headlights and they will turn on, its just no power to the side markers or tail light or inside lights.

so the test I did to rule out any relays or anything like that was take a wire and run it from the positive terminal of the battery and directly to the switch on the retract and headlight switch and then pushed the retract and it worked fine, same with the heaedlight switch, BAM everything was working. my only suggestion is if you have put in an aftermarket stereo or have done anything with the wiring of your car to double check you didn't cut the wrong wire. I still have not had any luck in finding the cause of this as im just starting to think ill run a wire from the engine bay or something to supply the power and be done with it, but I want to fix it properly. I will make a drawing on the computer of the headlight switch so you can fully test to see if it is working properly, and also where the wires are that you can tap into to see if its only a power supply that is your problem, I know I rambled on a lot but I am trying hard to fix my problem and I know how frustrating it is so im slowly going through it and hopefully help you out in the process.

cords z31

heres the light switch diagram, hopefully this helps you, just ask any questions if youre confused, and you can clean/sand the metal pieces for better contact if continuity is not achieved, I had 2 switches and fixed both like that and have been working fine for well over 2 years in 2 different 1984 300zx's.

cords z31

I forgot to mention on the last diagram that you want to make sure on the connector where it says right headlight in, left headlight in, and exterior/room lights in, that's on the actual wire harness you are receiving 12 volts, and just for your information, the turn signal input should only receive 12 volts with the ignition key turned to the on position.

so my problem is that I am not getting power in those wires. theres something between the fuse box and the wiring that went wrong, or wiring to the fuse box, also pull the headlight motor fuses and illumination fuse and check to see if you receive power, then keep following until you don't receive power. if I find out what my problem is, I will be sure to document it and let you know exactly how to fix it.

anyways, heres a diagram of the retract switch.

cords z31

ok, so now I feel like some what of a dummy, my CLEARANCE/ILLUMINATION fuse was too burnt, the only one in the fuse box before, so I replaced it, it too made a quick chime and turned the headlights from the up position, to the down position. Then the headlights would not flip up again, I just looked again, and my CLEARANCE/ILLUMINATION fuse was burnt again, so I replaced it, and tried the retract switch, the headlights would go up and down, yay!!!! and then I tried the light switch, and as soon as I switched it on, the fuse blew once again. The fuse is a 15 amp fuse. I even tried a 20, 25, 30, and also a 10, every single one worked for the retract switch, but not the light switch, it blew every single one. does this mean there is a short in the wire after the fuse? because its fine if you use the retract switch, so Im assuming its a short in the wire anywhere from the fuse box and the light switch? does that make sense?

at least I figured out how the switches work and how to fix them, as my left headlight would never come on, it was because of the switch, and now I know what all the wires do, this came in handy and can be applied to other parts as well, but for the short? im not sure where it is but I guess ill keep looking.

rogerz

download the fsm from xenon for your year. take the pages with the schematics to kinkos on a thumb drive. have them blow it up to 11x17. you can then trim and tape the pieces together and you have a fairly readable schematic. look for frayed wires and bad grounds in the vicinity of the headlights themselves.

aujbman

Sorry Cords, I didn't see your posts until now.

Here is what I have found since my OP...


I do have an aftermarket stereo so I pulled that out and redid the whole wiring. I was also having a problem where the stereo would cut off and on. At the time I pulled it, it had not cut back on in a few days which was abnormal. After a while of checking different things, I figured out that the white connector where the ACC power came in was bad. Luckily, I had previously pulled the white and blue connector wiring from a Z in the junkyard, so, I began the meticulous task of splicing every wire into the new wires I got and plugged that into the connector. Power to the radio! Yay! Now to tackle the running lights..

I tried checking every red wire with a green stripe. These are the wires that go to the bulbs that do the illumination around the center console. I had a feeling it was one of them shorting out.

I found that every time I put everything back together and pressed up on the parts of the bracket that held the radio and climate control, the illumination fuse blew. Now, I have a couple LED's that I had fixed on top of the climate control to get some blue light shining instead of the normal dull light bulbs. So, I figured it was some metal on the LED's themselves that, when pressed against the top where the bracket screws in, would short out. So, I put electrical tape on the top of the LED's. I then pushed on the bracket so that it was in the position it would be in when everything was screwed in and it didn't blow.

So I then screwed everything back into place. And after I screwed in the plastic trim that goes around everything in the center, I tried it again and the fuse blew again!

