72 240z power problem

[charlesm26]

Yesturday I was driving my car and when I came to a stop noticed my blinkers were not working.At that point I stopped driving the car because I didn't want a ticket.

Today I go out to the car to start it, and there is only a clicking sound from inside the car. The radio turns on, the head light turns on. The ampage gage works, the gas gage does not work. Had the starter checked, and it fired right up. There is power to the battery. I remember I use to have a 1984 mazda rx-7 and a main relay went out and that car would not start but that was only in the Heat. Is there a relay that could be causing this problem?

[Cuts metal like mad]

could be a fuse, or loose wire to battery

[charlesm26]

I have not had the Z for long. We cleaned the battery terminal and all that, and reconnected the connections. Where is the Fuse box location at? Do you know? Is it at the passenger side?

[Cuts metal like mad]

Fuse box is i the console under the heater controls on the 240z

[banzai510(hainz)]

ck the output voltage of the alternator/battery if you get it running. Maybe you was running off the battery at night and charges just enough during the day with a Low load.

[charlesm26]

thanks for the replies guys.

i'll check those fuses. Acoording to my dad, he says the battery has plenty of juice. WE ALSO TRIED TO, the JUMP did not work. The same thing happened, just a click and that is it.

[Cuts metal like mad]

240z's have some of the worst wiring of all datsuns. They are repairable, but leave it to a pro, or you could easily make it worse.

 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

battery cable ends bad.on the cable itself.if you hear a click then the wiring to the starter is halfway OK.

maybe you have a low volt to the selinoid(ADD A RELAY AS dATZENMIKE SAYS TO DO) or the selinoid is bad on the starter or bad cable

[Z Tyler Z]

I know you said the battery has plenty of juice but if I were you I'd take it to a auto parts store and have it load tested. Places like Autozone will do this for free. My old battery would read over 12 volts but when you went to start it would jump down to 9 and all you would hear is ticking.

[charlesm26]

If the battery was simply low, I should have been able to jump the car off my dads right? If the problem is with something on the starter, then would this affect the gas gage, and blinkers?Neither work now. I am wondering how the wiring could be so bad,....It seems so basic under the hood but because I know know nothing about electricl stuff, I am still as dumb as they get when it comes to this kind of stuff. I wish I had more time to trouble shoot the problem. Tomorrow, if we can get it to start by placing the screw driver on the starting and the ground, again, I will drive the car to the electric shop. If I am able to do that, I will let you guys know what the problem ends up being. Thanks!

[banzai510(hainz)]

Frank and Jeff can fix it .

they are in Everett.

Icehouse PM him.

 

you can fix this your self.

 

If the battery was simply low, I should have been able to jump the car off my dads right?

Yes if the cables are good.

Get the molded end type cables not those ones you piece together. If dont fix it then you have new cables anyways.CHEAP!dont know why the gas gauge dont work. clean ends or ck the wire didnt fall off.reseat all fuses or use new ones

[Skib]

Get the molded end type cables not those ones you piece together. If dont fix it then you have new cables anyways.CHEAP!dont know why the gas gauge dont work. clean ends or ck the wire didnt fall off.reseat all fuses or use new ones

 

 

^^ best advice Hainz has ever given me.

 

even if there not bad go get the molded type,

more than once Iv had my clamp on ends be fine and totally clean but there was corrosion of the wire under the insulation :blink:

 

 

and ya Id throw in all new fuses just to be sure, sometime they can be bad even if the wire inside is still intact

 

and before you turn anything on with the new ones open the cover so you can see them.

turn it on and try to start it watching the fuses to see if any start to get hot and glow red.

[charlesm26]

Thanks everyone for your help. Before taking it to the shop I decided to do the last ditch effort and replace the fuses, and battery connections. I didn't have all the fuses but I replaced the ones that I thought made sense. The car fired right up, and the blinkers, and gas gage work too now. The car would not start without the fuse- I had no idea fuses could stop a car from running. Thanks guys! I appreciate your help.

[banzai510(hainz)]

find out how much the shop would charge you and spilt the different with me!

 

these are siemple cars esp the early Datsuns, 70-75

[charlesm26]

: ) Yeah, they seem to be. I knew it had to be something simple,.....but simple is really only simple if you know what to look for :) I think the shop said that they are really into charity work these days :)

[charlesm26]

One more question, you know how I said my lights were good? Well one is actually out. How do I replace it? I spent hours today trying to figure it out.. Am I suppose to go through the front? I see 2 screws that adjust the angle of the lights, which have a grove for a screw driver. Then I see a screw for the headlight bezel with not room for a screw driver to fit through. I have toyed with angling it in a million different ways to get to those other scews and can't seem to do it.

 

Then I thought maybe I am suppose to take the tire off, and unscrew it from the back. There are some screws back there, and rustier than heck. It too me about 5 seconds using all my power to unscrew one to only strip it. SO if this is the path to taking out the headlight, if anyone has any tricks in taking out a stripped phillips screw, that would be great too.

 

I also thought maybe I had to take off the actual part of the from surrounding the headlight. Loosened one bolt, and decided that there is no way that is the way it is suppose to be done, and the bolt twisted right off as if it as made from puddy. Apparently the bolts and screws in the car have not been changed since 1905!

 

So yeah,... how do I get the headlight out to change the thing!!!!!? Thank you!

 

 

[Skib]

Then I thought maybe I am suppose to take the tire off, and unscrew it from the back. There are some screws back there, and rustier than heck. It too me about 5 seconds using all my power to unscrew one to only strip it. SO if this is the path to taking out the headlight, if anyone has any tricks in taking out a stripped phillips screw, that would be great too.

 

 

yup they come out the back, and theres no easy way to do it.

 

make sure you have the correct size screw driver to avoid stripping it out as much as possible, try and get as many out as you can, the rest will break or strip when you have to try and get em out.

 

I had to break the heads off the screws that striped and then try and extract them

[charlesm26]

Can you take a drill bit and drill the screw out?

[Skib]

Can you take a drill bit and drill the screw out?

 

 

ya sure, theres multiple ways of removing screws

[charlesm26]

Is there a better way than drilling it out once it is stripped?

 

 

[charlesm26]

Thanks Skib