RTB

So there's a new issue. Tach kills the spark. No idea why or how.

I think that was the problem. Cleaned the back of the module and got spark. Thank you Mike for helping me out. Fired her up and she sounded incredible.

Is the body of the matchbox supposed to ground on the distributor? The back is metal and pretty dirty.

It does spin.

Yes it does

OK so I used a second battery as a dedicated source of power to the + side of the coil and the b pin. Still no spark.

OK will do.

I have a dedicated ground from the distributor to a ground.

OK during cranking my figures are: from the + side of the coil I go to about 9.5-10 volts. On the negative side same thing. On the b pin of the matchbox I go down to 9.5-10 volts and on the c side it jumps up and down.

Which plug are you talking about?

OK update with figures. In the ON position, bother the + and - sides of the coil have 12 volts. Both the b and c pins have 12 volts as well. These are all to ground figures.

So to explain in more detail - right now I have the black/blue and black/white wire connected to the + side of coil. I have a wire going from the + side of the coil to the b pin of the matchbox. I have a wire going from the - side of the coil to the c pin of the matchbox. I get no spark

Mike, I don't get anything during cranking from the b pin to the + terminal.

I have a black and green wire in that area too. Should that be going to anything?

Yea still no dice.

I have done a Matchbox swap by the books and still no luck getting a spark. My cranking voltage is only 8.5 volts from the C point on the dizzy to ground. No idea why I am losing volts, especially since I have a brand new coil. I tried with another brand new coil and still no luck. I am out of ideas.

I've noticed there is a no longer available relay from a 280zx that would have plugged right in. Does anyone have a picture or a diagram of it so I can make one of my own?

One side is original toshibas. Other side is ge I believe. I plan on removing one of the lights and just having an intake there instead. Would that help? And do I need to ground the plug of the removed light for it to work? No lamps flash which makes me think it's a bad relay.

So I am testing my engine harness to make sure that everything works. And my headlights and running lights all work. But high beams turns everything off and blows a 20 amp fuse. Is it just a bad relay? And on a related note, my turn signal doesn't turn on the dash lights at all. Is that just a bad turn signal relay? When I turn on the hazards they don't really have a set tempo, it sort of bounces all over the place.

First off, thanks to all those that helped me figure out my alternator. I appreciated the help. I was wondering if anyone had good examples of clean starter wiring. I saw you have to use a fusible link or a proper fuse, but I cant figure out how to do it cleanly. Anyone have some tips?

Maybe. I have some auto engine harnesses but this one was a manual so I figured I would have to do less deleting on this one. I've figured out how to wire it up thanks to Mike and Joel. Now I'm trying to figure out the dash to engine connection. I have an extra 6 pin connection, but that should be the one that goes to the auto relay so it can be tucked up to do nothing. The other is is a 3 pin connector that is green/yellow, white/green, and blue/black and I have no connection for it. Likewise, I have a lone extra wire on the engine side that is white/green. So it will be an interesting puzzle to say the least, unless I just take an auto harness and start deleting stuff.

I think I'm starting to figure it out, my harness is really strange in that area. Like it doesn't have a T connector or anything. Like the 4 pin plug is supposed to go to the alternator I guess?

So which wire should I be jumping to the alternator mike? Is there a way to remove the plug completely?

This is the VR plug. The other wires leading from it just go to a 4 pin plug. These are the wire that connect to the alternator and other various things. One wire in there goes to oil pressure sensor. The black/yellow wire I thought was for auto only so I have no clue what its for.