What do the fuses do?

[creophus]

I have a 96 240sx se and am wondering what all of the fuses do. I have (I think) ABS and LSD. I locked up the wheels last night and have discovered that there is no fuse in the ABS/Cont socket. I'm thinking this is why I locked up the wheels. Also, there is a fuse missing from the very first slot (top-left) It's labeled A/T control. Can anyone tell me what the fuses control?

I am right in thinking that ABS won't work unless there's a fuse in the ABS/cont slot right?

[91nis240]

yes any time a fuse is blown or missing something will not be working right

[creophus]

...so what does that A/T cont fuse control???

[Anand]

you sure you have ABS and LSD?? cuz I don't have them and hence I have no fuse for them...

[creophus]

well, from what I understand they come together with the leather and security package. I was told the car has ABS. I have a fuse for it, but I'm not sure about the LSD. Supposedly, they come together though...

[96_S14_SE]

Thats not entirely true.. Just because there is a spot for the fuse doesnt mean there should be one in there. Its labeled to save cash so nissan doesnt have to print 10 different fuse box listings. The same reason you have an A/T spot but no automatic transmission.

check in the engine bay for the abs actuator (to the left of the intake manifold with brake lines going to it). If its not there you dont have it. If you look at the relay / main fuse box there are spots for 2 30A fusable links, as well btw, but even though one may not have abs the spots are there and they are labled..

[MaineExport]

well, from what I understand they come together with the leather and security package. I was told the car has ABS. I have a fuse for it, but I'm not sure about the LSD. Supposedly, they come together though...

NOPE... they (ABS and VLSD) only came packaged together on the 95 SE. All other s14 models they were available together or separately on base or SE models.

[creophus]

Ok...so how can I tell exactly? I have the VIN...shouldn't I be able to find out that way? How do I decode it?

[MaineExport]

Ok...so how can I tell exactly? I have the VIN...shouldn't I be able to find out that way? How do I decode it?

No, the VIN won't have options in it. But it you look at the firewall.. on the passenger side there is the vehicle ID plate. It will have an 18 digit code. There are several threads about how to determine if you have VLSD or not. That ID plate code will tell you, but you'll have to do a search of this site to find the meaning of code numbers. I don't feel like doing it right now... it's 2 am here.

TO find out about ABS... look just to the left of that ID plate. If you have an ABS actuator (control unit) then you have ABS. It will have brake lines running through an aluminum block with a 'black-box' computer on top.

Chances are... if you didn't have a fuse in the slot... you don't have ABS. The fuse box will have that slot labeled on every 240 with or without ABS.

[creophus]

You're right...the car doesn't have ABS. Will this be a problem for a project car? It also means there is no LSD. Should I try to get rid of the vehicle because of this?

[MaineExport]

ABS is just another thing to get in the way and go wrong. I have ABS and I hate it. But remember, you could still have VLSD, they were available seperately in 96... so you CAN have one without the other. I happen to have both... but I wish I had standard braking.

The VLSD is a huge bonus... but it is fairly cheap and extremely easy to swap one in. Dont ditch the car because of that...

[creophus]

Thanks dude...you helped me out a lot! I sort of panicked once I found out no ABS...I just wasn't thinking clearly!

[MaineExport]

No problem!

It sounds like you've got a pretty sweet car... even if you don't have the VLSD that is an easy problem to overcome.

I don't like the ABS because I feel (perhaps mistakenly) that I have more control over my vehicle without it. To me... it's just added weight and more electronics that can fail.

[creophus]

That sure does help dude! So just how easy is it to put on a LSD? And how much might one cost?

[MaineExport]

The cost is dependant upon where and how you find the parts. Your best bet is to do your research (some quality time searching the NICO archives is a good place to start) and learn what LSDs are a direct swap.. and what vehicles you can find them in. Then go to a junk yard and find one. For example, the 300zx N/A VLSD is a direct swap with a 240. I believe the J30 rearend is the same as well. With each there are a few things to keep in mind. I believe output flanges differ between the 300zx N/A VLSD rear and ours... but that is simply overcome by purchasing the output flanges from the delear.

Best case scenario, you can find a 240sx in a junkyard with a VLSD. Then it is a matter of opening the diff and retrieving the guts... and swapping them into your rearend.

I can't tell you bolt for bolt how the process goes (because I've never done it on a 240), but it is fairly easy. If you have to pay a garage to do it... it shouldn't be more than a couple hours labor. It is direct bolt on stuff... no custom fabrication.

[Nismo_Freak]

Once you get some power the OEM VLSD is beyond its range. Its not the best working unit made but it is better than the one-wheel wonder diff.

[PabloHoney]

You don't swap the guts of the VLSD, just take the whole diff. Faster, easier, and probably cheaper.

[creophus]

So what's a good aftermarket? I've heard of KAAZ and Cusco, but I'm not sure of any details