So, later, I took it apart again, played around with the red and green wires and put everything back but the trim around the edges. Fuse did not blow.

Then, honestly, I can't remember exactly what I did. I think I just went through and taped over some wires, put some electrical tape all around the wires that ran to my LED's that was on top of the climate control box that I thought may be getting squished and somehow causing a short. Whatever I did, it caused the fuse not to blow again. That was about 2 weeks ago.

However, both problems have sort of resurfaced. A few days ago the radio did its thing where it cut off and on again. After kicking around the fuse panel it would come on again, so I am pretty sure it is the yellow and green wire coming from the fuse panel that is bad.

Then, later that day, I turn my lights on and the illumination fuse has blown. No running lights, again.

I haven't pulled the stereo again yet. But apparently I didn't completely fix the problem. If the wires didn't go way behind the dash, and I knew how to remove and reattach wires from those plastic connectors, I would just take some new wire and run completely new lines from the fuse box to the connectors and be done with it. However, I am not that knowledgeable about those things so I guess I will just do what I did last time...fiddle with wires behind the radio until the fuse stops blowing....

cords z31

hey aujbman, I actually found and fixed my problem!!! yay haha! anyways, what I tried was taking the stereo/ac controls right out, and putting a new fuse in, and when I turned the lights on, the headlights came on, motor went up and illumination and side markers and tail lights came on! I plugged everything back in for my stereo and ac controls, the fuse didn't blow, I was confused, but as soon as I put the stereo and ac controls back into the dash, the metal on metal is what was causing the fuse to blow, it was creating a short. so I got my multi meter, and for my stereo, I ran all new speaker wire, but I did use the constant 12v (battery) the switched 12v(ACC) and the ground wire from the existing harness......

well what happened when I was re checking that is... the constant and switched wires were correct, and when the light switch was off, this one wire on the radio harness was showing continuity to ground, so I used that as the radio ground, well turns out when you turn the light switch on, it has 12v......... weird???? how is that possible? so I basically cut that wire from my aftermarket stereo and taped it off, and put my own ground wire to the dash metal. problem solved! hopefully this helps you.

sorry for the long reply..

ps, once you get your short sorted out, my side markers didn't light up, the bulbs were not burnt, the metal contacts were corroded/burnt. so I sanded them and the bulbs worked, same thing with my rear license plate lights, the short caused them to burn.

cords z31

... =/

aujbman

Hey Cords,

Glad you got yours sorted out. Mine had a similar problem, the fuse would not blow until I put the harness back together. Recently, I pulled the harness, put in a 30 amp fuse and turned the lights on. Smoke began emitting from a wire that was pinched behind the clock, inbetween where the plastic housing for the screw on the back is and where the plastic housing meets the metal around the climate control. Anyways, after removing those wires and bandaging them up, and replacing another blown fuse, illumination works now.

Now my only problem, at least, affiliated with all of this, is the line for the radio power at the fuse box. Periodically, my radio will just cut off. But with a swift kick with my left foot to the fuse panel, it comes right back on. So, I need to figure out what exactly I need to do about that.

cords z31

I thought that was my problem too, when I was trying to pull those wires free (the light wires around the top and clock) the metal cut right through the insulation and exposed the wire, but I taped it back up and its fine, so I can see how that was the problem, its a really tight fit in there, and for your radio problem, I would honestly just cut the power wire and tape it off, and run your own wire right from the + terminal on the battery throught the firewall, its easy, I did that with my other 300zx and all I did was run an inline fuse and everything worked perfect, no problems at all, that way you don't have to deal with wires that are hidden, ei behind fuse box or in a wire harness, yours does sound like a loose connection, it could be easy to fix or hard to find, just my 2 cents

aujbman

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the "Audio" wire from the fuse box is loose or something and needs to be replaced. Unfortunately I have no skills in that department and do not have the slightest idea how to take a wire out from the fuse box and put a new one in.

cords z31

It's honestly not to hard, if you take your time, you're really just replacing something that is already there, you don't have to create anything, just duplicate, but I would honestly just take a 10 or 8 gauge wire and run it through the firewall by the AC drip tube and to the battery, that way you wouldn't have to worry about the fuse box, it only took me 10 mins to put a connector on and screw it onto the positive terminal and put the protecting plastic on it and feed it through and solder it to the positive wire on your stereo. Too bad we didn't live close, I woulda have ya a hand, I like helping out my friends with their cars, too bad they all like the idea of nice cars but none want to take time to wrench on theirs lol.