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Rx7 1978 Air con

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Old 02-27-19, 04:29 AM
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Rx7 1978 Air con

Hi there, so I really confused cant find any wiring diagrams about it online at all but my question is my 1978 rx7 series 1 is fitted with all the A/C accessories yet inside the car the little **** that changes the fan speed only lets you toggle from low to high i would of thought you would push that button in to turn the ac on or off. When i turn the fan on i can hear the air con relay clunk in but unsure how it all works could someone give me some in site please.
Old 02-27-19, 09:07 AM
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well set's see here. i googled "rx7 wiring diagrams" and this site was the first one in the list:
Mazda RX-7 Reference Materials

but we all use the foxed.ca site:
Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals

u can download that one and the service manual..
Old 02-27-19, 09:49 AM
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Waffles - hmmm good

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I think on the the early SAs there was just low and high and the lever turned on the AC. On my 80 SA the **** had a push button on the fan control that when pushed engages the AC and lights up blue (back when I had the AC still in the car).
Old 02-27-19, 03:26 PM
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in the US a lot of the early cars didn't come with A/C and they were installed by dealers/aftermarket people, and you get an odd hodgepodge of stuff
Old 02-27-19, 05:20 PM
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Can confirm this. At the time the cars were new,we installed two different kits in the cars at dealership where I worked. Glc,626,B series trucks and RX7 all had more than one brand of kit. 323 same when it replaced the Glc.
Can’t remember the manufacturer of them now but one was definitely better quality than the other and easier to install and less time to install than the other.
Never knew which you would get til parts guy slid the box out the door.
Worked on a fair amount of cars that had ac installed at independent shops. Even then,getting correct replacement parts for the Mazda kits was a crapshoot. Aftermarket stuff even more so.
Old 02-27-19, 07:25 PM
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I replaced the fan motor last night and thats all working now it has a 4 position switch off low medium high, only works on high im pretty sure the blower motor resistor is gone. tried to call mazda to get the part its discontinued have you ever had to replace one of them? I have found were it is located bit of a bitch to remove the plastic housing where the fan goes.
Old 02-28-19, 12:26 AM
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Think I have seen numerous early RX7 version resistors on ebay for about $25-30 new, recently-

Stu Aull
80GS
AZ
Old 02-28-19, 07:26 PM
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I have a couple of these AC install documents from a Mazda tech that was getting rid of his stash. I sent it to foxed.ca for his site.

http://www.foxed.ca/rx7manual/manual...%20Install.pdf

Last edited by KansasCityREPU; 02-28-19 at 07:36 PM.
Old 02-28-19, 08:16 PM
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what is does that resistor do anyway?
Old 03-01-19, 12:36 PM
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Waffles - hmmm good

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Originally Posted by midnight mechanic
what is does that resistor do anyway?
Controls the speed of the motor. When they fail you get missing speeds usually.
Old 03-01-19, 02:48 PM
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so I don't need it if I just want high speed?
Old 07-16-19, 10:15 PM
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My '79 A/C works 'as designed,' but definitely not much interior cooling to overcome oppressive St L summers.

Were the A/C systems in later years 1st gens any better?

Anyone aware of any improvements to their early FB's A/C system to enhance cooling of interior?

Any 'after-market' improvements available?

Thanks for any responses.
Old 07-17-19, 12:04 AM
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Have you had your system converted to R134? Likely scenario after all these years. This refrigerant is less efficient than original refrigerant,even when system operating at 100%,the cooling is not as good with dash outlet temps 10-15 degrees warmer.
Part of the problem is all the solar load from all the glass heating interior,this you can do nothing about...

Look in 1st generation specific for thread"Suggestions for modern FB AC condenser" read thru this thread,a lot of info there that can be applied to your SA and no if your ac system is working best possible,FB systems aren't any better than yours.

Last edited by GSLSEforme; 07-17-19 at 12:13 AM. Reason: spelling
Old 07-17-19, 11:36 AM
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GSLSforme -

Yes, converted to R134.
Prior sources of R12 now non-existent.
Thanks for that referral to "Suggestions for modern FB AC Condenser"
I'll check it out.
Old 07-17-19, 01:09 PM
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GSLSforme-

read thru the suggested thread - thanks, lot of good info contained therein.

Do you think there's any possibility of swapping out original 79 AC components for more recent model Mazda AC components?

Thinking something along the line of later model small size Mazda coupe/sedan to replace the 79 under-hood AC components.

of course if it was that easy, maybe someone would have already done it (?)

All suggestions greatly appreciated.
Old 07-17-19, 01:48 PM
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Much fabrication$$$,no bolt in of modern parts to 40 year old car.Not practical,feasible. If you have functional AC in your car,you're several steps ahead of many others. If you go thru that thread carefully it contains all the info needed to convert system over to R152 which will get you dash outlet temps@ 40 degrees.
Old 07-17-19, 08:50 PM
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GSLSEforme : Many Thanks for your advice.
Old 07-17-19, 09:01 PM
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Good luck,start a thread as you proceed,ask questions. Happy to help.
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