Hey guys,

Im 17 and just got my first car! a 280zx. My dad drove one, as well as my grandfather. I know it is going to take some effort but wanted to drive a classic!

The car made it home from the guy i bought it from but now it is having a few problems.

The RF headlight works normally but the LF has a fraction of the voltage, resulting in a much dimmer light and even dimmer on brights. I rotated multiple relays on the fender well and it didn't help at all. I checked the combination switch. the connector and the plug in were fine, found no missing pins or burnt pins. not sure if there is a connection or not but my turn and hazards do not work either.

all help is appreciated. Thanks

 

Welcome to the club!

Check out www.xenons130.com for the FSM - that should get you started on where to check.

 

Yes, i have the FSM and i cant find anything

 

It might seem complicated but it's not really. The current flow through the wire. The FSM has the schematic and shows you the path the current flows through. You just need to divide and conquor. See which section the voltage gets to then check the next and see if it get there. Eventually there will be a spot where you get the voltage going in one section and not out the other.

Check the hazzard switch - it's a common problem that causes a lot of signal light issues....

 

the stalk switch that controls the lights is often a problem look for burnt contacts in there.

 

Had a weird issue exactly like yours in my 81 clean the prongs on your fuse. . . . . . . . Stupid but it fixed it also with the hazards the switch can be hot wired but your turn signals will work with out the key being on =)

 

For the headlights what is the voltage at the connector to the light. What is the voltage on the body harness connector in the passenger foot well - looks like the LH is fed from the RB wire (with the warning display system - RG without). Comes out of the white connector. Also gets fed into the Headlamp sensor which is the box by the relay box in the engine bay. Check the voltage on the RG going into the Headlamp sensor and RB coming out.

I'm looking in the 1983 under EL-70

 

I got the HL fixed now on to the turns and flashers.....going to look further today. I know all the fuses are fine i cleaned all the connections

 

OK...headlamp sensor reads RG 14v, RB going out reads 9.v All the wires looked like they were rted / black / green! but the other 4 leads only showed < 1v I have to admit the "fix" for the LH was simply a jumper wire from the RH 14v lead. Not exactly textbook correct but if the headlight sensor is the problem them I'd rather replace that. I didn't notice any significant difference when it was on Hi/Lo beams. Is there any connection with this and why I can't get my turn signals and flashers to work?