dicky96

Here is another pic my friend tarted up a bit :yes: - I really do like this one (not that I did not love the other one) This is the friend BTW who I am really trying to suggest he buys himself a Z and joins the club :cool3: Prob is if he does it seems he really really wants a shorty targa TT (so he says) and not for silly money

@zbolt I also went through the mill on this one after a respray and having all rubber s removed and refitted Point is they are the same rubbers so if they worked before then you should think they would work afterwards...... Took me a few weeks of sealing and testing and resealing but finally I got there (pretty much so - I always had a very slight leak on the driver window before and do so now - but I can live with it, it's just a few drips and does not get on the seat) All I did is every time it leaked after I thought I fixed it, is get the targa off in a bit of dry weather and try to see where it comes from - then get the silicone sealant out. In my case every single leak was getting under the rubber rather than over it - apart from possibly the very small drips I get now - those I think are because the rubber is worn where it seals against the driver side glass. I would certainly suggest you take off the plastic cover at the top end of the A frame ( It's held on by one screw just where the targa clips on - take the targa panel off and you will see it easy enough - I did post pics on the 'targe laking like a sieve' thead' so refer to that if it is not clear what I mean. If there is any water inside that plastic cover thing then from my experience it is getting in underneath the rubbers. If it ain't raining pour a kettle full of water over the roof, then have a look where it is getting in So what I am suggesting is persevere and you may well fix it - I thought mine was a hopeless case but it was not.... in the end. It just took more effort that I would have thought to fix it, Rich

And I am the only one with a double Z logo? Probably yeah thanks to the well meaning missus!! But come on guys, there must be some stranger fobs than that out there......... who's got the most bizarre/funky/whatever one?

Maybe I was a little eager........ lol

But Andy I've heard the saying that 'Two Zeds are always better than one' :lol::clown::lol:

Put me down for Saturday and Sunday then What time to I need to get down there on the Sat? Rich

No worries.... but you were showing your age lol

Damn you gave it away lol And actually I'm a Soul man..... but I quite like it! So come on guys any one else got something fun, different, unusual or just damn cool on their Z key fob?

Spotted this on ebay - seems a bit excessive!! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Keyring-Real-Genuine-Carbon-Fibre-Z-180Sx-200Sx-240Z-300Zx-350Z-370Z-/370664208078?pt=UK_Car_Parts_Vehicles_Automobila_ET&hash=item564d4ef6ce m8 of mine said I ought to get something with a Z to put on mine, and the missus obviously oveheard and a couple days later this turns up in the post lol..... Of course it had to go on the keyring otherwise it would seem a bit ungrateful and actually I quite like it..... If you don't know what it actually is.... go ask yer dad lol :rockon:

My thoughts Entirely lol

Anyone tried it? Gear Stick / Ignition button http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manual-Gear-Knob-Stick-Shift-Engine-Start-Button-Fits-Nissan-300-ZX-300ZX-/190780174966?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c6b627276 Rich

Hey guys....... Can I come along to help make up the numbers? Is JAE a three day event though as I could most probably only make two - Sat/Sun Is that a problemo? Rich

OK Well that door panel is about to come off anyway.......... seeing as my ever temperamental drivers door window has now decided it will not go down anymore no way - so I will have a look.... and then most probably post some pics to find out what I am actually looking at :confused1: Cheers Rich

@z32 I also have a small leak from that point having fixed most of the problem by sealing down the rubber on the corner of the targa/roof I think probably the edge of the rubber is worn and lets rainwater drip down inside the window Can I suggest you wait until it is dry (or wipe down the rubbers if it ain't) then coat it with chalk or talcum powder Close the door then when it next rains you should see the tracks of the leak clearly in the chalk dust - post them up and lets see if it is the same as mine, and maybe get some resolution to the problem for once and for all If you don't see any tracks in the dust it's probably getting in underneath the rubber - so needs more sealant Rich

I think (can't quite recall) my previous Z was the same as this one I have a key fob that enables/disables the aftermarket(?) immobiliser but it does not trigger the central locking/unlocking However If I use the key in the drivers door that also unlocks the passenger side so central locking works in it's own way Is the Z supposed to have central locking working from the key fob? And if not how do I make it do so - as apart from the chance of scratching the paintwork, the key and/or locks on my car feel like they are getting tired and one of these days something is gonna break and having to open the doors with a key looks so naff these days :mad2: I only have one key as it is, seeing that a year or so the other one snapped off in my ignition and I was lucky to get the offending part out of the barrel Can anyone help me fix this Rich

Jeff you must have seen hundreds of Zeds in your time so your comments re what I have been doing to style my car are so much appreciated Shame it was so grubby and full of ice today but Cheers :D

I took the Zed down to Zedworld today where Jeff changed the thermostat - it was indeed stuck wide open! I haven't driven the car far enough yet to comment on fuel economy, but one thing is certain. I told Jeff that I had not noticed any difference in the car performance when the stat was faulty - but I think it must have been broken for some time and I forgot how the car ran before. It's certainly running better now, it feels more responsive. And it's nice and warm inside!! So cheers Jeff and all who advised, I'm well happy Rich

Ahh I see - the zedwizz uses multiple LEDs rather than a few high powered ones cheers for the heads-up on that Andy I am now waiting for these 10W red LEDs - I think I can use them with a diffuser mounted further up the reverse light enclosure, as they will have a mega light output. I'm trying to get something that can not be seen (through the lens) until it is on. Shame they take so long from Hong Kong but it's a fun project so worth the wait to test this idea. Will be interesting to see what we get once finished prototyping

I like it!!

