1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Lights go Down but not UP ?!?!?

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Old May 3, 2003 | 08:43 PM
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Question Lights go Down but not UP ?!?!?


First of all neither of the headlights would work. Had power but would not operate. Both motors were frozen. Bought replacement motors. Both motors turned freely. Installed them and ran a check. Neither would pop-up.
When I rotate the **** by hand the lights will open (manually). When the lights reach the full open position the motor takes over and closes them.
What am I missing ?
Can someone take a pic of the fuseable like for these motors ?
I would appreciate all advice.
Thanks to all....

Hootster.........
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Old May 4, 2003 | 01:38 AM
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Re: Lights go Down but not UP ?!?!?

Originally posted by Hootster
First of all neither of the headlights would work. Had power but would not operate. Both motors were frozen. Bought replacement motors. Both motors turned freely. Installed them and ran a check. Neither would pop-up.
When I rotate the **** by hand the lights will open (manually). When the lights reach the full open position the motor takes over and closes them.
What am I missing ?
Can someone take a pic of the fuseable like for these motors ?
I would appreciate all advice.
Thanks to all....

Hootster.........
The fusible link is on the drivers side strut tower, however that is not the problem, since the motor goes ahead and closes them.

My guess is that you have a switch problem, likely with the headlights "on" switch or the actual headlight retractor switch on the dash. They are known to fail. Check out a haynes manual for confirmation.
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Old May 4, 2003 | 01:42 AM
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yea its most likly the Headlights on switch thats what happend to my car. i had to click it like 4 times bofor they would go up.
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Old May 4, 2003 | 07:57 AM
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on the side of the motor is a realy, when yuo turn the lights on its puts a + charge to one side of the realy, when you turn off it puts a + charge to the other side, check it is getting the + charge to the relay

its a real pain in the butt to work it all out, just rewired my whole car and they take a bit of time, if you have a FSM you can see it in the wiring digramme
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Old May 5, 2003 | 12:27 AM
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One shot fix - this one comes from experience, and it has nothing to do with your switches inside the car, the headlight 'cleaning' (manual up) switch, or any short circuit.

*** Replace your headlight fusible link with a known good one ***

No kidding. Don't waste your time trying to track down an electrical problem - the problem is a bad fusible link for the headlights. BTW, it will test fine with an ohmmeter, but under load, it will not work correctly - trust me.

Go and do it and report back. HTH,
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Old May 5, 2003 | 09:25 AM
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I had the same problem, headlights go down, but won't come up, until I switched back to low beams. Now it works fine, just whenever I flip the switch for high beams, they won't go back up.
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Old May 9, 2003 | 05:06 AM
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My problem is almost the same...my one headlight wont close,it closes when i turn the motor though..

Any ideas ?
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 11:12 PM
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From: 7400 ft plus jack stands
Question

Originally Posted by LongDuck
One shot fix - this one comes from experience, and it has nothing to do with your switches inside the car, the headlight 'cleaning' (manual up) switch, or any short circuit.

*** Replace your headlight fusible link with a known good one ***

No kidding. Don't waste your time trying to track down an electrical problem - the problem is a bad fusible link for the headlights. BTW, it will test fine with an ohmmeter, but under load, it will not work correctly - trust me.

Go and do it and report back. HTH,
My search for fuseable links keeps giving this advice, but how do I aquire a 'known good' link? the ones at a yard would be as old as the one I need to replace. I haven't found an auto parts store that stocks them, and the Mazda dealer needed $6 and over a week to get me one.

Does anyone have useable manufacturer part #s for the green, white and black wires, and a recommendation on where to get them rather quickly?

thanks
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 11:21 PM
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go to napa and pick up a fusible link of any type for right now and put ends that will go in place of your old ones just to confirm if its the problem, if its is. pm me with your address and i will mail you some spares that i have for free. rx7doctor
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 10:00 AM
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JDGJr85GSLSE's Avatar
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From: 7400 ft plus jack stands
Sent email. thanks!

More questions:
1 - how can you tell if the links are really bad (w/o using a spare)? they don't seem to look differently on the outside, etc.
2 - do most people just ignore these until something goes wrong, or is it a good idea to keep spares on hand?
3 - looks like mine got brittle from the heat and time. this has to be common, right?
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 01:30 PM
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My problem is kinda similar, my headlights go up but not down....

If some one could help me with that, it would be great...
also, the same time the headlights started to mess up, my interior lights and running light won't come on...

help?
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 01:34 PM
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From: 7400 ft plus jack stands
Originally Posted by sixstar
my running light won't come on...

help?
That's the fuseable link. probably the black one in between the 2 brown ones. Also check the fuses under the dash.

My dial lights don't work, either, but I want to get the fuseable link issue resolved first - maybe it'll correct my other problems.
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 01:39 PM
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Fuseable links....
where are those at?
and what do they look like?

thanks
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 01:55 PM
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From: 7400 ft plus jack stands
Stole this from a previous message. do a search for many discussions of this topic:

Your fusible link is gone. There is a little brown box kind of thing on the drivers side strut tower. It has three loops of what looks like wire comming out of one side and the normal looking wires at the other. The loops are fusible links. The center one is the one you want. Its called the retractor. You should be able to find one from someone here or at a junkyard. Just DO NOT replace it with plain wire. These are special links made to burn out with a certain load. I read of a way to replace these with normal fuses but I will let someone else explain this.
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 02:09 PM
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From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
thx
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