I've noticed that my fan switch (OFF-1-2-3) only turns the fan on when in the number 3 position (position 1 and 2 dont do any thing). Does anyone have a wiring diagram that I could use to see what wires/connectors are the ones I should be checking? Did this happen to anyone else?

Secondly, when starting the car about 80% of the time I crank it in the START position and it never starts. It only fires if I turn the key to ON. Then the other 20% of the time the car will crank AND start while the key is in the ON position. This intermittent problem has me stumped as to whats wrong?

Check for dirty contacts on the switches. If your vent fan starts at pos 3 then works at pos 1 & 2 after started it may be getting a bit tired and needs replacing.

Also sounds like a broken starter switch, try hot wiring it to confirm this.

Geoff.

#2 is classic symptom of a bad START connection to the coil

IGN: Power to ballast resistor
START: Power direct to coil
Go under the bonnet and pull off and push back on the coil connectors. Make sure they are tight.

#1 could be something wrong in the heater fan resistor. At position no. 3 it bypasses the resistor.

Position 1: Blower off
Position 2: Low speed
Position 3: High speed

See Heater

Where is that resistor? Let me guess - behind the dash :/

The fan ONLY runs in No.3 position - wont work on 1 or 2 even after switching to 3 first. In the case of dirty contacts, is there a way to clean then without removing the whole dash?

Turns out the contact were a bit loose on the coil ddgonzal so thanks for that fix! I pinched then with piers to make then tighter and it worked. I'll try and replace them asap with new ones though.

Thirdly, another issue came up. I had the car in the drive washing/cleaning it (I drove it their) after cleaning I started it and idled if for about a min.

I came to start it 2 hours later and it refused to start after cranking the battery flat (I was trying to start it assuming it would fire on the on position as it turned out the coil had dirty contacts). I saw the fuel gauge and it was on empty (Datsun fuel gauge though, so idk lol).

I put more fuel in and charged the batt. and it wont start and the plugs are dry plus I'm getting spark.

So, is it possible that the fuel pump is run dry. Do stock A12 fuel pumps self prime?

Feel like such a noob as these stupid little things are getting in the way all of a sudden when the car was perfectly fine last time I used it.

Glad to hear that fixed the starting problem!

Fan is not supposed to come on in position #1. That is OFF. The fan switch is sealed, so the don't usually go bad so that cleaning will fix it.

Won't start? Try removing the distributor cap & drying all of the condensation that I believe has accumulated on the inside. [Hair dryers are good for this]

This is a classic problem & a new distributor cap & rotor is often the cure. Old distributor caps can deteriorate a bit like old paint. The surface is no longer glossy & moisture remains all over the surface causing an electrical path for your sparks to leak across.

The same sort of thing occurs at the coil tower where the lead plugs in.
Old HT cables can also suffer from water problems. WD40 [or similar] can often be used as a diagnostic tool here so after drying the inside of the distributor cap, have a go at starting. No need to grind the battery flat, it will either go, or it won't.
No luck? Then spray some on the coil tower [after drying it with something] then do the leads if that one fails.

Standard maintainance procedures would call for the replacement of any or all of these parts when they become suspect.

I don't know what was wrong! I just threw in a 1/4 cup fuel in the air box and then she fired right up. It had spark but the plugs were dry?! And the carbs were clean and they were getting fuel so idk. Works now though (don't ya just love the redneck fixes).

I've got an electric dissy now with a new cap and newish (hah) rotor. The leads are those blue silicone ones so they are recent I'm guessing. If it doesn't start this morning easily I'll check out the dissy.