@trev No problem using 1W LEDs (resistor value is higher) I use yellow ones for my LED indicators and indicator repeaters Not sure one would light up the whole of the apeture though, for fog lights. I would imagine they would look like the set of 4 x 3W that I tried (but slightly less bright) Maybe them 10W buggers will be too bright lol but I ordered a few now from Hong Kong so will have a play with them when they arrive

I have another idea... which is to use a single 10W Red LED instead of the four 3W LEDs for each fog light The 3W are 80 lumens each so 4 x 80 = 320 lumens per fog light The 10W LED is 500 lumens so a single LED would be brighter and I am thinking I can mount it further up inside the fog light enclosure. I am not sure it will evenly light the entire aperture as the lamp enclosure is only about 3/4 the length of the aperture 'window' (as described above) but it's gotta be worth a try. Maybe two 10W LEDs mounted high up in the reverse light enclosure would give a more even light if mounted at different angles - I ordered a few from china to play with (as they were 20% of the price of any I could find in the UK) so guess they will be another week or two. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pc-High-Power-Super-Bright-Integrated-LED-Light-Bulb-Beads-10W-Lamp-Bulb-Red-/300840485047?pt=UK_Light_Bulbs&hash=item460b7d80b7 Of course I also have to modify the design of the divider between the fog/reverse sections as well, though I may eventually have something that works properly lol Any other ideas/suggestions Andy (and anyone else who likes to play with car illumination (groover where are you?)) cheers Rich

I need to upload a clearer picture of the rear of the reverse lights PCB so you can see track cuts and soldering (if anyone wants to have a go at building this) just let me know The Red fog LEDs are all wired in one 'daisy chain' of four LEDS like this +12V --> 4.7ohm 5W resistor --> +LED1- --> +LED2- --> +LED3- --> +LED4- --> Ground Note the LEDs have a + and a - and all need to be the same way round! The white Reverse LEDs are wired like this (two daisy chains of two LEDs) +12V --> 4.7ohm --> 4.7ohm -- > +LED1- --> +LED2- --> Ground +12V --> 4.7ohm --> 4.7ohm -- > +LED3- --> +LED4- --> Ground This is because the red LEDs have a 'forward voltage' of about 2.5 Volts each so there is plenty voltage to supply all four (4 x 2.5 = 10V) The white LEDs have a 'forward voltage' of about 3.5V so if you wire all four in one chain (4 x 3.5 = 14V) there is not enough voltage to light them properly This is also why the red LEDs draw about 0.5A and the white ones about 1 Amp (0.5A per 'daisy chain') I used 2 x 4.7 ohm 5 Watt resistors in series for each chain of two white LEDs, beacuse that is what I had lying around - it would be easier to use 1 x 10 ohm for each chain instead - but make sure it is rated at 10 Watt

The vertical section of PCB is there just to act as a divider so the LEDs only illuminate the correct aperture

Yeah I agree Andy, it needs some way to diffuse the Fog lights but it is not easy to do. Though to be honest it does not look too bad with the four red dots. The Reverse light also has four white dots, however that light is so bright it is actually painful to look at for more than a fraction of a second so you don't really see the individual LEDs. Although these are all 3Watt LEDs the White ones are about 180 lumens of brightness and the red ones about 80 lumens. I don't think a diffuser sheet would help a lot as one of the other problems is that the fogs LED pcb must be mounted close to the clear 'window' to get it to fit. That is because there is less space behind the two top reverse lights than there is between the two bottom ones. I fitted the fogs PCB into the top 'windows' as I walso wanted it to double up as a brake light repeater when the fogs are off, so it only looks right if mounted in the top. I originally tried with the PCB mounted further back in the bulb enclosure but it only lights about 3/4 of the aperture as the last part is covered with plastic and it did not look right. I then cut this plastic away to illiuminate the whole aperture but because the hole in the metalwork of the Zed is narrower than the reverse lights 'lens' it means the PCB must be mounted very close to it otherwise it would not fit. You did mention that the Zedwizz PCB also mounted by cutting away part of the plastic on the rear panel. I've never actually seen a Zedwizz PCB or how it mounts so would be interested to see if they had the same issue and how they got around it. It is not so much a problem with the reverse lights which fit into the bottom 'window' as there is more space, and you don't need to cut away at the plasticc on the back panel either. So not only are they much brighterthey are also mounted further back. All this will be much clearer if I post some pics so here goes. This is how I built it.

OK here we go version 2 The fog lights show as four distinct LEDs (they don't look yellow like the pic - that's just my camera makingh it look like that) and are really bright The reverse lights are mega bright! You can't even see the individual LEDs Four white and four red LEDs now used The meter shows the current drawn approx .50 amp for fogs and 1 amp for reverse Hows that looking? Will put some pics of how I made it later Rich