Datsun 510, universal harness in, Bad Headlight switch?

[TheBirdistheWord]

it is internally regulated. I converted the system at the same time I did a matchbox dist. when I bought the car a few years back. 

[Crashtd420]

1 hour ago, TheBirdistheWord said:

it is internally regulated. I converted the system at the same time I did a matchbox dist. when I bought the car a few years back. 

Well that's good.... just checking I've seen that mistake made..... 

[datzenmike]

10 hours ago, TheBirdistheWord said:

replaced a fuseable link and now the charge light is intermittently blinking when I rev the engine......  battery is getting charged, and multimeter says the voltage isnt actually dropping.  da faq?!

 

Are the two wires to the plastic plug on the alternator switched. I drove mine for 3 years backwards.

[TheBirdistheWord]

I just tried to switch them, how did you run your car for years like that?  mine was completely dead the opposite way I ha it set up.  switched it back, had my lights, and ignition back. but still a flickering charge light.  could LED bulbs have something to do with it?

[datzenmike]

Well it ran fine but years, and later I installed a volt meter. I noticed on a trip to Canby that it wasn't charging after I started it after gassing up. Freaked out but 4 or 5 stops later it was charging again only to stop on the next start. It continued this all the way home. It turns out that the sense wire wouldn't be working but once the battery charge dropped to around 11 volts, and there is enough residual magnetism in the alternator to give a trickle charge which would be fed back into the battery in a positive feedback loop the output would jump to 14.3 until you shut it off.  It had been doing this for years but as it never affected starting how would you know?

 

I should have noticed the red charge light didn't come on with the key. At least I don't think it did, besides I added a factory tach which incorporated the charge light and just assumed it wasn't working.  

 

If the charge light was an LED it probably would. The charge light has to be connected and not burned out for the alternator to receive a small voltage to the windings to jump start the magnetism in them.

[TheBirdistheWord]

finally got a chance to prod new alternator With a full load, (i.e. headlights, blinkers, and wipers) the terminal going to the bulb is dipping and fluctuating wildly below 10v and barely breaks 10v with no load. seems this could be cause my charge light to do what it is doing.   I didnt use the modern connector when I switched to the KA alt, I planed to get it in the future and wiring it in.  Could there be a resistor in there? or does anyone know if adding a resistor will help with this fluctuation?

 

new symptom, in addition to the voltage fluctuation my horn is activating when I turn my left signal on. but ONLY after I rev the engine to get the alt charge to kick in.  Ill poke around in there after work today to see if theres a loose connection.   I have seen a few photos where the modern connector an KA alt has a ground coming from it in addition to the S and T terminals.  I just grounded to the alt body as if it were the 260z alt I had in there last. can anyone with a KA swapped alt on an l20b confirm?

 

ANY feedback would be greatly appreciated, Id really like to be able to act as if this thing is reliable again.

Edited September 20, 2018 by TheBirdistheWord

[paradime]

I was chasing electrical issues for years in me 72 SR swapped 510 that has the SR alternator. I would get everything working for a week or so only to have it fail again, sometimes causing an entirely different issue.  After taring my hear out trying to get it stabilized, including pulling apart the blinker switch and cleaning it, I Finally replaced the blinker switch and Bingo, problem solved. Note, there are two different switches on the 68-69 vs the 70-73 both in wiring and plugs. In the 510 harness there are more green ground wires than you can shake a stick at, Sometimes when you're blending stock switches/relays with modern "universal" stuff, remember there are specific ground characteristics these old components may be looking for. I wish I could be more specific, but my car's electrical system is a total hybrid of custom built, multi auto manufacturers, after market parts and, IMO dark magic. 

 

Edit: I should also mention I rewired the key ignition and starter switches on my car. and I have Revolution gauges and indicator lights.   

Edited September 20, 2018 by paradime

[TheBirdistheWord]

8 hours ago, paradime said:

I was chasing electrical issues for years in me 72 SR swapped 510 that has the SR alternator. I would get everything working for a week or so only to have it fail again, sometimes causing an entirely different issue.  After taring my hear out trying to get it stabilized, including pulling apart the blinker switch and cleaning it, I Finally replaced the blinker switch and Bingo, problem solved. Note, there are two different switches on the 68-69 vs the 70-73 both in wiring and plugs. In the 510 harness there are more green ground wires than you can shake a stick at, Sometimes when you're blending stock switches/relays with modern "universal" stuff, remember there are specific ground characteristics these old components may be looking for. I wish I could be more specific, but my car's electrical system is a total hybrid of custom built, multi auto manufacturers, after market parts and, IMO dark magic. 

 

Edit: I should also mention I rewired the key ignition and starter switches on my car. and I have Revolution gauges and indicator lights.   

 

Thanks!  you gave me a good idea of where to start looking.  Before the rewire, I suspected the H4 harness or its relays may have been the cause of my issues but I wrote it off once I noticed half of the dash harness was melted.  checking grounds is obvious, is there a way to check relays with multimeter?  gotta poke around the new high beam relay as well.

 

signal switch is the only thing I havent replaced in the dash,  im hoping is just screw or ground on a loose signal rotator ring thingy

Edited September 21, 2018 by TheBirdistheWord