Crazy electrical happening
 

Hey guys and gals, this is my first post outside of the newbie section. I come to you with the first of what will most likely be many questions about the world of owning and working on RX7s. This is my second car and the one I hope to put the most effort into. My other ride is a lifted '88 Subaru GL wagon. My 7 is a 1984 GS 5spd with a sunroof. There's a little over 200k on the odometer (I know, somewhat worrisome on a multiple owner rotary from the 80s) but she seems to run well enough for now. The body is in comparable shape to most 30 year old $1200 cars, i.e. straight minus faded paint and some slightly beat up fenders. I'll definitely post some pictures when I get around to taking some. Anyway, let me get to the point of this post.

So, tonight when I hopped in my rex to go for a drive, I flipped the reading light over to my side (while the door was still open, and yes this is relevant). The light didn't come on, which bummed me out as it is now another item on the ever-growing list of small issues with the car. I tried the dome light, which didn't work either. This was pretty odd as both had worked yesterday and both bulbs burning out at the same time would be rather coincidental. Now realizing that the door was still open, I shut it. The door buzzer didn't go off. I tried my door again, this time harder because the hinge is slightly bent and has some trouble closing occasionally. This, and trying the other door, did nothing. I then realized that the reading light was still flipped on (yet not illuminated) and decided to try turning it off in a last ditch effort to get that damned buzzer to turn off. Hallelujah, it worked. Feeling investigative, I flipped it back on. There was the buzzer again. So, reconciling with the fact that I no longer had interior illumination, I carried on my now markedly less merry way.

Later, when returning home from a friend's place, I hopped in (and hoped), flipped on the light and was pleased as well as perplexed to see it blink on. I tried the dome light, it worked too. Now situated, I closed the door, turned off the lights, and drove.

Arriving home, I flipped over the light to gather my thingsbut there was no light, only that damned buzzer.

So now I don't know what the hell is up with my car. I guess there is some kind of short in whichever circuit dictates the door buzzer and interior lights. Right now I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced similar issues and would have advice on resolving them. I'm not very experienced with automotive wiring and certainly not very confident when it comes to troubleshooting/repairing issues with those systems, so any guidance would be appreciated.

Sounds like a bad ground to me. Might want to check in to replacing the ground cable that runs from the battery to the starter. That ground cable also has a grounding point in the strut tower.

What I did was to buy two cables. One main cable that runs from the battery to starter (about 4 feet) and another that runs from the battery to strut tower (about 2 feet). I purchased mine from Tractor Supply Company. Either 00 or 2 gauge.

Hmm, that's actually pretty interesting. I was recently having some starting issues and ended up replacing the battery and starter. The whole time I had suspended that there may have been a grounding issue. Thanks for the input, I'll definitely try it.

Replacing your battery cables is one of the best small, cheap and easy things you can do to help the reliability of your car. The starter will crank faster, resulting in a more reliable start and less trouble with flooding. The ignition will work more effectively for similar effect. And all the other electrical systems will work more predictably.

You won't be able to find pre-made battery cables, but I was able to get all the bits I needed to cobble together a pair for like $15 at the local part store. I went slightly thicker with the wires, copper core, and copper loops where itattaches to the starter , strut tower, fusible link block and rear engine housing. The difference is night and day.

Cool, thanks guys for such informative responses