ZguyECV

Ok Ive got an 83 280zx with the ditigal cluster all gauges wrk fine except the speedo it stays at 0mph altho the fuel does clitch out occasionally.. Took it all apart 1 fuses are good 2 speedo cables are both good 3 all contacts are good waffer paper looks good slight discoloration in one spot but not to the componets im havening the issue with,, what eles?? im thinking that its the inturnal speedo unit. Ive been thro a majority of the threads here havent found the same issue or at least the correction for it. so ive done research for newer or a replacement for the digi nada zip zero! Found the thread stating that i can swap to the analog cluster keeping in mind that i have to go all the way and pull the dash and cluster harness from the analog and plug it into the main from the digi car. did a search all day today looking for a donor nothing went to 2 pickin pulls found nothing till i was walking out of the 2nd and happend to see a z sitting in the incoming lot yes i think!!! nice cllean car interior trashed but dash intact only thing missing from this car was the throtle body..would the cluster and harness plug into my 83??? aswell what about everything eles hood, light buckets, doors, tranny, ect and so forth???....I hope to get responses fast so i can get everything off this car first lol, planing on going to pull it all in the morning.. thanks all in advance

FricFrac

You should be able to use pretty much whatever you can pull. For the Digital to Analog you need the whole Analog cluster and the pigtail that goes from the analog cluster to the main harness on the passenger side foot well. You need to pull the dash out to get the harness in/out.

If it's a turbo car time for a turbo swap!

ZguyECV

sweet thats what i was hoping to hear. It looks to be the same body, I am new to Zs so I just wanted some reasurement. on some of the threads ive seen, some say that some sensors will be needed?? with how clean this slick top is i wish I could pick up the whole car and part out the rest that i dnt need to fellow z,ers but they wont let me lol..
I wish it was the turbo I'd be doing exactly that!!!

oh yea on the analog cluster it was posted that the 85 speedo can be swaped for a 130mph one.. Now would that be a single speedo out of like a 79, and will that fit into the cluster??

FricFrac

Yup there is a sensor but it's attached to the back of the gauge cluster... so its plug and play...

.... and any analog 85/130 MPH will swap in. It's just a matter of picking the gauge you want

ZguyECV

Ok so I got that all done and everything went pretty smooth over all, not to big of a hasle at all. Only thing is the analog speedo is bouncing all over the place not i traded bad for bad lol but hey at least i can so see an apx speed for now, ill be looking for a good 130. Another thing is that all the lights in the guages seem really dim sept the clock slambed the door hard and they got bright and matched the clock turned on the head lights with the door ope and she talked to me???? first time ive ever heard that tellling me the lights were on... so it obviously a short robing power but where and im hearing a buzz from the back now this is typical when first turning the key befor starting but she would "load" lol and then stop this is continuous????

ZguyECV

83 280zx**ok so I swaped out my digi cluster for an anolag set up today due to bad speedo the one i put in is bad also but at least i can tell approx. speed i am looking for a 130mph to slide in anyone have one?? but the thing is that all the lights in the guages seem really dim sept the clock slambed the door hard and they got bright and matched the clock turned on the head lights with the door ope and she talked to me???? first time ive ever heard that!!!! tellling me the lights were on... so it obviously a short robing power but where and im hearing a buzz from the back now this is typical when first turning the key befor starting but she would "load" lol and then stop this is continuous???? any info all THANKS!!!

NismoPick

Wow... that was pretty hard to understand... abou hal you word ar missin th las lette

So the dash lights were dim, then bright? Have you tried adjusting the dimmer switch?

EDIT... merged threads.

ZguyECV

Didn't think i missed that many letters, a lot of punctuation sure, but if i wanted to be a writer i prolly wouldn't be wrkin on cars lol, This was also just after coming in from the garage, and running all day my bad..

Any whooo

Yes, the dimmer switch was the first thing i went after made sure it was all the way to brite, connections were good at the plug, moved around harness looking for any changes.

This is my first Z had it about a week now (wont be my last) so im not sure on how these cars operate stock / factory new, and what the typical problems / goofs they have after almost 30 yrs of operation. Or the people that own them befor knowing nothing about cars. Not saying im a genius, and know all cuz if that was the case. Wouldn't be on here right

I've read alot of the info in threads on here NISMO u seem to hav alo o informatio ho abou yo sho m th rope hehehe ehhh

P.S also new to the site thanks for the warm welcome X)~ lmao

WanganDevilZ

WildmaN

Now be nice, I am pretty sure he typed that line on purpose.

ZguyECV

Yes i did type that line on purpose, in a joking manor of course... and this is prolly TMI, but that whip wouldn't phase me im also a kinkster single tails are fun both to take and to crack X) lmao...

Now back to topic. Guys any advise on what im talking about with my Z, how bout the talking what controls that where's it at what's it called ect. I think the light issue may be related to the computer since she did talk while the lights were bright, then went dim and didn't talk any more.

Thanks for the info guys i will try to maintain a better writing style that happens sometime when im using my phone to post.

FricFrac

Well welcome to the forum but don't forget we've all been working all day/night as well and getting your idea's across in normal English is difficult. Add to that trying to figure out what the guy is trying to say with jumbled English just makes it painful/frustrating to read. I know you want to get the info as quickly as possible but really the best way to get the info quickly is if someone else can read what you are saying. You'll get way more repsonse if it's not so painful to read. That's it - not busting your hump for the fun of it....

It sounds like you've got a poor connection somewhere if the lights get brighter when you slam the door. Get the FSM from xenons130.com and chase the wiring diagram to find the connectors in that circuit. Wiggle them and see if you can track down the bad connection. You might have a bad ground as well (ala bad connection). Check for corrosion on the connectors.

The whiring in the back is probably the voice unit which is behind the panel that covers the spare tire.

ZguyECV

Yes i do understand all the factors in this completly, as i said ill do my best to make things come across right from that point on. That post also was quick throw on from my phone which is tuff on such a small screen and keys sometimes dnt do what there suppose to.

Thank you for the info!!

backinzxagain

I have read in some threads that it is necessary to change the temp and fuel sending units as well, is this true?

FricFrac

Nope - not that I know of. Never had any problems with my swap and I never changed the senders...

WanganDevilZ

Negative.

The only difference is the harness that connects the gauges to the chassis wiring.

When I had mine hooked up, it showed the correct fuel, as well as temp

backinzxagain

thanks for the replies, that is a relief as far as the fuel sender goes, good news.